Beacon Residents Marched On Sidewalk For A Free Palestine On February 3, 2024 (Photos And Video)

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On February 3, 2024, some Beacon residents gathered for a rally at Pohill Park, which then commenced down Main Street on the sidewalk. The march was peaceful and calm.

Prior to the march, community organizer with Next Step Hudson Valley, and former Beacon City Councilmember, Ali T. Muhammad, gave a safety pep-talk. In his talk, he encouraged anyone who encountered resisters to remain quiet and calm.

After and during the march, organizers announced that there was a gathering at City Hall the following Monday to ask Beacon’s City Council to consider and pass a ceasefire resolution during Public Comment. Several people did show up for that council meeting and gave their thoughts on why Beacon should consider and draft a ceasefire resolution. Three people spoke against a ceasefire resolution.

Weekly rallies were happening Newburgh to encourage the City of Newburgh to pass a ceasefire resolution, which it did after several drafts and demonstrations. Those rallies will now be held in Beacon until the City of Beacon passes its own ceasefire resolution.

Chants included:

Free Free Palestine
From The River To The 🌊 Sea 🍉
Gaza Gaza Don’t You Cry
Gaza 🇵🇸 Called Out, 🇾🇪 Yemen Answered
Israeli 🚢 Ships Are Canceled
Yemen Yemen Don’t You Cry
We Will Never Let You Die
Biden Biden You Will See
Palestine Will Be Free
Israel Is A Terrorist State
Long Live Palestine
Viva Viva Palestina

Hundreds Protest Outside Pat Ryan’s Kingston Office Demanding Permanent Ceasefire and Defunding of Israeli Military

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Photo from video posted at Kingstonwalk4blacklives

Photo credit: Shadia Fayne Wood

After 90 days of Israel’s murderous assault on Gaza, pressure is growing to end U.S. support for military aid to Israel. On January 5, 2024, hundreds of protesters packed the street in front of the Congressman Pat Ryan’s (District 18 which includes Beacon) Wall Street office in Kingston, NY to call for a permanent ceasefire and end to Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed more than 22,000 Palestinians in the past 90 days.

Constituents dropped 3 banners from the roof of the office building, one of which listed hundreds of names of Palestinians killed in Gaza. The other banners read: “90 days. 22,000 killed” and “Pat Ryan: Stop the Genocide.”
Photo Credits: Shadia Fayne Wood

“I wake up each morning worrying about whether my family and friends in Gaza will see another sunrise. How many more Palestinians have to die before my elected officials take action to stop sending our tax dollars to bomb my family?”
— Abdullah Qotate

“I wake up each morning worrying about whether my family and friends in Gaza will see another sunrise,” said Abdullah Qotate, a resident of Goshen, New York, who also spoke at the disruption of the Swearing-In Ceremony at the Gardiner Town Hall. “How many more Palestinians have to die before my elected officials take action to stop sending our tax dollars to bomb my family?”

Photo Credit: Found at @Celebrate.845

Demonstrators amassed at the Ulster County Legislative Building before marching to Congressman Pat Ryan’s office at 307 Wall Street where they attempted to speak to staff in the office before assembling tents around the entrance of Ryan’s office calling attention to the forced displacement of 1.9 million Palestinians or over 85% of Gaza’s population. Protesters sat among the tents with signs reading:

  • “Stop Starving Gaza,”

  • “No Money for Massacres,”

  • “Ceasefire: Shine a Light” while speakers read a list of names of Palestinians killed and held a moment of silence.

“Every person who died today would have been saved if there had been a ceasefire yesterday. We are putting our bodies on the line today in the streets of Kingston because, as American Jews, we cannot stand by and be silent while Israel destroys entire neighborhoods in the name of Jewish safety with funding from the U.S. government. Starving the people of Gaza, bombing hospitals, and making millions homeless is unconscionable – and I implore our elected officials to represent our values,” Andrew Hiller, Mid-Hudson Valley Democratic Socialists of America.

“We are putting our bodies on the line today in the streets of Kingston because, as American Jews, we cannot stand by and be silent while Israel destroys entire neighborhoods in the name of Jewish safety with funding from the U.S. government. Starving the people of Gaza, bombing hospitals, and making millions homeless is unconscionable – and I implore our elected officials to represent our values.”
— Andrew Hiller

According to the organizer’s press release: “As the civilian death toll in Gaza increases daily, Rep. Pat Ryan faces growing pressure from voters to support a permanent ceasefire and end of military aid to Israel. On January 2, a swearing-in ceremony for local officials presided over by Mr. Ryan was disrupted by a large group of concerned constituents who unfurled a banner reading “permanent ceasefire” (read more about that here on ALBB) in front of his podium. His offices in Kingston, Newburgh, and Poughkeepsie have all been the sites of large ceasefire demonstrations in the past three months (including this one from Beaconites), drawing hundreds of local residents, from across all faiths and backgrounds, who insist that Mr. Ryan do more to ensure that no more U.S. tax dollars go toward funding genocide. While Mr. Ryan has publicly stated that he desires to see lasting peace in the region, he has stopped short of calling for any concrete measures that will end the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.”

“We at Jewish Voice for Peace – Hudson Valley demand an immediate unconditional ceasefire in Gaza. The Biden administration must also refrain from sending any more weapons to the Israeli government. Pat Ryan should know the majority of Americans are with us: 61% of likely voters, including a majority of Democrats (76%) and Independents (57%) and a plurality of Republicans (49%), support the U.S. calling for a permanent ceasefire as of a Dec 5 poll. We mourn for the Palestinian and Israeli civilians killed, and we continue to fight with everything we have for the living,” said Margie Leopold, Jewish Voice for Peace - Hudson Valley.

Friday’s demonstration was organized by a broad coalition from across the region: Mid-Hudson Valley Democratic Socialists of America, Jewish Voice for Peace - Hudson Valley, Wednesday Walk 4 Black Lives, Middle-East Crisis Response, Mid-Hudson Islamic Community, Veterans For Peace - Hudson Valley, Communist Party - HV, Vassar SJP, and Poughkeepsie4Palestine. The founder of Poughkeepsie4Palestine, Rahul Daniyal Kumar, is a ninth grader at Oakwood Friends School interested in Political Science, Government, and Modern Middle Eastern Studies.

Protesters closed the event vowing to return as many times as it takes until a permanent ceasefire is declared.

Photo Credit: Veekas Ashoka

300 Community Members Marched In Newburgh Calling For A Permanent Ceasefire And Freedom For Palestinians

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The following press release was submitted by Mie Inouye to report on the “March For A Free Palestine!” protest down Broadway in Newburgh on Sunday, December 3, 2023. The march was organized by Mid-Hudson Valley Democratic Socialists of America, Jewish Voice for Peace - Hudson Valley, Veterans for Peace - Hudson Valley, Bard SJP, and the Mid-Hudson Islamic Community.

Three hundred community members took to the streets in Newburgh during the rain on Sunday, December 3, 2023, in support of a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and a just peace in the Middle East. Carrying a banner reading “From the River to the Sea Palestine Will Be Free,” marchers called on local representative Congressman Pat Ryan to support a lasting ceasefire and oppose additional military aid to Israel which has killed thousands of Palestinian civilians with U.S. funding and weapons. A humanitarian pause that began on November 24, 2023 ended on Friday. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in the last three days.

“Representative Ryan, listen to your constituents. We are Palestinians, Jews, veterans, people of conscience from all faiths and backgrounds united in our heartbreak and anguish watching Palestinian families buried under the rubble in Gaza. We demand that you represent us, the majority of Americans who want to see an end to violence, an end to occupation, and an end to injustice. Raise your voice with us for a permanent ceasefire. Do not send more of our tax dollars to fund the killing of civilians. We will remember how you vote when it’s our turn at the ballot box.”
— Abdallah Quotate of Mid-Hudson Islamic Community

“As the brief respite from the bombing during the humanitarian pause last week showed us, a ceasefire is the only way to stop needless death and suffering, and to bring hostages home. After killing thousands of Palestinian men, women, and children and displacing more than one million people in the last few weeks, Israel is gearing up to continue destroying Gaza in a war of vengeance with the blessing and the backing of our government. We are here today to make clear: No more money for massacres,” said Felice Gelman of Jewish Voice for Peace.

The marchers focused their calls on Representative Ryan, who has been under increasing pressure from constituents to call for a ceasefire. At a November 9 rally at his district office in Kingston, more than 400 residents delivered a large format check from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee for $25,950 (the amount the GOP donor-funded network gave Ryan in 2022), with a memo line reading “genocide.” Ryan was one of just 22 Democrats who joined Republican colleagues in voting to censure his colleague Palestinian-American Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib.

During the march, Abdallah Quotate from Mid-Hudson Islamic Community spoke, saying: “Representative Ryan, listen to your constituents. We are Palestinians, Jews, veterans, people of conscience from all faiths and backgrounds united in our heartbreak and anguish watching Palestinian families buried under the rubble in Gaza. We demand that you represent us, the majority of Americans who want to see an end to violence, an end to occupation, and an end to injustice. Raise your voice with us for a permanent ceasefire. Do not send more of our tax dollars to fund the killing of civilians. We will remember how you vote when it’s our turn at the ballot box.”

Marchers mourned the deaths of thousands of Palestinian and Israeli civilians and called a ceasefire the first step to a just and lasting peace. They ended their march at Representative Pat Ryan’s office on Broadway, where they called on him to support a permanent ceasefire and stop sending his constituents’ tax dollars to fund Israel’s assaults on the Gaza Strip.

“Every life is precious and we mourn all of those, Palestinian and Israeli, who have been so cruelly taken from us in the last few weeks. There is no military solution to prevent more death and devastation – the only path toward a just and lasting peace is to end the occupation and apartheid which denies Palestinians their freedom and dignity,” said Andrew Hiller of Mid-Hudson Valley Democratic Socialists of America.

The march was organized by Mid-Hudson Valley Democratic Socialists of America, Jewish Voice for Peace - Hudson Valley, Veterans for Peace - Hudson Valley, Bard SJP, and the Mid-Hudson Islamic Community.

The Resistance That Won't Go Away :: Palestinian Love Shines From Beacon & Beyond

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Pick a day, any day, and Beacon local Kamel Jamal, owner of more than one restaurant in town (Ziatun, Beacon Bread, WTF, creator of Tito Santana Taqueria, and Végétalien, both he since sold), wears his heart on his sleeve for his home country of Palestine.

Every day for him is a day of love he shows for a free Palestine. From the food he plates, the restaurants he decorates, the merch he makes, most centering back to somehow to empower those still living in Palestine.

In this podcast, Kamel discusses how his parents left Palestine when he was a toddler with some of his family thanks to a family friend who sponsored them.

Co-hosts Brandon Lillard and Katie Hellmuth Martin sat down with Kamel on A Little Beacon Blog's sister podcast, "Wait, What Is That?" for an at times emotional interview about his view of how the people of Palestine are living now. The time was May 2021 during the escalation of protesting by residents in Palestine in the neighborhood Sheikh Jarrah. Their homes were scheduled to be demolished, and Muslim neighbors in the Hudson Valley as well as the world were sounding alarms.

In this podcast, Kamel describes his Palestine. He discusses how his parents left Palestine when he was a toddler with some of his family thanks to a family friend who sponsored them. He describes why he continues advocating from America for Palestine's liberation, so that people can live without fear of their homes and businesses being demolished by occupiers. He discusses the lack to basic rights, like clean water, receiving mail, and having to pass through armed checkpoints to get to a job or part of town.

In 2021, a protest march in Newburgh was organized with Next Step Hudson Valley where the Palestinian community came out, consisting of people young and old, with roots in Palestine, Pakistan, and other communities. Speeches were held on the lawn of Representative Sean Maloney's Newburgh's office.

Beaconites normally quiet about their cultural origins brought pages of prepared speeches, to express to an engaged audience about how their parents, siblings, cousins and/or friends felt about the global response to this little neighborhood protest in Palestine that spring. A Little Beacon Blog covered that march, which you can read about here and listen to some speeches.

Kamel Jamal, speaking at the Free Palestine protest march in Newburgh on the steps of Representative Sean Maloney’s office. Several other speakers participated.
Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth Martin

Khitam Jamal Nakhleh’s Starbucks order, where her name is “FreeGaza,” which results in the barista shouting the demand to the room. Khitam is Kamel’s sister.
Photo Credit: Khitam Jamal Nakhleh

Since then, a lot has happened. Kamel's sister, who many know as Kate, champions the Free Palestine movement with every step she takes. Recently, she declared she was going by her birth name: Khitam Jamal Nakhleh. She is known to use subtle tactics like ordering a Starbucks under the name of "Free Gaza" so that the demand has to be called out to the room full of customers.

Every now and then, something pro-Palestinian will make the news in the US, like when Emma Watson (Hermione Granger from Harry Potter), and a UN Women's Goodwill Ambassador, voiced her support for Palestine. Or the feature story in Vanity Fair's February 2022 issue, "Generation Gaza" by veteran war correspondent Janine di Giovanni who revisited Gaza "and found resilience and hope among its 2 million Palestinian residents, two thirds of whom are under the age of 25," according to the lead-in for the article.

Also according to the February Vanity Fair feature: "Gaza's 20 and 30 somethings, it so happens, tend to be highly educated, multilingual - and jobless. 64% of the youth labor force is unemployed, largely due to the occupation. Nonetheless, year after year, they have proved indefatigable." Running a business there is virtually impossible, due to actions taken against business owners. But some continue to try, as this designer does, which was featured in Vogue.

In May 2021, neighbors came out to show their support of Palestine by creating a chalk art message on the sidewalk outside of Beacon Bread, owned by Kamel.

Circling back to the first line of this article - pick a day, any day - in the publishing world, an article usually needs to be published in a timely way. Like, back in May or June 2021 after we recorded this podcast episode and covered protest march. In Palestine, their inability to live free lives is every day, with different demolitions of family homes scheduled, like this one at the end of January 2022 or this one where the family had to self-demolish their own home.

But timing gets tricky. During the "Wait, What Is That?" episode, the silence of friends was discussed, acknowledging that talking openly about this topic can be difficult leading to unexpected responses. There is a moment where Kamel's emotions overcome him. You'll need to listen closely to the interview to hear where.

Peek Inside Ziatun

If you haven't been inside of Ziatun yet, here is a peek. Kamel admits this is one of his favorite places to be, and you can tell in the flavor of the food. The hummus is unlike any you have had, being extra smooth. There are plenty of warm soups to choose from, like the Addas soup. View the merch and buy a bag or two. Don't miss the watermelon t-shirt, designed to show resistance through food.

March For Palestinian Freedom In Newburgh (Videos) - March Congregates At Rep. Sean Maloney District Office

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In mid May in response to the Palestinian neighborhood, Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem, protesting to save their homes from being taken over by Israeli forces, the world started paying attention to the centuries long conflict between Palestine and Israel, which are essentially in the same place.

Local Beaconite and former Councilperson Ali T. Muhammad helped to organize a march with Next Step Hudson Valley and people in the Palestinian and Arab communities living in the Hudson Valley. Several people attended, marching down Broadway and side streets, ending at Rep. Sean Maloney’s district office.

Speeches were made on the steps of his office. Several are posted below for you to view and to hear. Beacon locals Lena Rizkalla and Kamel Jamal were some of the speakers. Kamel later recorded a podcast with ALBB’s sister podcast, “What, What Is That?” which you can listen to here.

The first of many speeches, on the steps of Rep. Sean Maloney’s Newburgh office. This video includes a speech given by Beacon business owner, Kamel Jamal, who is a Palestinian refugee (see minute 9, but don’t miss the other speakers). Kamel spoke with ALBB’s sister podcast, “Wait, What Is That?” for an hour long episode on his experience and thoughts on Palestinian liberation.

Local Beaconite, Lena Rizkalla, a first generation Palestinian, speaks about her Palestinian experience and connection.

This speaker noted how Palestinians helped fight the Nazis in World War II.

Local Beaconite, former Beacon Councilperson, and current Newburgh resident, Ali T. Muhammad, speaks about supporting each other.

Little friends encouraging each other to speak about human rights in Palestine.

A little boy makes simple demands on the steps of Rep. Sean Maloney’s Newburgh office.

A speaker encourages people to continue spreading the word about Palestine.