As a local Muslim reader and a lifelong resident, it was revolting, yet not surprising, to see the paper publish Zionist hate, lies and propaganda — a letter to the editor so full of poppycock as to not even be worth direct engagement.

Zionists push their hasbara (propaganda) everywhere, even in small-town Vermont. They lie. They feign loyalty to the U.S. and compassion for the lives of Americans. They tout their values and say they cherish life while massacring tens of thousands of innocents, many of them children. Children blown to pieces; charred and mangled pieces that are then placed in garbage bags and weighed to approximate the number killed.

Zionist zealots are a despicable lot. Many would gladly push a button and annihilate all Palestinians (just listen to the recent “Two Nice Jewish Boys” podcast). They endorse apartheid, colonialism, genocide, hate, supremacy and war crimes. Worse, from the shadows, they dox, harass and intimidate. Yet, they never remove their “cowardly masks” to those they target, even right here in Middlebury.

And despite their unfounded and worn-out cries of antisemitism every time anyone speaks up against their Zionist narrative, there are many of us who stand tall and will continue to speak out regardless of the vile epithets they hurl at us.

There is a vibrant anti-Zionist community locally, driven by compassionate people of all faiths, including Judaism, who will not be silenced. Zionism is not Judaism. Zionism is a foul ideology that at present bears responsibility for the deaths of around 186,000 persons in Gaza alone over the past 11 months according to a July estimate by the Lancet.

Leon H. Smith

Middlebury