I would like to offer another (Jewish) perspective on the Apartheid Free Communities measure on the Vergennes town meeting ballot.

I am a supporter of Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions, a decades long international effort to get Israel to respect the human rights of Palestinian people. My small business in Middlebury is one of many around Vermont who have taken the Apartheid Free Communities Pledge, meaning we are working to help our communities to understand that safety and freedom for Palestine is in everyone’s best interest. We are all human, we all share this planet, and we all deserve freedom.

The United States unconditional military support of Israel impacts Vermonters in many ways. One example is that we are in a constant struggle to provide stable and affordable housing, while the U.S. is the world’s largest exporter of weapons. The resources that we spend manufacturing weapons could instead be spent to house, feed, and educate everyone. We are the richest country in the world, yet people are sleeping in the street in the dead of winter.

A recent letter to the editor claimed that Israel was not an Apartheid state, but that is simply untrue. Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank live under impossibly brutal conditions, and this is why numerous international human rights organizations have condemned Israel in the strongest terms.

These international issues do impact our day to day lives. My Jewish heritage teaches me to always speak up for those who are suffering. The value of Tikkun Olam, which means Healing the World, calls me to link arms with thousands of other Jewish people in calling for Justice for Palestine. I hope Vergennes will pass this measure, and I hope more Vermont towns will follow suit.

Please understand this: it is in NO WAY antisemitic to criticize the State of Israel for its many human rights abuses. The sooner Israel conforms itself to international human rights standards, the closer we will all be to a safer and less militaristic world for all people.

Joanna Colwell

Director, Otter Creek Yoga

Middlebury