A Panel on Free Speech and the First Amendment
Thursday, August 1st at 7 PM
Bethlehem Public Library
Speakers:
Jodi Dean, PhD
Jodi Dean was suspended from her teaching position at Hobart College after publishing a statement on X in support of the Palestinian rights.
Kathy Manley
Kathy Manley is a local attorney who has worked with cases of Muslim civil rights for many years and defended to local Muslim who were falsely charged of crimes after the Iraq War started.
Nicholas DeFazio
Nicholas DeFazio is a recent graduate from SUNY New Paltz who document the encampment and protests for Palestinian rights on his own campus.
As the genocide in Gaza continues, millions across the world, in the US and right here in the Capital Region have protested and demanded an end to the genocide and for the rights of the Palestinians people. In the US, on multiple occasions, hundreds of thousands of people protested in Washington, DC and there were thousands of protests across the entire country. Campuses exploded with encampment and demonstrations during the spring and college graduation saw many protests.
These actions and demonstrations were met with repression. More than 900 college students were arrested during the college protests, some faculty and even college presidents were forced to resign, were suspended or forced out. There is a heightened atmosphere of censorship, as voices who gave any support to the Palestinians were removed from the corporate media. News of events in Gaza was downplayed or not reported and venues were pressured to exclude pro-Palestinian rights meetings. This was the case with the Bethlehem Library, which banned Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace for 1 year after they held a meeting for an anti-Zionist Israeli, Miko Peled which was disrupted by pro-Zionists who did not want his message to be expressed. That ban was lifted after several months and after protests by local residents.
Please join us for this important meeting and help defend our democratic right to freedom of speech.
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View the video of the Miko Peled talk sponsored by Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace
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Peace Vigil each Monday, 5 – 6 PM at the Four Corners, intersection of Kenwood and Delaware Aves. in Delmar. NOTE: Effective March 11, 2024, Summer Vigil hours will be 5:00 – 6:00 pm. On November 4, when we are off Daylight Savings Time, we will go back to vigil hours of 4:00 – 5:00 pm. Bring your sign or use one of ours. Stay for a few minutes or an hour. Let’s stand together for peace. (518) 466-1192 for further information.
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Recent vigil at the library to protest the banning for Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace.
Monday, March 18, 2024 BNP Vigil: STOP THE GENOCIDE! Photos by Jon Flanders
Past BNP Sponsored Events: at the Four Corners, intersection of Kenwood and Delaware Aves. in Delmar Photo by Jon Flanders
