Barry Roth

When I read that Northampton’s City Council was considering passing a resolution demanding a cease-fire in Gaza and lessening support for Israel; I was concerned that the council had been caught up in the bullying and misrepresentations about the war. I thought it important for the council to be thoughtful and not cave in to a herd mentality. That the council decided to take a stance on the war was itself concerning as I am aware that their bailiwick is local not international.

Editor’s note: The following was submitted to the U.S. State Department by Rep. Jim McGovern at the author’s request, on Dec. 21, 2014. Nothing came of it. At the time of this writing December 21, 2014 (the winter solstice) things appear very dark and dimming as to the possibility of finding a workable two-state solution to bring peace between the Palestinian and Jewish people, in the lands comprising Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

In a recent New York Times column, David Wallace-Wells criticized the current environmental movement for losing its passion for protecting the natural world for its own sake. Instead, he pointed out, a large faction of environmentalists are focused on creating a world suitable for further human expansion by gaining control of climate change.