(The following is a letter written to the Editor of the Mad River Union, signed by myself and eight others, on 26 February 2025).
The Feb. 12 issue of the Union featured Kevin Hoover’s article about the billboard that was torn down in Arcata. As Jewish people and allies who love and support Israel, we were shocked to read so many lies about Zionism and Judaism by those quoted in the article.
The vast majority of Jews support the existence of the State of Israel. A 2024 survey by the American Jewish Committee found that American Jews feel deeply connected to Israel, with 85 percent believing it is important for the U.S. to support Israel in the wake of the October 7 attacks.
At its core, Zionism is simply the belief that Jews have the right to live in their own sovereign and historic homeland. Supporting this principle does not equate with endorsing any specific Israeli government or policy — just as Americans can love their country while disagreeing with its leadership.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a deeply complex issue shaped by history, politics, and competing national identities. Reducing it to a simplistic narrative of one side acting out of malice ignores the reality of its complexities.
The Union article features extreme statements from a few local individuals, including claims that “Zionists… are proud that they kill, bomb, starve and torture people” and comparisons between Zionists and Nazis. Others in the article label Jews as “supremacists,” a term infamously popularized by neo-Nazi leader David Duke to target Jews.
These same individuals insist that Israel is committing genocide — an accusation that has been repeated since 1948, when local Arab forces rejected Israel’s declaration of independence and launched a war rather than accept a Jewish state as their neighbor. The ongoing conflict has persisted for decades due to this refusal to coexist peacefully. Such inflammatory accusations not only blatantly distort reality but also echo propaganda that originated in Soviet Russia in the 1940s, designed to delegitimize Israel and vilify Jews.
A local critic’s assertion that we would consider as antisemitic any billboard displaying the slogan “From the river to the sea” is correct — not for the reasons he assumes, but because the phrase is a direct call for the destruction of Israel and the deaths of its seven million Jewish inhabitants. Calling for the violent eradication of the Jewish people is, by definition, antisemitic.
It is no secret that some local individuals openly advocate for Israel’s destruction and the elimination of its Jewish population. Yet, they curiously ignore the fact that Israel grants full citizenship to two million Arab Muslims, along with other minorities such as Druze and Christians. These communities actively participate in Israeli society as doctors, judges, pharmacists, nurses and police officers — enjoying rights and opportunities far greater than those afforded to Arabs in any other Middle Eastern country.
In no way is Israel an apartheid country. Examples abound, such as the Arab judge George Karra, a Christian Arab, who sentenced former Israeli President Moshe Katsav to prison for seven years. His role in the case highlights the independence of Israel’s judiciary and the full participation of Arab citizens in its legal system.
We, as Jews, seek to restore and reclaim the true meaning of Zionism, which has been distorted and demonized by those who wish to see us destroyed. Zionism simply means that Jews have the right to live in their indigenous homeland — nothing more, nothing less. To claim that our billboard equates to “openly flouting fascist slogans and logos in favor of the extermination of the Palestinian people” is either profoundly ignorant or deliberately misleading.
In reality, it is Hamas — an organization officially designated as a terrorist group by the U.S., European Union and others — that openly boasts about killing Israelis and routinely uses their own civilians as human shields. This is a well-documented fact.
We seek thoughtful and reasonable dialogue with those who are genuinely interested in understanding both sides of this tragic centuries-old conflict. That conversation must be grounded in fundamental facts. One fact is that Palestinians could have had a state multiple times over the past 80 years, yet their leadership has repeatedly rejected these proposals, preferring instead to call for Israel’s destruction.
Another fact is that Israel withdrew from Gaza nearly 20 years ago, dismantling all Jewish communities and businesses while leaving behind fully operational greenhouses for Gazans to use for economic development.
Rather than building a sustainable future, Hamas chose to divert billions of dollars in international aid — including U.S. taxpayer funds — to construct an underground terror network where only Hamas operatives, not civilians, can find shelter. These tunnels are also used to torture hostages and Palestinian dissidents, and to wage war.
Any serious discussion about Gaza’s future must include these facts and focus on moving toward independence that is not built on terrorism. In the meantime, we urge people to stop making harmful and baseless accusations that only serve to inflame tensions rather than foster understanding.
Signed by the following members of Shalom Humboldt:
Amon Armstrong
Ellis Arseneau
Gary Bloomfield
Deborah Kallick
Kathleen Kolodny
Susan Parsons
Sherri Starr
Sari Swede
Chad White
