Thank you to the Trova & Mas Show and Carolina on 91.3FM, Independent Radio at Vassar College, for having us on to talk about the shutdown of the Newburgh / Beacon Bridge on April 15, Tax Day for the Economic Blockade from 8-9am organized nationwide to send a message to federal and local governments to Free Palestine and to stop investing in (aka divest from) Israel’s killing of so many Palestinians (which is bleeding into Lebanon). ALBB did not organize that and didn’t even know about it! But we did report on it.

Co-host Caroline asked what points we wanted to cover, and some of these points were made:

- Participating protesters on the bridge included Palestinians, Jews, Arabs, Non-Arabs, Muslims, Non-Muslims, Whites, and other allies.

- Protests in have been held on sidewalks in Beacon, Poughkeepsie, Newburgh, and Kingston.

- Pat Ryan was demonstrated against in Beacon at the City Council Swearing In Ceremony at the Memorial Building by demonstrators who wanted a silent protest with a banner that said Ceasefire, but Beacon’s City Administrator and some managing Veterans blocked the banner and physically touched the demonstrators, causing the event to escalate and get loud.

- The first demonstration to Pat Ryan was at his Poughkeepsie office near Vassar College.

- Some Beacon Jewish citizens organized their 8th night of Chanukah lighting at his Newburgh office.

- Ceasefire Resolutions were passed in Beacon and Newburgh. A ceasefire resolution still needs to pass in Poughkeepsie. Poughkeepsie needs to show up!

- A woman from Poughkeepsie is from Palestine and lost at least 20 of her family members in Gaza from Israeli bombardment.

Trova asked what final message we wanted to get out, and we said that while this is a global issue, we see how our United States Government is treating Brown people in Palestine, at a very shocking level by allowing this to happen and is in part funding it, and that translates back here to our local communities. Systems aren’t broken, they are working as designed. Those systems need to change.