From Watson Institute at Brown University: “Afghan villagers sit near the bodies of children who were reported to have been killed during a NATO airstrike in Kunar province on April 7, 2013. (Photo: Reuters)”

This article covers the dangerous, Islamaphobic racist comments by Congressman Marcus Molinaro (NY, Republican, District 19). It looks at the following:

Brief intro of Marcus Molinaro, to those new to the area.
Amplifies accusations of pro-Palestinian supporters as supporting Hamas, which implies that all Palestinians and those who support them are terrorists, because the United States has designated Hamas as a terrorist organization.
Legislation Marcus Molinaro introduced to identify “Hamas sympathizers” in certain Federal government agencies.
Marc’s false identification of a vehicle crash on a New York bridge as being an act of terror, contributing to waves of chaos. The drivers were going to a KISS concert, drove too fast, crashed, and perished.
Lies about the phrase “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
Links to Israeli experts calling for an extermination of Palestinians (sources listed below, including the children’s song).

Teenagers from the Iraq War (100,000 Iraq civilians killed by US and allied forces for Weapons of Mass Destruction never found) and Afghanistan War (20 year war killing 70,000 Afghans and Pakistani’s civilians and 243,000 of that population total, to find one man - Osama bin Laden - who orchestrated 9/11) remember that storytelling time well.

Snippets of details cross our minds from time to time. George W. Bush reading the storybook about a goat to elementary school students as the planes hit the towers. His later directive: “You’re either with us, or with The Terrorists.”

Back then, we got our news mainly from the radio in the shower on the local Top-40 station while getting ready for school. The local radio stations would dedicate headline space to the national news of the United States war in the Middle East. We were looking for “Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs).” Secretary of State Colin Powell was our trusted leader. He told the U.N. Security Council on public television about the Weapons of Mass Destruction, all of the evidence he had, and recommended war. Some of us called our Arab friends right away to make sure they were OK. It was a scary time.

According to NPR’s review of its past coverage: “A month and a half after the U.N. speech, President Bush ordered air strikes over Baghdad. It marked the beginning of a military operation ‘to disarm Iraq, to free its people, and to defend the world from grave danger,’" Bush said in a televised address to the nation.”

It was the “Axis of Evil” theme, with lots of “Good vs Evil.” The United States was the Captain America hero, and the Middle East, and mainly any Arab who was pictured on TV, was the Evil Terrorist. The war ended in a botched “Mission Accomplished” after no Weapons of Mass Destruction were found, and nothing but death and destruction of people, culture, credibility, commerce and lands was accomplished.

Rhetoric about the Israeli-Palestine War has similar ring tones.

Marcus Molinaro - Who Is He And Why Do We Care About His Islamaphobic Racism?

Marcus Molinaro is Dutchess County’s former County Executive. For those new to A Little Beacon Blog, Beacon is in Dutchess County. Marc saw us through COVID, which was a very trying time for him. He played both sides, accommodated and fought for businesses to stay open, while pushing for people to make safe health decisions of their own choice.

Marc ran for Governor of New York State in 2018, and lost to former Governor Andrew Cuomo. He ran for Congressman of New York’s 19 Congressional District in 2022, and won. His was as the United State’s first youngest Mayor at age 19 of Tivoli.

It should be noted as part of his election story: “On September 21, 2021, Molinaro announced that he would run for New York's 19th district in the United States House of Representatives in 2022. In the special election held on August 23, 2022, Molinaro lost to Democratic nominee Pat Ryan, the Ulster County Executive, 51.2% to 48.8%. Molinaro was the Republican nominee for the same seat in the November 2022 general election, this time defeating Democratic nominee Josh Riley under new district lines. Ryan, who defeated Molinaro in August, was also elected to a full term simultaneously in a neighboring district.” That neighboring District 18 includes Beacon.

Four Palestinian men support carrying one Palestinian child after an Israeli bombing.
Photo Credit: AlJazeera

Neither Marcus Molinaro nor Pat Ryan have seemed to have issued any acknowledgement of the at least 4,800 Palestinian children killed as of November 8th, 2023, with over 14,000 Palestinians dead in total, not including the thousands unaccounted for also dead under the rubble. Both Marc and Pat must have Palestinian refugees, decedents of Palestinian refugees, Arab citizens of any kind, and non-Arab and non-Muslim citizens of any kind in their constituencies who oppose this mass murder of an Indigenous people, but both are silent on Palestinian lives mattering.

Beaconites did organize a protest outside of Congressman Pat Ryan’s office in Poughkeepsie, which you can learn about here.

It should be noted: Jewish, Arab, Palestinian, and Christian lives all have a shared Indigenous history in Palestine. The Romans, from 132-136CE, brutally challenged and defeated the Jews in the Bar Kokhba Revolt. The Bar Kokhba Revolt saw the Jews decimated and banned from their region and religion by the Romans. The events of that revolt are eerily familiar to what Israel is conducting upon Palestine today.

Marcus Molinaro Today - How He Matters To The Israeli - Palestine War

Marcus Molinaro has always been a hot-head toward New York State, with his history of running against former Governor Andrew Cuomo. Marc likes to be seen as a fighter.

Today, Marcus Molinaro is a fighter for Israel. Without any form of acknowledgement for Palestinian lives lost, or held hostage (there are over 6,000 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, and over 2,000 held in “detentions” which can be renewed indefinately who did not get a trial).

Marc posted about bringing the 240 Israeli hostages home, with no acknowledgment of the death toll of Palestinians as it has climbed to over 14,000 as of this post. The death toll of Israelis, thankfully, stayed relatively the same of 1,200. It was, in fact, reduced from 1,400 when Israel further identified bodies.

Marc’s Dangerous Support Of Calling Pro-Palestinian Supporters Hamas :: Wants To Silence Pro-Palestinian Protest

In his next post, Marc reposted a photo of people wearing keffiyah scarves and carrying Palestinian flags a pro-Palestinian rally at Grand Central Station on November 10, 2023.

Marc amplified Islamaphobic and racist language which also may have been misidentifying the situation. The original poster, known as @amuse, said: “Hamas supporters in NYC have surrounded Grand Central Station and are attempting to breach the outer doors to reach police officers sheltering inside.”

In fact, this was the 2nd attempt to shut down Grand Central. The first time Grand Central was shut down was by Jewish Voices For Peace on October 27th, 2023 at rush-hour. The group got inside and occupied the main lobby.

This time, on November 10th, the police locked the doors of Grand Central to prevent another shutdown. Police were not “sheltering” inside out of fear, they locked it down to prevent a second shut-down. More police then completely lined the outside of the doors, as they tried to move the protesters off the sidewalk without pressing charges, as you can see in this video.

Marc Molinaro’s own caption of that repost was: “This isn’t peaceful and it’s not protected speech. This can’t be acceptable in America. It shouldn’t be tolerated in New York.” For Marc to go along with calling a Palestinian supporter “Hamas” puts that person in danger, as the United States has built mounting fear around the concept of who is a “terrorist".” You can see how loud and energized but peaceful the protest was here in the video.

One Beaconite who was at Grand Central on November 10th at that time was trying to catch the train home. They told ALBB: “People were knocking on the doors trying to figure out when we could go in. The police were locking the doors. When we got inside (through the hotel), the police had barriers blocking from the inside. No one inside was affected at all. The police blocked everyone from getting in. Even business people trying to get home from work.”

A keffiyeh scarf is the Palestinian resistance scarf, advocating for freedom from occupation. It is warn by civilians and militants alike. There has been a sharp rise in violence against people wearing the keffiyeh. Like the woman in Brooklyn who hurled her coffee at the dad wearing the keffiyeh scarf with this son.

She was later outed in her community, identified as Hadasa Bozakkaravani, and arrested. According to NBC: “Hadasa Bozakkaravani, 48, was arrested Tuesday and charged with 9 counts, including 4 hate crimes: assault, assault of a person under 11, reckless endangerment, aggravated harassment and menacing, according to police.” The dad, Ashish Prashar told NBC: “This is post-9/11 again. Like every brown person now is a target."

Unrelated to Marcus Molinaro, but related to why his language is so Islamaphobic racist and endangering to Arabs, is the shooting of 3 Palestinian college students today in Burlington, VT, who were visiting family for Thanksgiving. According to the Press Release issued by the police, “they were confronted by a white man with a handgun. Without speaking, he discharged at least four rounds from the pistol and is believed to have fled on foot,” police said. Two of the three friends were wearing keffiyehs. The indigenous symbols on the keffiyehs are fishnets for catching fish, olives, and trade routs in the sea. Three very important things to a Palestinian that Israel tries to suppress by cutting down their olive trees or destroying their fishing boats in this current war.

In a statement released by the Institute for Middle East Understanding, the students were identified as Hisham Awartani, a student at Brown University in Rhode Island; Kinnan Abdalhamid, a student at Haverford College in Pennsylvania; and Tahseen Ahmad, a student at Trinity College in Connecticut.

According to CNN: “In a joint statement, the victims’ families urged law enforcement to investigate the attack as a hate crime. ‘We will not be comfortable until the shooter is brought to justice,’ they said. ‘No family should ever have to endure this pain and agony. Our children are dedicated students who deserve to be able to focus on their studies and building their futures.’” Read more details on this story at CNN.

Marcus Molinaro has so far not condemned any of the killings in Palestinian, the murder of the little Palestinian-American boy in Chicago, and so far, has not commented on this shooting.

Marc Molinaro Introduces Legislation Identify Certain Federal Employees Who Display Support For Hamas

Around the time of the pro-Palestinian protests shutting down Grand Central, tens of thousands of people arrived in Washington D.C. to show their support for Palestine. One group of about 100 congressional staffers made their own performance and statement, urging their bosses to listen to their constituents who have been calling for a ceasefire.

On November 7, 2023, Marcus Molinaro sponsored and filed US Congress House Bill 6250, which was drafted to: “Require the heads of certain Federal agencies to report to Congress ties of agency employees to Hamas or the display of support for Hamas, and for other purpose.”

In his own Press Release announcing the bill, Marcus Molinaro stated: “We cannot afford to have Hamas sympathizers within our government, especially in roles that manage our crucial relationship with Israel. This bipartisan legislation aims to uphold the highest standards of accountability and transparency, safeguarding our institutions from any association with terrorist organizations like Hamas. America's support for Israel during its time of need demands that we take decisive action to root out potential threats within our government.”

According to the New York Times, the 100 congressional staffers covered their faces to remain anonymous, and delivered the following during their protest against their bosses:

“The carnations arrived by the wheelbarrow. Blood-red, pink, orange and yellow, more than 10,000 stems were laid on the steps at the base of the Capitol against a clear blue sky.

Congressional aids breaking with their bosses to demand a cease-fire, return of all hostages, and a de-escalation.
Photo Credit: Pete Marovich for the *New York Times*

“Each was meant to represent a civilian life lost in the Israel-Hamas war one month in, encompassing Israeli and Palestinian people alike. They were brought over by more than 100 congressional staff members, all wearing masks to obscure their identities, for a walkout last week honoring the civilians killed in the conflict and calling for a cease-fire and the release of more than 200 hostages abducted by Hamas.

“‘We are congressional staffers on Capitol Hill, and we are no longer comfortable staying silent,” three of the aides, all of whom declined to give their names, declared, the Capitol dome towering behind them. ‘Our constituents are pleading for a cease-fire, and we are the staffers answering their calls. Most of our bosses on Capitol Hill are not listening to the people they represent. We demand our leaders speak up: Call for a cease-fire, a release of all hostages and an immediate de-escalation now.’

“The walkout was the latest in a series of actions congressional aides have taken, almost all of them anonymously, to publicly urge members of Congress — their own bosses — to call for a cease-fire in Gaza.”

Marcus Molinaro Erroneously Assigns Terror Attack To Vehicle Crash On A New York Bridge

Next in the “War On Terror” playbook is to make New Yorkers think they are under attack and surrounded by terrorists. Marcus Molinaro first tried that by amplifying a social media post identifying New Yorkers wearing keffiyehs and holding Palestinian flags, which was discussed above.

Now he was using a car crash and subsequent explosion on the Rainbow Bridge in Niagra Falls to say an act of terror happened in New York. When it first happened, Marc took to his Instagram to let his followers know that the vehicle explosion was a terrorist attack, and that he would keep his followers informed. Then he deleted it.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul provided an update, stating it was not an act of terror. CBS News reported: “Preliminary federal government assessments and law enforcement sources indicate that the vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed when it hit a curb, leading it to crash through a fence and a Customs and Border Protection inspection area, where it caught fire and exploded.” Reuters reported that the driver was a 56-year old man driving with his wife to a KISS concert. The two did not survive the crash.

CBC reported that the Niagara police chief Bryan MacCulloch told the Niagara Region Police Services Board: "We saw an immense amount of misinformation and speculation on both mainstream and social media platforms, which created significant and unnecessary anxiety in the community."

Marcus Molinaro Lies About The Phrase “From The River To The Sea, Palestine Will Be Free”

Marcus Molinaro’s response to Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, the only Palistian Representative.

Marcus Molinaro lied about the freedom chant: “From river to the sea, Palestine will be free!”

Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American in Congress, was censured by Congress for criticizing Israel, and pointing out that Palestinians “are humans beings” who don’t need to have their flesh “melted to the bone,” in this war. She said: “Palestinian people are not disposable.” Watch her full speech here.

She later posted on Instagram “From the river to the sea is an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction, or hate. My work and advocacy is always centered in justice and dignity for all people no matter faith or ethnicity.”

Marc’s response was “This is the Hamas rallying cry to violently exterminate Israel and remove the Jewish people. You can’t possibly expect anyone to believe this and you can’t be any more wrong.”

Marcus Molinaro twisted her words, which is exactly what she warned of before being censured.

This picture of watermelon slices reveals the phrase “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” When Elon Musk of Twitter banned the phrase, people started hiding it in plain sight. Watermelon has become a symbol of Palestinian freedom and Resistance.

Some people on social media will also voice this opinion, especially when there are reports of protest marches and people are chanting this phrase. The American Jewish Committee describes the phrase as antisemetic.

Aljazeera provided an analysis, which includes an observation from Nimer Sultany, a lecturer in law at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London, who focused on the word “free.” He said the adjective expresses “the need for equality for all inhabitants of historic Palestine. Those who support apartheid and Jewish supremacy will find the egalitarian chant objectionable,” Sultany is a Palestinian citizen of Israel.

Palestine was occupied 75 years ago, turned into an apartheid state, and by definition, yearns to be free from the suffering their oppressor has put on them by entangling their lives with hardships to find work, drinkable water, receive the mail, leave their territory, return to their territory, pass through armed checkpoints to get to work, ride in a segregated taxi system, endure terrorizing tactics of night raids by Israeli police to arrest children from homes, and most recently, bomb the land into obliteration, kill over 14,000 Palestinians, arrest and shoot doctors, abandon Palestinian patients in hospitals after annihilating the hospital, and other atrocities and war crimes.

Some Israeli Officials Call For All Palestinians To Leave Forever

See below for a snippet of Israeli experts who explain their intent to remove the Palestinian people, turn it into a “soccer field,” and take advantage of the violent extermination Israel is doing to the Palestinians right now.

Below, is former Israeli justice minister Ayelet Shaked, speaking on Israel’s Channel 13, that Gaza Strip should be turned into a soccer field. She said: “We need two million to leave… that’s the solution for Gaza.” As posted by Middle East Eye: “She said that Khan Younis, located south of the Gaza Strip, would be turned into a ‘soccer field.’ She also said the international community should be pressured to take in refugees from Gaza, and that the ‘solution’ for the besieged strip is for all Palestinians there to leave.” All of her statements are in screenshots below:

Also reported at Middle East Eye, this man supports the forced expulsion of Palestinians a second time. Currently, Israeli forces do shoot at Palestinans walking from north to south, as instructed by Israel. Middle East Eye reports: “In an interview with Channel 12 news, Israeli Minister of Agriculture and former Shin Bet chief Avi Dichter described the current displacement and persecution of Palestinians in Gaza as ‘the Nakba of Gaza 2023.’ Dichter has been calling for over a decade to re-occupy Gaza.

“The Nakba, or ‘catastrophe’ as it’s known in English, refers to the ethnic cleansing of some 750,000 Palestinians from their lands and homes in historic Palestine to make way for the creation of Israel in 1948.”

Perhaps Marc will break with Zionists to support people living in the global climate he claims to respect.

In Conclusion, Language Reverses Reality

On November 15, 2023, Bhavani Kunjulakshmi wrote this:

“Your solidarity with Palestine is accused of anti-semitism?
Like your feminism is accused of misandry/man-hating?
Like your anti-racism is accused of reverse racism?
Like your workers rights’ unionism is accused of treachery?
Like your protests are accused of vandalism?

The oppressor will always find ways to appropriate, co-opt and manipulate the language of the oppressed to claim victimhood and to justify their violence as self-defense.”

Recently, this Israeli soldier dedicated an explosion of a building to his 2-year old daughter. You can see the building down the block once he detonates. He and his fellow troupes don’t seem to be threatened by any person around them, to justify the self-defense of another building crumbled. In the video, birds chirp in the background; two dogs scamper across the fallen rubble; a rooster crows.

For one more bit of proof, as there as so many, these children have been taught a song, which was featured in many media sources, including Middle East Eye. The children sing: “Within a year we will annihilate everyone.”

Said Middle East Eye: “An Israeli song about the war in Gaza featuring child singers has sparked outrage in Israel on Sunday after public broadcaster Kan shared it on X, formerly Twitter, before deleting it shortly after. The music video was created by The Civil Front, an organization run by Ofer Rosenbaum, who is known for creating controversial media campaigns. Israelis on social media criticized the video, which features lyrics based on a popular Israeli poem about the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, over its use of children and for creating material ‘to be used by the enemy.’”

One commenter said: “Reminiscent of Hitler’s Youth Choir. This is child abuse.”