All posts by Roger Straw
Peter Beinart – “Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning”
Genocide in Gaza
[Introductory comment from BenIndy Contributor Roger Straw]
It’s been too long on these pages. I am remiss in not speaking out again and repeatedly. Enough! Stop! In the days and months after Hamas so brutally attacked Israeli citizens and Israel then so brutally attacked Palestinians in Gaza, I detailed on these pages the excesses of the Netanyahu regime at least 10 times. I even published a Palestinian author who feared the beginnings of genocide as early as October 13, 2023, just 6 days after the horrific Hamas atrocity.
But the Donald Trump show and the very real threats to our democracy have overshadowed everything. It’s too easy to tire of calling an atrocity an atrocity. We turn our thoughts to other things.
But here we are. What is going on right now in Gaza is genocide. The Israeli governing regime is wiping out a people, a culture, and intentionally starving a population of human beings. It’s not right and it must stop!
I highly recommend the following 18-minute interview on The Daily Show. John Stewart interviews Peter Bienart, a fiercely dedicated American Jewish author. Beinart is passionately articulate.
The Daily Show on Youtube – 1.4mil views (as of 8/3/25) Jul 28, 2025 #DailyShow #Israel #Gaza
Editor-at-large of “Jewish Currents,” who writes “The Beinart Notebook” on Substack, Peter Beinart sits down with Jon Stewart to discuss his book, “Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning,” and speaking out against Israel. They talk about learning from Jewish history to be the saviors rather than the oppressors, America and the U.N.’s failure to hold Benjamin Netanyahu accountable, the urgency of engaging in critical discourse with other Jews, and how listening to Palestinian stories can illuminate the dehumanizing conditions. #DailyShow
PHOTOS: Benicia crowd of 350 made ‘good trouble’ at City Park
GOOD TROUBLE LIVES ON – in Benicia!
By Roger Straw, The Benicia Independent, July 20, 2025
A large crowd of Benicians & Vallejoans joined the nationwide protest honoring the late John R. Lewis and protesting the Trump administration. On July 17, about 350 gathered around the Gazebo in City Park with creative signs, chants and cheers, good music, fabulous speakers, voter registration, a food drive – and even a bubble machine!
“Ordinary people with extraordinary vision can redeem the soul of America by getting in what I call good trouble, necessary trouble.” – John Lewis
SLIDESHOW – scenes from the event…
[Many thanks to Benician Mary DeShaw of ProBonoPhoto.org for the photos.]
The local action in Benicia was part of Good Trouble Lives On — a nationwide day of peaceful, nonviolent action rooted in the legacy of the civil rights movement and inspired by John Lewis’ call to make “good trouble, necessary trouble.”
Participants from Vallejo and Benicia gathered to demand an end to the authoritarian attacks on our freedom to vote, protest, and organize — and to stand united against efforts to criminalize our communities, roll back our rights, and slash vital public programs.
The event was cosponsored by Vallejo-Benicia Indivisible, League of Women Voters Solano and the Vallejo-Benicia AAUW, along with organizers of Benicia’s EVERY Thursday 5-6pm vigil for democracy.
Speakers included Rami Muth of League of Women Voters Solano; Dr. Tonia Lediju, Vallejo City Council; Kari Birdseye, Benicia City Council; Rev. Dr. Mary Susan Gast, Benicia Poet Laureate Emerita; and Helen-Marie ‘Cookie’ Gordon, Vallejo City Council.
It was a joyful but demanding crowd. 350 of us stood united in calling for an end to the Trump administration’s many moves to end our beautiful multicultural democracy.
Roger Straw
The Benicia Independent
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