To the Editor:

Last Saturday I stood on Main Street in New Paltz in the bitter cold with 60 others to protest Israel's savage attacks on the captive and starving people of Gaza.

Although many passing drivers honked their horns and waved in support, one man lowered his window and shouted "Why don't you care about Israel, you idiots?" My response to him is that I do indeed care about Israel. I care about the tens of thousands of Israeli Jews who are themselves heartsick and outraged at the actions of their government; I care about the courageous teenagers refusing military service in protest; I care about the Arab Israelis who have the status of second class citizens; I care about all the people who have lost loved ones in the years of conflict; and I care about the attackers themselves, who are murdering their own souls.

My grandfather was an Orthodox rabbi born in Palestine. I have relatives in Israel, and Israeli friends both Jewish and Arab. I am not an anti-Semite. But I will continue to raise my voice against inhumanity, whoever is committing it.

Jo Salas New Paltz