Work in Progress 🌻Members of the Downtown Berrigan Collective, and friends, went to #GenocideJoshRiley's (Congressperson for NY-19) Binghamton office yesterday, and were once again denied entry to the office. Here is the statement delivered by Leslie Schultz:
Here I am again. Standing outside a locked door to Josh Riley’s Binghamton office. Speaking to the camera instead of Josh Riley’s staff. I think this is the 5th time since August 2025 that I have come to this building hoping to share my concerns and to move the hearts and minds of those that represent me in Congress. Is there anything more basic that a citizen can do in this country?
And yet, the message we bring is falling on deaf ears, if it is heard at all by its intended recipient. It is a simple message really – all life is sacred. Killing is wrong, immoral. Killing as a result of unimaginable amounts of US funding (our tax dollars) and military might (bombs, tanks, drones, etc.) sent to Israel to perpetrate a genocide on Palestinians in Gaza. Please make no mistake that all kinds of people, including children, not just soldiers, have been killed and their infrastructure has been destroyed ensuring NO possibility of recovery.
Even though a “ceasefire” was called, the genocide continues with Israeli air and drone strikes and military raids killing Palestinians every day despite the claim of Trump’s ceasefire being in place. Israel has barred entry to and exit from Gaza, and virtually no humanitarian aid or even commercial food supplies have been allowed in.
Since the “ceasefire”, Israel has escalated its colonial tactics in the West Bank and also in Lebanon where, according to the BBC, “it is conducting a major military offensive in Lebanon, including a ground invasion and intensive airstrikes that have displaced over one million people—roughly one-fifth of the population. Israel is creating a "buffer zone" in southern Lebanon, targeting infrastructure, and destroying border villages, causing significant civilian casualties and a growing humanitarian crisis.”
As reported on Democracy Now (April 6), “there’s a new brazenness in the statements issued by the Israeli military, where they are simply stating that they intend to commit more war crimes … perhaps a reflection of the state of impunity for any violations that have been committed in Lebanon, as in Gaza.”
None of this would be possible without US support of Israel.
As if what I have just described was not enough, the US and Israel bombed Iran in February as a demonstration of Israeli supremacy in the Middle East and US supremacy in the world, violating both U.S. domestic and international law. And – on Easter Sunday – President Trump threatened to target “bridges and power plants” and to “bomb Iran back to the Stone Age” beginning on Tuesday if Iran refuses his demands. Thank God for the 2-week ceasefire brokered at the last minute last night.
With this massive escalation, the Israeli and US killing machines are putting the entire planet in peril with such irrational, callous, illegal, heartless, and insane acts of violence and aggression. What will it take for you, Josh Riley, to stand up for peace and justice? For the very survival of this planet and all its inhabitants? Will you add your vote to stop the funding stream to Israel that makes it possible to render genocide? Will you demand that this administration uphold constitutional and international law? Will you invoke the 25th?
I pray that my words and/or the words of my companions here today will find their way into your conscience, your understanding, your heart, and your actions, Josh Riley. We are ready to support any real and effective actions you take to end this madness.
