Rawlins, WY - March 31, 2008
March 31, 2008
Rawlins, Wyoming
We’ve been stuck in Rawlins, Wyoming for more than 24 hours now, as the highway has been alternately open and closed with lots of snow, wind, and accidents. The good thing about the bus, though, is that whether we are giving presentations or not, and whether we are even in the city we’re supposed to be or not, our message is always out there for the world to see.
I joined the bus in Salt Lake City last week, and have given several presentations and spoken informally with several people since then. Audiences have been mostly small but engaged and receptive. It’s interesting that no matter where in the country I go, when I introduce myself as a Jewish American it brings connections. At my first presentation a man approached me afterwards and thanked me as a fellow anti-Zionist Jew. At my second, the son of a rabbi used the time to try to work through his own positions and past connection to Israel, stating that he now knows that rights should not be based on religion and ethnicity. At the next presentation, a woman told me she comes from a Jewish background and has just been ignorant about Palestine all her life.
The bus’s ability and effort to go into small communities is a wonderful complement to the many events and activities about Palestine and Iraq in cities and larger towns. One community at a time, we are doing our small part to educate and activate the US public.
-- Hannah Mermelstein<br class="clear" />