Heavy rain did not deter some 50 demonstrators from rallying on October 16 in support of the people of Palestine. Palestine is a nation in the Middle East that is increasingly losing its territory to Israeli settlements. The settlements are in violation of several peace treaties and international laws. The Palestenian people are Arab, mostly Muslim, however nearly a quarter of them are Christians. They are considered second-class citizens by the Israeli government which enforces an apartheid-like regime.
The demonstration was called in solidarity with others around the country including one planned in New York City the following Sunday. It was not in response to a single incident but to ongoing killings in the occupied territory. An unofficial report mentioned 35 killed by the IDF (Israeli army) in one day. Often the IDF does not even return the bodies of the dead, instead burying them in secret. Many of those killed are children.
Amongst those present was Eli Mizrahi, an Israeli citizen. In his words: "This is not the Jewish religion...Judiasm is peaceful." "This is more like the Nazis." "They just shoot kids." Israeli is not respecting the Oslo accords. The accords call for Palestinian sovereignty and equality.
It is no secret that I question the sincerity of the Unite Rochester initiative of the D&C. They fail time after time to put their money where their mouth is. And, since they are a corporate, profit-making entity, this should come as no surprise. I want to share a letter I sent some time ago when the latest ACT Rochester stats came out for Rochester. The D&C did not publish it. No surprise there either. Anyway, here it is for your consideration.
Marchers met at Rochester's Liberty Pole on September 24 2015 in an event to call attention to Climate Change. The march coincides with Pope Francis' visit to the United States. In June the Pope published an Encyclical (official proclamation) in which he said “Climate change is a global problem with grave implications: environmental, social, economic, political and for the distribution of goods. It represents one of the principal challenges facing humanity in our day.”
Rev. Hagler spoke earlier in the day at the University of Rochester. Rochester Indymedia filmed that talk and did an interview with one of the student organizers. Both will be featured on Rochester.Indymedia.org later this week.
At The Historic German House, Rev. Hagler spoke to a rapt audience of 150+ people who listened to him drop truth and justice as he made the connection between the oppression of the Palestinians by the Israeli state and the oppression of black and brown people in Amerikkka by the police.
Breaking Down Racial Barriers: A Community Pulling Together
This 3rd Annual Summit on Race--"Breaking Down Racial Barriers: A Community Pulling Together" hosted by Facing Race, Embracing Equity will take place on Saturday, September 26, 2015, 11 AM to 4 PM, at Wilson Foundation Academy (200 Genesee Street).
Rochester Indymedia has been highlighting some of the folks involved in this effort before the summit as a way to help spread the word. T. Forsyth interviewed two people on September 16, 2015 who were vital to the summit coming together:
Ever thought of something that would make Rochester better or that we once had. Did you think it odd that we had to cut library hours? Well the reason we can not afford these things is that Rochester's Democratic leaders have given out millions in corporate welfare. Here is a little video about this but the buildings it shows are just the tip of the iceberg.
Submitted by T. Forsyth (feature photo credit: Daniel Ruthenberg-Marshall) on Wed, 2015-09-23 11:47
Rev. Graylan Hagler is coming to Rochester and he is speaking at two venues!
On Monday, September 21, I started getting emails that Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School had rescinded an invitation to have Rev. Hagler give a talk pertaining to the Black Lives Matter movement and the oppression of the Palestinians. The talk, "Connecting the dots: Ferguson to Palestine" was to be a kick-off event for Witness Palestine Rochester's film series at the Little Theatre. I started working with the group this past winter and helped produce a trailer for the film series.
Connecting the Dots is an event meant to show the connections between the struggles of Palestinians resisting the occupation in Palestine by the state of Israel and Black people resisting the occupation of neighborhoods of color—Black neighborhoods—by the police in America. From the community reports given by B.L.A.C.K. members who went to Ferguson, MO and who were subsequently abused and arrested by the police, to members of the Black Lives Matter movement who went to Palestine and witnessed, first-hand, the same kinds of abuse and brutality meted out by the Israeli military against the Palestinians, Connecting the Dots aims to elucidate these struggles in solidarity and resistance.
Hope your heart is still racing from our introduction to Zoning last week, because this week we’re talking about residential zoning in Rochester!
Contrary to common knowledge, residential zoning isn’t exclusively for residences (nor is commercial zoning exclusively for commercial – it’s a good place to build apartments, in fact). That said, Rochester has 3 specific residential zones that we’re discussing here. Grab your bow tie and let’s go…
Overview
As mentioned already, Rochester has three specific residential zones. No bets on what they are, because you could probably guess them. In order, they are:
R-1 Low-Density Residential District;
R-2 Medium-Density Residential District; and
R-3 High-Density Residential District.
Perhaps surprisingly, residential zoning accounts for nearly 50% of the land area in Rochester.
Oh, I’m going to spoil the whole article right here (but read on anyway!) – There’s not a huge difference between these zones and high-density is a generous description for R-3. Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s get down to business and talk about each zone specifically.
So Witness Palestine Rochester is going to have a kick off event--Connecting the dots: Ferguson to Palestine--with Rev. Graylan Hagler to start their film series season at the Little Theatre. Rev. Hagler was scheduled to speak at Colgate Rochester Crozer DIvinity School, but was dis-invited and has been receiving death threats. Witness Palestine Rochester is scrambling for a new venue and Rev. Hagler says he is committed to speaking in Rochester.
Submitted by T. Forsyth / Enough Is Enough on Sat, 2015-09-19 20:36
REMOVE THE CLOAK OF SECRECY! POLICE TRANSPARENCY NOW!
Rochester, NY --Enough Is Enough, a local anti-police brutality organization, invited Robert Freeman, the executive director of the New York State Committee On Open Government to come speak about New York Civil Rights Law 50-a and how it negatively impacts the public's right to know about public officers who can stop us, question us, arrest us, use force on us, and possibly kill us: the police.
Submitted by Susan Galloway on Tue, 2015-09-15 15:38
Breaking Down Racial Barriers: A Community Pulling Together
This 3rd Annual Summit on Race--"Breaking Down Racial Barriers: A Community Pulling Together" hosted by Facing Race, Embracing Equity will take place on Saturday, September 26, 2015, 11 AM to 4 PM, at Wilson Foundation Academy (200 Genesee Street).
Submitted by R-IMC / Angela Y. Davis on Tue, 2015-09-15 12:32
On this day 52 years ago--a Sunday--September 15, 1963, the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama was bombed by four members of the Ku Klux Klan killing four little girls. The four Black children were Addie Mae Collins (age 14), Carol Denise McNair (age 11), Carole Robertson (age 14), and Cynthia Wesley (age 14).
On August 25, 2015, Benny Warr was back in federal court before Judge Marian Payson. Specifically, his lawyer Charles F. Burkwit, was demanding—again—that the City of Rochester hand over the discovery documentation that it was ordered to turn over in April. Mr. Burkwit has been battling with the city for discovery for over a year—since May 15, 2014 when he originally served papers on the city.
Earlier this year the US signed a historic deal with Iran to assure its compliance with the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty which will prevent it from developing nuclear weapons. The treaty was negotiated with the United Nations Security Council members The US, UK, France, Russia and China along with Germany and Austrailia. Germany's participation is especially important because much of the technology for Iran's peaceful nuclear power uses comes from Germany. The treaty makes a strong distinction between peaceful nuclear power and nuclear weapons, and enforces it through
Submitted by BLACK (Building Leadership And Community Knowledge) and (video: Brothahood Productions) on Wed, 2015-08-26 16:46
At the end of the 2014-2015 academic year, families from School #9 were informed, by mail dated June 18th, that the district was getting rid of the Boys Academy for 7th & 8th graders. Students would, instead, be sent to the Leadership Academy for Young men, currently house at the old Charlotte campus.
Since then, some courageous students, supported by their parents and community members, have stood up to fight against the decision.
This is their testimony.
We fully support the students from the Boys Academy at School #9. Join us tomorrow at the School Board meeting to show your support!
The school board meeting is Thursday, August 27, 2015, 6:30pm at the Board of Education, 131 W. Broad Street, Conference Room 3A.
Rochester Indymedia is now requiring editor approval for account creation.
We came to this decision after we had repeated spam posted to our website that caused difficulty with the website's functioning. We will still have open publishing and keep our site as nonrestrictive and accessible as possible.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us. As before, we will continue to be Rochester's grassroots news and education site. Thank you for your continued support and remember, "Don't hate the media, be the media!"
Editorial Meeting Times / Locations
The Rochester Independent Media Center (R-IMC) is no longer meeting regularly. We will set up meetings by necessity and appointment. Please contact us at rochesterindymedia@rocus.org. Our home is still the Flying Squirrel Community Space at 285 Clarissa St. Occasionally, we hold meetings at RCTV located at 21 Gorham Street.
![34 Atkinson Street - An utterly illegal house to build today. [IMAGE: Google]](http://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/denker/zoning/34_Atkinson_St.jpg)
![Rochester has three specific residential zones. R-1, R-2, and R-3. [IMAGE: SimCity via Tested.com]](http://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/simcity-residential-zoning.jpg)
