I’m writing in response to Dr. Barkin’s Sept. 13 opinion piece on the alleged negative health effects of Portland’s divestment from Israel. I’m a Jewish Portland resident and a health care professional. The ongoing genocide of Palestinians since Oct. 7, 2023, and the decades-long violent oppression of Palestinian people, has caused me and my Jewish extended family and friends a great deal of stress and even panic, as we confront the atrocities that are being committed under a flag that bears our beloved Star of David. We know that many Jewish Israelis feel similarly, as we see thousands in the streets protesting their government and calling for a ceasefire.

Yet our distress as onlookers pales in comparison to the suffering of Palestinian people, who have to live and die in this reality. U.S. taxpayer-funded weapons continue to flow to Israel, causing unimaginable scenes of horror and death and suffering of human beings. As a registered nurse, I know how stress harms our physical and mental health. Even if all the killings stopped today, the health repercussions for Palestinians will persist for generations.

I am so grateful to Portland’s City Council for unanimously passing this resolution, which was co-sponsored by Jewish Mainers. As a proudly Jewish person, this divestment personally makes me feel safer, since I am reassured that I live in a community where so many of my fellow Portland residents are not OK with genocide, and can understand the difference between Judaism and Zionism.

Sarah English, RN
Portland