Cap Times, Nov 19, 2025

Edited and titled by The Cap Times. Missing original text is shown in italics.

Dear Editor:

A recent letter from Louise Goldstein “No Kings rally hijacked by special interests,” charged the Madison-Rafah Sister City Project (MRSCP) with “hijacking” the Oct. 18 rally.

MRSCP asked the rally organizers to include a speaker about the war on Gaza, and they scheduled a four-minute spot in the program. Rowan Atalla spoke about a dangerous bill our Wisconsin Legislature is considering that codifies the IHRA definition of antisemitism into Wisconsin law. The definition includes criticism of Israel as a form of antisemitism. (See this opinion piece in the Capital Times of September 17, 2025.)

There were many people in the march not associated with MRSCP carrying Palestinian flags and chanting slogans such as “Food, Not Bombs,” “Money for Education, Not Occupation,” “Healthcare, Not Genocide” and the like.

If Goldstein finds these slogans unacceptable, we suggest next time she bring signs saying “Feed the People (But Not Palestinians),” “Healthcare for All, (But Bomb Palestinian Hospitals),” “Stop ICE (But Deport Anybody Who Speaks Up for Palestine),” or “More $$ for Education, (But Keep Funding Genocide).” It wouldn’t be popular, but that’s her right, and we at MRSCP would not deny it to her.

Sincerely,
Kathy Walsh, Member
Madison-Rafah Sister City Project