Support of Permanent Ceasefire and Preventing Loss of Human Life in the Middle East

Dear Community,

Today in response to the hundreds of emails and phone calls from residents throughout the city demanding City Council take action in response to the siege on Gaza, Council voted to approve a resolution urging our state and federal legislators to call for an immediate ceasefire. 

The largest city in Minnesota taking an official position for an immediate ceasefire and ending US military aid to Israel sends a powerful message to our state and federal legislators. It is also a powerful show of solidarity with people in Palestine, Israel, and around the world who are deeply disturbed by the US government’s complicity in the ongoing genocide that has taken over 25,000 lives. 

From labor movements to human rights struggles, monumental changes have always started at the local level. I want to thank every resident who emailed and called my office urging the city to act. This resolution is a simple action that the Council was able to take in the struggle for justice in Palestine. 

At the Committee of the Whole on Tuesday, Council considered eight amendments to the resolution. All were approved, including three that I authored:

1. Citing a United Nations Human Rights Office press release stating: “We are deeply disturbed by the failure of governments to heed our call and to achieve an immediate ceasefire. We are also profoundly concerned about the support of certain governments for Israel's strategy of warfare against the besieged population of Gaza, and the failure of the international system to mobilise to prevent genocide.” 
2. Citing the  International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the Hague’s public hearings in the case brought forward by South Africa against Israel for alleged violations of the Genocide Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide during its operations in Gaza.
3. Adding Governor Walz and President Biden to the list of offices receiving copies of the resolution.

I am proud that the Council adopted these amendments. They help ensure Council is not shying away from the grim reality in Gaza, and is instead amplifying the voices of our residents to all elected officials who can take action to stop the genocide. 

Immediately prior to the final Council vote, Council Member Palmisano proposed an alternative resolution that sanitized the horrors being inflicted in Gaza and on Palestinians, and did not include support for an end to the United States’ military aid to Israel, which now totals over $3 billion dollars annually. Council Member Palmisano’s resolution also stripped important factual context, such as the early warnings of genocide from experts at the United Nations, calls for a ceasefire from internationally known organizations like Doctors Without Borders and Amnesty International, and erased the death total of both Palestinians and Israelis since October 7th. Council Member Palmisano shared that her goal with the resolution was more unity. 

This reminded me of a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail about the white moderate “who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice.” Unity for the sake of unity is about comfort for the oppressor, not justice for the oppressed. Uniting around a resolution that is void of the atrocities in Gaza might feel easier, but that unity would be morally bankrupt. 

I have been working with Jewish and Palestinian-led organizations on this resolution for months, and I know the harm that would have been inflicted by supporting language that continued the deflection and diminishment of this genocide. I am grateful the majority of my colleagues joined me in voting no on Council Member Palmisano’s substitute motion, and instead ensured that the original resolution advanced with a 9-3-1 vote. I feel confident that we voted on the right side of history.   

At Tuesday’s Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting, Council Vice President Chughtai beautifully spoke about how the defense of humanity is a shared project. It is also a hard project. There is immense pressure to stay silent or weaken our language when we stand up for Palestinian human rights. City Council resisted this pressure thanks to a diverse coalition of individuals and groups who worked tirelessly over the past three months. Residents have remained resilient in their call for Minneapolis to join the global movement for a ceasefire and an end to this genocide. I give my sincere thanks to residents for this leadership, and I look forward to continuing to support residents working for justice. 

The full text of the resolution that passed is below.

Sincerely,

Council Member Robin Wonsley

 

RESOLUTION 

By Chughtai, Chowdhury, Payne, Ellison, Chavez, Wonsley, and Jenkins

Supporting a permanent ceasefire and preventing loss of human life in the Middle East.  

Whereas, we the Minneapolis City Council work to ensure the safety, health, dignity, and freedom of people everyday. We follow the lead of 60 other localities in calling for a ceasefire because what happens internationally impacts our constituents locally. We believe in the shared humanity of all people and affirm it as a common value held by Minneapolis residents and leaders; and 

Whereas, the ongoing bombardment in the Gaza Strip comes in the context of the 75-year displacement of Palestinians and in 2016 the United Nations Security Council found the settlements in the occupied West Bank, which have gone on for 56 years, unlawful, and the 17-year blockade of Gaza; and   

Whereas, on October 7, 2023, unacceptable attacks on Israel by Hamas and other armed groups resulted in more than 200 hostages being taken captive, and the deaths of more than 1,200 Israelis, including approximately 800 civilians; and  

Whereas, we recognize the right to self-determination and peaceful, safe futures for both Palestinian and Israeli people; and  

Whereas, the Palestinian people are now facing a humanitarian crisis, and human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have reported that the government of the State of Israel has been engaging in collective punishment; and  

Whereas, according to a November 2023 United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner press release, UN experts stated, “Many of us already raised the alarm about the risk of genocide in Gaza.” “We are deeply disturbed by the failure of governments to heed our call and to achieve an immediate ceasefire. We are also profoundly concerned about the support of certain governments for Israel's strategy of warfare against the besieged population of Gaza, and the failure of the international system to mobilise to prevent genocide.”; and  

Whereas, Palestinians living in Gaza are being killed at an unprecedented rate. Over 25,000 Gazans – including at least 10,000 children – have been killed in 110 days, meaning 1 child in Gaza is killed every 10 minutes. Over 300 medical workers and over 100 journalists have been killed. Proportional to population, the death toll in Gaza is the equivalent of about 3.1 million American deaths. In addition, over 50,000 Gazans are wounded, and over 7,000 are missing under the rubble; and  

Whereas, the Government of The State of Israel has bombed civilian entities indiscriminately, destroying or damaging: at least two-thirds of all homes in northern Gaza; 23 hospitals and 141 medical facilities; 70% of schools; over 100 places of worship; bakeries; refugee camps; roads; and other essential infrastructure. This has destroyed access to food, clean water, healthcare, shelter, and sanitation essential to human life and caused mass displacement of as many as 90% of Gazans; and  

Whereas, we unequivocally condemn the targeting and killing of Palestinian and Israeli civilians, which would constitute a violation of international law; and   

Whereas, the World Health Organization, United Nations, Save the Children, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, His Holiness Pope Francis, more than 120 countries, and countless other organizations in Minnesota and around the world have called for a ceasefire to end the violence and suffering in the Gaza Strip. Doctors Without Borders has advocated for, “a total ceasefire and the unconditional supply of humanitarian aid, including access to food, fuel, and water. The survival of people in Gaza depends on this”; and  

Whereas, on Thursday, January 11, 2024, and Friday, January 12, 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the Hague held public hearings in the case brought forward by South Africa against Israel for alleged violations of the Genocide Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide during its operations in Gaza. South Africa’s application alleges that “acts and omissions by Israel… are genocidal in character, as they are committed with the requisite specific intent… to destroy Palestinians in Gaza as a part of the broader Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group.” South Africa’s actions to receive provisional protections of the people of Gaza are supported by several countries and over 1,000 organizations worldwide; and  

Whereas, we as local leaders are using our voice to stand firmly against the rise of and all acts of racially motivated violence and hate crimes perpetrated against our Jewish, Muslim, Palestinian, and Arab constituents here in Minneapolis and around the United States; and  

Whereas, the City of Minneapolis has a longstanding history of sharing statements on issues happening throughout the world that impact our constituents here at home and in this moment we are advocating to our State and Federal leaders to use their power to call for peace;

Now, Therefore, Be It Resolved by The City Council of The City of Minneapolis:  

That the City Council of the City of Minneapolis supports our State and Federal delegations and the Biden Administration using their authority to:  

1. Advance a full, immediate, and permanent ceasefire, along with urgently needed humanitarian aid as a necessary step towards lasting peace. 

2. Support an end to U.S. military funding to the State of Israel, and an end to U.S. tax dollars contributing to humanitarian catastrophe and loss of life.  

3. Ensure the release of all Israeli hostages taken by Hamas. 

4. Ensure the release of thousands of Palestinians held indefinitely without cause and trial in Israeli military prisons.   

Be It Further Resolved that the Office of the City Clerk is hereby directed to provide a copy of this Resolution to Minneapolis’s elected representatives to the Minnesota State Legislature, and Minnesota’s elected representatives to the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate, Governor Walz, and the Office of President Biden.