City Council Unwilling to Take a Stand Against Genocide, Cries Instead for “Unity”
Councilmember Mark Jeffreys reads a joint statement with Reggie Harris and Seth Walsh explaining their position on a Gaza ceasefire resolution during a Feb. 7 Cincinnati City Council meeting.
On February 7th, 2024 Cincinnati City Council at last, after four months, broke its silence over the ongoing genocide of the Palestinians by the State of Israel. Not included in the meeting’s agenda, Mayor Pureval granted time first to Councilmember Meeka Owens, who spoke in favor of passing a ceasefire resolution. Following her comments, Councilmember Mark Jeffreys read a statement that had been co-signed by Councilmembers Reggie Harris and Seth Walsh, which urged against the passing of a ceasefire resolution, claiming that doing so would be too “divisive.”
Prefacing her comments, Owens said: “I want to say clear as day I believe Israel has the right to exist and defend itself against terrorism.” Owens then expressed her support for the passing of a ceasefire resolution in Gaza and that humanitarian aid be allowed into the area. She addressed the atrocities being committed by the so-called Israeli Defense Forces against innocent Palestinians. She also acknowledged the four months of silence displayed by our City Council up to this point, despite the consistent urging of the public to pass a ceasefire resolution. City Council has ignored and even slept through public comment in meetings leading up to February 7th.
We want to be clear, we welcome the call for a ceasefire, but we delineate from Owens and the Council from protecting the State of Israel with the cliched statement, “Israel has the right to exist and defend itself.” Our opposition to this rhetoric is based on the fact that the state of Israel is an apartheid settler-colonial state which does not recognize the sovereignty–or even the right to exist–of the Palestinian people. Israel and its allies have and continue to intentionally obfuscate the truth by concealing these facts, even denying the existence of the Palestinian people, claiming Israel is “a land without a people for a people without a land.” Using this house of cards as a justification for the existence of the state of Israel, its supporters label any form of resistance by the occupied Palestinian population–violent or peaceful–as antisemitism or terrorism. We say that the bombardment of a defenseless population of over 2 million people is terrorism!
We also find it necessary to point out that the acknowledgment of the atrocities being committed in Gaza by members of City Council is a direct result of the organized collective action of the public in the form of protest, phone calls, published statements, public comment on the chamber floor at City Hall, etc. Members of City Council as well as the Mayor Pureval have been content with saying nothing about this catastrophe. Only now that pressure is mounting, as our City government is realizing that Cincinnati is not growing tired in its solidarity for Palestine, as Councilmembers have been exposed for their lack of principle, that they decide to speak up. We see clearly what is an attempt to curry favor from voters in Cincinnati. Our City Councilmembers do not represent the working class in Cincinnati–who have been vocal in their support for the people of Palestine–as they have proved time and time again.
The statement co-signed by Councilmembers Jeffreys, Harris and Walsh urged the Council not to pass a ceasefire resolution, arguing that to do so would be “too divisive.” They say the goal of the City Council is to unite the people of Cincinnati, and that “picking a side” would only divide us. Their error in their calls for unity stems from an inability or unwillingness to recognize Israel as a settler-colonial apartheid state. In such a case, claiming neutrality, in effect, amounts to siding with the oppressors. The aspirations of an occupying force cannot be reconciled with the needs of the occupied.
These meaningless calls for unity amidst a genocide, while failing to condemn those carrying it out, is only an attempt to move the goalpost. We call on Mayor Aftab and Cincinnati City Council to condemn the state of Israel for carrying out a genocide! To speak of a ceasefire while continuing to label this a war rather than a genocide, as well as failing to acknowledge the settler-colonial character of the Zionist project, is nothing but an attempt to pacify us.
Members of our city government know very well that a statement in support of Israel is impossible to defend, yet releasing a statement condemning the state of Israel threatens their political expediency. By failing to do so, they expose themselves, as they weigh the deaths of tens of thousands against their political careers.
Even if City Council passes a ceasefire resolution, our work is not finished. The organization and mobilization of the working and oppressed masses will remain a necessity until the fall of all empires and settler-colonies.