[0:00] [Music]
[0:28] yeah
[0:31] [Music]
[1:58] yeah
[2:01] [Music]
[2:50] I'd like to call the order the city
[2:52] confus meeting for Monday March 26
[2:56] 2024 we have 16 items for original
[2:59] consideration if the clerk would please
[3:00] read item number one item item number
[3:04] one for final consideration an ordinance
[3:07] creating a special assessment District
[3:09] on a portrait of North College
[3:11] Street discussed in committee with
[3:14] objection on consent item number two for original
[3:17] consideration an ordinance amending city
[3:20] code section 93-6 entitled civilian
[3:23] police review board to modify the manner
[3:26] of appointing vacancies to the civilian
[3:28] police review board discussed in
[3:30] committee without objection and on
[3:31] consent item number three item number
[3:34] three for original consideration a
[3:36] resolution calling for a public hearing
[3:38] on the Central Parkway sidewalk
[3:40] Improvement project Plan D discussed in
[3:43] committee without objection on consent
[3:45] item number four item number four for
[3:47] original consideration a resolution
[3:49] setting forth additions to the community
[3:51] benefits agreement between the city of
[3:53] skty and West yard Properties LLC dated
[3:56] February 15
[3:57] 2024 BR brok home by Mr
[4:00] Toral item number
[4:03] five item number five for original
[4:06] consideration a resolution amending
[4:08] resolution
[4:09] 2022-23 to reduce the amount of
[4:12] additional funding commitment for young
[4:13] women's Christian Association of skty
[4:16] DBA YWCA Northeastern New York to secure
[4:20] required Financial commitments discussed
[4:23] in committee without objection and un
[4:25] consent item number six item number six
[4:27] for original consideration a resolution
[4:29] amending resolution
[5:00] discuss in committee without objection
[5:01] on consent item number eight item number
[5:04] eight for original consideration a
[5:05] resolution authorizing the sale of a
[5:07] garage on Bailey Street for
[5:10] $5,000 discussed in committee without
[5:12] objection and on consent item number
[5:14] nine item number nine for original
[5:15] consideration a resolution authorizing
[5:17] the sale of 737 Bailey Street for
[5:21] $45,000 discussed in committee without
[5:23] objection on consent item number 10 item number 10 for original
[5:27] consideration a resolution authorizing
[5:29] the of a vacon lot on Daniels Avenue for
[5:32] $10,600
[5:33] discussed in committee without objection
[5:36] on consent item number 11 item number 11
[5:39] for original consideration a resolution
[5:40] authorizing the settlement of a claim by
[5:42] Niagara Mohawk power Corporation DBA
[5:45] National Grid discussed in committee
[5:48] without objection on consent item number
[5:50] 12 item number 12 for original
[5:52] consideration a resolution appointing
[5:54] Renee Bradley to the city of skincity
[5:56] board of assessment review roll call by
[5:58] Mr Toro
[6:01] item number 13 item number 13 for
[6:04] original consideration a resolution
[6:06] recognizing Holly pagwa discuss in
[6:09] committee without objection on
[6:11] consent item number 14 item number 14
[6:14] for original consideration a res
[6:16] resolution recognizing Pearl tuer Hunter
[6:19] for her service to the community this
[6:21] item will be taken out of order and I
[6:23] will presented to Miss Tucker Hunter
[6:25] item number 15 item number 15 for
[6:27] original consideration resolution
[6:30] recognizing Sylvia Jimson for her
[6:32] service to the city of SKC discussing
[6:35] committee with objection on consent it
[6:36] will be presented to miss Jimson at her
[6:38] party on um March 28th item number 16 under contract and Supply
[6:45] a resolution awarding the bid and
[6:46] contract for the 2024 heating
[6:49] ventilation and air conditioning
[6:50] maintenance and repairs discussed in
[6:53] committee without objection and on
[6:57] consent if there's no further items to
[6:59] come be um excuse me there's no further
[7:02] items to be uh come before the committee
[7:04] I ask for
[7:06] AE oh I did that I ask for a motion to
[7:10] adjourn move on Mr mudar second by Mr
[7:12] Williams all those in favor
[7:14] I I'd like to call the connected city
[7:17] council to meeting meeting to order for
[7:18] Monday March 25th
[7:21] 2024 and I'd ask Reverend James coni to
[7:24] give us the prayer
[7:28] invocation
[7:40] Heavenly Father we turn to you in this
[7:43] time of new life and hope as the Earth
[7:46] awakens from coldness and darkness grant
[7:49] that we too may come to see your way of
[7:51] life and goodness light and warmth Aid
[7:54] Us in perceiving the smallest indicators
[7:57] of growth so that through them we may
[7:59] strive for communal growth you have
[8:01] bound us together in a common home in
[8:04] our city cause Justice truth and peace
[8:07] to Triumph in our community wipe away
[8:09] the tears of those who are suffering and
[8:12] illumin us as we strive to walk your way
[8:15] amen amen I'd like I'd like to call on
[8:19] council member Williams and to the rep
[8:21] for stands one nation under God
[8:26] indivisible with liy and justice for all
[8:30] thank
[8:36] you if the clerk could please call the
[8:39] role Mr Toro Mr Farley here Mr Mancini
[8:45] here Mr muan pres Miss Patrick is absent
[8:50] Mr Williams pres Mr Porterfield
[8:55] here we have one out of Ora resolution
[8:58] recognized Pearl Tucker hun her for her
[9:00] service to the community this time I'd
[9:01] ask Mr Mutan to take the
[9:23] de uh there she is come
[9:27] on I didn't have to call her up if there
[9:29] someone who wanted to take pictures you
[9:30] can't do if you can't get it from there
[9:31] you can come behind here it's up to
[9:34] you may I have the floor please you have
[9:36] the floor thank
[9:41] you
[9:43] welcome you're welcome this resolution
[9:45] is recognizing Pearl L Tucker Hunter for
[9:48] her years of service to the community
[9:51] whereas there are people who have found
[9:52] ways they that they can make a
[9:54] significant impact on their communities
[9:56] and do not do so for attention or Glory
[9:59] but for the most humble notion of making
[10:01] the world a better place they are most
[10:03] likely among those of the dearest most
[10:06] respected most admired and most
[10:08] cherished people in the communities they
[10:09] serve Pearl L Tucker Hunter is one of
[10:12] those people and whereas Pearl L Tucker
[10:15] Hunter has been doing things in skinc
[10:17] County since she moved here with her
[10:18] three children in the early 80s she's
[10:21] built great friendships with a lot of
[10:23] people during that time and whereas
[10:25] Pearl is also known for being able to
[10:27] handle
[10:28] herself
[10:30] which led to her three bees jobs bayth
[10:33] with connected Police Department Bales
[10:35] woman for law order and Justice Center
[10:37] LJ in bartender
[10:41] at at the 548 Mason club and whereas
[10:45] today many people know her from working
[10:47] 17 years at the scum food pantry and to
[10:50] this day operating Pearl's closet at
[10:52] syum which provides clothing to those in
[10:54] need Pearl meets people where they are
[10:57] and does not judge them for their
[10:58] current condition
[11:00] and where as Pearl is a member of Mont
[11:02] Olivet Missionary Baptist Church under
[11:03] the leadership of Pastor Horus Sanders
[11:06] where she serves on the Usher board she
[11:08] does so much for her church and
[11:10] Community when someone needs help people
[11:12] say call
[11:14] Pearl she always answers the call
[11:16] organizes a team of people to help grabs
[11:19] her bag of supplies and shows up and
[11:22] whereas currently Pearl is still doing
[11:24] what she loves doing and that is helping
[11:25] others whether it's cooking for someone
[11:28] taking them to the market Market or
[11:29] helping them at family functions and
[11:32] whereas this quote from George Bernard
[11:34] Shaw embodies how Pearl El Tucker
[11:37] lives I am of the opinion that my life
[11:39] belongs to the whole community and as
[11:42] long as I live it is my privilege to do
[11:44] what it for it whatever I can I want to
[11:47] be thoroughly used up when I die for the
[11:50] harder I work the more I
[11:52] Live Now therefore it be resolved that
[11:54] the connected city council and Mayor
[11:56] Gary R McCarthy do hereby pause in in
[11:59] their deliberations to recognize and
[12:01] thank Pearl L Tucker Hunter for her
[12:03] years of continued service to the
[12:05] community and to acknowledge her recent
[12:07] celebration of 70 trips around the Sun
[12:10] and wish her well in all her future
[12:12] endeavors s I'd like to move the
[12:28] resolution can I
[12:50] have can I can I have a
[12:53] second all those all all in
[12:56] favor all right the motion is passed
[12:58] congratul
[13:00] [Applause]
[13:08] congratulations I just want to thank
[13:11] everyone I I I I'm just overwhelmed but
[13:15] thank you cuz what I do I do for God and
[13:19] if anybody's at my door don't matter
[13:21] when or what time I'm there to help them
[13:25] God bless everyone that's in this room
[13:27] today amen can we take a
[13:35] picture
[13:58] open
[14:06] [Applause]
[14:22] I'd ask for approval of the minutes for
[14:24] March 11
[14:26] 2024 moved by Mr mud by Mr Farley all in
[14:30] favor I uh the clerk would please read
[14:33] any Communications and
[14:38] petitions Communications present to the
[14:40] city council for Monday March 25th 2024
[14:43] under official from Mayor Gary McCarthy
[14:47] a list of appointments dated March 25th
[14:49] 2024 under General there was an email
[14:52] from Mabel Leon stating that
[14:55] she strongly urge you to approve and
[14:58] support the resol solution for a
[14:59] ceasefire in
[15:01] Gaza can they hear you I don't know
[15:10] he
[15:16] sum an email from Mabel Leon stating
[15:19] that she urges the city council to
[15:22] support a resolution for a ceasefire in
[15:24] Gaza she also wants to support the um
[15:29] downtown
[15:32] SKC uh Electric City Community Grocery
[15:36] and establish a controlled grocery store
[15:39] to serve the downtown area of skincity
[15:41] which at present has no grocery
[15:44] store under petitions there were none
[15:47] thank you there are several people that
[15:49] signed up to speak online and you'll be
[15:51] heard during City business unless you're
[15:53] here for something that is on the
[15:55] consent
[15:57] agenda pastor Mari if you're still here
[15:59] I know that you signed up for something
[16:01] that was on the consent agenda but so if
[16:04] any if if what you want to speak on is
[16:07] on the printed
[16:08] agenda that does not count the
[16:10] resolution that many people have come
[16:11] for then we'd ask you to speak at this
[16:13] time there was also someone that want to
[16:15] speak on the Electric City Co-Op you
[16:18] would be speaking during this particular
[16:20] time if you've signed up who do you have
[16:22] signed up okay oh good
[16:27] lord okay all right well who is all all
[16:29] the this is City business whoa okay well
[16:33] the first person I have actually is
[16:35] Elizabeth Walsh is
[16:45] first I just want to say thank you thank
[16:48] you for being Partners in opening the
[16:51] community-owned grocery store in
[16:52] downtown connec I want to thank all of
[16:55] you who came out could I see a standing
[16:58] of pleas address your remarks this way
[17:00] thank you sorry uh for folks who came
[17:03] out in support of the co-op I'd love to
[17:06] see a standing first of current board
[17:08] members and then uh past board members
[17:11] to be able to stand
[17:13] up and our larger member owner Community
[17:17] would you please also stand
[17:20] up on behalf of all of us and our 1,30
[17:24] plus member owners and growing thank you
[17:27] we have a lot of work to do together and
[17:29] it's really exciting to keep this
[17:31] incredible momentum going thank you
[17:33] thank
[17:38] you now Reverend Amari thank you thank
[17:43] you good evening I rise in support of
[17:46] several items coming uh to your
[17:47] consideration item 05 on reducing the
[17:50] amount of additional funding committed
[17:51] to the YWCA item 06 on reducing the
[17:54] amount for additional funding committed
[17:56] to the electricity through Co-op item 14
[17:58] in recognizing Miss Pearl for her
[18:00] service to the community and we just did
[18:02] item 15 on recognizing Miss jimson's for
[18:05] her service in the city several of these
[18:07] items across uh among themselves weave
[18:11] these these themes solidarity
[18:13] Cooperative development Community
[18:15] resilience and collaboration M Pear's
[18:17] service to the community has always been
[18:19] distinguished by a commitment to dignity
[18:21] and compassion for All God's Children
[18:24] especially to those who make up the
[18:25] Hamilton Hill Community Miss jimon
[18:27] service to the city has been recognized
[18:29] to in support of Community Development
[18:32] and resilience and providing timely
[18:34] guidance and committed support to
[18:36] process and success of projects our
[18:38] partnership with the YW is one of the
[18:40] many testimonials of their ability and
[18:42] capacity to be a space of dignity
[18:44] solidarity and resilience to everyone
[18:46] who participate in their programming
[18:48] from children's in childhood development
[18:50] programs to women who can begin
[18:51] breathing safely and with the
[18:53] opportunity of a new start and the
[18:55] Electric City Community grocery has been
[18:57] many years organizing the community to
[18:59] tackle an issue that is impacting most
[19:02] of the population of the city how to
[19:04] have self-determined resilient reliable
[19:07] responsive and representative
[19:09] development that can be forged by for
[19:12] and with the people who reside in the
[19:14] city a yes vote on these items will
[19:16] encourage solidarity Cooperative
[19:18] development Community resilience and
[19:20] collaboration in the singular way sket
[19:23] knows how and the larger Community is
[19:25] watching the Hamilton Hill Neighborhood
[19:27] Cooperative is committed to finding ways
[19:29] to encourage these values in the Carver
[19:31] Center a call for peace to all residents
[19:34] of Gaza and for the hostage held by
[19:36] Hamas including the Liberation
[19:38] encourages these values the challenge
[19:41] however is to make these decisions in
[19:42] support of the singular ways connected
[19:45] knows how to be Community My Hope for
[19:48] everything that will be said tonight for
[19:50] the decisions that are made by this
[19:52] council is that they seek to sustain and
[19:54] encourage the profoundly beautiful and
[19:57] complicated diversity of our beloved
[19:59] City Beauty and complexity cannot be
[20:02] legislated but wellth thought policies
[20:05] and processes that truly seek the voice
[20:07] of the Brock Community can encourage and
[20:09] sustain diversity solidarity peace
[20:13] resilience and cooperation thank you
[20:15] madam president thank
[20:18] [Applause]
[20:22] you Rick
[20:26] maler thank you very much for allowing
[20:28] me an opportunity to speak tonight in
[20:30] support of Electric City Food Co-op um
[20:33] it's always easy to go last here I guess
[20:35] maybe if I am last I don't know but
[20:37] anyways um we really appreciate the
[20:40] support you've given us in the past we
[20:42] encourage you to support our mission
[20:43] going forward and support the resolution
[20:45] to give us a just a little more time to
[20:47] push this across the Finish Line uh I've
[20:50] had the opportunity to join the board
[20:51] about a year ago um one of the skill
[20:54] sets I bring to a very skilled board is
[20:56] that I had the opportunity to work a
[20:57] Price Shopper for 40 1 years and before
[21:00] I did that I worked for Honest Weight
[21:01] Food Co-op for six years so I have a
[21:04] little bit in the food knowledge
[21:05] business that will help us push this
[21:07] across the Finish Line as I said and we
[21:09] are working very closely with Metroplex
[21:12] who's helping us on this endeavor and
[21:13] some of local developers that have past
[21:15] successes in downtown skincity we think
[21:18] this would be a wonderful Community um
[21:21] Endeavor not only for our Co-op but for
[21:23] the entire city disc connec and we very
[21:25] much ask for your support tonight thank
[21:27] you very much thank you
[21:29] [Applause]
[21:35] Kimberly
[21:43] Gonzalez I think I'm tall enough all
[21:45] right thank you so much I guess yeah I'm
[21:47] last or second to last or whatever um
[21:49] thank you for so much for having us here
[21:51] I'm going to speak a little bit from a
[21:53] personal experience I am a recent
[21:54] Resident of skti I moved here four years
[21:57] uh four months ago and and I fell in
[22:00] love with the city I love everything I
[22:02] mean there's a movie theater there's so
[22:05] many activities to be had so many things
[22:07] to do it's quite amazing but there's one
[22:09] huge thing missing and it's a grocery
[22:11] store um we have the farmers market
[22:13] that's in incredible uh I think SKC
[22:16] trading company has some you know fresh
[22:19] available food for folks but those
[22:21] aren't substitutes for a grocery store
[22:23] uh I don't even have a car and that is a
[22:26] real barrier for some folks I'm lucky to
[22:27] have a partner with who has a vehicle uh
[22:30] but this downtown area desperately needs
[22:32] a grocery store not just for Community
[22:35] uh but it's also an opportunity to
[22:37] energize the economy attract new
[22:39] residents like myself uh it's really the
[22:42] one thing I and many others see missing
[22:44] and so you know I as a new Resident I'm
[22:47] really thankful for your support in this
[22:50] project and hope that you continue
[22:51] to thank
[22:53] [Applause]
[22:57] you
[22:59] I have no one else signed up to speak on
[23:00] the com public comment on the
[23:02] legislative agenda so I declare this com
[23:04] public comment
[23:07] closed at this time I ask approval of
[23:09] the legislative
[23:11] agenda motion by Mr M second by Mr
[23:14] Williams all those in
[23:16] favor we have two uh resolutions two
[23:19] pieces of legislation for a roll
[23:22] call resolution number four if the clerk
[23:25] would please
[23:27] read
[23:29] item number four for original
[23:31] consideration a resolution setting forth
[23:34] additions to the community benefits
[23:35] agreement between the city of SCCY and
[23:37] West yard Properties LLC dated February
[23:40] 15
[23:41] 2024 I need a
[23:48] motion there's no motion to move this
[23:51] forward move by Mr Williams any
[23:57] second
[24:03] you second I understand that
[24:09] but there's no second to this
[24:15] motion
[24:18] okay so this can't move back
[24:21] to to a have to do a
[24:25] okay you still have aoll
[24:31] so we without the second then this
[24:33] motion dies is there no
[24:36] second okay so the motion
[24:42] dies uh item number
[24:47] 12 roll
[24:49] call item number 12 for original
[24:52] consideration a resolution appointing
[24:54] Renee Broadley to the city of SKC Board
[24:56] of assessment review
[25:00] I need a
[25:01] motion
[25:03] second Mr mancy all those in okay we
[25:06] need a roll call at this
[25:09] point discuss oh I'm sorry is there any
[25:12] discussion on this item thank you Mr
[25:17] Williams thank you uh once again we are
[25:20] met with having a vacancy on one of our
[25:22] boards and I think it is our
[25:23] responsibility when it is uh uh allowed
[25:26] to us to present an opportunity for a
[25:28] member of the community to replace that
[25:30] vacancy uh I don't know who recommended
[25:33] the individual uh but upon looking at
[25:35] Miss Bradley's credentials uh she is
[25:37] more than qualified in her Progressive
[25:38] uh professional career I'm confident
[25:41] that she will be able to uphold the
[25:43] duties of this position uh faithfully
[25:45] and uh dedicatedly uh based on the need
[25:49] to have a roll call I I again I do not
[25:51] understand the intent I would openly uh
[25:54] welcome any comments or feedback uh but
[25:57] again we have another C from the
[25:58] community who is willing to do the work
[26:00] of this board and yet again we have
[26:02] another roll call uh at this point that
[26:05] is known of why this individual should
[26:07] not be able to continue forth in this
[26:09] manner uh I hope this is not a theme uh
[26:12] but to uh Miss Bradley uh should we pass
[26:15] this definitely I wish you all due of
[26:16] respect in this position and again to
[26:18] any other member that's interested in
[26:20] pursuing one of these vacancies uh I I I
[26:23] deeply apologize for the manner in which
[26:24] these roll calls are coming out but
[26:26] please do not deter your interest
[26:28] 32 uh opportunities moving forward thank
[26:31] you thank you any further
[26:34] discussion Mr Toro thank you president
[26:37] Porterfield so again um uh our job here
[26:41] is to represent the entire community so
[26:44] um roll calls can be made
[26:46] without yes thank you Mr Williams uh
[26:51] roll calls can be made um on any of the
[26:53] uh agenda items put forward um so again
[26:57] as I I as I mentioned that our committee
[27:00] meeting uh Miss Bradley has a most
[27:02] extensive and well-qualified
[27:04] resume uh
[27:05] unfortunately um no one else on the uh
[27:09] Council had a chance to submit a name um
[27:12] there was a letter issued to president
[27:13] Porterfield honor about January 8th um
[27:18] uh announcing that Mr anakal uh position
[27:23] expired on September 30th of 23 she had
[27:26] the letter in her possession
[27:28] um in January never sent it to any of
[27:31] the council members so again um nothing
[27:34] against Miss Bradley by any means uh but
[27:37] um I would have liked to have gotten the
[27:39] letter knowing of him not being able to
[27:42] fulfill his position and um had an
[27:45] opportunity to put someone forward thank
[27:48] you um just to clarify the letter the
[27:51] letter stated that Mr they were going to
[27:52] reappoint him but we did not know until
[27:55] he responded to the entire Council that
[27:57] he had moved out of the city so everyone
[27:59] was privy to
[28:01] that at this time maybe have the roll
[28:04] call Mr Toro no Mr Farley
[28:08] yes Mr Mancini yes Mr Mutan yes Miss Patrick is not here Mr Williams yes
[28:17] Miss Porterfield yes motion passes 5 to
[28:24] one this time uh this time we have
[28:26] privilege of the floor regarding General
[28:28] City business I have 45 people signed up
[28:32] to speak so I just want to lay little
[28:35] ground rules because I see many people
[28:37] signed up to speak are not necessarily
[28:38] from our jurisdiction and therefore you
[28:40] may not know the rules of how this works
[28:42] uh you have three minutes you will hear
[28:44] a timer when your time goes off and we I
[28:46] ask respectfully ask that you if your
[28:48] mid-sentence complete your sentence and
[28:50] then leave the podium we have 45 people
[28:52] signed up to speak uh if you read what
[28:56] was before you in terms of signing up
[28:58] there are no direct comments to other
[28:59] groups or the other individuals allowed
[29:02] and we ask all of your comments may be
[29:05] made directly to the um to the
[29:13] chair is this
[29:15] one okay this is the first one
[29:19] okay uh the first person I have signed
[29:23] up to speak these submissions were
[29:24] online is Susan Rosenberg is Susan
[29:26] Rosenberg present
[29:29] yes come right up
[29:32] ma'am thank you uh my name is Susie
[29:35] Rosenberg I'm a retired emergency
[29:37] Psychiatry physician having served in my
[29:40] career as medical director of Crisis
[29:42] services that included support for
[29:45] citizens of Albany skincity and rensler
[29:47] counties my specialty included the
[29:50] assessment of individuals posing danger
[29:52] to
[29:53] themselves or others a big influence on
[29:57] my clinical practice practice was the
[29:58] work of a French sociologist named Emil
[30:00] durkheim he lived between 1858 and
[30:04] 1917 his major contribution was to
[30:07] conclusively demonstrate that when Ties
[30:09] That Bind Society together unravel both
[30:12] violence and suicide rates spiral
[30:15] upwards further destabilizing
[30:17] communities so I learned to highly value
[30:20] the impact of a healthy Society on the
[30:22] mental health of individuals and the
[30:23] communities around them and the impact
[30:25] of an unhealthy society as well
[30:30] I open my remarks with these thoughts as
[30:32] a way of understanding the profound
[30:34] negative impact of the proposed
[30:36] resolution on the communities you serve
[30:38] first it increases Discord in an already
[30:41] uncivil Civic Square second it puts your
[30:45] Jewish constituents in danger on the
[30:47] streets in their houses of worship and
[30:49] on college campuses acts of hatred
[30:52] towards Jews are on a rocket trajectory
[30:55] and these anti-israel resolutions and
[30:58] municipalities fuel those acts what to
[31:01] do with all this energy swirling around
[31:03] this hot hot issue in the town of
[31:05] Bethlehem where I'm from members of the
[31:07] Muslim and Jewish Community have begun
[31:09] gathering on an informal basis to build
[31:12] bridges of understanding and friendship
[31:15] and having hard conversations in an
[31:17] atmosphere of mutual
[31:21] respect I would recommend that you do
[31:24] not pass this resolution you do not put
[31:26] your Jewish constituents in danger and
[31:29] you do not burn Bridges you build them
[31:32] thank you so
[31:35] [Applause]
[31:38] much I just want to make a point of
[31:40] clarification at this time there is no
[31:42] current resolution before this Council
[31:44] so just so everyone is clear on that
[31:46] thank
[31:48] you Eric Cooper
[31:52] Ginsburg is Eric Cooper Ginsburg
[31:56] present
[31:59] gay
[32:12] Griffith I am here to voice my opinion
[32:14] to the to the position proposing a
[32:18] resolution for a ceasefire between Kamas
[32:21] a recognized terrorist organization by
[32:23] the United States and a multitude of
[32:24] countries worldwide and the state of
[32:27] Israel
[32:28] as of yesterday Israel agreed to the
[32:30] terms of the
[32:31] ceasefire Hamas has rejected it it
[32:35] should also be remembered that Kamas it
[32:36] was Kamas who reneged on the last
[32:38] ceasefire agreement by not returning the
[32:40] last agreed upon groups of hostages thus
[32:42] resuming the fighting 134 hostages
[32:45] remain inhumane and cruel conditions for
[32:49] 172 days now Kamas has refused to also
[32:52] provide a list of the living hostages
[32:54] the resolution that they are petitioning
[32:57] barely mentions October the 7th when
[32:59] 5,000 Hamas terrorists breached the
[33:01] border and proceeded to commit
[33:02] atrocities leading to the largest
[33:04] one-day loss of Jewish life since the
[33:06] Holocaust if Hamas had not attacked
[33:08] Israel on October the 7th Israel would
[33:11] not have attacked Gaza the resolution
[33:14] will do nothing to help residents of
[33:16] Gaza but cause more divisiveness among
[33:18] constituents fuel more acts of
[33:21] anti-Semitism against Jewish
[33:22] constituents here in the greater Capital
[33:24] District anti-Semitism has spilled into
[33:27] schol school from high schools all the
[33:29] way to elementary schools some of which
[33:31] have been physical attacks Jewish
[33:33] children do not feel safe and their
[33:34] parents are afraid for them no child
[33:37] should feel unsafe at school the only
[33:39] thing that can help the residents of
[33:41] Gaza is to rid them of all terrorist
[33:43] organizations especially Hamas which was
[33:46] elected in 2007 and has remained in
[33:48] power as a dictator-like regime since
[33:50] then Hamas has no interest in any kind
[33:53] of Peace negotiations with Israel in
[33:55] fact in its May 2017 Charter it
[33:58] advocates for the complete liberation of
[34:00] Palestine from the river to the sea in
[34:03] plain English their stated goal is to
[34:06] destroy Israel not to live in peace not
[34:09] for a two-state solution they simply
[34:11] want to eradicate Israel Israel on the
[34:13] other hand has demonstrated its desire
[34:15] for peace with the peace treaties with
[34:17] Egypt and Jordan the Oslo Accords the
[34:19] Abraham Accords and the multiple peace
[34:22] negotiations with fatak over the decades
[34:25] the responsibility of this council is to
[34:27] ensure for the safety and unity of the
[34:29] cons constituents of this community as a
[34:32] Jew I do not feel safe as many other
[34:36] Jewish institutions our synagogue now
[34:38] has armed security during Services
[34:40] religious school and events every
[34:43] citizen in the United States has the
[34:45] right to feel safe practicing their
[34:46] religion right now that is not true for
[34:49] American Jews a permanent ceasefire is
[34:53] not a bilateral ceasefire as it only
[34:55] calls on Israel to cease without putting
[34:57] any pressure on Kamas it leaves the
[34:59] remaining hostages in the hands of Kamas
[35:01] and leaves Hamas in power to commit more
[35:03] attacks Kamas has vowed to repeat the
[35:05] atrocities of October 7th over and over
[35:08] again kamama should surrender a
[35:10] ceasefire will follow immediately this
[35:12] is the only acceptable outcome for
[35:13] Israelis and the larger Jewish Community
[35:16] anything else will continue this cycle
[35:18] of violence and therefore the
[35:19] existential threat to our
[35:21] people the leadership of the mainstream
[35:23] Jewish Community was not contact
[35:25] regarding this propos proposed
[35:27] resolution
[35:28] the Jewish group that is included in
[35:30] this p in this petition does not
[35:32] represent or speak for the mainstream
[35:34] Jewish community and they especially
[35:36] don't resp represent or speak for me
[35:40] thank
[35:41] [Applause]
[35:46] you Jonathan
[35:56] Rubin good good evening Mr Mayor
[35:58] president Porterfield members of the
[36:00] city council I'm Jonathan Rubin
[36:01] president of congregation Gates of
[36:03] Heaven here in SKC I want to thank you
[36:05] for the opportunity to have this
[36:07] conversation tonight uh we anticipate
[36:10] that there will probably be a petition
[36:11] brought forward to you tonight seeking a
[36:13] ceasefire uh between Israel and Hamas uh
[36:17] we are here tonight to ask number one as
[36:21] we saw tonight there's a lot of
[36:23] important business that comes before
[36:24] this connected east city council as
[36:26] comes before all of local government is the form of
[36:29] government that is closest to the people
[36:31] we deal with infrastructure we deal with
[36:34] Industrial Development we deal with
[36:35] transportation we deal with housing we
[36:37] deal with all of the things that make a
[36:39] city and a community click and issues
[36:42] such as the one that's before you that
[36:44] is likely going to be before you tonight
[36:46] are ones that are respectfully outside
[36:49] the purview of local governments which
[36:51] is something handled by the federal
[36:53] government and to a lesser extent to
[36:55] state governments as well and we would
[36:57] ask that we not interfere with the
[36:59] really important work that is done here
[37:01] in the city of skincity to the extent
[37:04] however that the council does decide
[37:06] that it wants to entertain such a
[37:08] position and get into issues of
[37:10] international relations we would ask
[37:12] that you consider that the resolution
[37:14] coming before you is one that calls for
[37:17] a permanent ceasefire as you've as
[37:19] you've already heard from others already
[37:21] tonight and I'm sure you'll hear from
[37:22] others as well the ability to have a
[37:25] permanent ceasefire is not something that is achievable as long as
[37:30] the terrorist organization Hamas remains
[37:33] in operational power on October 7th they
[37:36] crossed the border engaged in a massacre
[37:39] of over a thousand innocent Israelis
[37:41] children women adults seniors even pets
[37:45] and animals those who they did not kill
[37:48] they've maintained as hostages some have
[37:50] been released over a 100 remain we share
[37:54] in a position of thoughtfulness and
[37:56] compassion and Care those who are going
[37:59] to bring a resolution should they do so
[38:01] tonight we are not questioning their
[38:03] desire to want to see peace we are not
[38:06] questioning their desire to want to see
[38:07] an end to suffering we share in that
[38:10] stated goal and we would imagine
[38:13] everybody wants to see that to happen
[38:16] but we're not going to be able to
[38:17] achieve that as long as the as the Gaza
[38:22] Strip is under the control of a
[38:24] terrorist organization I thank you for
[38:27] your time tonight and I hope that you
[38:28] take this these words into consideration
[38:30] thank
[38:32] [Applause]
[38:36] you Michelle
[38:38] greenblat is Michelle green blat
[38:49] present good evening
[38:53] and thank you for giving me the
[38:55] opportunity to speak
[38:57] um I know that the ceasefire resolution
[39:01] has not yet been brought before the the
[39:04] council um I know that there is a
[39:06] petition to bring such a resolution I
[39:09] ask you as a proud member of the Jewish
[39:13] Community to not entertain um the
[39:17] possibility of a ceasefire resolution in
[39:19] your town it is very divisive it causes
[39:24] members of your community and connect
[39:27] and elsewhere to be pitted against one
[39:29] another we all don't none of us want to
[39:33] have people dying um
[39:36] over um these uh these threats by a
[39:41] terrorist
[39:42] organization um for 75 years Hamas which
[39:46] is a terrorist
[39:47] organization has been planting the seeds
[39:50] and manipulating the Palestinian people
[39:54] in the Gaza Strip to believe that
[39:56] they're value um is greater dead than
[40:01] alive Jews value life and we want life
[40:07] for everyone even people that we are at
[40:10] odds with we who have different um
[40:14] theological
[40:16] differences
[40:20] um
[40:22] anti-Semitism
[40:24] is uh rampant these days AC across
[40:27] communities and college campuses and in
[40:31] our
[40:32] schools
[40:33] um having passing such a resolution um
[40:39] increases the the rate of anti-Semitism
[40:42] making your constituents feel unsafe and
[40:48] unheard the ceasefire
[40:50] resolution um is an
[40:53] international issue and not one that
[40:56] affects
[40:57] um local politics and I would really
[41:01] hope that you consider the concerns of
[41:04] your
[41:05] constituents a ceasefire resolution in
[41:08] Gaza and between Hamas and Israel will
[41:12] not help the Palestinian people the
[41:14] Palestinian people have no regard for
[41:18] their lives as they have
[41:20] built miles upon
[41:23] miles of cement tunnels under Gaza not
[41:27] for the safety of their um civilians who
[41:31] are not allowed into the tunnels during
[41:33] bombing it is only for the Hamas members
[41:37] and to keep their stores of food which
[41:40] they also do not allow um their
[41:43] civilians to have even though
[41:46] humanitarian Aid is free and should be
[41:49] given to the Palestinians they are
[41:51] selling
[41:53] it um so I really hope that um we can
[41:58] come together and help support one
[42:01] another in our efforts to make the
[42:03] situation better for the Palestinian
[42:05] people thank you thank
[42:11] you suzan
[42:18] 11 well thank you for allowing me to
[42:21] speak I'm Susanna lvin from Albany um as
[42:24] a member of the Jewish community of the
[42:25] greater capital region I implore that
[42:28] this connected common Council refrain
[42:30] from taking up this or any ceasefire
[42:33] legislation we je are a family a family
[42:36] that stretches around the world and
[42:38] across 4,000 years of history in every
[42:41] generation we've been singled out as a
[42:43] nation apart scapegoated with dangerous
[42:45] rhetoric this rhetoric always leads to
[42:48] actual Danger from the Crusades and
[42:51] pogroms to the Nazi Holocaust to the
[42:53] horrific massacres rape torture and
[42:55] kidnapping of October 7
[42:57] we take seriously the words of our
[42:59] detractors how D poog groms against Jews
[43:02] even happen who allows such a thing
[43:05] first there are those who want to kill
[43:06] Jews and they do in this case Hamas
[43:10] terrorists who murdered Innocents and
[43:11] promised 10 times more October 7s and
[43:14] then there are the supporters those who
[43:16] will provide rationale for those acts of
[43:18] violence in the name of the greater good
[43:21] these are groups that promote
[43:22] legislation like the one that you may be
[43:24] petitioned a resolution that outlines
[43:26] freedom and dignity for anyone but
[43:28] Israel anyone but
[43:30] Jews and finally there are the
[43:33] indifferent those who would enable
[43:35] violence against my people simply by not
[43:38] opposing
[43:39] it a call for a ceasefire is a call for
[43:42] violence against Jews council members
[43:45] please do not feel the pressure to join
[43:48] the historic ranks of the indifferent do
[43:50] not allow this legislation to cast a
[43:52] shadow on your good work and your good
[43:54] names calling for ceasefire is a call
[43:57] for Jews to surrender their National
[43:59] Defense there is no reasonable
[44:00] compromise to this demand as it's a
[44:02] demand for National Suicide calling for
[44:05] ceasefire does not bring the
[44:06] Palestinians closer to nationhood
[44:09] unfortunately it prolongs their
[44:10] suffering under the oppressive Hamas
[44:12] regime which neither protects nor
[44:14] provides for them calling for ceasefire
[44:17] does not bring peace this call for
[44:19] ceasefire does not call for an end to
[44:21] Hamas aggression it does not guarantee
[44:23] the return of the innocent hostages
[44:25] without hamas's defeat or Surrender the
[44:28] war will continue because Hamas doesn't
[44:30] follow rules of War they don't engage in
[44:32] diplomacy they will keep fighting
[44:35] finally a call for ceasefire results in
[44:37] the scapegoating of Jews Everywhere by
[44:39] gaslighting self-defense as aggression a
[44:42] local legislation that promotes this
[44:44] language is bringing Prejudice and
[44:46] threat of violence to their constituents
[44:48] here at home to Jews Israel is not a
[44:51] farway place not a speck on the map it
[44:54] is where our family lives it is our
[44:56] homeland and what happens there affects
[44:58] us deeply here I pray that your family
[45:01] should never be in danger while the
[45:03] world demands that you cease fighting
[45:05] for them please oppose this or any
[45:08] ceasefire legislation that comes before
[45:10] you thank
[45:12] [Applause]
[45:15] you jury
[45:24] Stillman I'm a Jewish American I'm
[45:27] Israeli I'm a two-time survivor of the
[45:29] suicide bombings during the second inata
[45:31] in 2001 I have dear family and friends
[45:35] in Israel and myself and every Jew from
[45:37] left to right want peace for all the
[45:39] Jews Israeli Arabs and Palestinians who
[45:42] seek to live side by side in true peace
[45:45] and mutual recognition of each other
[45:47] tonight I intend to shed light on Jewish
[45:50] voices for peace since they're likely
[45:52] speaking here jvp is an organization
[45:55] that despite its name is neither NE
[45:57] necessarily Jewish nor peaceful and has
[45:59] garnered significant critique for its
[46:01] actions and stated vociferously
[46:03] anti-zionist objectives in the surface
[46:06] on the surface jvp might seem to
[46:08] epitomize the values of love and a
[46:10] desire for peace however it's crucial to
[46:13] examine the substance behind this this
[46:16] perspective is echoed by Allison summer
[46:19] in the far-left Israeli publication
[46:21] haret who
[46:22] noted to many mainstream moderate and
[46:25] even left-wing groups and and certainly
[46:27] for the Israeli government jvp is beyond
[46:29] the pale aiding and abetting those who
[46:32] would harm or even eliminate Israel if
[46:34] it were possible jvp's Focus agenda is
[46:37] to dismantle the state of Israel this
[46:39] Miss mission of delegitimization
[46:41] diverges sharply from the Jewish
[46:43] community's diverse but generally United
[46:46] support for Israel's right to exist as a
[46:49] Jewish State and for Jewish
[46:51] self-determination jvp has been linked
[46:53] to global terrorist regimes including
[46:55] the Islamic Republic of Iran
[46:57] and groups like sidun associated with
[46:59] the popular front for the liberation of
[47:01] Palestine on a specific note the
[47:04] glorification of terrorists who
[47:05] committed heinous acts against civilians
[47:08] including children under the guise of
[47:10] decolonization is abhorent such actions
[47:13] do not align with the principles of
[47:14] peace and Justice they embolden and
[47:16] legitimize violence under the misleading
[47:18] Banner of activ
[47:20] activism jvp's messaging firr promoting
[47:23] peace SS Division and misrepresents the
[47:25] rich diversity of Jewish thought thought
[47:27] in closing I urge us to approach such
[47:29] discussions with a commitment to truth
[47:31] dialogue and the pursuit of genuine
[47:33] peace let us be wary of those who would
[47:35] co-opt the language of peace and Justice
[47:38] to advance divisive agendas our
[47:40] Collective future depends on Building
[47:42] Bridges of understanding not walls of
[47:44] Separation thank you for your time and
[47:48] [Applause]
[47:51] attention Jil Gail
[47:55] sackle is G ale sacko
[48:11] present hi my name is Gail sacko I've
[48:14] been part of the Capitol region Jewish
[48:16] Community for over 40 years can you hear
[48:19] me louder louder okay I just want to say
[48:23] in our services we have something called
[48:26] the morning CSH and we stand to honor
[48:30] the dead and The Grieving I'm grieving
[48:33] for all of the innocent
[48:35] Palestinians I am grieving for all the
[48:37] innoc innocent Israelis I am grieving
[48:40] for all the innocent
[48:42] Americans because I stand at every
[48:45] service for that um I want to wish the
[48:48] Muslim people I hope it's appropriate Ed
[48:50] Mubarak you say it in the middle as well
[48:52] as at the beginning because I know
[48:53] you're in the middle of ma'am can you
[48:55] need to please address I wish you
[48:57] no ma'am ma'am you need to address the
[48:58] chair sorry um ID mabarak because I know
[49:01] they're in the middle of
[49:03] Ramadan I wanted to talk I had a a
[49:06] chance to look at the resolution that
[49:09] you're being asked to take a look at and
[49:11] I wanted to talk about the local the
[49:15] Jewish the established Jewish Community
[49:18] leaders in connecti we not consulted
[49:21] we're not part of part of putting this
[49:24] together there is no mention mention in
[49:27] it of except for a mention of
[49:29] anti-Semitism there is no mention in it
[49:32] of either Kamas or israelies or the
[49:35] hostages except for the hostages who are
[49:38] released it's it's divisive in the
[49:41] community um there have been incidents
[49:44] there has been an incident in the SKC
[49:46] City School District where teacher where
[49:49] a group put out an email suggesting that
[49:53] um Israelis be called Ethnic cleansers
[49:57] and genocide people there has been a
[49:59] middle schooler who was told that he
[50:02] could not go to school because he was
[50:04] Israeli and in fact his family had to
[50:07] leave the community and this is a family
[50:09] that lost someone October 7th there was
[50:13] it encourages somebody who wants to
[50:15] shoot at a synagogue which has happened
[50:18] in the capol
[50:19] region it's it's it's divisive to a
[50:23] community that needs to be coming
[50:25] together um today is
[50:28] 171 of the hostages the youngest hostage
[50:32] is one year old the oldest hostage is 80
[50:37] many of them went to a music festival
[50:40] when Kamas was asked to identify them
[50:42] they were unable to identify them or
[50:44] unable to tell where they are it's it
[50:48] what this resolution does not reflect
[50:51] all of the constituency of this
[50:53] community and it adds to the amount of
[50:57] anti-Semitism that we are already seeing
[50:59] thank you thank
[51:01] [Applause]
[51:05] you Bonnie
[51:14] Eisenberg hi um thank you for letting me
[51:17] come and speak I've been a lifelong
[51:19] resident of the Capitol region and am a
[51:22] proud Jew and a proud Zionist um
[51:27] my direct connection as somebody prior
[51:29] to me said this what happened on October
[51:32] 7th isn't something that happened far
[51:35] away to other people for the Jewish
[51:37] Community for me personally my family
[51:40] grew up in kabut raim which is the
[51:42] Cabots that was right near the was the
[51:45] closest Kuts to the music festival that
[51:47] was um attacked and kabut re was
[51:51] destroyed this is very personal it's
[51:54] very painful and
[51:57] as others have also said we don't just
[52:00] cry for the Israelis we cry for the
[52:03] Palestinian suffering as well we want
[52:06] peace but you can't have peace with an
[52:09] organization that promotes the idea that
[52:13] it's better to die than to live
[52:16] peacefully with your Israeli and
[52:17] Egyptian
[52:19] neighbors
[52:21] um your proposed resolution shows that
[52:26] or the proposed resolution that you will
[52:28] be seeing soon shows that it does not
[52:32] blame the aggressor Hamas but instead
[52:34] blames the country who wants peace but
[52:37] will defend its citizens against
[52:43] annihilation in I don't know if you've
[52:45] seen it before but in that um proposed
[52:48] resolution the words are some of the
[52:50] words are um you're calling for peaceful
[52:53] diplomacy that protects the security of
[52:55] all innocent civilians I call for that
[52:58] too but there's only one party that's
[53:01] interested in living in peace with their
[53:03] neighbors in Gaza with their Palestinian
[53:05] neighbors and that's Israel Hamas has
[53:07] made it incredibly clear they will
[53:10] prefer the death of all
[53:13] Palestinians before they would be
[53:15] willing to live peacefully with Israel
[53:17] so um so if you take on this proposal
[53:23] and you decide to approve it what you're
[53:25] doing is not helping Palestinians the
[53:28] only way to help Palestinians and
[53:30] Israelis and everyone in the area is to
[53:34] hold Hamas accountable and this cease
[53:38] and any ceasefire would do exactly the
[53:40] opposite it would be empowering Hamas so
[53:44] I I just wanted to mention that what's
[53:47] personally painful is that my social
[53:51] justice partners are supporting Hamas
[53:53] war criminals instead of holding them
[53:56] accountable in demanding their Swift
[53:57] removal and replacement with a
[53:59] Palestinian government that wants to
[54:02] live in peace with Israeli and Egyptian
[54:05] neighbors
[54:08] um and that's pretty much what I wanted
[54:11] to say thank
[54:12] [Applause]
[54:19] you um Laura
[54:25] wisl
[54:28] hi please bear with me because I lost my
[54:30] voice my name is Laura Weiss spot and I
[54:33] am a local resident I am an active
[54:35] member of the Jewish Community here in
[54:37] the greater Capital Region I am Gravely
[54:39] concerned about the petition for a
[54:41] proposed ceasefire resolution pertaining
[54:44] to the Israeli Palestinian conflict that
[54:46] is going to come before you
[54:48] today such resolutions are one-sided and
[54:51] place the blame for this war solely on
[54:55] Israel which is misguided at best and at
[54:58] worst it is dangerous to Jews globally
[55:00] and
[55:01] locally the proposed resolution is
[55:04] extremely
[55:05] divisive and misinformed it parrots the
[55:08] anti-israel propaganda machine that is
[55:11] unfortunately driving much of the
[55:13] current mainstream
[55:14] media as Jewish constituents reading
[55:17] this resolution I'll tell you how we
[55:20] feel threatened isolated intimidated
[55:24] alienated 95 5% of the global Jewish
[55:28] Community it loves Israel we consider it
[55:31] to be our Jewish homeland it is a safe
[55:34] haven for Jews from all over the world
[55:36] to come and be safe when we can't be
[55:39] safe in other countries that have
[55:40] expelled us or actually ethnically
[55:42] cleansed us which has happen many many
[55:45] times in our
[55:46] history the demon demonization of Israel
[55:50] and of the Jewish people is exactly what
[55:52] fuels the hatred against us and it makes
[55:55] violence against us palatable the
[55:57] external pressure that we feel to divest
[56:00] ourselves from our love of Israel and
[56:02] our belief in its right to exist is
[56:04] terrifying and
[56:06] heartbreaking as some of us said we're
[56:08] proud zionists it's not a bad word it
[56:11] just means that we believe in our right
[56:13] to self-determine in our ancestral
[56:15] Homeland that we have had a presence
[56:17] continuous presence in for 4,000 years
[56:20] my husband and my three-year-old son
[56:22] were inside Temple Israel in Albany when
[56:25] a man came and fired a shotgun several
[56:28] times outside the temple he yelled
[56:31] threatening
[56:33] statements my husband had to hide in a
[56:35] storage closet with my son for two hours
[56:38] on lockdown in fear of their lives for
[56:41] what was
[56:42] happening We Are Forever traumatized by
[56:45] that event and my family an event that
[56:48] happened right here in Albany for the
[56:50] sole reason that we are Jewish and
[56:52] therefore targets of hate crimes and
[56:54] Terror
[56:55] attacks at a time of heightened tensions
[56:58] I ask that this resolution not be
[57:00] considered at all the attacks of October
[57:03] 7th perpetrated against the Jewish
[57:04] people of Israel by Hamas terrorists
[57:08] continue to affect our daily life right
[57:11] here in our local schools our children
[57:12] have been experiencing anti-semitic Acts
[57:15] including those who had family members
[57:17] murdered in those attacks whose children
[57:19] were told in a school in a middle school
[57:21] your family deserved what happened to
[57:23] them on October 7th it would be Beyond
[57:25] irres responsible of this Council to
[57:27] inflame these tensions anymore Israel is
[57:30] in an existential war against Hamas an
[57:32] enemy sworn to its destruction this is
[57:35] not a war against Palestinians or other
[57:37] Muslims Jews and supporters here in
[57:40] concy and around the capital region and
[57:42] in the world want peace between
[57:44] Palestinians and Israelis and you just
[57:45] summarize ma'am such a peace can begin
[57:48] right here in skincity by our city
[57:50] council members refusing to engage with
[57:52] a ceasefire resolution thank you thank
[57:55] you
[58:00] Rabbi Rafi
[58:08] Spitzer good evening Madam president
[58:11] thank you for hearing me I just want to
[58:13] thank you for listening to speaker after
[58:15] speaker I represent congregation aod one
[58:18] of the largest Jewish communities in SKC
[58:21] County uh with many members in the city
[58:24] of SKC uh and I'm here to support the
[58:28] Jewish Community as they come uh to
[58:30] share their deep concerns and their
[58:33] fears with you um I just wanted to say a
[58:36] little bit about what Zionism is Zionism
[58:40] is the pro Progressive Movement for
[58:42] Liberation and National
[58:43] self-determination of the Jewish people
[58:46] in our ancestral Homeland the land of
[58:48] Israel a movement that not only
[58:50] guarantees Jewish sovereignty but also
[58:52] Jewish security Zionism is the
[58:54] embodiment of the incredible racial and
[58:56] cultural diversity of the Jewish people
[58:59] the physical and spiritual descendants
[59:01] of the Jews of antiquity who were driven
[59:03] from Israel otherwise known as Zion or
[59:07] Judea into Exile and Scattered across
[59:10] the globe yet remained United generation
[59:13] after generation in custom peoplehood
[59:16] and prayer directed toward Jerusalem
[59:19] Zionism is an inherent and Inseparable
[59:22] part of Jewish identity for the vast
[59:25] majority of Jews on Earth and for my
[59:28] Jewish community and the Jewish
[59:30] community of the city of
[59:32] SKC once again thank you so much for
[59:35] being here and listening and making
[59:37] space for everybody to be able to share
[59:39] their perspective and point of view and
[59:42] uh good
[59:44] evening thank
[59:48] you Jeffrey
[59:55] Handelman
[59:56] good evening Madame President and mayor
[59:58] McCarthy and members of the council my
[1:00:00] name is Jeffrey Handelman I'm chair of
[1:00:02] the board of Jewish Federation of
[1:00:04] Northeastern New York I'm not an
[1:00:06] activist being here is uh really outside
[1:00:09] my comfort zone but I felt compelled to
[1:00:11] speak tonight because I hate to see the
[1:00:13] division in our community I see it
[1:00:15] online I see it in the comments I see it
[1:00:18] in the newspaper and I do not understand
[1:00:21] why this uh elected body is being asked
[1:00:24] to debate uh intern National Affairs
[1:00:27] beyond your scope of
[1:00:28] control I just want to tell a story
[1:00:30] about Esh Esh Cole is a region it's a
[1:00:33] sister region for uh the Jewish
[1:00:35] Federation of the Capitol District it's
[1:00:38] an agricultural community that borders
[1:00:40] Gaza uh filled with the most
[1:00:44] left-leaning liberal Jews in in Israel
[1:00:48] peace-seeking innocent people um my wife
[1:00:52] and children have been there I've been
[1:00:54] there my children actually spent a few
[1:00:56] weeks there of making friends we've
[1:00:58] hosted uh students from Esh Cole um one
[1:01:03] beautiful woman young woman who stayed
[1:01:04] with us on October 7th both her parents
[1:01:08] and her younger brother Sagi were
[1:01:10] murdered by Hamas so this is really
[1:01:12] close to home uh it's just a horrible
[1:01:14] situation what's going on in Gaza is
[1:01:17] beyond indescribably horrible I
[1:01:20] understand that my point in speaking is
[1:01:22] to remind everybody that it's a complex
[1:01:25] nuance moned difficult situation it
[1:01:28] can't be simplified by a one-sided
[1:01:31] resolution that is uh more complex than
[1:01:34] most people really understand there are
[1:01:37] many innocent Palestinians who have
[1:01:38] suffered and it's horrible um but the
[1:01:41] problem in this is comes down to Hamas is a terrorist organization that
[1:01:46] can't be allowed to exist because that
[1:01:48] means no security for Israel no security
[1:01:50] for Palestinians I've taken up enough of
[1:01:53] your time it's going to be a long night
[1:01:54] I want to thank all of you for your time
[1:01:56] I'm sorry that you're in this position
[1:01:59] um please do whatever you can to bring
[1:02:01] healing and peace to our community
[1:02:03] because that is something that is in
[1:02:04] with your your purview thank you thank
[1:02:11] you Ed
[1:02:23] Leighton I thank you I'm here to oppose
[1:02:26] any resolution uh regarding the
[1:02:28] ceasefire and I'd like to bring my
[1:02:31] perspective to this debate um my wife
[1:02:35] and I have our oldest child his wife and
[1:02:38] our three grandkids live in a town
[1:02:41] called
[1:02:41] natana and in their apartment building
[1:02:44] they have a safe room the safe room is a room made of concrete extra inch of
[1:02:52] concrete steel door on the outside steel
[1:02:56] Shutters on the exterior window and
[1:03:00] ventilation system that can be shut off
[1:03:02] in the event of a gas attack this is the
[1:03:05] life in Israel is Israelis are
[1:03:08] constantly under pressure from terrorist
[1:03:12] organizations Hamas in Gaza Hezbollah in
[1:03:17] Lebanon the Islamic Jihad in in other
[1:03:20] parts of of other countries and to have
[1:03:25] a resolution
[1:03:27] asking Israel to stop to not protect
[1:03:29] themselves is an injustice to the Jewish
[1:03:33] Community um my wife and I were just
[1:03:36] there for the entire month of February
[1:03:37] we were on a solidarity Mission with
[1:03:39] some members here from from the Jewish
[1:03:42] Community we were down in the eso region
[1:03:46] we saw the terror attacks that had
[1:03:48] occurred in the kutes where the um the
[1:03:53] terrorists came in and attacked women
[1:03:56] children men and uh horrific events that
[1:04:00] had happened um what we learned on this
[1:04:04] trip is that we we had a tour guide and
[1:04:08] he explained that in
[1:04:11] Egypt um the the Egyptians celebrate
[1:04:16] October 6th as a holiday to represent
[1:04:21] their terror attack which was the six
[1:04:23] day yam Kapur war in 19
[1:04:26] 73 Egypt still celebrates that and what
[1:04:30] happens over in the Middle East and
[1:04:32] Israel being the only democracy
[1:04:34] terrorist organizations try to one up
[1:04:37] each other and Israel's goal at this
[1:04:40] point in time is to completely eliminate
[1:04:43] the terrorist organization so that they
[1:04:45] have no Bragging Rights going forward
[1:04:48] and they can live in peace and even to
[1:04:50] this day Rockets are still being fired
[1:04:52] from the North in Lebanon and that's
[1:04:55] going to be the confrontation area so as
[1:04:58] much as you want to cease fire from Gaza
[1:05:01] there's going to be other conflicts in
[1:05:02] the north uh out of
[1:05:04] Lebanon um and with with that
[1:05:09] um the Israeli people um the ceasefire
[1:05:13] is is really um an injustice to them
[1:05:16] they are looking to defend themselves
[1:05:18] against the terror organization they
[1:05:20] want to live safe lives uh like everyone
[1:05:23] else um in in in uh Democratic societies
[1:05:27] so I Rise that you um do not entertain
[1:05:31] any ceasefire resolution thank
[1:05:36] you Eileen
[1:05:49] handlan mayor
[1:05:51] McCarthy
[1:05:53] honor uh city council members and
[1:05:56] residents of
[1:05:57] skincity I'm standing here before you
[1:06:00] tonight not just sharing concerns as a
[1:06:04] resident of SKC but as someone whose
[1:06:07] family history and personal Journey are
[1:06:10] deeply intertwin with the very issues
[1:06:14] unexpectedly surfacing in our local
[1:06:17] discourse the inter in the introduction
[1:06:20] of the divisive symbols the
[1:06:24] rhetoric from the River to the
[1:06:27] Sea being here tonight with this
[1:06:30] possible
[1:06:34] proposal particularly those linked to
[1:06:37] the tragic events of October 7th and the
[1:06:39] actions of Hamas has not only reopened
[1:06:42] Old Wounds but has starkly reminded me
[1:06:45] of the personal battles that I fought to
[1:06:48] overcome a legacy of trauma a legacy I
[1:06:51] painstakingly worked to not pass down to
[1:06:54] my own children
[1:06:56] my family's story is one of resilience
[1:06:58] in the face of adversity marked by a
[1:07:00] history of violence and survival my
[1:07:03] mother who worked at the Y here in skinc
[1:07:06] for many many years was basically an
[1:07:09] orphan at 12 and she ended up a fighter
[1:07:13] amidst The Siege in of Jerusalem at 17
[1:07:16] serving in the palmach under
[1:07:18] rabine when that war broke up my father
[1:07:21] was shot on the front line during that
[1:07:23] war and remained in a for more than a
[1:07:26] week surviving the first surgery of its
[1:07:28] kind on a battlefield the subsequent
[1:07:31] Shadow PTSD that has followed our family
[1:07:34] to connecti in 1972 we got here has been
[1:07:38] a constant reminder of this cost of
[1:07:41] conflict I've lived a life grappling
[1:07:44] with this
[1:07:45] inherited trauma navigating through a
[1:07:48] childhood I can only describe as
[1:07:51] tumultuous at Best Yet through sheer
[1:07:54] determination I've made managed to
[1:07:55] Shield my children through this from
[1:07:58] this Legacy striving to provide them
[1:08:01] with a sense of peace and stability that
[1:08:03] I never had but here we are today I'm
[1:08:06] confronted with a painful
[1:08:09] irony the symbols the slogans the
[1:08:12] echoing the violence and Cher from a
[1:08:14] region thousands of miles away have
[1:08:16] infiltrated our community discourse
[1:08:20] challenging the very peace I've fought
[1:08:22] so hard to secure for my family it's a
[1:08:26] stark reminder that the work of
[1:08:28] overcoming trauma is never truly done
[1:08:32] especially when the Echoes of trauma are
[1:08:34] come are Amplified by the actions of our
[1:08:37] own Community this isn't merely about
[1:08:40] International politics or distant
[1:08:42] conflicts it's about the impact right
[1:08:44] here right now on our community's fabric
[1:08:47] on individuals like me who've worked
[1:08:50] tirelessly not just to contribute to the
[1:08:52] betterment of
[1:08:53] skincity but to over come personal
[1:08:56] histories of violence and
[1:08:58] Trauma thank you thank you for giving me
[1:09:00] the opportunity to share my story but I
[1:09:03] need you to remember these things as we
[1:09:05] sit here in these Chambers conducting
[1:09:08] the business of skincity not the Middle
[1:09:10] East thank
[1:09:14] you Susan
[1:09:24] unman hi hello
[1:09:30] um this is very hard for me um I just
[1:09:34] want the room to go back to applauding
[1:09:36] for Pearl and feel that unite
[1:09:39] unification because that's that is
[1:09:42] possible
[1:09:45] um I have a really long history of
[1:09:48] Israel I I'm a resident of the Capital
[1:09:51] District and since I was a child uh my
[1:09:55] grand parents came from Russia I we're
[1:09:57] all
[1:09:58] interconnected um but since I was a
[1:10:01] child I was always felt and was brought
[1:10:04] up that Israel out of anywhere was a
[1:10:07] safe haven for any Jew from anywhere we
[1:10:11] have a home after thousand 4,000 years
[1:10:13] of being forced out of anywhere we lived
[1:10:17] I learned about the Holocaust and was
[1:10:19] grateful that my people survived again
[1:10:24] we've been hated literally from the
[1:10:26] beginning of time
[1:10:30] why I've been to Israel eight times the
[1:10:33] first time I was 12 my bus our bus our
[1:10:37] tour bus broke down in GA the Gaza Strip
[1:10:40] and one of my Fondest Memories of my
[1:10:42] life was playing for three hours with an
[1:10:44] Arab girl my age 12 years old we played
[1:10:48] ball I we fell in love with each other
[1:10:51] we became friends that was the beauty of
[1:10:53] Innocence um I lived on and worked on a
[1:10:56] kibutz for four Summers and I've been to
[1:10:58] Israel seven times I have many many
[1:11:01] friends and many many family members who
[1:11:04] live there served in the IDF and um
[1:11:08] thank God most of them are okay the last
[1:11:11] time I was there was February 11th I was
[1:11:14] there from the 11th to the 18th and I
[1:11:16] was on the solidarity Mission with the
[1:11:18] Jewish
[1:11:19] Federation I also am a product of trauma
[1:11:24] um but I felt it was my duty to Bear
[1:11:27] witness to the events of
[1:11:29] 107 and no matter how prepared I was and
[1:11:32] I watched it all I was not prepared for
[1:11:35] what I
[1:11:36] experienced there was so much pain so
[1:11:39] much shock so much suffering because
[1:11:44] since my first visit I have been very
[1:11:47] passionate about the plight of the
[1:11:48] residents of Gaza that is with my soul I
[1:11:52] am a social justice Warrior and I am
[1:11:54] vocal about injustices no one can shut
[1:11:57] me up that is the truth I stand to the
[1:12:00] best of my ability claiming that I am
[1:12:03] known in this area for confronting
[1:12:05] racism and I have had the rudest
[1:12:08] Awakening as those who I have supported
[1:12:10] and stood up against intentionally and
[1:12:13] wholeheartedly have turned their backs
[1:12:15] on the Jewish
[1:12:16] population I was at the site of Nova my
[1:12:20] heart was torn open looking at the site
[1:12:22] seeing this seeing these beautiful faces
[1:12:24] of these
[1:12:26] kids that were dancing and and playing
[1:12:28] and listening to music knowing that they
[1:12:30] were raped and tortured and kidnapped is
[1:12:34] that my time that is your time man' okay
[1:12:36] um I thank you all and I wish I could go
[1:12:38] on we want peace and we want to work
[1:12:40] with the go people of Goda we really do thank
[1:12:45] [Applause]
[1:12:48] you Amy
[1:12:54] bloom
[1:12:58] thank you so much for having us here you
[1:13:00] might wonder why so many of us have come
[1:13:02] out from Albany to skincity the reason
[1:13:05] is like of course I do the reason is
[1:13:08] because we lost the fight in Albany in
[1:13:10] alony in November Mo ped was brought to
[1:13:14] speak in our local library Mo presents
[1:13:18] himself as a Jew and instead he is a man
[1:13:20] of hate pure hatred we begged our local
[1:13:23] library to please not bring him into our
[1:13:27] space and instead he came and at that
[1:13:31] moment hatred between Jews and Muslims
[1:13:33] in the town of Bethlehem began hatred
[1:13:37] that we now need to work very hard to
[1:13:39] find a partnership to overcome then the
[1:13:42] Albany city council was meeting we were
[1:13:45] promised there would not be a vote on a
[1:13:47] resolution and instead the vote happened
[1:13:51] and the resolution passed and we're here
[1:13:53] today to say to you please do not make
[1:13:57] skincity Albany please do better than
[1:14:01] Albany did you can't really have an
[1:14:04] impact on anything by voting yes to the
[1:14:07] potential resolution that's going to
[1:14:08] come before you the only thing that will
[1:14:10] impact is negative your children the
[1:14:13] Jewish children in this conected County
[1:14:15] will suffer there will be hatred that
[1:14:18] will re upon them for no good reason I
[1:14:20] was the past preschool director at
[1:14:22] Temple Israel nursery school until
[1:14:24] August
[1:14:26] students 100 students 40 staff of mine
[1:14:30] spent a day of sheer Terror locked in a
[1:14:34] building eight children one teacher
[1:14:37] locked in a building while a gun man ran
[1:14:39] loose and why simply because of hate
[1:14:42] against Jews those children will never
[1:14:44] be the same and I can tell you my staff
[1:14:48] will never ever be the same we were a
[1:14:51] solid staff that had been there quite a
[1:14:52] long time together they're now down to
[1:14:56] eight remaining staff eight simply due
[1:14:59] to trauma of Jew hatred please we can
[1:15:04] make peace together you guys have an
[1:15:06] opportunity to allow your Jewish
[1:15:08] constituents to feel loved supported and
[1:15:10] cared about but simply passing a
[1:15:13] resolution that sken county is in favor
[1:15:16] of a a peace in this Middle East has no
[1:15:21] true impact it just serves to pit
[1:15:24] Muslims against choose and we don't need
[1:15:26] to do that there's already enough hate
[1:15:28] in the world please help bring
[1:15:30] peace thank
[1:15:37] you Valerie T
[1:15:46] Toriano good evening council members I'm
[1:15:49] here tonight in support of a ceasefire
[1:15:52] resolution to call for a permanent
[1:15:54] ceasefire an end to the Israeli
[1:15:57] occupation of historic Palestine I felt
[1:16:00] guilty knowing that Palestinians blood
[1:16:03] are on my hands from a federal New York
[1:16:05] State and connected taxes funding
[1:16:07] Israel's weapons and genocide against
[1:16:10] Palestinians an estimate of
[1:16:23] $962,500 starvation of Palestinian men
[1:16:27] women and children imagine with that
[1:16:53] $962,500 it's an ethnic cleansing and
[1:16:56] genocide of Palestinians that has been
[1:16:58] going on for over 75 years Palestinians
[1:17:02] haven't known Freedom or peace in over a
[1:17:04] century between both the British and
[1:17:06] Israel occupying Palestine this isn't a
[1:17:10] Judaism versus Islam conflict either as
[1:17:12] Israeli military have also been killing
[1:17:14] Palestinian Christians and Jews too as
[1:17:16] well if this was about Israel defending
[1:17:19] themselves from the October 7th 2024
[1:17:21] attack then why did the flower Massacre
[1:17:24] happen where Israeli military shot
[1:17:26] starving Palestinians rushing to the
[1:17:28] food Aid trucks why are they bombing
[1:17:31] hospitals why is Israel bombing Rafa
[1:17:33] refugee camps after forcing gazin to
[1:17:36] leave Gaza and into Rafa this is not a
[1:17:39] defense conflict or a war on Gaza this
[1:17:42] is an ethnic cleansing and genocide of
[1:17:44] Palestinians to conclude I'd like to
[1:17:47] remind those who are followers of Christ
[1:17:49] that Jesus was born in Bethlehem which
[1:17:51] is in historic Palestine which makes
[1:17:54] Jesus a Palestinian Jew and he's
[1:17:56] heartbroken watching his people being
[1:17:58] bombed shot and starved we are all human
[1:18:01] beings who who believe the same and
[1:18:03] deserve basic human rights decency
[1:18:06] respect love connection and to feel safe
[1:18:10] I have hope we'll see a free secular
[1:18:12] Democratic Palestine in our lifetime
[1:18:15] thank you council members for your time
[1:18:16] to listen to my
[1:18:23] words
[1:18:29] thank you Michelle
[1:18:38] Sanders thank
[1:18:41] you okay I got a chance to look at the
[1:18:44] proposal and in this in the proposal it
[1:18:48] the Cesar resolution saying
[1:18:51] anti-Semitism is
[1:18:53] unacceptable that's complet completely
[1:18:55] disingenuous these statements only serve
[1:18:58] to promote divisiveness in our
[1:18:59] communities and misrepresent what is
[1:19:02] actually
[1:19:03] happening Hamas attacked the state of
[1:19:05] Israel in the most brutal of ways
[1:19:08] attacking people in their homes killing
[1:19:10] parents in front of children microwaving
[1:19:13] babies shoving guns into women's vaginas
[1:19:17] and discharging them gang rapes of women
[1:19:20] and the kidnapping of babies young
[1:19:22] children and infirm elderly
[1:19:25] victims Hamas started a war with
[1:19:29] Israel the leaders of Hamas who live in
[1:19:32] luxury in Qatar are not interested in
[1:19:35] peace with Israel not interested in a
[1:19:37] two-state solution or living alongside
[1:19:41] Jews at
[1:19:42] all their goal is to erase the Jewish
[1:19:46] people from existence by making it
[1:19:49] impossible for us to defend
[1:19:52] ourselves World War II and the current
[1:19:54] events
[1:19:55] globally have taught us that without the
[1:19:59] ability to fight back Jews would again
[1:20:02] become the scapegoats for all the ills
[1:20:05] in society in my life I never thought I
[1:20:08] would see far-left progressives side
[1:20:11] with an organization that uses their
[1:20:14] most vulnerable population as human
[1:20:16] Shields citing the belief that madom is
[1:20:20] to be
[1:20:21] exalted uses the humanitarian Aid that
[1:20:24] is sent to Gaza as a means to make money
[1:20:26] in the open
[1:20:28] market glorify the rape and
[1:20:31] brutalization of innocent
[1:20:33] civilians supports the immutable Refugee
[1:20:37] status for three generations of a
[1:20:40] portion of their population and blames
[1:20:42] it on
[1:20:43] Israel supporting resolutions like these
[1:20:46] incites the anti-jewish rhetoric which
[1:20:48] can lead to violence against Jews it
[1:20:51] does nothing to actually help
[1:20:54] Palestinian Ians but proves that our
[1:20:56] concerns for safety fall on deaf
[1:21:00] ears thank you thank
[1:21:08] you Andre
[1:21:12] Gerard Andre
[1:21:14] [Music]
[1:21:16] Gerard Ramy
[1:21:21] Salah Ria we have people outside
[1:21:26] there's people in the
[1:21:28] hallway
[1:21:43] okay I believe it's
[1:21:53] romea
[1:21:59] Peter
[1:22:16] [Music]
[1:22:18] Cook thank you madam
[1:22:20] speaker my name is Peter Cook I'm ser
[1:22:24] serve as executive director of the New
[1:22:27] York State Council of churches which
[1:22:30] represents nine
[1:22:32] denominations and
[1:22:34] 7500 churches including some in
[1:22:39] skty in a spirit of openness I'm here to
[1:22:43] call on this body to consider all
[1:22:48] sides debate and amend the resolution
[1:22:52] and not just take it cart blun
[1:22:56] and also just to acknowledge The Bravery
[1:23:00] of the people who have brought this
[1:23:02] resolution before
[1:23:04] you for many years now our denominations
[1:23:07] have advocated for the rights of both
[1:23:09] Palestinians and
[1:23:11] Israelis my wife was born in East
[1:23:13] Jerusalem to a father who devoted his
[1:23:17] life to resettling Palestinian refugees
[1:23:20] she had to leave in 1968 during the
[1:23:23] war we have friends in the West Bank who
[1:23:26] are incarcerated in Israeli prisons for
[1:23:29] speaking out in my family and my church
[1:23:33] we have been at this a very very long
[1:23:37] time most recently the National Council
[1:23:40] churches and our denominations have
[1:23:42] called for a
[1:23:43] ceasefire joining Senator Schumer and
[1:23:47] also who was also called for a
[1:23:49] ceasefire while condemning the actions
[1:23:52] of Hamas on October 7th and calling for
[1:23:55] the release of all hostages and
[1:23:57] political prisoners as a condition of
[1:24:00] the ceasefire our executive committee
[1:24:03] made such a statement a few weeks after
[1:24:05] October 7th with many hostages captured
[1:24:09] by Hamas and many more prisoners in
[1:24:11] Israeli jails still not returned and the
[1:24:14] death of over 31,000 Palestinians not to
[1:24:17] mention countless injuries and death by
[1:24:20] starvation the foot dragging and
[1:24:22] equivocation to stop the
[1:24:25] violence to not stop the violence is
[1:24:30] unconscionable as long as avoidance
[1:24:32] continues it will be impossible to heal
[1:24:34] wounds and reopen a
[1:24:37] conversation for a new future for
[1:24:39] Christians Jews and Muslims in this land
[1:24:43] who have struggled with
[1:24:45] Injustice so I'm just going to ask this
[1:24:49] body not to just take this resolution
[1:24:53] but support an open open process by
[1:24:56] which the language is discussed amended
[1:24:59] and debated and do that in a most open
[1:25:03] and
[1:25:04] transparent um way possible and we
[1:25:07] cannot be chilled by a PA of
[1:25:10] intimidation and we must be gathered
[1:25:13] together as a body that seeks the truth
[1:25:16] and that only happens through robust
[1:25:19] public conversation thank
[1:25:23] you
[1:25:36] has anyone entered the room Ria
[1:25:40] Salah
[1:25:44] no okay Ed Leen
[1:25:51] Jr sorry I'm not
[1:25:53] Jewish
[1:25:54] sir comments up here please may God
[1:25:56] bless and protect the Jewish people give
[1:25:58] them peace of heart and mind Mr Mayor
[1:26:01] it's time to ask if any voters who had
[1:26:03] voted for you speaking to the microphone
[1:26:07] please thank
[1:26:10] you it's time to ask if any voters would
[1:26:14] have voted for you had they known that
[1:26:15] you were covering up the crimes of
[1:26:17] corrupt judges Frost and
[1:26:19] falo please tell me how it is ethical to
[1:26:22] not meet with a taxpaying citizen that
[1:26:24] had the crime of conspiracy to deprive
[1:26:26] you of my constitutional rights of due
[1:26:28] process and a fair hearing perpetrated
[1:26:30] by the two corrupt judges you appointed
[1:26:32] to their
[1:26:33] positions Andrew Cen must have must have
[1:26:36] some morals and Scruples you didn't
[1:26:38] reappoint him good for him don't worry
[1:26:41] you still have your corrupt da and
[1:26:43] County attorney Gardner to pull my ethic
[1:26:45] complaint I have a copy of his nonsense
[1:26:48] for you and council members I guess
[1:26:50] there is no Ethics in skincity it goes
[1:26:52] along with government transp parency
[1:26:55] missing police chief wouldn't meet with
[1:26:58] me Sheriff also Clifford's wife was your
[1:27:00] secretary when you refused to meet with
[1:27:02] me in your office John de Augustine is
[1:27:05] on your smart City advisory
[1:27:07] committee of course you have
[1:27:10] uh nothing about salary or meeting
[1:27:13] scheduled I guess that's why I'm not in
[1:27:15] the Gazette pho's wife works in the
[1:27:17] finance department I'm not the only
[1:27:19] person deprived of help by you ask with
[1:27:23] the hum girls relatives think of you no
[1:27:26] Amber Alert didn't meet the criteria
[1:27:29] really how about the 1100 St cla's
[1:27:32] pensioners that you went to bat for oh
[1:27:35] that's right you didn't do jack for
[1:27:37] them either continue to cover up for the
[1:27:40] criminals to hell with the victims I am
[1:27:42] not going away sir no no swearing please
[1:27:45] no
[1:27:46] swearing there
[1:27:50] is I'm not there is no time limits on
[1:27:52] the crime of conspiracy a private
[1:27:54] citizen of their constitutional rights
[1:27:57] and since you are doing nothing but
[1:27:58] covering up for Frost and falo I guess
[1:28:01] you are part of the
[1:28:02] conspiracy I will start sending my proof
[1:28:04] to neighboring states and news stations
[1:28:06] I found one honest state policeman to
[1:28:08] take my complaint us attorney would not
[1:28:11] accept it da Carney says there was no
[1:28:13] crime which he is now guilty of
[1:28:15] obstruction of governmental
[1:28:17] Administration and will be back outside
[1:28:19] of City Hall what these judges did is so
[1:28:21] egregious for a judge to do that is a
[1:28:24] mandatory jail
[1:28:26] sentence that's why no one is willing to
[1:28:28] do
[1:28:30] anything I have the proof here for all
[1:28:32] the council members the mayor and
[1:28:36] chairman thank
[1:28:40] you Assad
[1:28:49] Ali hey everyone thank you for giving me
[1:28:53] time to speak um as being a US citizen
[1:28:57] honestly speaking I'm just a regular US
[1:28:59] citizen who came um who got a message
[1:29:03] and was deeply saddened to see what is
[1:29:05] what was going on in Gaza for past few
[1:29:08] months little children get died like
[1:29:10] every day and you know like we can I can
[1:29:13] make up stories over here that you know
[1:29:15] things happen and you know like I was
[1:29:17] attacked by several people which is not
[1:29:19] the case social media in today's era
[1:29:22] speaks a lot it is there are videos of
[1:29:25] young five year six year old children
[1:29:28] getting died getting like hurt you know
[1:29:30] so I suggest like a ceasefire and when
[1:29:34] we do the ceasefire we need to
[1:29:36] understand the history of Palestine and
[1:29:39] Israel 80 years ago how was the map of
[1:29:43] Palestine look versus it looks now
[1:29:46] Palestine people were forced out slowly
[1:29:49] by slowly out of their land and it's a
[1:29:51] natural instinct that if someone enters
[1:29:53] my house and start taking control over
[1:29:55] that you know I will raise my voice as
[1:29:58] much as I can to get the justice and uh
[1:30:02] for all sake Justice for Palestine
[1:30:05] people whose land it was 80 years ago
[1:30:08] and what is the picture of the map right
[1:30:10] now in in the
[1:30:12] world's map I suggest a ceasefire and
[1:30:15] immediate stopping of killing of small
[1:30:17] children ladies on both hands on Israel
[1:30:20] and Palestine so that's all I have
[1:30:24] thank
[1:30:33] you Susan
[1:30:38] Rosenberg Susan
[1:30:41] Rosenberg I beg your pardon she spoke
[1:30:44] that was oh oh yes she was the very
[1:30:47] first one thank you signed up
[1:30:49] twice okay um let's see we're down to
[1:30:53] Matt
[1:30:54] I'm not sure how to pronounce your last
[1:30:56] name it looks like oil it is oil
[1:30:58] okay oil kind of oil the US wants to
[1:31:01] steal for
[1:31:04] democracy all right as my last comment
[1:31:07] might indicate I'm here to support voice
[1:31:09] my support for a ceasefire resolution uh
[1:31:13] as of this weekend approximately 32,000
[1:31:16] people mostly women and children have
[1:31:18] been killed in Gaza since October and
[1:31:20] about 74,000 have been injured and this
[1:31:22] is only what's been Rec recorded the
[1:31:24] real casualty rate is probably even
[1:31:26] higher with not only the continuous
[1:31:28] bombing of the region but also the mass
[1:31:30] starvation due to the blockading of Aid
[1:31:32] by the IDF not to mention bombardment of
[1:31:35] the West Bank something that on its own
[1:31:37] should dispel the notion that this is
[1:31:39] purely about stopping Hamas as Hamas has
[1:31:42] no presence in the West Bank despite
[1:31:45] this President Biden continues to
[1:31:47] provide the Netanyahu regime with
[1:31:49] unconditional military aid making making
[1:31:52] ceasefire resolutions such as those that
[1:31:54] have been passed in numerous cities
[1:31:55] across the country including Seattle San
[1:31:58] Francisco Chicago and even Albany
[1:32:00] important and thus I urge the city of
[1:32:02] sken to follow in their lead and while a
[1:32:05] ceasefire resolution will be critical
[1:32:08] for the current situation it is the bare
[1:32:10] minimum of what must be done no
[1:32:12] ceasefire will truly last as long as the
[1:32:14] occupation of Palestine Land by the
[1:32:17] Israeli State remains this occupation in
[1:32:20] Siege has displaced and brutalized the
[1:32:22] Palestinian people for 70 5 years and
[1:32:25] only seeks to benefit the capitalist
[1:32:26] system via War profits by the ruling
[1:32:29] class working people in the US and
[1:32:31] around the world including the including
[1:32:33] in Israel itself have nothing to gain
[1:32:36] from this occupation and the funds are
[1:32:39] only and the funds going towards the
[1:32:41] military aid could easily be used for
[1:32:43] funding services for communities around
[1:32:45] housing and healthare Etc and therefore
[1:32:48] I would like to urge that a ceasefire
[1:32:50] resolution also include language around
[1:32:52] ending US military AR Aid and ending the
[1:32:55] occupation and Siege thank you thank
[1:33:08] you deal
[1:33:15] sha thank you all for giving us this
[1:33:19] time and space uh before I get started I
[1:33:21] do have 98 C5 signatures here that I
[1:33:25] would like to share with you if that's
[1:33:27] okay this is nine days worth of work so
[1:33:30] 100 people per day uh I'm not going to
[1:33:33] go
[1:33:34] into 100 plus years of History we're not
[1:33:36] here for a history lesson but I will say
[1:33:40] uh as the Imam of the SKC Islamic Center
[1:33:42] the biggest uh Muslim organization in
[1:33:45] the city of SKC and really representing
[1:33:48] a lot more than just Muslims in for this
[1:33:50] particular
[1:33:52] issue what we're calling for in that
[1:33:55] resolution is an end to violence it's an
[1:33:58] end to the murder of children on both
[1:34:00] sides it's an end to the blockage of Aid
[1:34:04] diapers insulin things that every human
[1:34:08] being every family need that we take for
[1:34:10] granted but that those Palestinians in
[1:34:13] Gaza right now wish they could have we
[1:34:16] can walk to the grocery store get what
[1:34:18] we need and walk right out they don't
[1:34:20] have that
[1:34:22] option they a a trucks are being blocked
[1:34:25] by families of settlers Zionist settlers
[1:34:29] who block those a trucks with smiles on
[1:34:30] their faces and they've been on
[1:34:34] record as wanting to introduce death
[1:34:37] upon all the citizens of Gaza because
[1:34:39] there's this infatuation that every
[1:34:41] Palestinian happens to be a Hamas
[1:34:44] terrorist I don't need to remind you how
[1:34:47] hateful and how dangerous racist
[1:34:50] rhetoric can be we know that firsthand
[1:34:53] as the Muslims in America you know that
[1:34:55] firsthand being an African-American
[1:34:57] woman of color and we all know that in
[1:34:59] our own capacity have had experience
[1:35:01] with
[1:35:02] that I think the most pertinent thing
[1:35:05] today to take away from is that the
[1:35:07] ceasefire resolution that's being
[1:35:09] introduced here that we're asking you to
[1:35:11] uphold simply as a gesture of elected
[1:35:14] officials on behalf of the people you
[1:35:16] represent is one of inclusion a
[1:35:19] ceasefire accomplishes an exchange of
[1:35:22] hostages under the guise of safy and
[1:35:24] security for both sides not just for one
[1:35:26] side we are not here to talk about Hamas
[1:35:30] unlike some others who have come here
[1:35:32] and apparently are obsessed with Hamas
[1:35:35] we're here simply to talk about the fact
[1:35:37] that the Israeli Defense Forces are not
[1:35:40] only bombing indiscriminately not only
[1:35:42] shooting
[1:35:43] indiscriminately but after they bomb and
[1:35:46] they shoot they will then go and pillage
[1:35:48] the homes that they've just destroyed
[1:35:50] riding a dead kids bicycle on Tik tock
[1:35:53] and laughing about it stealing the
[1:35:55] lingerie of women that they just
[1:35:57] murdered for the world to see and they
[1:35:59] have no shame whatsoever about it and
[1:36:02] for anyone to say that they
[1:36:04] support the most moral army in the world
[1:36:07] quote unquote goes to show you what
[1:36:09] their version of morality is what their
[1:36:11] definition of morality is for us again
[1:36:15] Beyond just
[1:36:17] Muslims we see something happening
[1:36:20] Against Humanity a crime against
[1:36:22] humanity and I look at this side of the
[1:36:24] room and I see more than just Muslims I
[1:36:26] see more than just one color of people I
[1:36:28] see people that recognize Truth for what
[1:36:30] it is and want to speak out against the
[1:36:33] Injustice that suppresses that truth
[1:36:35] which is that violence Upon A group of
[1:36:38] people simply because they happen to be
[1:36:40] from a certain part of the world simply
[1:36:41] because their nationality happens to be
[1:36:43] Palestinian simply because their their
[1:36:45] language happens to be Arabic is
[1:36:47] completely wrong there is no room for
[1:36:49] this in 2024 there's no room for it ever
[1:36:51] in the world but since need you
[1:36:53] summarize please sir thank you very much
[1:36:56] I will end with
[1:36:58] this if you guys pass this resolution
[1:37:02] you will do a great thing for the
[1:37:04] constituents that you represent I
[1:37:07] understand some people may be upset but
[1:37:08] at the end of the day the city of skty
[1:37:11] you as elected
[1:37:12] officials all we want you to do is just
[1:37:14] say there has to be a stop to the
[1:37:17] violence a stop to the genocide that's
[1:37:19] all thank you very much thank
[1:37:20] [Applause]
[1:37:22] you
[1:37:37] uh so he I'm I'm I'm I might be not
[1:37:39] saying your name properly so he
[1:37:43] shakima if you could pronounce it
[1:37:45] correctly for me I'd appreciate
[1:37:52] it yeah it's so
[1:38:01] cha let it be said on record that all of
[1:38:04] us here are against the killing of all
[1:38:06] innocent
[1:38:07] lives it is imperative to put everything
[1:38:10] in perspective since the Zionist
[1:38:11] movement and his sympathizers always
[1:38:13] start from October 7th along with many
[1:38:16] debunked lies while all facts
[1:38:19] Palestinians have been checked and
[1:38:21] confirmed since this is the only live
[1:38:23] broadcasted genocide in the history of
[1:38:26] mankind I would like to mention a few
[1:38:28] facts we so we may have a clear
[1:38:31] understanding of situation in the
[1:38:32] occupied Palestine and our ask for the
[1:38:35] passing of the ceasefire resolution at
[1:38:37] hand the same British Empire that our
[1:38:41] founding fathers fought off this land
[1:38:43] decided to hand over another occupied
[1:38:45] land called Palestine to a group of
[1:38:47] terrorist zionists who killed and forced
[1:38:49] almost 1 million indigenous Palestinians
[1:38:51] out of their homes and land in 1948
[1:38:55] Muslims Christians and Jews have
[1:38:58] continued to suffer in their occupation
[1:39:00] the struggle has always been between the
[1:39:02] Zionist occupiers and the Palestinians
[1:39:04] occupied for anyone who states that
[1:39:07] Israel has a right to defend itself I
[1:39:09] say read up on the un's position in
[1:39:11] regards to the occupying entity and the
[1:39:14] occupied and who has the right to
[1:39:17] self-defense for anyone who says Hamas
[1:39:19] started this on the 7th of October I say
[1:39:22] read up on what happened to Palestinians
[1:39:25] between 1948 and the year Hamas was
[1:39:27] established in
[1:39:29] 1987 oh yeah also read up on what is
[1:39:32] happening to Palestinians in the West
[1:39:34] Bank where there is no Hamas for anyone
[1:39:37] who says Israel is eliminating Hamas I
[1:39:39] say look at the evidence widely
[1:39:41] available of Israeli leadership calling
[1:39:43] for the elimination of the entire
[1:39:45] population by all means why calling
[1:39:48] Palestinians animals and terrorists
[1:39:51] don't forget the zionists claim that
[1:39:53] occupied Palestine belongs to the
[1:39:55] zionists with no place for the
[1:39:58] indigenous Palestinians for anyone who
[1:40:00] says Israel has no choice but to keep
[1:40:03] killing and starving Gins simply because
[1:40:05] it will eliminate Hamas I ask the
[1:40:08] council members if they would accept
[1:40:09] that for our own skty residents do you
[1:40:12] accept the collective punishment of all
[1:40:14] the residents of skty including your own
[1:40:16] loved ones I will even pretend that you
[1:40:19] are not aware of the number of killed
[1:40:21] children mothers fathers elderly
[1:40:23] journalists Medics and NGO workers I
[1:40:26] will further pretend that you are not
[1:40:28] aware of the orchestrated starvation of
[1:40:30] gazin which is predicted to be the
[1:40:33] leading cause of the death of the death
[1:40:35] in Gaza what the heck I'll even pretend
[1:40:38] that you're not aware of the
[1:40:39] assassination of
[1:40:41] civilians as a father an activist an
[1:40:43] educator a school principal a counselor
[1:40:45] a police chaplain and a community leader
[1:40:48] but most importantly as a human being I
[1:40:50] know that we must call for an immediate
[1:40:52] and permanent cease f
[1:40:53] immediate delivery of unrestricted
[1:40:55] humanitarian Aid the ending of us
[1:40:57] funding of the genocide and
[1:40:59] reinstatement of the onra funding and
[1:41:01] the release of all hostages all hostages with this call I know you I
[1:41:08] know you are our representatives and I
[1:41:10] know that you will vote in favor of
[1:41:12] saving lives while both politicians may
[1:41:16] vote against it when I last checked I
[1:41:20] was told that we have more
[1:41:21] Representatives than politicians this
[1:41:23] resolution will tell thank
[1:41:38] you thank
[1:41:40] you Asar ATA ashar
[1:41:50] ATA good evening and uh thank you very
[1:41:53] much Council persons for giving me the
[1:41:56] opportunity to speak here so I speak
[1:41:59] here um as a Muslim as a citizen of
[1:42:03] United States as a citizen of New York
[1:42:06] State and as a community member here and
[1:42:09] I also speak here as a father
[1:42:12] professionally I a man of numbers I'm a
[1:42:14] statistician so I draw I like to draw
[1:42:17] your attention to some numbers some very
[1:42:20] small numbers and we for for for helping
[1:42:23] us understand the scale of the
[1:42:27] devastation that's going on in Gaza the
[1:42:30] Gaza Strip is 141 square miles skti
[1:42:35] county is 209 square miles so we can
[1:42:38] imagine that Gaza is within skincity it
[1:42:42] is a small part of skincity now imagine
[1:42:45] until December as of October to December
[1:42:48] 20 299,000 bombs coming over this 141
[1:42:54] square mile area just imagine around you
[1:42:58] over a period of 2 to 3 months
[1:43:01] 29,000 bombs this is why we are asking
[1:43:04] for a ceasefire all the rhetoric apart
[1:43:08] this is why it needs to stop the next
[1:43:10] number I'm going to talk to you about is
[1:43:12] a number that actually or incident that
[1:43:15] stopped entire
[1:43:17] America if it's a number that made the
[1:43:19] comedians stop their show and talk about
[1:43:22] it which was the Sandy Hook crisis
[1:43:26] everyone who is a father grandmother
[1:43:28] grandfather knows can feel the pain of
[1:43:31] loss of life of
[1:43:34] children the number of kids again as of
[1:43:38] December 13,000 kids over a period of
[1:43:43] about 150 days if you do the math it
[1:43:46] comes down to
[1:43:48] about 80 to 90 kids a day that's 3 to
[1:43:53] four Sandy Hooks every day three to four
[1:43:57] Sandy Hooks happening every day this is
[1:44:01] precisely the reason we want ceasefire
[1:44:04] and we want it now thank you very much
[1:44:06] for taking up the
[1:44:16] resolution thank you thank you Frank
[1:44:20] Wicks Frank wix
[1:44:34] okay start by noting I'm neither
[1:44:38] Palestinian nor Israeli I have no
[1:44:41] personal involvement with the either
[1:44:43] side if the Palestinians were doing to
[1:44:46] the Israelis what the Israelis are doing
[1:44:48] with the Palestinians I would be up here
[1:44:52] defending the uh the
[1:44:56] Israelis uh I I support the
[1:45:00] ceasefire and uh kind of the future
[1:45:03] dream of Einstein that a s a single
[1:45:06] state there with the Jews and uh
[1:45:10] Palestinians living together in in peace and cooperation but
[1:45:18] meanwhile
[1:45:21] uh see here
[1:45:26] again two weeks ago I was here I had my
[1:45:29] Jewish friend Larry on one side and my
[1:45:32] musim friend Muhammad on the other side
[1:45:35] and who we you know as humans we saw
[1:45:39] everything the same
[1:45:40] way now the
[1:45:45] uh okay the uh probably the uh the
[1:45:50] biggest lie is that uh Israel is only
[1:45:54] trying to defend
[1:45:55] itself a month
[1:45:57] before prime minister Netanyahu was the
[1:46:00] United Nations with is a map of the
[1:46:04] future of Israel showing no
[1:46:07] Palestine the only way that can happen
[1:46:10] is by killing every
[1:46:13] Palestinian or by displacing
[1:46:15] them this required United States weapons
[1:46:19] and
[1:46:20] support which we Prov provided
[1:46:24] uh now with second thoughts about it uh
[1:46:27] and we're providing it and we're getting
[1:46:28] told not there none of our business how
[1:46:31] it's getting
[1:46:32] used uh so where we stand right now is
[1:46:39] the best we can do is right now seize
[1:46:41] fire you know again that doesn't that
[1:46:45] doesn't address the force
[1:46:47] starvation uh that now the uh so so the
[1:46:53] seege fire ought to be the minimal right
[1:46:55] now stopping the weapons ought to come
[1:46:58] next
[1:47:00] uh and I guess the people of skti I
[1:47:03] think the good people of
[1:47:05] skti should have no problem supporting
[1:47:07] this and I guess you know sometime in
[1:47:10] the future I think the Israeli leaders
[1:47:15] and Israeli army forces they're
[1:47:19] committing know the war crimes ought to
[1:47:21] be tried in a International tribunal
[1:47:24] with the support of the United States
[1:47:26] and the good people of skti thank you
[1:47:30] thank
[1:47:41] you Leila
[1:47:45] kaaga great thank you you're
[1:47:49] welcome all right okay thank you for
[1:47:52] having us tonight you've listened to a
[1:47:54] lot of voices and I appreciate that um
[1:47:56] so my name is Leila kaaga I'm a resident
[1:47:58] and a local business owner I stand here
[1:48:00] a little confused how people can say
[1:48:03] they want peace but oppose a ceasefire
[1:48:06] when you oppose a ceasefire you're
[1:48:07] standing with the occupation you're
[1:48:09] standing with oppression and you stand
[1:48:11] with killing 32,000 individuals in 170
[1:48:15] days you stand with starving 2.2
[1:48:18] million uh citizens of Gaza half of
[1:48:21] which are children 50% our children you
[1:48:24] prioritize 100 hostages over 2.1 million
[1:48:28] lives and over 10,000 Palestinian
[1:48:30] hostages that no one has ever seemed to
[1:48:33] mention that Israel has captured within
[1:48:35] the past 170 days you stand with killing
[1:48:38] my family and my people I'm not going to
[1:48:41] stand here and give you guys a 75 year
[1:48:44] history lesson what I'm going to say is
[1:48:45] I'm sick to my stomach seeing my people
[1:48:48] carpet bomb daily starved to death and
[1:48:51] massacred in one of the the most modern
[1:48:54] live stream genocide that we've ever
[1:48:56] seen and the world leaders are just
[1:48:58] sitting back this is not just an
[1:49:01] international Affair I disagree with
[1:49:02] prior statements this is a local issue
[1:49:05] it starts local everything starts local
[1:49:07] because it is closest to the people
[1:49:09] unfortunately I can't stop my tax money
[1:49:11] from going and killing my own people so
[1:49:14] what I can do is stand here and share my
[1:49:16] story and share my community's voice my
[1:49:19] Palestinian Muslim community's voice
[1:49:21] that has been severely underrepresented
[1:49:24] in this area and frankly in this
[1:49:27] country I learned from Malcolm X you
[1:49:29] can't be so blinded by your patriotism
[1:49:34] and your religion and culture to see
[1:49:35] what is wrong is wrong and what is
[1:49:38] happening is wrong hurting my people
[1:49:41] across AA strip is wrong killing them
[1:49:45] carpet bombing everything is wrong
[1:49:48] stopping the humanitarian Aid going in
[1:49:50] and while on the other side they're
[1:49:53] celebrating and dancing while starving
[1:49:55] children they're on the verge of the
[1:49:57] worst famine in this Century that is
[1:50:00] wrong we unfortunately in Palestine do
[1:50:02] not have the luxury of special rooms
[1:50:04] that protect us from our oppressors
[1:50:07] aggressions my father did not have a
[1:50:10] safe shelter in 1967 when he was
[1:50:12] forcibly expelled and made a refugee my
[1:50:15] mother's family did not have a shelter
[1:50:18] and a safe room when her family was
[1:50:20] forcibly removed in the Great Neck of 19
[1:50:23] 48 I cannot remember and I'm sure many
[1:50:26] Muslims here also agree we can't
[1:50:28] remember a Friday prayer that a police
[1:50:31] officer was not present that is our norm
[1:50:34] since probably 2001 don't quote me on
[1:50:37] that but that's how it felt we don't
[1:50:40] know of Friday prayer without police
[1:50:44] presence Mrs Pearl said earlier no
[1:50:47] matter who is at my door you help them
[1:50:49] this body represents connecti the Deep
[1:50:52] diversity and resilience of this what
[1:50:54] this city stands for I am painfully used
[1:50:57] to my voice not being represented by
[1:50:59] elected officials and I hope this body
[1:51:02] will finally represent my people's voice
[1:51:04] and on the day that Albany common
[1:51:05] Council passed the ceasefire resolution
[1:51:07] we were there majority of us were there
[1:51:09] and a council member stood up and
[1:51:11] thanked us for opening his eyes to the
[1:51:13] other side of the story there's three
[1:51:15] sides to every story right there's
[1:51:17] always the truth you guys can use your
[1:51:20] eyes and go read on the history and read
[1:51:22] up on everything but as of right now a
[1:51:24] ceasefire tells us that you care about
[1:51:26] our community and you care about peace
[1:51:28] so please do not keep repeating history
[1:51:31] let's learn from history and do the
[1:51:33] right thing and giving the oppressed a
[1:51:35] voice thank you for your thank
[1:51:48] you Jamaica
[1:51:51] miles
[1:51:59] a lot going on
[1:52:02] here yeah we're just
[1:52:04] gonna okay we're gonna leave
[1:52:07] it Lila Watson said if you have come
[1:52:09] here to help me you are wasting your
[1:52:11] time but if you have come because your
[1:52:13] Liberation is bound up with mine then
[1:52:15] let's work
[1:52:16] together Doctors Without Borders Amnesty
[1:52:19] International the international court of
[1:52:21] justice which found in its initial
[1:52:22] ruling that the allegation by South
[1:52:24] Africa that Israel was engaged in
[1:52:25] genocidal actions in Gaza was plausible
[1:52:28] and that action had to be taken to avoid
[1:52:30] a genocide UNICEF euromed rights Human
[1:52:33] Rights Watch and unit United Nations
[1:52:35] human rights just some of the groups and
[1:52:37] organizations that call for a ceas fire
[1:52:39] someone said to me recently that they
[1:52:41] feel that if they do or do not say very
[1:52:43] specific things that they will be judged
[1:52:45] to be different than how they see
[1:52:47] themselves I've thought about this
[1:52:48] deeply who are we can be seen in our
[1:52:51] words and our actions
[1:52:53] Therefore your words or the absence of
[1:52:55] them do carry weight who are we if we
[1:52:57] are silent to Injustice who are we if we
[1:53:00] turn a blind eye we are complicit the
[1:53:03] loss of Israeli life on October 7th is
[1:53:05] heartbreaking to those who have been
[1:53:07] impacted by the death or kidnappings I
[1:53:09] humbly share my deepest condolences and
[1:53:11] a wish for the safe return of those
[1:53:13] still remaining that one day was a
[1:53:15] painful loss since that day we have seen
[1:53:18] the Relentless disproportionate and
[1:53:20] dehumanizing attack on the Palestinian
[1:53:22] people in Gaza thinly veiled as an
[1:53:24] operation to free the hostages when
[1:53:26] there was a temporary ceasefire both
[1:53:28] hostages held by Hamas and political
[1:53:31] prisoners held by Israel were released
[1:53:33] but not all What followed was the
[1:53:35] continuing bombardment by the state of
[1:53:36] Israel of schools hospitals churches MOS
[1:53:39] universities historical sites and
[1:53:41] residential areas as well as putting
[1:53:43] back in prison people they had
[1:53:44] previously released the death tollen
[1:53:47] Gaza currently stands at more than
[1:53:48] 30,000 31,000 32,000 because the number
[1:53:51] is bigger right now than it was when we
[1:53:53] started approximately 70% of them being
[1:53:55] women and children journalists murdered
[1:53:57] and arrested and a man-made famine that
[1:53:59] has consumed the lives of children and
[1:54:01] increases as we debate whether or not
[1:54:04] the Palestinian people are worthy of
[1:54:06] food Water Shelter electricity or
[1:54:08] medical care a ceasefire is necessary
[1:54:10] for all of those things to end the
[1:54:13] Bloodshed for everyone Dr King known for
[1:54:15] being quoted in these walls and in this
[1:54:17] country spoke out adamantly against War
[1:54:20] racism and capitalism he was highly
[1:54:22] criticized for his opposition to Vietnam
[1:54:24] War it didn't stop him but King knew
[1:54:26] what many of us claim yet not all of us
[1:54:28] stand up to do it is always the right
[1:54:31] thing to the right time to do what is
[1:54:32] right the right thing to do in this
[1:54:34] moment is to stand on the side of
[1:54:36] history that honors all life and speaks
[1:54:37] against the ongoing genocide which has
[1:54:40] been supported by US Dollars our
[1:54:42] resources have been used for the death
[1:54:43] and destruction of Palestinian people
[1:54:45] while right here there was a need for
[1:54:46] food shelter Healthcare and more instead
[1:54:48] of investing in helping people in need
[1:54:50] our resources have been used to create a
[1:54:52] wider Gap internationally of people in
[1:54:54] need people suffering people
[1:54:56] marginalized destroying instead of
[1:54:58] building making millions unsafe let us
[1:55:01] not be silent and complicit to a global
[1:55:03] Cry For Justice the Irish were honored
[1:55:05] in these very Halls two weeks ago let's
[1:55:07] stand with Ireland who for St Patrick's
[1:55:09] Day declared that Ireland will always
[1:55:11] stand with Palestine and called for an
[1:55:12] immediate ceasefire as a growing number
[1:55:14] of cities across the US do let us too
[1:55:17] send a clear message to Muslim Jewish
[1:55:19] and Palestinians that it is safety for
[1:55:21] all not just for some a cease fire
[1:55:23] resolution is connected he does that if
[1:55:25] this body does not believe the loss of
[1:55:27] life at this scale is on and the ongoing
[1:55:30] Siege is worthy of your attention then
[1:55:32] what is necessary for it to matter to
[1:55:34] you thank
[1:55:43] you
[1:55:46] Sean sha
[1:55:48] young sha
[1:55:51] Young
[1:55:59] no okay oh okay
[1:56:14] sea uh good evening everyone um I was
[1:56:17] outside watching this live
[1:56:20] um man I heard so much tonight I heard
[1:56:24] so much from so many and and clearly um
[1:56:28] to me this is not just an international
[1:56:30] issue um this is an this is an issue
[1:56:32] that impacts every single one of us in
[1:56:35] this community and everyone that showed
[1:56:36] up here to speak about their feelings
[1:56:38] about what's happening um in Palestine
[1:56:41] and Israel's um I feel that it's
[1:56:46] important for me to speak up and on
[1:56:47] behalf of a ceasefire um in Gaza we have
[1:56:51] seen
[1:56:52] day after day um indiscriminate boming
[1:56:55] of people of women of men of children I
[1:56:59] remember as many of us do October 7th
[1:57:01] and what happened um to Israelis and the
[1:57:04] slaughter by Hamas on that people and
[1:57:07] the kidnapping of so many back into Gaza
[1:57:10] and I watched day after day as Israel
[1:57:13] took Vengeance on Gaza and bombed and bombed that Community
[1:57:19] including the West Bank um to today
[1:57:22] where we're have tens of thousands of
[1:57:24] people that have been killed we are
[1:57:25] simply saying as I stand here that a
[1:57:29] ceasefire is necessary for all the
[1:57:32] things that we want for peace for people
[1:57:34] to have the things they need
[1:57:37] for the exchange of hostages for any
[1:57:41] kind of diplomatic I think moving
[1:57:43] forward of this issue Cesar ceire has to
[1:57:47] happen I'm not here to give a 75 year
[1:57:49] history as you've heard so many others
[1:57:50] speak about I'm looking look at the
[1:57:52] situation today we're in March and we
[1:57:56] have numbers reaching up to 30,000 plus
[1:57:59] people killed and I think that our
[1:58:01] community and this is like once again
[1:58:03] not just an international our community
[1:58:05] is responsible for our feelings and our
[1:58:07] thoughts and this is what we're doing
[1:58:08] today we've brought this to our we
[1:58:11] brought this to our our local leaders
[1:58:13] these are the issues that we have we
[1:58:14] wanted to share them with you and let
[1:58:16] you know this is where we stand we've
[1:58:18] heard it from both sides of this from so
[1:58:20] many people that are passionate and our
[1:58:22] are feeling a lot of pain you all
[1:58:24] represent the entire community and we
[1:58:26] hope that you're listening with open
[1:58:27] ears from every single person that spoke
[1:58:30] up tonight there's a lot of pain in our
[1:58:32] community the ceasefire is not going to
[1:58:34] cause division this discussion isn't
[1:58:37] causing division this is bringing us
[1:58:39] together how else are we going to come
[1:58:40] together unless we are communicating
[1:58:42] having open dialogue with one another we
[1:58:45] have to do this this is important and I
[1:58:47] appreciate your time thank you thank
[1:58:51] you
[1:58:59] Muhammad Rya
[1:59:07] Mohammad good evening everyone thank you
[1:59:10] Mayor Gary McCarthy Madame speaker and
[1:59:12] other council member for giving me the
[1:59:14] opportunity to speak here before I start
[1:59:17] I wanted to read a article posted on CNN
[1:59:19] on November 8 2023 an eyewitness to
[1:59:23] genocide this isn't a propaganda from
[1:59:26] hamus this isn't a statement from
[1:59:28] Palestinian Authority this this account
[1:59:30] cannot be spared by Israeli government
[1:59:32] and its collaborators this is an
[1:59:35] American nurse from medicine s fronti
[1:59:39] speaking of a firsthand experience of
[1:59:42] being in Gazza there's no place in
[1:59:45] there's no safe place in Gazza she says
[1:59:47] there there were children with just
[1:59:49] massive massive um burn down their faces
[1:59:53] down their necks all over the limbs they
[1:59:56] are being discharged of these camps with
[1:59:59] no running water there are 50,000 more
[2:00:02] than 50,000 people are at Camp right now
[2:00:05] and only four toilets and they are the
[2:00:09] children they have these Fresh open
[2:00:11] wounds and perial
[2:00:13] ambulations so I encourage I encourage
[2:00:16] everyone to watch this um interview in
[2:00:19] CNN it was posted on November 8
[2:00:26] 2023 my my name is Riyad and I'm a
[2:00:28] resident of his conect and I moved here
[2:00:30] about two two and a half years ago from
[2:00:32] uh Brooklyn New York City I used to live
[2:00:34] in borrow park in Brooklyn and which is
[2:00:36] a heavily Jewish uh Jewish neighborhood
[2:00:39] I can tell you most of my then Jewish
[2:00:42] neighbors don't support what is
[2:00:44] happening in gadza right now and they
[2:00:46] want to Cee fire I chose esan because it
[2:00:49] is peaceful people love peace and and a
[2:00:52] apart from many other great things a lot
[2:00:54] of families been moving here because
[2:00:58] people are very friendly they want peace
[2:01:00] so I don't want I I do not want my
[2:01:02] children to go up seeing and witnessing
[2:01:04] what is happening in gadza many of us
[2:01:06] might have a question how and why this
[2:01:09] war was started well we all know the
[2:01:12] answer but it's not about how it was
[2:01:14] started or whose fault it was this is a
[2:01:17] long debate Palestinian people have been
[2:01:20] suffering for many years and faced you
[2:01:22] know they are forced out of their home
[2:01:24] for 75 years to or close to 80 years so
[2:01:27] like I have mentioned earlier this is a
[2:01:29] long debate and we do not want to go to
[2:01:30] that debate what we want is very simple
[2:01:33] just a ceasefire so that Aid such as
[2:01:36] medical and food supplies can get into
[2:01:38] gadza I'm asking our fellow Jewish
[2:01:42] Community if it was other way around and
[2:01:44] Je would Jewish
[2:01:46] people wouldn't they want a ceas fire if
[2:01:49] they were the one that got killed by the
[2:01:50] other other side of course they would
[2:01:52] right so why I'm asking for a ceasefire
[2:01:54] in Gazza the innocent Gazza resident
[2:01:57] don't deserve to die and be killed like
[2:01:59] this why should they be suffering
[2:02:01] because of someone else we not we need
[2:02:03] to think about it I'm I'm fasting for
[2:02:06] about you know 11 and 13 years um today
[2:02:09] is the fifth fast that I have I was
[2:02:11] fasting and I just broke my first year
[2:02:13] with a with a date but those people in
[2:02:16] gadza the kid the CH children the
[2:02:18] women's they have been like fasting for
[2:02:20] months days months if not years you know
[2:02:25] especially since no October 7th they
[2:02:28] have been they have very very limited
[2:02:30] food there's no there's no a
[2:02:33] being got into gadza so I don't I do not
[2:02:37] want my children to suffer like this and
[2:02:39] to go through like this I don't think so
[2:02:41] any of us here would want to see our
[2:02:43] children go through this as well so if
[2:02:46] you don't I'm asking and requesting you
[2:02:48] your honorable chair to pass a
[2:02:50] resolution for a ceire in GZA this is
[2:02:52] the least we can do for our future
[2:02:54] generation and I'm sure none of us want
[2:02:56] to see and our future generation to see
[2:02:59] what is happening in gadza and by waking
[2:03:01] up every day to see the people the
[2:03:04] children the innocent children and women
[2:03:07] they are being killed in GZA for no
[2:03:09] reason I need you to summarize sir Alban
[2:03:12] County thank you Alban County and many
[2:03:13] other neighboring country um County have
[2:03:15] already passed a resolution for ceire
[2:03:17] and gadza so I'm asking you and
[2:03:19] requesting you our requesting our es
[2:03:22] city council to join them and pass this
[2:03:24] resolution for ceasefire thank you so
[2:03:26] much thank
[2:03:27] [Applause]
[2:03:35] you for the last time I'm going to call
[2:03:38] Ria Salah if you're
[2:03:42] here if
[2:03:45] not I have no one else signed up to
[2:03:47] speak for the public comment of City
[2:03:49] business so I declare this public
[2:03:51] comment
[2:03:55] closed this time any miscellaneous
[2:03:57] business of this Council miscellaneous
[2:04:00] business of the
[2:04:04] council
[2:04:08] mayor thank you madam president
[2:04:10] appreciate everyone coming out tonight
[2:04:12] and uh understand the level of emotion
[2:04:15] that's attached to that and uh again we
[2:04:17] all hope that uh things will be
[2:04:21] different different and that peace will
[2:04:23] prevail in the end thank you madam
[2:04:27] president
[2:04:29] okay was there a council member that
[2:04:31] wanted to speak
[2:04:33] okay what is your name
[2:04:37] sir oh oh Peter
[2:04:41] okay let's see it looked like Peter Cook
[2:04:44] who already
[2:04:50] spoke
[2:04:54] Peter look yes here you are cross out
[2:04:57] but here you are I apologize for that we
[2:05:00] had a lot of
[2:05:04] duplicates thank you
[2:05:06] um I just want to say that
[2:05:10] uh I speak from a personal moral
[2:05:14] practical human
[2:05:16] perspective um I was taught Thou shalt
[2:05:18] not kill when I was growing up and uh in
[2:05:23] church I took pece studies in
[2:05:26] college uh if I'm in a bar with two guys
[2:05:30] fighting
[2:05:31] um I will step in and say hey guys
[2:05:34] what's the matter and and try and break
[2:05:36] it up rarely to get anything seriously
[2:05:41] done there um I would not give them a KN
[2:05:44] one a knife and another one a
[2:05:46] gun
[2:05:49] um 55 years years ago I decried the
[2:05:52] killing of innocent people in in uh
[2:05:56] Vietnam and these hundreds of thousands
[2:05:59] of innocent
[2:06:00] Vietnamese died and um I don't think
[2:06:04] that brought peace to
[2:06:08] Vietnam I decried the September 11th
[2:06:10] attack I asked my
[2:06:13] Governor Schumer and Clinton at the time
[2:06:17] my Senators not to attack Iraq and
[2:06:20] Afghanistan and syri Syria and Yemen uh
[2:06:24] they ignored my
[2:06:26] request um and actually had me arrested
[2:06:29] for trying to talk to them and over a
[2:06:31] 100 people were killed for every one
[2:06:34] death on September 11th and peace is
[2:06:37] still not obtained
[2:06:39] there I decry the October 7th attack by
[2:06:43] Hamas I also decry the killing of 100
[2:06:46] innocent Palestinian children by Israeli
[2:06:50] military for every single one killed on
[2:06:53] SE on October 7th 100 to
[2:06:57] one
[2:06:59] um Gandhi said Peace is not the target
[2:07:01] peace is the way I ask that all moral
[2:07:05] and practical people call for permanent
[2:07:08] ceasefire now thank you thank
[2:07:11] [Applause]
[2:07:19] you thank you chuie is there anyone else
[2:07:21] that whose name I did not call that
[2:07:23] signed up to speak because we did have a
[2:07:24] lot of duplicates that we crossed out
[2:07:26] okay with that then I declare this
[2:07:28] public comment closed really
[2:07:32] closed uh we've had heard from There's
[2:07:35] No Business from the council members
[2:07:36] we've heard from the mayor um I just
[2:07:38] want to thank everyone for coming out
[2:07:39] tonight I know that everyone is very
[2:07:42] passionate about their particular
[2:07:43] position in this and uh we've heard a
[2:07:46] lot tonight from from everyone that came
[2:07:48] to speak so we appreciate you coming and
[2:07:50] uh coming out I know that we did receive
[2:07:53] an email council members from Dr shakima
[2:07:57] yes and I did respond and so my
[2:08:00] particular position is this is that if there's going to be a conversation
[2:08:04] then all voices need to be in the same
[2:08:05] room having a conversation on both sides
[2:08:08] of it as opposed to us just hearing
[2:08:10] individually and then um moving that
[2:08:13] forward so do the doctor asked us for a
[2:08:16] meeting I personally said that I am
[2:08:17] willing to have that meeting and attend
[2:08:19] that meeting I'm not willing to call
[2:08:21] that meeting I'm willing to attend that
[2:08:23] meeting provided both sides of the uh
[2:08:27] people on both sides of the issue are
[2:08:28] present because hearing a one-sided
[2:08:31] discussion is not helpful so that's
[2:08:33] where I am right now with that I again
[2:08:35] appreciate you all for coming out and again there is no resolution
[2:08:39] currently before this Council but thank
[2:08:41] you for call coming tonight and to for
[2:08:43] hearing your voices heard and with that
[2:08:46] i' ask for a motion to
[2:08:48] adjourn second okay motion by Mr Mudan
[2:08:52] second by Mr Mancini all those in favor
[2:08:54] I we are adjourned have a good night
[2:08:57] thank
[2:09:05] you I have
[2:09:12] a organizations I'm involved
[2:09:20] with
[2:09:23] [Music]