a
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
I'd like to call the city Caucus meeting
to order for Monday June 10th
2024 we have one public public hearing
this evening if the clerk would please
read public hearing number one to extend
the temporary moratorium on the
submission and processing of building
permits certificates of occupancy
certificates of use and land use
approvals for smoke shops vape shops
hooka lounges and vape consumption
businesses as the city council considers
changes to the city code chapter 264
thank you we have nine items for
original consideration and one item for
unanimous consent if the clerk could
please read the item for unanimous
consent
under unanimous consent an ordin
ordinance pursuant to section 101 of the
second class cities law abandoning a
portion of Amelia
Street I need a motion to have this
placed on the floor so move I need a
second second second all in favor
I since there's no objection to this
motion it's going to be moved on uh may
I have a motion to move on to the
consent agenda
so all in favor I thank you
item number one item number one for
original consideration an ordinance
authorizing a supplemental bond for an
increase in the cost of the construction
reconstruction and installation of
improvements at and in connection with
the Rice Road water treatment plan Phase
One by
5,964
73 discussed in committee without
objection and on consent item number two for original
consideration an ordinance author izing
a supplemental bond for an increase in
the cost of the construction
reconstruction and installation of
improvement at and in connection with
the Rice Road water treatment plan phase
two by
$2,489 60 discussed in committee without
objection on consent item number three for original
consideration an ordinance extending the
temporary moratorium on the submission
and processing of building permits
certificates of occupancy certificates
of use and land use approval for smoke
shop vape shops hooka lounges and vape
consumption businesses as the city
council considers changes to the
connected city code chapter 264
discussed in committee without objection
on consent item number four item number
four for original consideration a
resolution calling for a public hearing
for amendments to the SKC city code on
proposed changes to the historic
district ordinance and related historic
district and zoning ordinances discuss
in committee without objection on
consent item number five item number
five for original consideration a
resolution transmitting to the SKC City
Planning Commission proposed changes to
the city of SKC historic commission
ordinance and related historic district
and zoning ordinances discuss in
committee with objection and on consent
item number six item number six for
original consideration a resolution
authorizing the sale of a vacant lot on
aelia Street identified as sbl number
49.77
d137 for
$465 discussed in committee without
objection on consent item number seven for original
consideration a resolution authorizing
the sale of a vacant lot on a milon
street identified as number
49.77
d138 for
$465 discussed in committee with
objection on consent item number eight for original
consideration a resolution authorizing
the sale of 10:30 Park Avenue for
$127,500
discussed in committee without objection
and consent item number nine item number
nine for original consideration a
resolution recognizing juneth 2024
discussed in committee with objection on
consent this item will be presented on
June
22nd if there's nothing more to come
before the city council caucus I ask for
motion to adjourn move by Miss Patrick
second by Mr Farley all those in favor
we are adjourned I'd like to call the
city council meeting uh to order for
Monday June 10th 2024
and uh this evening we don't have anyone
to do the invocation so I invite you all
to rise take a moment to
reflect and with the god um and and
commune with the god of your
understanding
thank you I'd like to call on Chief
Marino for the Pledge of
Allegiance flag United States of America
to the for it stands one nation God
indivisible withy and justice for all
thank you
if the clerk could please complete the
roll
call Mr Toro Mr Farley here Mr manini
here Mr
muon Miss Patrick here Mr Williams M
Porterfield
here we have one public hearing this
evening and just a reminder we've
extended the public comment for the
public hearing to 4 minutes and I
respectfully ask that there's anyone
that signs up only comment on the
subject relative to the public hearing
itself public hearing number one is to
extend the temporary moratorium on the
submission and processing of building
permits certif certificates of occupancy
certificates of use and land use
approvals for smoke shops vape shops
hookah lounges and vape consumption
businesses as the city council considers
changes to city code chapter
264 I have no one signs up for this
public hearing so I declare the public hearing
closed i' ask for approval of the
minutes for May 28th
2024 mve by Mr Williams second by Mr
Mancini all those in favor I if the
clerk would please read any
Communications and
petitions Communications presented to
the city council for Monday June 10th
2024 under official there were none
under General there were none and under
petitions there were
none i' ask uh any city councilman
members for committee
reports any committee
reports if not at this time we'll take
any comments related to the legislative
agenda I have no one signed up to speak
so I declare the comment public comment
on the leg legislative agenda
closed I ask for approval of the
legislative consent of the consent
agenda second please second by Mr
Williams all in favor
this time we will ask I will ask for
privil of privilege of the floor
regarding um City
business I do want to state that we have
a number of people signed up we're at 40
I think we're at 42 by now and so what
I'm and I know that many of you are here
to speak on a particular subject what
has happened in the past is that people
have come and wanted to speak on City
business other than that particular
topic so what I'm going to do is to ask
individuals who are here to speak on a
topic other than the conflict or the
discussion regarding the resolution
around Gaza if there's anyone here that
other here to other than to speak on
that I will give you opportunity to
place you to the front of the agenda
because I know that some of you would
come before and left I've received
emails regarding that so I want to give
those individuals
consideration uh is there anyone
here okay Mr Serrano
um so good evening my name is Ron Serano
and I'm a longtime resident and property
owner of the soon to be multiple
business owners here in
downtown I own a salon and I'm soon to
be opening up the
deli I have had several longstanding
issues that have been repeatedly
presented to you the city council and to
other various appropriate parties the
biggest thing that I present the issues
offer to assist and resolve the issues
and get nowhere I may be wasting my
breath again tonight but I'm going to do
it one more try first the downtown area
is really filthy with trash all over the
streets I've been told this is the
general downtown problem but I've lived
and visited much larger cities as
Atlanta Fort laudale Austin Chicago and
many European cities and nothing
compares to the filth that we see in
this connected streets I see more and
more dog feces rotting
Foods um vendors from the farmers market
piling the the trash cans and they're
overflowing it doesn't make it for a
very presentable City when people are
coming in from Union College parents
everything else people coming in and
patronizing our downtown businesses
especially my salon people travel from
hours just to come and see me and for
them to have to witness our city looking
like a trap sheep um I was told that you
know from somebody that you know they
weren't going to pay anybody to do it on
a Sunday but the other day I noticed six
employees pressure washing the staircase
that's no longer in use so let's talk
about where some of the funds are going
and
wasted um Also regarding state in
Clinton the apartment building the
parking needs to be addressed I am sure
that you have the minutes from the city
planning meeting where Redburn presented
information for for approval before the
building could be constructed Redbird
said they would have designated
parking well it's not the case so
basically all the tenants Park on
Barrett Street they Park on Clinton
Street and they know that they can park
for free after 4:00 in the public
parking lot they stay overnight they
some leave in the morning on the
weekends I have documentation with um
cars that are parked there for the
entire weekend about 10% of that parking
lot are are is usable for the public to
patronize our local businesses so if you
want our local businesses to stay here
then we need to address the residential
parking because this was not agreed upon
that they needed to have designated
parking they all have tabs on their cars
so why if they don't have parking that
they're using and I'm tired of them
saying or people saying it's public
parking they could park there once you
live in a city you become a resident you
become a tenant you not become the
public and that's what we need to
address this parking
issue so I'm really hoping that um
something could be really done uh with
everything that's going on
and lastly I'm just hoping that I can
get some sort of commitment from
somebody even if we get different
meetings something that we can talk
about with the parking and now there is
going to be a dispensary on the corner
of state and Clinton and again no
parking setup so those are people that
are going to be coming and going that's
what the parking lots are there for
they're not there for people to stay
there for 10 hours thank you thank
you okay so I know that um based on the
list that some of you many of you have
probably never been to our meeting
before so I just want to go over a
couple of things first of all there's a
three minute time um you heard the timer
just now for this gentleman when that timer goes off your time has
expired if you're in the middle of a
sentence please finish your sentence but
we have a number of speakers tonight so
we'd ask that you not continue beyond
that I I have to ask you to um to leave
the mic so um we I'm going to be doing
you now in order since there's no one
else to speak besides this and um we
won't not will not be adding anyone else
to the meeting now that the meeting's
begun um and all your comments should be
directed to me as the presiding officer
and there will be no disparaging remarks
towards the council towards other
members of the of the audience if
someone's saying something that you
don't necessarily agree with there will
be no booing we are here to listen to
what every person has to
say so um and this happened before so
let me just say it I'm going to ask that
you refrain from profane V vulgar and
inflammatory language um disparaging any
other individual whether it's racial
ethnic or homophobic and no disruptive
Outburst so with that I'm going to call
the first person and we have a total of
actually 38 there were some duplicates
on here and the first person is j a
miles
[Music]
I guess we're not in order by which time
we signed up
it's not
possible we live in a global society and
decisions that this body makes for our
local community is intrinsically tied to
the global Community even so the call
for a ceasefire resolution has local
Global and historical relevance Each of
which is being recorded it is impossible
for this not to be a local issue simply
for the fact that hundreds I'm sorry
we're now at over a thousand residents
have come to you and said that it is an
issue for them and they call for you to
be leaders they ask that you stand on
the side of Justice they ask that you
advocate for the resources or Community
needs we have an expectation that our
elected officials are going to advocate
for our needs at local state and federal
levels funding that could have been
spent right here in our city for
infrastructure Education Health Care
housing and more has been used to kill
civilians in another country zionists
and their supporters said that the city
council should not be involved in quote
international issues then we hear City
Council Members parting the same talking
points we shouldn't be involved in
international issues some of you have
said you are not taking aide you did you
chose a side if international issues are
a Hardline for any council member why
not International Investment will you
refuse your pension that is invested in
Israeli bonds will you divest connected
city worker pension plans from from
Israeli bonds or are any of you fighting
a ceasefire resolution in order to
protect your own investment by accepting
the genocide of a people for your own
retirement sken County and the City of
skinc are participating employers what
happens to the Israeli bonds when the
genocide can no longer be denied then
the willingness of anyone who says that
they stand Against Racism to be the tone
police of black and brown folks to use
white tears to delegitimize black and
brown folks and centor themselves shows
their lack of
sincerity regarding support for
marginalized people the symbolic black
lives matter on J Street is to be a
recognition of the city's commitment to
end systemic and institutional racism if
symbolic gestures mean nothing such as a
resolution then we are very clear about
what black lives matter on J Street
means too to some of you on a personal
note yesterday my six-year-old was at
the park and he banged his head on a
metal pipe at a playground it split his
head open blood gushed over his face I
rushed to him picked him up in my arms
put him in the car and was lucky that
the hospital was less than 5 minutes
away his 12-year-old sister sitting in
the car next to him both of them crying
and hysterical as I rushed to the
emergency room I carried him out of the
car him still bleeding over me over
himself rushed into the hospital praying
that he's going to get efficient
effective and quick medical attention
this is just one moment One Moment In
Time and I was absolutely hysterical and
worried for the life of my child and
this is something that anyone would have
sympathy for the utter disregard for
Humanity when you can sit idly by and
accept that children are being murdered
every single day because I know in my
heart what it felt like for my son who I
had the privilege to take home my son
who is okay today but I could not sleep
last night and that was just one day so
I cannot nearly imagine what it feels
like for the families in Palestine every
single day to see the Bloodshed in the
bodies and the limbs all over palese but
we sit here arguing about whether or not
we need to talk about it thank you
Mindy
Holland Mindy
Holland Madame President esteemed
council
members Mr Mayor my name is Mindy
Holland I live in the county of sken
tonight I come to speak to you about
Israel The ancestral homeland of the
Jewish people and Zionism the movement
for National self-determination and the
Jewish people in that ancestral Homeland
Abraham left his home to travel to the
land of Israel not be to become a great
religion but to become a great nation a
people in that land and the Jews have
lived there continuously for more than
3,000 years twice in Antiquity the
Jewish people built Nations and
exercised self-rule and self
determination in the land of Israel for
hundreds of years though some Jews
remained most were exiled in 70 CE by
the Romans the bond between the Jewish
people in the land of Israel is historic
and also deeply embedded in the Jewish
culture literature and religion
Jerusalem is mentioned 600 times in the
Hebrew Bible and Israel Zion and
Jerusalem are focal points of daily and
holiday prayers the Jewish traditions
and holidays are intimately tied to the
land's agricultural cycles and our
synagogues face to Jem given our
people's history with and connection to
the land of Israel many Jews understand
themselves to be indigenous indigenous
to the land of Israel Zionism is the
movement for The Liberation and National
self-determination of the Jewish people
in our ancestral Homeland while we had a
constant desire for return following our
Exile from the Romans the modern
political movement was born in the late
1800s to address two existential threats
facing the Jewish Jewish people
anti-Semitism and
dissimilation those threats still exist
but would be far worse if it was not for
Israel Zionism is an inherit and
Inseparable part of the Jewish identity
for the vast majority of the Jews on
Earth in the late 1940s when the British
Empire the actual imperialistic
colonizer of the land between the Jordan
and the Mediterranean Sea planned to end
its Colonial mandate and leave a un
special committee rep recommended a
partition to establish two separate
nation states Israel Jewish and Arab so that each would have
self-determination on November 29 1947
the UN General Assembly voted in favor
of the partition plan the Jewish side
accepted the UN plan for the
establishment of two states and Israel
was born a recognition that Jews had a
right to return to their long Exile and
ceaseless persecution around the world I
am a Zionist because I support the right
of Jewish people to self-determination
and nationhood as a means for Liberation
and empowerment in our homeland thank
you for the
time Paula
[Applause]
mler Paula mner Paula
mner m president esteemed council
members and Mr Mayor my name is Paula
mner I live in sken County I've come to
speak to you about our Jewish Community
those of us who have signed up to speak
tonight wearing yellow ribbons are all
residents of the city of sken and sken
County the ribbons remind us all of the
hostages who are now in their
247th day of being held captive in Gaza
we are here to speak in one voice
against a ceas fire resolution we plan
to use our time largely to educate the
council and the public about the Jewish
people our connection to Israel
anti-Semitism in general and the
problematic words pictures and behaviors
we've seen here in these Chambers and in
our community so who are we scenc county
is blessed to have three thriving
synagogues a Jewish community Center and
approximately 300 3,500 Jewish residents
you members of the city council and Mr
Mayor represent Jewish residents who are
diverse in many ways including their
religious practices so given that
diversity of expression what makes a
person Jewish Judaism is not only a set
of beliefs about the origin and meaning
of life and the values one should lead
that life by in other words Judaism is
not only a religion Judaism is also an
ethnicity a nation a people and a
culture people can be culturally Jewish
without believing in any parts of the
Jewish faith I am Jewish which means
that I am a member of the Jewish people
like any marginalized minority group we
get to say who we are and what defines
us I am here tonight to share with you
that Jewish peoplehood is a core part of
the Jewish identity of the local Jewish
Community thank you for your
time Holly
LOF Holly
LOF
hello I'm Jewish I live in skincity and
I support a ceasefire resolution it has
been proposed that city council simply
stop considering resolutions about
international issues no we all know that
resolutions like this have no actual Le
legal effect but they are a means by
which a community can express its
political opinion and the residents of
this city have every right to ask our
representatives to speak on our behalf
about an issue that matters to us this
issue matters to us lots of folks here
tonight live elsewhere maybe in the
county but not in the city but work here
or worship here or come here because
let's face it our restaurants are better
than theirs um and those folks can weigh
in of course but their opinions should
not weigh as much as those of us who
live here and vote here and pay taxes
here skincity is not nkuna it's not
Glenville it's not Clifton Park skincity
is a city of immigrants including lots
of new immigrants and refugees who
understandable sympathies lie with the
people of Gaza skincity is a city of
diverse faiths and increasingly a city
with a significant Muslim population
whose sympathies also understandably lie
with the PE people of Gaza and crucially
skincity is a young City our median age
is in the low3s young people feel
passionately about this issue in a way
that we Boomers and Exar and Millennials
dismiss at our consider durble moral
Peril when young people feel
passionately about an issue of peace and
Justice history shows us they are rarely
wrong as a Jew I am not threatened by or
frightened of neighbors who criticize
the state of Israel or question the
project of Zionism or who support the
people of Gaza or the cause of
Palestinian Liberation or who demand
that our tax dollars not be used to bomb
civilians under any circumstances ever
I am not threatened by calls for a
ceasefire but that doesn't mean that I
am not threatened Jews are not crazy to
be scared right now smashed headstones
and swasa graffiti and dudes bringing
guns to our community centers not to
mention the murders in Pittsburgh and
actual Nazis in the halls of power these
are legitimately
threatening as a Jew I support a
ceasefire resolution and I also ask as
part of another discussion for another
day for a resolution against
anti-Semitism recognizing it as a unique
form of bigotry with its own history and
mechanisms a resolution written in
consultation with Jewish leadership
informed by local experience and local
incidents a resolution I have no doubt
will be supported by our neighbors of
all faiths and our allies in the fight
for peace and Justice thank you thank
[Applause]
um we having a little technical
difficulty he needs to switch out the
mic
you are we
done I guess we're done okay uh Stacy
Farber hi thank you council members for
agreeing to listen to my statement my
name is Stacy Farber and I'm a resident
of the city of
sken I was also here on the first day of
testimonies regarding the resolution and
I listened intently to everyone one for
those who spoke I want to convey I heard
you I heard your pain and grief and my
heart was with
yours a little background on me my
grandparents fled Austria following that
country's Embrace of the Hitler Nazi
regime and the followon persecution of
Jews my father was born and occupied
France I am first generation American on
my father's side and I'm a proud Jew
I have lived a safe life privileged in
many ways albe punctuated by incidents
of
anti-Semitism why do I say this I want
to
ceasefire I want full surrender of Hamas
for all it has done to Israel as well as
the Palestinian people I want the
release of the Israeli
hostages I want Israel to stop bombing
Gaza and I don't want us weapons to be
used if they should
continue I want the release of
Palestinian detainees among them young
women and children who have been in
Israeli detention for weeks months years
without due
process I want the violence to end in
the West Bank where extremists are
violently pushing Palestinians off their
generational lands and I want violence
to end in Northern Israel where the land
is on fire from Hezbollah Rockets and
incendiary
devices I want peace in the streets of
East Jerusalem and on the Temple Mount I
want a recognized Palestinian state with
full rights like Israel that is peaceful
and meets the needs of its people I want
Israel to have a long secure positive
future in which all its people enjoy
equality and freedom of thought
regardless of religion race or sex
extremism should be addressed and
assuaged no matter where it might exist
Gaza Israel Russia the United
States for all these Reasons I'm an
active member of J Street a pro-israel
pro Palestine pro peace and democracy
National Organization that advocates for
diplomacy first we Lobby our members of
Congress and the White House
Administration to effect change in US
policy regarding Israel the Palestinian
people and a Palestinian
state representative Paul tono of the
20th District represents the city of
skty and the surrounding
area finally as children of ishmail and
Isaac with a common father of Abraham I
want all of us to see Humanity in each
other and see neither as better or more
privileged than the other we are cousins
we are siblings and we should treat each
other with love and respect thank
you
Andrew it's going to be difficult for
you to hear me to call the next person
so I understand the Applause but I need
to be able to call this a week we have
quite a few people and we'll be here for
a
while Andrew
Gavin Madame President esteemed council
members and Mr Mayor my name is Andrew
gab I live in the county of SKC tonight
I've come to speak to you about the the
legitimacy of Israel as a state and its
relationship with its
neighbors Israel's origin story is to
Pakistan the British denounced their
intention to end their colonial mandate
over what was then British India around
the same time as Israel and a partition
plan was created the primary goal was to
give Muslims a majority in a new country
and therefore
self-determination there too were bloody
conflicts Al along with mass migration
much of which was forced yet the world
has never questioned the the legitimacy
of Pakistan and they should not question
the legitimacy of
Israel one of the key differences
between Pakistan and Israel is that for
Israel the leaders of the Arab states
rejected the plan to divide the land and
allow both populations
self-determination they refus to see
Jews as having a historical religious or
legal claim to the land and refus to
consider sharing the land so as has as
has happened all over the world
throughout time Wars ensued and the
borders
changed six Arab states have now made
peace with Israel Israel is a modern
country built by Pioneers now a leader
in Industries like technology
agriculture Water Reclamation and
conservation
fashion entertainment and Medicine
especially mental health trauma
treatment and injuries from Burns and
explosives from their years of
experience with terrorist attacks even
during
ceasefires thank you for your time thank
[Applause]
you Ann Deber
Madam President Steve council members
and Mr Mayor my name is Annie bber and I
live in
S I want to speak to you about Israel's
relationship with MTH many Jews now
recognize the the legitimate connection
of Palestinians to this land with
our own Hamas however has never today
accepted the Jewish people's
relationship to the land or recognized
the state of isra Hamas a designated
terrorist organization by the US EU and
other states was founded in
1987 as an offsuit of the Muslim
Brotherhood a movement dedicated to
promoting islamist extremism worldwide
their goals are outlined in their
founding Charter which combines
anti-semitic conspiracy theories and
explicitly calls for the death of all
Jews Nation worldwide they are
responsible for decades of violent
Terror attacks against Israeli civilians
including suicide bombings stabbings and
shootings they have governed Gaza since
2007 after they were elected and then
violent and they violently ousted the
Palestinian Authority Hamas its funding
and support from Iran which regularly
threatens Israel with Annihilation Hamas
then leader isma Pia said in 2020 we
cannot in exchange for money or projects
give up Palestine and our weapons we
will not give up the resistance we will
not recognize Israel Palestine must
stretch from The River To The Sea where
recently gazi Hamad and hamas's official
said the October 7th Massacre is just
the first time and there will be a
second a third a fourth because we have
determination the resolve and the
capabilities to fight the existence of
Israel is
illogical if Islam is a religion of
Peace like Judaism Hamas extreme hatred
of Jews and of Israel is not consistent
with mainstream Islam every world
religion has extremist who use a
perversion of its teaching for power and
control thank you for your time thank
you
Alan
Goldman Alan
Goldman Madame President esteemed
council members and Mr Mayor my name is
Alan Goldman I live in skincity County
I've come to speak to you about
anti-Semitism many people have a hard
time recognizing Jew hatred because of
specific content the language and
behavior can change over time there are
several well-recognized definitions of
anti-Semitism but we think the easiest
to use is the
3DS a set of criteria formulated by
human rights Advocate Natan shansi in
order to distinguish legitimate
criticism of Israel from
anti-Semitism the 3DS stand for d
legitim
ization demonization and double
standards delegitimization refers to the
denial of the Jewish people's right to
self-determination for example claiming
that the existence of the state of
Israel is a racist Endeavor using
narratives to imply Jews sto the land
that is Israel or that the Jewish people
have no connection to their Homeland are
assertions intended to deny Israel's
right to exist and the right of Jewish
people to self-determination in their
Homeland
demonization refers to the portrayal of
certain groups as evil demonic or
satanic this is usually seen as claims
that Jews are conspiring to harm
Humanity or blame Jews for why things go
wrong it includes referring to the power
of Jews as a collective such as the myth
about the world Jewish conspiracy or of
Jews controlling the media economy
government or other societal
institutions double standards refers to
the application of different sets of
principles in similar situations if a
person criticizes Israel and only Israel
on certain issues but chooses to ignore
similar situations conducted by other
countries they are performing a double
standard against Israel Israel should
most certainly be held account
accountable for its actions but no more
or less than other countries I believe
that the project of asking the council
to support a ceasefire resolution has
crossed the line from legitimate
criticism of the state of Israel into
anti-Semitism the activist group that
you've been hearing from over the last
weeks and months has not made any
attempt to hide their Jew hatred and has
been allowed to share their hate speech
with impunity before this coun
others will explore their statements in
detail but I can attest to the fact that
those offensive words spoken in its
chamber have increased the isolation and
apprehension felt by the Jewish
residents of our city and county thank
you for your time thank
you Mary Matthews Mary Matthews
Madame President esteemed council
members and Mr Mayor my name is Mary
Matthews and I am a 37-year resident of
the city of
skincity tonight I have come here to
speak about the claim that Israel is a
colonialist state from its Inception and
a project of European
imperialism the words colonialism
colonizers and imperialists were said
over a total of 10 times on March 25th
April 8th April 22nd and May
13th these words invoke a reference to
the time when European empir sent
Europeans to far off lands to build
colonies and settle there the
colonialists were there to control local
resources a process that involved
marginalizing the indigenous
populations time and time again
activists have incorrectly called Jews
in the Holy Land colonialist as if from
Europe This is not at all based in
factual history first the slogan denies
that Jews have any historical ties to
the land of Israel the reality is that
there is an ancient Jewish history in
the land of Israel and there is a well
documented consistent presence of Jews
in the area dating back thousands of
years second slogans that cast Israel's
as white European imperialist colonizers
ignores and denies that over 50% of isra
Israeli Jews are not white or european
but are people of color includ including
Mahi yemenite Indian and Ethiopian Jews
moreover Jewish Israelis didn't come
from a single home country as journalist
javiv gur points out 90% of Israeli Jews
came as refugees from nowhere else to go
there is no other country we are coming
from the state of Israel is not an
example of colonization Zionism is not a
European imperialist project and the
Jewish people have nowhere to return
home to except to their ancient
historical Homeland the land of is
Israel Jews were exterminated and
expelled from Europe expelled from North
Africa and expelled from the countries
of the Middle East using words like
colonialism colonizers imperialists is
factually incorrect an example of Jew
hatred because both legitimizes
delegitimizes Israel and demonizes Jews
by labeling us with the worst words in
today's political discourse thank you
for your time thank
you Bruce
Feldman Bruce
Feldman Madame President esteemed
council members and Mr Mayor
my name is Bruce Feldman I live in sken
county and tonight I have come to speak
to you about hate
speech like all bias discrimination and
stereotyping we must ask the
marginalized group to Define and express
how speech harms them understanding how
stereotypes and tropes have infused
themselves into our psyches and how we
hold Prejudice and bias against
marginalized groups is learning process
unfortunately we have found that folks
ignore this framework when applied to
anti-Semitism and the Jews despite the
long history of violence hatred
discrimination stereotyping and bias
against our people spanning thousands of
years so it is important to us in the
Jewish Community to explain and express
why certain phrases and terms are
anti-semitic and how they they harm us
right here in our
community one of the most commonly used
phrases quote River to the Sea close
quote was said at least three times
during public comment here in fact quote
from The River To The Sea Palestine will
be free close quote is one of the oldest
and most common chants heard at Pro
Palestinian protests today it refers to
the Jordan River and the Mediterranean
Sea encompassing the entire state of
Israel the slogan first appeared in the
1960s with the Palestine Liberation
Organization known as the PLO a militant
group formed by Palestinians aimed at
destroying Israel and replacing it with
a Palestinian State Jews living in the
land under such a scenario would face
expulsion or
violence in its quote rally toolkit
close quote the pro Palestinian group in
our
lifetime includes this phrase along with
SE several other slogans calling for the
complete destruction of the state of
Israel and any Jews living there because
of the origins of this slogan and its
association with calling for the
destruction of Jews when I hear it I
hear from the rivet to the Sea Palestine
will be jew free or youen fry to use the
Nazi term whether or not the people
chant in this slogan know its history
and origins or whether they know what
river and what sea are irrelevant to the
experience of the Jewish Community when
we hear these words I and many people in
the Jewish community of skincity
experienced the slogan from the rivet to
the Sea Palestine will be free as
profoundly and deeply threatening as an
example of Jew hatred thank you for your
time
gay Griffith gay
Griffith
no Madam
president esteemed council member Mr
Mayor my name is gay Griffith I live in
sken County tonight I've come to speak
to you about the use of the the terms
genocide and ethnic
cleansing being applied to Israel at
City Council
meetings genocide and ethnic cleansing
were said over a whopping total of 52
times during public comment and in
today's Facebook post the activist group
use the hashtag no pride in genocide
implying both the false claim that
Israel has committed genocide and the
more locally hateful claim that the
Jewish Community takes pride in murder
of Palestinians John Spencer the chair
of urban welfare studies at Modern War
Institute of West Point Research Center
dedicated to the study of war and Warf
Warfare has said in fact Israel has
implemented more measures to prevent
civilian casualties in urban Warfare
than any other military in the history
of War genocide is a legal term and in
no way do Israeli policies and actions
meet this legal threshold the
sensationalist use of the term genocide
in relation to the Israeli Palestinian
conflict is not only inaccurate and
misleading but it serves to demonize the
state of Israel and to diminish
recognized acts of
genocide in this war the suffering of
the population in Gaza is heartbreaking
and
horrific but as detailed in a CNN
article by Freda giddis the leap to
Brand its military campaign as genocide
the depth of Humanity's depravity is
unconscionable this is not an unprovoked
War like Russia's war against Ukraine
it's not civil war between rival
militias like the one in Sudan accusing
Israel of genocide and putting the
entire onus of stopping the war putting
all the blame for the death on the
Jewish state is even more astound ing
because Hamas designated a terrorist
organization by the US the European
Union and many other countries is a
group whose explicit goal according to
its founding Charter is not just to
destroy Israel but to kill
Jews this is the Dem this is the
definition of
genocide I find it deeply concerning
that Israel is often the only country in
the world accused of contemp of
contemporaneously engaging in genocide
not only is this false as a matter of
both law and fact but it also applies a
singularly demonizing double standard to
Israel and this war worse yet accusing
Israel of genocide has the collateral
effect diminishing real acts of genocide
such as those that occurred in the
Holocaust against Americans and in
Rwanda thank you
Laura
soer Laura
soer Madame President esteemed council
members and mayor my name is Laura soer
I live in SKC County tonight I've come
to speak to you about the double
standard involved in requesting that
conected city council pass a resolution
about this particular International
matter but no others how many times has
the city council weighed in on Foreign
Affairs as council member m ver pointed
out at last week's committee meeting it
hasn't happened in his memory why choose
this one to
start the city council has been silent
on the attrocities in Syria committed by
the government of Bashir Assad which
resulted in the deaths of over 100,000
children and 400,000
adults that is a far more bloody and
destructive conflict than the events in
Gaza the city council has been silent on
the Russian inv of Ukraine a conflict
which has cost so far the lives of over
half a million again far more deadly War
than the conflict in
Gaza the city council has been silent on
the ongoing crisis in
Sudan where 2.3 million are refugees and
nearly 7 million people currently
require International Aid to prevent
their
starvation the city council has been
silent about the 600,000 civilian
massacred in the Tigra war in Ethiopia
sorry about my
pronunciation the city council has been
silent about the
700,000
rajia placed in Myanmar which the United
Nations declared was a textbook example
of ethnic
cleansing the city council has been
silent about Venezuela's escalating
military threats to seize the ESO region
from Guyana where
125,000 people
15.8% of the total population of Guyana
live I could go on and about the wars
the Slaughters the starvation and death
and this Council has not taken official
action to
condemn the second Congo War genocide in
Rwanda Massacre of the serbs and
Kosovo the city council has been silent
about the plight of the syrians and the
UK ukrainians and the sudin and all the
rest not because you are bad
people not because you are
hard-hearted but because these events
are out of your
mandate beyond your control and consist
of details unknown to you you rightfully
remained silent and you did the local
work you were elected to
do now you are being asked to weigh in
on a war between between Israel and
Hamas terrorists in Gaza even being
asked to do so is a double standard
motivated by Jew
hatred please do not risk normalizing
the double
standard thanks for your time thank
you
Joshua Joshua Cooper Ginsburg
good evening Madam president esteemed
council members and Mr Mayor my name is
Joshua Cooper Ginsburg I live in the
city of skty and tonight I've come to
speak to you about the false accusation
that Israel is an apartheid state the
word aparti was set over five times in
meetings here on March 25th April 8th
April 22nd and May 13th aparti is
defined by the international criminal
court as an institutionalized regime of
systematic oppression and Domination by
one IAL group over another apartheid
laws in South Africa made it illegal for
black people to marry live in the same
areas or conduct business with white
people black South Africans were barred
from certain professions and educational
opportunities could not participate in
government and had to carry
documentation compare opportunities I'm
sorry compare that with the state of
Israel whose 1 million Arab citizens are represented in all branches of
government a government founded on the
promise to uphold the full social and
political equality of all of its
citizens with without distinction of
race Creed or sex within Israel the
racial comparison to a part tide doesn't
hold up for more than half of Israel's
Jews are from a middle eastern and North
African background known as MIM they are
black and brown not white European
moreover within Israel Palestinians and
Arabs comprise about 20% of the
population and enjoy full rights as
Citizens Israel's legislator the
legislature the
keset includes representatives from four
different Arab politic IC parties Arab
citizens take part in every corner of
Israeli Society Arab citizens serve as
Supreme Court judges Governor government
ministers Military Officers and Business
Leaders while there are indeed economic
disparities between the two communities
Israel's government is addressing these
issues by investing 10.3 billion over
the next five years back into the
community Israeli author Micah Goodman
has made the case for why Israel with
regard to Gaza and the West Bank is not
an apartheid state Goodman argued that
the struggles of the Palestinian
national movement and the African
National Congress are fundamentally
different while black South Africans
demanded to be equal citizens of their
country the Palestinian national
movement is demanding an independent
state separate from or instead of Israel
what is clear is that falsely accusing
Israel of being an apartheid state is
yet another Act of demonization and Del
delegitimization another example of Jew
hatred at work please recognize the
divisive Jew hatred embedded in this
embedded in asking for this resolution
tion and show leadership by telling the
whole city that such hate speech has no
place in skincity thank you for your
[Applause]
time herb re herb Reich
[Music]
Madam president esteemed council members
and Mr Mayor my name is Dr Herb R and I
live in the county of scnc I come to you
tonight to speak about the red hands
seen on many ceasefire pins and on the
LA least two graphics on on at least two
Graphics put out by the anti-israel
activists that you've been hearing from
in this chamber advertising the press
conference at City Hall on May 13th and
what they've called tonight ceasefire
speak out at the city council meeting
these Graphics will remain posted on the
organizer's Facebook page please let me
tell you about the origin of the symbol
the red hand it describes the gruesome
mob killing of yosf abrahami and Vadim
norik two Israelis who made a wrong turn
into ramala a city in the West Bank in
2000 they were beaten stabbed had their
eyes gouged out and were dis embowed by
a mob inside the rala police station the
photograph that ran alongside the news
story of this event was one of the men
who perpetrated the horrific act of
violence as he waved to the cheering
crowd below the police station here's
the
photo in
pass it depicts aiz Sala one of the
attackers waving his bloody stained
hands from the police station's window
in the picture Salah holds up his hands
for a crowd below smiling with pride and
excitement salah's hands were covered in
the blood of a Jew a Jew like me a Jew
that he had just disemboweled the crowd
clapped and cheered as one of the
lifeless bodies was then thrown out of
the window and stamped and beaten by the
frenzied crowd the others were shot and
set on fire and his head was beaten to a
pulp this is the origin of the red hand
as a symbol of pal in resistance when I
see the red hand I experience it
viscerally the way I would also
experience the image of a burning cross
on my front yard or a white hood or a
swastika or a h it says to me as a Jew
you are not safe here we are coming for
Jews here we are ready to murder Jewish
people here when I see the red hand my
thoughts immediately go back to the rala
murders I experience the red hand is a
threat of more violence I experience the
red hand as an example of Jew hatred in
the most violent sorts and it is
terrifying ing the inclusion of the red
hand on advertisements organizing the
ceasefire resolution activists show that
the entire project of asking for the
ceasefire cannot be disentangled from
its origin and Jew hatred activists who
are asking for this are willing to
terrify the Jewish neighbors with the
threat of violence please show your
leadership by denouncing the Jews hatred
and anti-semitic speech intertwined with
the project of asking for this
resolution such hate has no place in our
city at all thank you for your time
thank you
Kim
Mara Kim
mosa Madame President esteemed council
members and Mr Mayor my name is Kim Musa
I live in the county of skincity and
tonight I've come to speak to you about
how the anti-israel activists have
equated Zionism and racism on social
media when they wrote quote if we manage
to defeat Zionism we will be able to
defeat racism
everywhere thank you and a speaker at
public comment here also used the term
racist on May 13th the false claim that
Zionism is racism is not new but the
history of that claim must be understood
in the context of broader broader geopol
politics and the weakening of the Soviet
Union in
1975 the UN passed resolution
3379 which essentially equated Zionism
with racism in response to the deepening
relationship between the US and Israel
in the 1960s Soviet Russia began to
spread propaganda about both Judaism and
Zionism claiming that we are the cause
of the world's evils in an attempt to
gain power and influence with Arab
states in addition to equating Zionism
with racism the Soviet propaganda
machine explicitly used the word
Jew and the word Zionist
interchangeably this kind of language
delegitimizes Israel and demonizes
Jewish people and is profoundly and
unquestionably an example of Jew
hatred when the resolution passed in the
UN American citizens Jew and non-jew
were beside themselves at the
Ridiculousness of the resolution and
flooded the streets decrying the United
Nations in 1991 the resolution was
repealed with even many Arab countries
abstaining showing that the world does
not in fact think that Zionism can be
equated with
racism I'm deeply upset and hurt to see
that here in skincity activists and
agitators are willing to write and post
on social media that quote if we manage
to defeat Zionism we will be able to
defeat racism everywhere unquote I'm
deeply upset that activists refer to
Zionist as racist this
accusation is baseless coming from a
history of anti-American Cold War
propaganda is an example of demonization
and Jew hatred and has the potential to
materially harm Jewish people in skty it
is time for leadership incity to say
that this this kind of hate speech has
no place in our town thank you for your
time Deborah Chapman ging Deborah
Chapman
ging Madam president esteemed Council
members and Mr Mayor my name is Deborah
trapman Goldstein and I live in the
county of skincity tonight I've come to
speak to you about the blood liel as a
clear example of Jew hatred and the way
that blood liel remains a lens that has
been used to tell the story of the
current conflict what is blood Bible it
refers to a centuries old false
allegation that Jews murder Jewish
children to use their blood for ritual
purposes such an as an ingredient in the
baking of Passover matah unle and bread
blood lials have frequently led to mob
violence and have occasionally led to
the decimation of entire Jewish
communities I could give many examples
of this historically but let me share
one from close to home a blood liel
occurred in massina New York in
1928 when a four-year-old girl went
missing from her home a rumor spread
that local Jews had kidnapped and killed
her crowds gathered outside ms's police
station where a state troop requested
the town's Rabbi and asked him whether
Jews offered human sacrifices or used
blood in rituals the girl eventually was
found alive and unharmed there is a long
tradition of using blood lials and
propaganda and cartoons designed to
demonize and dehumanize the Jewish
people Adolf Hitler and his followers
frequently used the blood liel as
propaganda more recently a 2003 TV
series broadcast in Syria and Lebanon
shows that the Jewish people is engaging
in a Conspiracy to Rule the world and
presents Jews as a people who murder
Christian children and drain their blood
to bake
matah just this spring congresswoman
Elon Omar described some of the Jewish
students at Colombia University as being
PR genocide ADL CEO Jonathan greenblat
responded saying it's patently false in
a blood liel to suggest that any Jewish
students appr Pro genocide he like many
in the Jewish Community experienced the false accusation of genocide and the
implication that supporters of Israel
are supporters of genocide as yet
another example of blood liel an
allegation of the Jewish people's intent
to murder non-jewish
children When leaders of a country or a
community want to make the Jewish people
seem particularly heinous or evil they
often use language or images associated
with or referencing the centuries old
tradition of blood liel this is one of
the three DS of anti-semitism
demonization
it is so common that people don't even
realize that that is what they are
seeing we fear that people are more
likely to believe this kind of
accusation about Jewish people because
they've heard or seen it before this is
a part of Jew hatred that is deeply
embedded in our
culture William Gilbert
my name is William Gilbert I prefer
Bill Madame
President esteemed council member Mr
Mayor I am a proud resident of the city
of
scenc tonight I've come to speak to you
about uh the blood
label we just did that one oh no this is
the right one yeah oh I'm sorry I keep
hearing blood liel and it keeps me going
man so I can't even tell what I'm
doing the blood liel and the other
grotesque evidence of the organizers
anti-Semitism showing in our
community over 12 Gastly references to
Israel killing children and babies were
made during public comments at previous
City Council meetings and then there's a
social media one of the organizers of a
group calling for a ceasefire resolution
posts public memes on their Facebook
account that depicts Jews and Israelis
killing pal Palestinians especially
Palestinian children I'm going to pass a
copy of some examples to you along with
another demonizing post of a
picture of Jews in prayer with the words
white supremacy is the root of Zionism
lynching followed by four red to orange
matad face
emojis I have to issue a Content warning
these pictures are deeply upsetting to
look at they are profoundly anti-semitic
some of them are also
anti-American several of these memes are
highly reminiscent of Nazi propaganda
blood Lial cartoons denigrating Jewish
people which help to create the
conditions necessary to be able to
perpetrate the Holocaust the murder of 6
million Jew
and I might add 6 million
others the memes are problematic because
they are not merely a commentary on the
fact of dead children but they imagine a
bloodthirsty Israel reving in the deaths
of children that is the blood
liel as for the other posts with the
pictures of Jews praying I'm not sure I
need to explain how incredibly offensive
it is simply by associating all Jews
with the most evil things in today's
lexicon the fact that one of the leaders
of the call for a ceasefire resolution
proudly and publicly uses blood liel to
denigrate Israel shows that the entire
project of asking for the ceasefire
resolution cannot be
disentangled from or Origins and Jew
hatred the activists who are asking for
a ceasefire resolution are doing so
because of their conscious or
unconscious Jew hatred accepting their
request would have the city council
condone and perpetrate the hate speech
of this group of activists which have
made and continues to make the Jewish
community of skty materially less
safe please recognize the device of Jew
hatred embedded in asking for this
resolution and show leadership Ship by
telling the whole city that such hate
speech has no place in connecti thank
you for your
time Eileen
handlan Eileen
[Music]
handlan thank you
Madam president esteem council members
Mr Mayor my name is s Handelman and I I
live in SC
County tonight I've come to speak to
you about how the proposed cease fire
resolution distributed at the June 3
council meeting is anti-Semitic because
what it fails to
say while the draft ceased fire
resolution mentions the violent attack
by the armed body of on Israeli citizens
there is no accounting for hamas's
behavior before that attack or since
October 8th and no mention of hamas's
complicity in the suffering of people in
Gaza by that Omission the proposed
ceasefire resolution holds Israeli SI
isra Israel solely responsible for the
suffering of Palestinians in Gaza the
loss of life and suffering in Gaza is
horrific rarely reported however is
hamas's role in their suffering and the
lengths at which Israel has gone to
protect civilians the Israeli military
consistently issues warning before
military engagement in an area telling
people to leave and helping them to
relocate text alerts public
announcements and thousands of leaflets
are dropped by the
IDF Hamas on the other hand has
discouraged civilians from leaving the
areas and blocked the exit
routes Hamas has taken billions of
dollars of humanitarian Aid and has used
it to build assets for war this includes
hundreds of miles of tunnels throughout
Gaza where Hamas Fighters hide in order
to purposely put the civilian population
In Harm's Way the tunnels are not
offered to civilians for
safety nor is Hamas making efforts to
protect
civilians to the contrary Hamas created
military targets out of schools
universities mosques and hospitals by
purposefully building War rooms
ammunition factories and weapon storage
in tunnels underneath the ground even
above ground Hamas soldiers hide among
civilians terrorizing their own people
instead of protecting them Hamas has
been caught stealing the humanitarian
Aid provided by the International
Community Hamas fires Rockets from
civilian locations like school
campuses inside Gaza killing and
injuring their own civilians deaths
which are then included in the death
toll reporting as if Israel has caused
them a resolution holding Israel solely
responsible for the suffering of
Palestinians in Gaza is an example of
demonization holding Israel to double
standard please please show your
leadership by denouncing this Jew hatred
and anti-Semitism speech intertwined
with the project of asking for a
resolution such hate has no place in our
city I thank you for your time thank you
for the young ladies that are holding
the signs the sign cannot impair the the
view of the people behind you thank
you I beg your pardon want to make sure
you okay then then you need to go to the
side because they cannot impair the vi
the view of the people behind
you Jeffrey handlan
good evening Madame President esteemed
council members and mayor McCarthy my
name is Jeffrey Handelman and I live in
sken County fourth generation uh area
resident I'm here to speak to you about
uh how the proposed ceasefire resolution
distributed at the June 3rd council
meeting is anti-Semitic because of what
it says explicitly first the proposed
resolution calls Upon Our leaders in
Albany and Washington to demand an
immediate and permanent ceasefire which
treats Israel unlike any other country
involved in a conflict it's a very
definitive double standard as council
member m verin pointed out last week's
committee meeting this is something the
city council has never done before in
all of the suffering and conflicts
around the world going on right now conc
singling out the only Jewish State on
the planet is holding them to a massive
double standard a unilateral
unnegotiable
m in just the last week in Rafa 700
tunnel entrances were found 50 leading
across the Egyptian border some big
enough to drive large vehicles through
remember how the world discouraged
Israel from entering Rafa these tunnels
have been used to smuggle explosives
guns rockets and drones into Gaza amas
has used the tunnels into and out of
Gaza in order to train in Iran and other
countries Rafa is one of the last
strongholds of Hamas and is believed
that many of its senior commanders incl
including Hamas yaha sinoa are located
there with its leadership still largely
intact in Rafa Hamas could easily use
Rafa as a base to reassert control over
the Gaza Strip if the war were to end
prematurely with the immediate ceasefire
demonstr uh demanded by anti-israel
activists Israel's stated Mission has
been to eliminate hamas's military
capabilities which is a reasonable goal
since Hamas has broken ceasefire
agreements time and time again after all
there was a ceasefire agreement in place
before October 7th and in the Years
leading up to that vicious attack during
that ceasefire hamash launched rockets
and sent kites lit on fire to Israel to
burn homes and crops calling for an
immediate ceasefire in a resolution
ignores that this situation is
constantly in flux it's unfair to ask
this city council to formulate a message
telling other countries what they should
do thank you very much for your time
thank
[Music]
you
swaan sellan
good evening my name is San I'm a
lifelong resident of skincity and I take
no pleasure in coming here again for the
fifth week but as a student of political
science and as someone who's worked in
the New York State Assembly for two
years I have an issue with democracy as
it's being threatened when essential
local government isn't representing the
will of the people or even whisper a
word against genocide I am no longer
going to appeal to your hearts even
though since we were last here we've
seen the heinous violence caused by the
Zionist entity headless children tents
with people in them burned alive and
actual documented concentration camps
that are torturing sexually abusing and
killing
Palestinians I can't appeal to your
Humanity because when councilman Farley
asked last week to consider his in
councilman Williams ceasefire resolution
he said he was assuming we're all for
peace and a councilwoman then said well
I'm not sure if we all are everyone
you've heard from today can agree they
want peace councilman Farley and
Williams are not straying from their
duties for coming forward with the
ceasefire resolutions that this body
thinks it's too good to consider they
are doing the job that they swore in
front of God and the American flag to
represent the will of the people and
their tax dollars we need more policy
makers like you to those who say this
resolution is a waste of time are saying
that you think the Palestinian people
and the 40,000 lost human lives are a
waste of your time that the count that
your counterparts in Albany wasted their
time that working for your constituents
is wasting your time you work for your
constituents I also briefly before I
conclude wanted to address safety
because a councilwoman here claimed to
feel unsafe the last time we were here
I'm very sorry that you felt unsafe it
is not a feeling that I would wish on
anyone and it is just a fraction of the
feeling of the Palestinian men women and
children who don't know which bomb paid
for by our taxpayer money is going to
fall and kill them I did not consent to
kill
them this coalation for ceasefire do not
come bearing weapons in fact what we're
calling for is less weapons but this
coal Coalition who has been here week
after week is diverse including many
black and brown faces advocating for the
life and dignity of other Brown faces I
wonder if that contributed to your
stated feelings of unsafety
councilwoman I'm here to assure you that
the only thing that is unsafe is your
elected seats if you're not representing
the people actively begging you to do
our part to end an active genocide of
the Palestinian people you will not win
the next time your name is on any ballot
once again the young will not forget not
cowardly silence not outright hate and
certainly not palestin I want to thank
again councilman Farley and Williams for
representing us because I know how
infuriating it must be to sit in this
room hearing the apathy and hatred of
your colleagues and their supporters but
if they are not supporting your efforts
to bring about a ceasefire resolution I
will invoke the ever relevant words of
Kendrick Lamar these are not your
colleagues they are colonizers free
Palestine
thank Imam Jamal
[Applause]
Shaw good evening
everyone uh before I get started I do
want to hand overs well this is about a
100 more signatures we just collected
yesterday um like I told you guys if we
keep this going I mean we're going to
have the whole city covered
so I hear the chatter thank you so much
um first of all we've heard a lot
tonight lot of historical inaccuracies
trying to paint pictures speaking about
Pakistan speaking about
Sudan it's unfortunate what's going on
in the world what has happened in the
world but we're here to talk about the
ceasefire
resolution I believe the resolution that
was proposed by us at a time when there
was no resolution from anyone
else was not anti-semitic how do I know
this I sat in front of Rabbi Matt Cutler
and I said show me what's anti-semitic
here I have
witnesses he said don't say Israel say
the government of
Israel which is what I changed it to
tonight we have people here from the
other side that continuously say Israel
so forgive me for that I apologize
however what is unacceptable in any sort
of resolution whether it be from any
side is to minimize the suffering that's
actually happening which is why the
resolution that we proposed specifies
the 1100 Israelis that were murdered on
October 7th which is why it specifies
now 12 actually 118 hostages that remain
three were killed in the crossfire this
past Saturday which is why it specifies
the suffering of the Palestinian people
because a resolution that's truly
equitable for everyone will acknowledge
everyone's pain it seems to me that
there are people here who want to be
heard which we've heard them which is
why the resolution speaks to that pain
but Palestinian pain is somehow
anti-semitic that's what I'm getting
from it the word Palestinian seems to be
very problematic for some people they
can't utter the phrase they cannot
understand that the West Bank which is
Palestinian land technically speaking
according to United Nations according to
the United States of America according
to every major government in the world
belongs to the Palestinians it happens
to border the Jordan River Gaza borders
the Mediterranean Sea these places are
inhabited by Palestinians we want them
to have the right to
self-determination within those borders
that's what from The River To The Sea
means there
is now in the chamber please I asked the
beginning I'm going to simplify this a
person that looks like
me can never
be viewed as a person who brings
something forth that actually is
Equitable and actually represents peace
simply because I look like me I have my
religion that's the perspective that
you're hearing from the other side and
that's the reality because I didn't
stand here and defend Hamas that's not
my job I don't care about them I care
about the people the civilians and
that's all I've been asking you guys to
acknowledge and recognize it's not that
difficult people are saying if you call
for the release of Israeli hostages
which is mentioned in our resolution
very explicitly you're somehow a Jew
hater doesn't make any sense I
respectfully ask you all to understand
what the context of us being here is
Cease Fire resolution we can have our
history lessons in our debates at
another time trust me I'm more than
happy to have that thank you so much
thank you
Megan
Levine Megan
[Music]
Levine good evening Madame President
honorable members of the council Mr
Mayor my name is Meg Levine I live in
Nuna and work in skincity on early
literacy initiatives that support the
city's Children and Families I've
addressed you previously and spoken
against your passing a ceasefire
resolution it is not that I don't want
it the war to end I do as members of the
council have acknowledged the council
has no jurisdiction over International
Affairs and we have experienced the
difficulties that result when it wads
into these
issues first words matter words travel
they are not restricted by city lines or
election District
boundaries second the terms of ceasefire
resolutions are not typically found in
City documents some have complex
definitions in international law some
bear the weight of history with
different people understanding them in
different ways some are ambiguous
leading to confusion as to their intent
and some are
inflammatory third the words used by
those advocating the resolution are
borrowed from slogans and chants
coursing through social media marches
rallies and college campuses let's not
contribute to this unproductive
polarizing discourse we have however
heard common concerns these months from
all concerns of this room members of our
community have expressed concerns about
the ongoing horrific suffering endured
by the people in Gaza and Israel
Palestinians and Israelis due to hamas's
terrorist attack on Israel and the
resulting War we have heard voices of
Anguish apprehension anger rage fear and
sorrow we have heard support for the
release of the hostages and the need for
humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza
within the council members have
expressed a desire to respond to their
constituents who have appeared here on
these issues should the council decide
to comment on the ongoing War let the
words let the words of a statement not a
resolution reflect our Common Ground
speak to the humanity expressed here for
a lasting peace and Security in the
Middle East that all peoples be able to
go to sleep without fear further urge
folks to raise these concerns to our
national leaders and international
mediators as they work towards peace and
Security in the Middle East please do
not get tangled in the words that part
of a larger inflammatory dialogue let
the statement be silent on the
strategies to achieve and Implement
peace no one in this room has insight
into diplomatic discussions and the
everchanging conditions on the ground
let this statement reflect your
continuing encouragement that
individuals engage and talk to one
another their privilege of the floor has
allowed us to express our views yet we
have seen misinformation magnifi and
hatred spread Madam president if we were
to abandon the slogans take conscious
steps to stop the spread of
misinformation and hate in our community
once again work hard over time to
understand and engage the other those
words and actions would be our own and
would' be focused on our community this
course of action would create the
possibility of uniting us in concy that
is my hope thank you thank you
shamal
Davis chamelle
Davis chemal Davis third
time
no Gordon Zuckerman
we'll just hold it
okay Madame
President Este steem council members and
Mr
Mayor I am Gordon Zuckerman I currently
live in Nuna but over 82 years ago I was
born here in SKC I am a proud product of
the SKC City
Schools I currently own a building on ER
Boulevard where my office has been for
many many
years a number of council members and I
have worked together on building the
fabric of the safety nets here in SKC
for those less
fortunate and personally I think that
we're spending a lot of time where we
should be working to help those less
fortunate but tonight I'm here to talk
about anti-semitism
the language in the proposed ceasefire
resolution because it calls for the
release of all
hostages and political prisoners as if
they were morally
equivalent who are those political
partners and
prisoners well yeah had
shirar was
one serving four consecutive lives
sentences for abducting and murdering
two
Israelis in
1989 so war was released in
2011 as part of the prisoner
exchange of 1,000 Palestinian militant
prisoners for one IDF
Soldier soar later became Hamas leader
Gaza and the architect of the October
7th
massacres AAR
shalena whose picture you've seen
holding up the Blood Stained
hands he was the one you heard that
helped murder the two Palace two
Israelis in
the police
station in the West
Bank these political
prisoners are often
terrorists and violent
combatants they were arrested for
violent
crimes even prisoners held for minor
acts of violence are in no way the
equivalent of the hostages
themselves and by the way the hostages
that were
taken are from over
25 different countries many of them with
dual passports and citizenship and many
of them not they're from
Thailand Argentina Germany and the US
and as I said over 25
countries the proposed ceas fire
resolution calls for the Swift an
unrestricted entry of
humanitarian assistance into
Gaza this sounds like a
non-controversial
statement but it's not I need you to
summarize please sir I need you to
summarize I beg
pardon time all right all right I thank
you for your time it was a pleasure
talking to you thank
you Amy
pner Amy pner
[Music]
Madame President esteemed council
members and Mr Mayor my name is Amy
Posner I live in the city of SKC I am
one of your
constituents tonight I've come to speak
to you about anti- cinematic language in
the proposed ceasefire resolution
because it calls for the release oh I
that
was okay
hordon just read that one but I'm here
also to talk about that because the
proposed ceasefire resolution calls for
the Swift and unrestricted entry of
humanitarian assistance into Gaza this
sounds like a non-controversial
statement and I certainly would love to
see there be humanitarian um assistance
into Gaza but it's not a
non-controversial statement there are
actually many players involved in the
lack of sist efficient humanitarian
assistance getting to civilians in Gaza
Egypt has refused to deliver
humanitarian Aid to the border crossing
Hamas has been stealing the aid instead
of Distributing it privateers and
Smugglers hide firearms in non-military
transportation which then requires
painstaking search of everything that
travels above ground into
Gaza I say to you that this glaring
omission and the use of other specific
phrases in the proposed
ceasefire resolution does create a
double standard and demonizes Israel
some of what are what uh what our our
um our citizens here tonight have said
demonizes Israel if we add more context
and consider the statements made by the
anti-israel activists In This Very
chamber at four previous public comments
and virent anti-Semitism social media
posts by the organizers and so if you
say it's not anti-semitic but you're
posting anti-semitic memes and you're
posting pictures of violent people with
their bloodstained hands and you're
using that Blood Stained hand as a stamp
on your flyer to encourage people to
come and participate in your activism
that is complicit in the
violence so I say to you this entire
exercise of asking city council to pass
a ceasefire is an resolution is anti
anetic put it all together I feel a very
clear sense that this theater has put me
definitely me I don't sleep well at
night because of this kind of thing my
family and other Jewish residents at
Great harm anti-Semitism has
consequences it's the canary and the
coal mine for social ills many
cases whether intended or not it
prejudices people and it reinforces
stereotypes and biases and I will say
that anti-Semitism has been weaponized
in this particular
context and that the Jewish perspective
of what anti-Semitism is matters we get
to say what is anti-Semitism just like
other people get to say what other
prejudices are when they feel
Prejudice please recognize that this is
divisive it's Jew hatred and it's
embedded in asking for this resolution
please show leadership by telling the
whole city that such hate speech has no
place in skty I loves connecti and I
hope that we can all find a way to live
together in peace thank you
[Applause]
for David Posner David Posner
Madame President esteemed members
council members and Mr Mayor my name is
David Posner I live and I'm a resident
of the city of sken I work in sken
County where I am the executive of the
Jewish Community Center which works to
make life better for the entire
citizenry of the city and the
county tonight I come to speak to you
about a tax on council member Carmel
Patrick at the council's committee
meeting on June 3rd council member call
Williams offered two statements for
consideration each separately written by
local pro-israel and pro Palestinian
leaders when talking about the two
statements Council me council member
Patrick referenced that they will cause
more
divisiveness and that divisiveness has
already happened I
agree seeking this ceasefire resolution
is divisive and in a way it has happened
here it is anti-Semitic it is hurtful it
is harmful for all the reasons that
previous speakers have said the language
being used by extremists in our
community the words omitted and the
words included in the proposed
resolution the awful social media posts
and the desecration of cemeteries while
maybe not directly related have
altogether made me feel
unsafe this kind of divisiveness is
dangerous our rabbis have told us of
incidents of hate against Jewish middle
school students here in our County they
shared that an administrator told them
incidents of hate are also increasing
against Muslim Students and lb lgbtq
plus kids they say it is not Muslim kids
who are harassing Jewish kids or Jewish
kids who are harassing Muslim kids it's
other children who think it's now okay
to harass both of them this entire
exercise is more harmful than helpful
because it will increase bigotry against
both Muslims and Jews and the worst part
we used to commune together we used to
celebrate holidays together in the past
where either of our communities faced
atrocities like the Muslim
ban and the Tree of Life Massacre regre
belied with each other and considered
each consoled each other but the
extremism before this body has created a
deep deep Division and I worry we won't
have each other's backs for the next
americanmade atrocity please show your
leadership by denouncing the Jew hatred
and anti-semitic speech intertwined with
the project of asking for this
resolution such hate has no place in our
city thank you for your
time Alison Matthews Alison Matthews
okay hello um Madame President esteemed
council members and Mr Mayor my name is
Ali Matthews um and I am a resident of
the city of sky for the last 33 years
and tonight I've come to speak to you
about how anti-Semitism is different
from how others marginalized people
experience
discrimination silence usually doesn't
end well for us so we've decided to
speak out and call out what we are
seeing and feeling with the hope that
enough people understand why we are
afraid anti-Semitism often starts with
this societal internalization of
stereotypes tropes and biases invented
in previous
generations AC accusations like the
blood liel the myth about a world Jewish
conspiracy and stereotypes about Jews
and money are kept Alive by veiled or
even blatant references in conversations
and jokes left unchecked and
unchallenged scapegoating begins people
begin to use these negative stereotypes
to blame Jews for bad things that they
see or experience
in the 14th century Jews were frequently
used as scapegoats for the plague and
accused of
deliberately poisoning wells in 1930s
Germany Jews were blamed for the
downturn in the country's economy Jew
hatred other often including includes
accusations of whatever is culturally
considered most despicable for example
in 1950s America we were called
socialists spies and traitors in 1960s
Soviet Russia we were called capitalists
spies and
traitors when demonizing stereotypes and
scapegoating are left unchallenged Jew
hatred becomes active boycotts of Jewish
businesses violence on Jewish property
burning Jewish homes destroying crops
looting Jewish stores vandalizing Jewish
businesses and desecrating Jewish
cemeteries which we saw in our own City
if allowed to continue the Jew hatred
can explode into physical violence
harass harassment assault rape murder
forced Exile and mass murder for example
having been blamed for the plague whole
populations of Jews were massacred in
towns in France Spain Germany and
Switzerland in just a few short years
the Jew hatred we have experienced here
at the City Council meetings makes life
worse for the Jewish residents of
skincity it increases the culture of
hate it contributes to the division
between communities and distrust between
neighbors a ceasefire resolution will
have no impact on Gaza choosing to stop
the demonizing Del de legitimizing and
double standards will have a huge impact
on skincity please show your leadership
by denouncing the Jew hatred and
anti-semitic speech intertwined with the
project of asking for this resolution
such hate has no place in our city thank
you for your time
[Applause]
Rabbi rafy Spitzer Rabbi
Spitzer Madame
President esteemed council members and
Mr Mayor my name is Rabbi Rafi Spitzer I
live in the county of SKC and tonight
I've come to speak to
you
proudly and
vulnerably about our fear
of the 8 billion people in the world
there are just 15.7 million Jews just.
2% of the worldwide population in
America we are just 2.4% of the
population in sken County we are about
2% of the population about 3,500 Jews
out of the 160,000 people who live in
this County there are so very few of us
and we have been relatively quiet at
these City Council
meetings many Jewish people spoke
against a ceasefire resolution on March
25th and we did not come to your
meetings on April 8th or 22nd because we
were celebrating Jewish holidays but
make but make no mistake our absence and
relative silence does not in any way
indicate indifference to the anti-israel
and Jew hating ceasefire resolution or
to the activists Behavior we are
disgusted by by their proud displays of
Jew hatred both here and online it's
hard to be here it's hard to hear their
words to see their online rhetoric and
their memes the activists deny Jewish
peoplehood they deny Jewish
history they minimize Jewish pain and
Jewish death they demonize the Jewish
people they apply a double standard in
calling for a ceas fire resolution in
this case but not in all the other world
conflicts they even have the gall to say
that our fear isn't legitimate but is
only a tactic used to silence them while
many of us hope for a negotiated end to
this war and Pray for Peace we loathe
the attempts to intimidate silence
rewrite our history use tropes and
stereotypes to fuel hate against Israel
and the Jewish people here in connecti
resolutions calling for a cease Fire
have themselves become a term of art a
dog whistle a code even a seemingly
innocuous statement that can be held up
as SKC supports a ceasefire is loaded
with assumptions based on the Jew hating
words and behavior of the activists it
is a way of rallying people to the cause
of delegitimizing the only Jewish
country in the world
please recognize the divisive Jew hatred
embedded in asking for this resolution
and show leadership by telling the whole
city that such hate speech has no place
in
skincity thank you for your
[Applause]
time Rabbi Matt Cutler Rabbi
Cutler I'm Rabbi Matt
Cutler I live in the city of skincity
and I I work in this city is connected
my first request is to open a bathroom
up here so I can go to the bathroom
every once in a while during these
meetings now tonight I speak to you
about what legitimate criticism of
Israel looks like Israel is an imperfect
liberal democracy just like the United
States Israel is a parliamentary
democracy to form a government requires
Coalition building and current coalition
government has widely been criticized
for giving outside voice to extremists
legitimate criticism of Israel's
policies can be made without
delegitimizing or demonizing Israel we
could hold Israel accountable without
applying a double standard it takes care
to consider how our words can use can
cause harm by reinforcing stereotypes it
takes
self-examination to discover our
internalized
biases I hope that the city of connected
Council
and the rest of us have learned some
history and context for the harm caused
by some of the offensive remarks used by
activists seeking a ceasefire
resolution now I would like to thank
council member Carl Williams along with
council member deanii Farley for trying
to get folks to come together to find
Common Ground I thank you president
Porterfield for encouraging a communal
conversation
which could have been a moment for
recognition of mutual pain and led to a
greater support and understanding
instead of this ugly
divisiveness I believe the city council
should stop the harmful exercise in Jew
hatred which is disrupting your meetings
and preventing the normal functions of
government the council needs to return
to the work of taking care of the city
itself although
support the ongoing diplomatic efforts
toward a peaceful resolution of this War
I oppose a ceasefire resolution in SKC
because of all the reasons you have
already heard a resolution in SKC will
not Advocate peace or Security in the
Middle East and I particularly
appreciate the words of council members
Moon as well as council members Joe
Mancini Carmel Patrick and dorine D
vitro voicing a desire for the the city
council to stay out of Foreign Affairs
but this hate filled exercise has
increased this strust between Muslims
and Jewish communities and inflamed
anti-Semitism and islamophobia here in
skincity allowing this to continue any
further is causing us a great deal of
harm and it's not helping us at all
let's make it stop thank you
Robert
Stern Robert
Stern okay good
evening uh like to say shalom to
everyone and Salam
alaykum my name is Bob Stern I'm a
resident of the city of SKC for close to
40
years I'm currently retired and I'm
Jewish do I represent the Jewish
community
not really there's an old Jewish saying
two Jews in a room three
opinions so I'm not going to even
attempt to to tell people that I'm
representing all a diverse group of
people like this uh but while I support
the right of Israel to exist I don't
support every action or policy of the
government I do support um the right to
defend themselves but I also hope as
others have spoken that the killing of
civilians will stop by both sides
um and during my working years I worked
on drafting I worked for the New York
State Assembly like the other young
woman who spoke I worked on drafting
legislation and resolutions actually so
I've had experience trying to do that
it's a really difficult task and I'd
like to say that um I I a lot of people
had keep saying uh the social media
content is abhorent and the resolution
that the two members are trying to draft
um is uh somehow Associated that I don't
believe either one of you have made
social media posts that are abhorent and
if that occurs that's obviously should
be criticized but if you're working in
good faith to try to draft the
resolution that would um address the
concerns that people have brought to you
without demonizing without hatred
without uh blood liels or whatever else
I'm assuming that's your goal and that's
what you're trying to do um however
I as I said that it's a difficult thing
to do to try to draft something that
would do that and I think that that's
why I would agree that with a lot of
people who say it's not something the
council could do not because it's not
right not because it's not just not
because your attempts aren't
good-hearted but it's just really
difficult to do and I think that uh you
could get bogged down as others have
said about dealing with the other
conflicts in the world that people may
come to you with we have people who um
represent or you have constituents who
are from countries where there's other
kinds of similar conflicts going on they
may come to you ask now once you do this
resolution asking for others and I think
that um that would be a real the counter
could get really bogged down trying to
satisfy those needs um you have no
obligation to do anything you aren't
elected to to sort out uh complex
disputes around the world just because
someone asks you to do it it's not it's
not part of your job you were elected to
it is something you could do I'm not
saying that it's out of I mean people
have made good points here tonight about
why they think the council should do
that um but anyway nobody's really
offered any other Solutions tonight I
don't know that I have a solution but um
I would think that the um if you decide
you absolutely have to go on record with
something that you might be able to
limit it to asking the US government to
support efforts to end armed conflicts
and protect the rights of people around
the world to live in peace something to
that effect at least you will only have
to do it once and then you won't have to
do it again thank you for your time
thank
you Maxine George Maxine George
no she's not going to speak okay um
Valerie
trano uh good evening City Council
Members I'm here today in support for a
call of a permanent ceasefire and an end
to apartheid Israel's occupation of
Palestine after listening to the
committee meeting last week I wanted to
thank councilman Farley Williams and
president Porterfield for pushing for a
Nuance discussion to be had as that's
how you create change through hearing
others lived experiences empathy active
listening and critical
thinking the statements from other
members why are we even entertaining
this
is a callous way to think about this as
there's SK residents who have family
members who have died in Gaza and
occupied West Bank or are worrying every
day about their loved
ones who've died in I mean every day
about their loved ones safety who who
live
there I'd also like to point out the
ways we are financially involved in this
as our New York state and federal taxes
are funding apartheid Israel's ethnic
cleansing and genocide of Palestine Al
also Alo for all of you on city council
those who work for city of connecti and
New York state employees who are members
of the New York state and local
retirement system your pension plan
invests in Israel bonds and your
retirement money is blood money in
October 2023 Joseph deop bought an
additional 20 million more in Israel
bonds for the New York State Common
retirement fund as a Civil Service
employee myself I feel disgusted knowing
that my pension is blood Money funding
the deaths of 15,000 Palestinian
children in just 247 days since October
7th I feel guilt-ridden knowing my
federal taxes New York state taxes and
my pension plan are all funding over
35,000 deaths of Palestinian men women
and children it's important to
acknowledge that we are financially
complicit with aparte Israel's genocidal
and ethnic cleansing actions and that
does affect us as a SKC County
especially those whose employers
participate in night New York State
local Retirement Systems pension
plan I'd like to re share two quotes
from mmud Darwish every word has the
power to change the world and in silence
we become
accomplices it's also important to point
out that this is not a Judaism versus
Islam issue either as Israeli military
have also been killing Christian and
Jewish Palestinians as well there are
Palestinian Jews Christians and Muslims
and they've lived peacefully coexisting
in Palestine before the creation of the
state of is Israel I believe we will see
a free Palestine within our lifetime
where Jews Christians and Muslims will
exist equally in peacefully amongst each
other once again after those who
committed atrocities are held
accountable to conclude I'd like to
remind everyone that we're all human
beings who deserve basic human rights
decency
respect peace and to feel safe we need a
permanent ceasefire as it's of the
utmost importance and we are currently
living in moments of history that will
be analyzed in the future will you
remain complicit with your silence thank
you
Baris Baris Amir
FIS hello thank you all for giving me
another opportunity to speak my name is
Faris Amir I'm a Palestinian I was here
a few weeks ago I spoke to all before
I've lived in the West Bank I've gone to
school in the West Bank I have family in
the West Bank I've come to for I've come
before you today to speak partly about
my experiences in the West Bank and in
the aparti that I have seen with my eyes
where roads have been segregated by race
where I've been been denied entry into
Jerusalem because of my race where
settler violence has burnt down the
homes businesses and Farms of my family
members in my Village
we can talk about all the things we
think it's like all all the ideas we
have about the West Bank but I've been
there and I'm telling you it isn't
aparte but I didn't come here today just
to talk about my past and my experiences
what we came here today to talk about is
this cifi
resolution and I'd like to thank you for
listening and hearing from me as a
Palestinian because this is something
that I'm not used to growing up that
hasn't been the standard in my life as a
Palestinian our voices are always
marginalized
ignored and just left on the side and I
guess it took 37,000 dead Palestinians
in Gaza to have our voices finally
heard as a Palestinian all we've ever
wanted was basic human rights the right
to live freely and
peace so let me ask you why is it that
when the entire world calls for a
ceasefire it's connected he wants to
stay
quiet why is it that the entire world
has heard our voices connecti he turns a
deaf ear over 100 American cities have
called for a ceasefire 150 plus
countries have called for a ceasefire
today the UN Security Council adopted a
ceasefire resolution proposed by the US
so what are we waiting for what is
connect waiting for we're asking for
hostages to be released on both sides
we're asking for CI civilian deaths to
stop on both sides we're asking for
peace and while the entire world again
calls for a ceasefire we're just sitting
here quietly not wanting to get
involved show us that you're not okay
with civilians dying on either side show
us that you
want hostages released on both sides
peace on both sides that you're not okay
with 15,000 children dying show us that
our voices matter and that you care
thank you
[Applause]
soib
shakima soib
shakima it is funny because this
afternoon I was just chatting with a
Jewish friend of mine in an effort to
mobilize and fight for tenant stes here
in the cap region that sounds like the
most anti-Semitic thing to do I guess so
what I understood from the other group
um is that the ongoing genocide makes
them feel safe some also lose sleep uh
just for the simple fact that we keep
fighting for Palestinians not to lose
their lives what I also can highlight is
that if you cannot openly and boldly
come out and support a live streaming
genocide you have to distract with
misinformation and eloquently compiled
lies that can be easily debunked by
simple Act of reading reliable sources
of historical facts also please if you
check in our social media accounts
please hit like subscribe and follow and
donate if you
can it was interesting when the Jewish
lady came up earlier and spoke in
support of a ceasefire resolution and an
anti-Semitism resolution those in
support of ceasefire clapped while those
against the ceasefire refrained let that
sink in this whole thing has been
wrongfully referred to by some of the
council members who played into the
hands of the Zionist in this room as the
Muslims versus Jews fight the the
language of the resolution itself and
the diverse and very inclusive group
calling for the ceasefire are the
evidence for what this really is those
of us calling for a ceasefire and
release of all hostages are calling for
the saving and preservation of Life
while those on the other side are
clearly against it let me tell you about
the Zionist in this room they just
showed you how Supremacy takes an
ideology Zionism to hijack a history and
religion Judaism while canceling the
history of others including those two
large religions in the world laming
Christianity and Islam man they even
hijacked a slogan by the lgbtq activists
calling for a ceasefire lamely no pride
in genocide I Al I also wonder for those
zionists who claim that we are
anti-semitic while stripping all Jews
calling for a ceasefire of their Jewish
identity where and well will your
Supremacy and self-entitlement end this
cowardly Supremacy came in a form of a
letter addressed to me personally asking
me and my congregation to go back home
boy I was born in Albany and we are here
to stay let me tell you the terrifying
real reality to those zionists in this
room these City Council meetings have
raised more awareness and brought more
people together to fight against the
genocide the truth will prevail hey Mr
John sarcastically you asked if you
should hand deliver the resolution to
till aiv while three other council
members tried to hide behind the it is
not our problem excuse this is local we
are funding the Gen genocide and we now
are even directly involved in this
genocide in addition to our taxes
retirement funds and investment bonds we
now have reports of our own boots on the
ground let me tell the council members
these meetings have exposed the
hypocrisy of some of the politicians in
this room thank
you Matt oil
uh good evening uh here to join the uh
voices calling for a ceasefire
resolution uh so between Gaza and the
West Bank the casualty count in
Palestine as of May 21st is
approximately
37,500 killed including 15,000 children
nearly 990,000 injured and about 10,000
missing that's only what's been recorded
I shiver when wondering about what the
actual casualty numbers are but
regardless of the difference between the
official count and the real count the
casualties have undoubtedly increased
since May 21st as the Israeli regime
drops bombs on refugees in Rafa who were
initially told to go there specifically
to escape
bombardment uh so despite President
Biden claiming that bombing Rafa would
be a hard Red Line the US ruling class
continues to provide unwavering support
to the Israeli regime as it wages and
escalates genocidal violence against the
Palestinian people to say nothing of the
risk of a wider Regional War as tensions
escalate between Israel and
Iran despite what many claim us
involvement in this conflict has
absolutely nothing to do with protecting
the Jewish community and has everything
to do with maintaining us imperialist
interests in the Middle East the working
class here and everywhere including here
in sken has absolutely nothing to gain
from this Bloodshed every bomb dropped
is a waste is wasted money that could be
invested in education housing Healthcare
infrastructure Etc so long story short a
ceasefire is a critical first step in
towards ending this Bloodshed and I hope
the city council will play a part in
moving Us in that direction by passing a
ceasefire resolution thank
you Assad
Ali Assad
Ali hey everyone uh this is my second
time over here and I'm as an I work as
an engineer in Horizon and I've been in
United States for past 14 years and I
come here because I see these messages
you know like and I come here to support
Palestine people I have one question
like and you know everybody was talking
about you know like Hamas did this
Pakistan did this we're not over here to
discuss those issues it's a good
platform to discuss it but we are over
here my house is burning on fire What
would I do oh my elder daughter put the
switch on my little daughter did this my
we are not here to find the who did what
we can find it later on but my first
action is to stop the fire to put the
water on the fire and let everything
calm down so I suggest like put a
ceasefire stop the killings of small
kids it's nothing hidden it's on social
media you can see kids dying buried on
under the buildings as a US Government
they can put a stop sign to that they
can put a genocide to that my English is
not very good I honestly don't even
understand like what genocide means but
stop the killing of innocent people over
there small kids they should not be
killed in the first place and then when
we can figure it out like who's right
and who's wrong so since I have time I
will put some light who's right and
who's wrong a fellow human being over
here said that Pakistan was developed in
that country I am a Pakistani guy
Pakistan had a two-nation theory with
India and and that was like something
Muslim needs their own land to practice
the religion instead of getting harassed
from you know other religions or they
harass other people they they need
separate land to practice their
religion since childhood I've heard
Hitler you know like he had had a war
against Jewish people they came out of
Europe they came out of Africa they came
out of like Middle Eastern countries
they're refugees did Palestine people
came out of like somewhere and took that
land they they belong the land belonged
to them and now the issue is like okay
Jewish people want to empower the Muslim
people and the Muslim people want to
empower the Jewish people right we
should have that sense that okay this
land was belong to Palestine people not
the refugees who came like 100 years ago
and then now they want to empower the
whole Palestine land it cannot happen
that way you know like it should belong
the land should belong to the people who
lived there not the refugees who came
from Europe Africa and other countries
and and a lot of Jewish people know that
too so so my my suggestion here is
please put a stop sign for the killing
of innocent people innocent kids who die
every day over there and and and one
last thing I will end up with is a lot
of saying that Hamas did this Hamas did
this someone comes in my home and and
puts takes basic necessities out of my
home I cannot get Electric City I cannot
get water over there not think what
would I do I would retaliate I would
fight and and that's what Hamas does
it's not one way thing like Hamas always
does it because when the things are
tighten up on that and these are the
games that we should stop uh that's all
I had thank you thank
you Leila Leila I'm not going to try to
say your last name because I'm really
can't read it starts with a k
leaa thank
you I left my children in the tent to
find them something to eat I hugged them
as if I knew it would be the last time I
ran back when I heard air strikes I
found my six children burnt to a crisp I
picked them up as piles of sand this is
from a mother who last week lost her six
children in an air strike from Israel
and the army that they proudly claimed
one of many that they have proudly
claimed that our tax my tax dollars have
funded I feel the need to clarify that
I'm more a Semite than majority of this
the people in this room as both sides of
my family were from Palestine and are
still waiting to return home I'm not
anti myself I'm antiviolence I'm really
struggling after nine months to
understand how people want to continue
killing innocent people I'm struggling
to understand how someone could see a
call for Freedom as their demise I'm
struggling to figure out what hate
speech we're using when we are using
when we demand a stop to the genocide
the only way I can make sense of this is
that the same people who oppose a
ceasefire are doing so because they
don't consider my family and my people's
lives valuable or worth saving we are
lesser in their eyes we don't deserve
freedom and safety our children don't
deserve the same as their children it's
okay if 200 days days ago or even 3 days
ago you understood the story differently
it's okay if you peel back the layers
and you learned a little more and your
opinion and your mind has changed that
is okay what's not okay is to say my
people don't deserve a
ceasefire and to say we don't deserve
Freedom just like everyone else in the
world we teach our children violence
doesn't solve anything how can we
justify this when this city and the
country continue to promote violence and
cower at the word ceasefire I cannot
comprehend this because where I stand
anyone who opposes a ceasefire actively
supports violence I said this before and
I'm going to repeat myself when I spoke
at Albany when I spoke at here prior we
have to learn from our history this
country already owes too many apologies
around the world we have to stop
repeating history and we all have to do
better I'm going to appeal to your
hearts I believe every elected official
starts their career wanting to make a
difference now is that time this is not
a religious War this is not a religious
issue this is a human caused problem
nothing about this is complicated no
child on Earth deserves to be bombed no
human on earth deserves to be bombed
nothing deserves to be
[Applause]
bombed Sean
Young Sean
Young so I've been sitting here with
everyone and listening to what was been
said and I've been taking a lot of notes
and being prepared to kind of address
each and every argument that I heard
about why ceasefire resolution is not
something that we should do collectively
as a city I heard arguments that you
know Israelis and Jews are rooted to the
land I heard the definition of Judaism
and legitimacy I heard the 3DS
delegitimize demonize and double
standard and just so many so many more
um arguments or justifications about why
a ceasefire resolution is speech and
anti-semitic and uh rooted in something
that I'm not even I'm not a part of or
want to be about ever stood for since
I've come disc connected he doing the
work that I
do we're calling for a ceasefire I I
guess I want to personaliz this a little
bit I think it's important to do so
October 7th happened and it was a
tragedy we all saw it we all witnessed
it it was a tragedy to see it and hear
about it every day after happened the
bombing happened and the children were
killed and the women were chilled and
the other innocent civilians were
chilled and I'm sure some homos Fighters
were killed as well and all of the death
in the gore and it's month after month and I'm watching our US
military um Supply the weapons that are
killing so many children 15,000 children
are dead so many others are injured so
many other casualties we're simply
saying we want to ceasefire I'm not
delegitimizing Israel's right to to
exist I'm not hating Jewish people
because I'm saying I want these bombings
to stop and for children to be saved for
both sides to exchange the hostages and for us to have peace in that country
this is an issue that impacts people
here in a city is SKC look at people
behind me look at the people that have
been here month after month talking to
you this is certainly something that is
impacting them and we're coming to you
requesting a ceasefire because you can
speak with a collective voice and a
representation of the entire city and we
think it matters to speak into the Ark
of Justice to speak as many other
communities have spoken to want the end
to the devastation and the destruction
it's right there for us to see we see it
I heard all of the members of the Jewish
Community who spoke and made all these
uh arguments about why this is hateful
and why it and SP it I'm not convinced
that what I'm saying here as I stand
here before all of you I'm not convinced
that we're hating anyone we're just
saying we want to see the children and
the innocent people stop being killed
that's it that's what we're here for
period the rest of it is what I don't
know where the rest of it is coming from
We're want to see a ceasefire we want to
see children to stop being killed we
want to have a collective voice and a
push into the Arc of Justice you are we
represent Mar King on a regular basis he
talked about the history he he talked
about history and he talked about it end
in to the Arc of Justice we B that by
our Collective voice thank
[Applause]
you I have no one else signed up to
speak so I declare the public comment of
City business
closed this time any miscellaneous
business of the
council miscellaneous business of the
council Miss Patrick
M Patrick are you going to be speaking I
am yeah
okay I can't hear
you I was just asking them a
question yes
yeah thank
you during our last Council committee
meeting I said and I'm quoting from the
transcript we have seen Damage Done in
our community to a desecration of a sem
AR in no way did I state or even imply
that this crime was committed by Muslims
or people of color however that evening
I received an email from Imam Jamal in
which he claimed that I had made
explicit and appalling racist comments
here are two quotes from the imam's
email quote you referenced the
desecration of a local Jewish cemetery
as being tied to these calls for a
ceasefire end of quote and quote a crime
was committed in the desecration of
those Graves and you thought it fitting
to point the finger to us end of quote
once again I never made those statements
these are Fabrications and false
accusations by the Imam which he also
shared with other members of the city
council subsequently on the all of us
Facebook page this statement appeared
quote we are we were witness to the
racist xenophobic and islamophobic
remarks of city council member Carmel
Patrick end of quote I think it is plain
to see that the all of us state
statement which was signed by the Imam
by Dr shakima by Jamaica miles and by
Sha young was clearly built on the
fabrication expressed in the imam's
email to me and represents an escalation
of hateful
rhetoric these are slanderous remarks
and they're dangerous but worse than
that these are false accusations which
malign my character and possibly Inspire
someone to cause me and my family
harm at the end of the May 13th council
meeting I was verbally attacked and felt
threatened in his email the Imam also
stated that my claims of being afraid
cemented my
racism actually I was so shaken that for
the first time since I've served on
Council I asked one of the police
officers who was present to escort me to
my
car do I need to remind people of the
public officials who have been
physically attacked by people who
disagree with them the Imam by
downplaying and subverting my feelings
during this incident was choosing to
misrepresent me in a dismissive and
inappropriate
fashion I get to say when I'm feeling
afraid and fear of emotional
terrorism fear of emotional terrorism
does not brand me a racist I am not
[Applause]
a I am not a racist I have never been a
racist I have spent all of my adult life
working for social justice and my
accusers are lying about me I will not
be bullied into Silence by baseless
accusations to summarize these
accusations of racism and bigotry are
deeply offensive and unfounded my
comments were in no way intended to be
racist or offensive but rather to
highlight the broader implications of
the resolutions being discussed and the
divisive impact they could have on our
community which I think we're
seeing that's my job to represent the
citizens of skincity and I take my job
seriously I am open to constructive
dialogue and finding common ground but I
will not tolerate attempts to malign my
character or undermine my position as an
elected representative of this community
if skincity presidents have legitimate
concerns or grievances I am more than
willing to discuss them in a respectful
and constructive manner however if some
people continue to attack and threaten I
will not hesitate to take appropriate
action to defend myself and my Integrity
thank you
[Applause]
councilman Farley thank you so I would
just like to start really quick with a a
unifying statement I think we can all
get behind and that is that this entire
thing is Carl Williams
fault councilman Williams um took the
initiative to try to start um some
dialogue which I was um felt compelled
and honored to kind of take part in as
well um and I just want to share a
couple things this is obviously a very
tense sensitive layered thing that we
are trying to work through here in our
official
capacities um it would have been a lot
easier for myself and my colleague to
say that you know what let's not even um
have any response whatsoever but we
didn't feel that that was the right
thing to
do what I will tell you is that I I will
hold on to some of what I heard in that
conversation which have now through
multiple other people's perspectives and
point of views have kind of
changed what I heard with people
representing very different perspectives
around this entire conflict there was
some true
alignment and some of the alignment was
that people wanted
peace people were talking about
those gentlemen were talking about the
different ways that um they understood
this conflict to be um the history you
know some of that was part of the
conversation but the larger part of the
conversation was what are we going to do
now so what I want to tell everyone here
is I appreciate you coming here and
sharing your point of view and I think
we all listen very
intently however this isn't going to be
just up to us I promise to do everything
in my power to make sure that we are
setting examples for peace and unity
within our community but the reality is
the larger question is what are you
going to do now because when you leave
here you go back to your respective
Community there's going to be people
saying yeah they said this they're all
about this making General blanket
statements and what it's going to take
is courage from you that my colleague
councilman uh Williams displayed you're
going to have that same have to have the
same courage to talk to those who are
closest to you to say I heard some
things I didn't like but if peace is
what I'm about I'm willing to have a
conversation with
somebody I'm willing to reach out and
talk to somebody and I think that if you
do that in a constructive way then I
think that what we all can end up doing
is at least moving the needle whether
whatever side of this conflict and there
aren't there's multiple things and
multiple truths can be true at the same
time is that if we can just concentrate
on the things that I keep hearing from
people is that we want peace and we want
people to feel safe but that's not going
to be accomplished by anything that any
action that we take solely that's going
to take you that's going to take your
neighbors that's going to take the
people of your congregation to reach out
to others and try to engage in a
conversation and a dialogue that
represents and in line with the things
that you're so boldly coming here saying
before us which is peace and Unity thank
you
May mayor
McCarthy thank you Madame
President clearly too much conflict and
divisiveness in the world it goes beyond
even the mid East and uh Mr Farley's
pointed out that that one common thing
is uh people do agree on peace uh it
seems so simple but it's such an elusive
and uh far-reaching goal far too many
times so I appreciate your coming out I
assume my colleagues here also
appreciate it uh hopefully that again
we'll come together and be able to have
a message that uh reflects well on the
city of skty and again uh has some
incremental benefit for the world as a
whole thank you madam president thank
you mayor first of all I'd like to thank
go ahead
I'd like to thank everyone that came out
um tonight and um you know we heard a
lot we heard a lot of history we heard a
lot of passion we heard a lot of
opinions we heard some finger
pointing um one thing I want to State it
was kind of stated by one of the people
there um in terms of our who we
represent and I just want to State very
clearly that those of those of us who
are elected in the city of skincity
represent everyone that lives in the
city of skincity as nothing to do with
your e ethnicity your um whether you're
a male or female or whatever so I just
want to make that very clear that we
aren't here to represent any one certain
group of people because that statement
was kind of implied today in my
opinion the Bible says that the tongue
is a mighty weapon and so we have to
remember that the words that we speak
can be powerful and destructive or they
can provide guidance and understanding
today I heard some words that I felt
were powerful and destructive and some
words that I felt were um gave some
level of under
understanding you've been we have been
asked to um pass the ceasefire
resolution and for those for I'm going
to give you a little bit of background
I've been consistently saying that the
two groups who are having the uh
differences of opinions and I'm putting
that nicely uh should talk and so what
councilman Williams attempted to do was
to bring the groups together to have
those
conversations so that we would get to a
place where the two groups would be able
to talk to each other and work towards a
solution for
the disagreement that is between the two
groups and I'm talking about
locally and in terms of the resolution
that was brought forward both both uh
leaders from both groups were given the
opportunity to provide uh resolutions or
statements to us and that is what
happens so I don't want people to walk
out of this room um with the
misunderstanding that only there was
only a resolution that was presented and
there was no statement from from um the
leadership of the Jewish Community
because there was so just want to make
sure that you know that there were both
things that were present not just
one I beg your
pardon okay so you know I we have you've
talked about you know having a ctive
voice and asking the city council to
pass this resolution as as you can see
there is not there the consensus is not
there and I also want to state that we
have not doing the city's business
although this has taken a lot of our
time I can't disagree with that but we
have continued to do that we've heard a
lot about what hate speech is and what
it what people interpret it to be and
one thing that I always say is how you
see it depends on where you
sit so people some people may not see it
as hate speech and you do see it as hate
speech and I understand that but we have
a lot of work to do in this community as
far as I'm concerned because what this
has brought forward in my opinion is not
so much the conflict that's happening in
Gaza but the Divi divisiveness The
Divide in our community and did it exist
prior to this or did this bring it to
the surface that's a question we really
have to ask
ourselves the the um the UN Security
Council passed their draft
resolution um which is aimed at halting
the the blood fighting and to me a
ceasefire means to that both sides lay
down their weapons and stop attacking
each other the young lady who wanted me
to see her sign and I did see your sign
it said that peace peace takes both
sides to do it and so that is my
understanding of what this is about um
ladies and gentlemen if you're look look for a resolution I'm going to tell
you quite frankly I don't see that
coming forward from this Council we have
spent months working on it we have
spent um
meetings and we're trying to help
resolve this and it we don't have there
is no support quite frankly for a
resolution coming forth from this
Council it doesn't
mean really the Applause I think really
inappropriate right there because there
are people who are walking away feeling
that we've done some disservice to
them but we in all of our conversations
and varies to each other you know with
all of you um don't see how we can come
to that place quite frankly and so each
of us as I said offer to people at the
committee meeting can State what their
positions are and support the resolution
from from the UN if that's where their
support is and we have to just accept
where we are we try to get there we U
one council member asked if we would
just issue a statement that we wouldn't
do anything we also did not entertain
that because we're Beyond well beyond
that in my
opinion so you can continue to talk to
us but um what trying to put forth a
resolution quite honestly there are not
the votes it takes votes to get a
resolution passed and there are just not
enough votes to do that um we'll
continue work with the communities I
tell you again I think that you there
should be more
conversations to have better
understanding where each person stands
and um I really really don't know what
else to say we have just tried and tried
for months on in in weeks and this is
where we are at this point so thank you
all again for coming and I hope you
respect people's individ uh Li um
positions and let me just say I don't
feel uh I feel no threat from any of you
coming here I think you know you have
your right to say what it is you have to
say and as long as we're not um saying
things that are divisive
or making other people feel
uncomfortable so um uh the rabbi and I
did have a conversation and we were
talking you know again like he would he
said some things were uh anti-semitic
and some things were Jew hating and I
told him that from what I'm from here I
didn't understand that because I've not
lived that I did don't have that lived
experience so we really need to have a
conversation to talk and try to get
through this as a community because
after it's all said and done we all
still have to live here
together um as brothers and sisters and
I think some of the work that was done
before this happened unfortunately I
have seen undone in these past few
months and weeks
so I have nothing more to say say and um
I'll just entertain a motion to adjourn
move by Miss
Patrick second by Mr Farley all those in
favor I we adjourned
love
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he
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