Bridgeport passes Gaza ceasefire resolution

        

       BRIDGEPORT REPORT 

         By Reginald Johnson

   

 

    BRIDGEPORT, CT --- In a historic vote, the City Council passed a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the brutal Israel-Hamas War, which has taken the lives of 29,000 people, a majority of them civilians.

   Rejecting the views of a few council members who said that city legislators had no business taking up an international issue, others on the council said it was not right to sit by and say nothing as a slaughter of innocent men, women and children goes on in Gaza.

  “You know I watch the news, I watch the news a lot. And what I have seen on Oct. 7^th was one of the most horrible acts, of violence perpetrated against the Israelis,” said Council Member Jorge Cruz. “I saw what happened afterwards, how the Israeli military acted. That was also harsh. I see the news everyday. And when I see the massive amount of children in Gaza being slaughtered, being killed, being dug out from under collapsed buildings, it breaks my heart, absolutely. I’m human. This resolution is simply calling out, ‘stop the damn violence, stop the killing.’ ”

   Council Member Mary McBride-Lee was another supporter. “I’m not taking sides tonight. I will be voting yes on this, because I don’t want anyone suffering --- Jewish people, African-Americans or anyone else,” she said. “This is what I want to see. No more war!” she said, as a packed City Council chambers erupted in cheers.

  The ceasefire resolution passed 13-2.

  The statement calls on members of Congress and President Biden to work to facilitate a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and make sure that humanitarian aid is promptly delivered to the area.

  Bridgeport is the first city in Connecticut to pass a ceasefire resolution. New Haven is now considering one.

  Other cities around the country that have passed resolutions are Atlanta, Ga., Detroit, Mich, and Oakland, California.

   The vote to approve the resolution came after some last-minute negotiations between leaders of the Jewish and Muslim communities and some councilmembers. Wording of the original resolution was apparently softened at the request of Jewish leaders who objected to phrases  relating to such things as the number of civilian deaths in Palestine, to Palestinians living in "apartheid," and even to the term “Occupied West Bank.”

 According to Aziz Seyal, a board member of the Bridgeport Islamic Community Center, the backers of the resolution agreed to the changes because the key point about requesting a ceasefire was retained.

                                 

Supporters of the Gaza ceasefire resolution in Bridgeport (Reginald Johnson photo) 

  Maria Pereira, one of the council members who has opposed the resolution all along, said she objected to the manner in which the last-minute changes were made. “This was a secret meeting not open to the public. None of the people there were elected representatives,” she said. “That’s our job. We are the legislative branch. We are elected by the people of Bridgeport.”

  Pereira reiterated her position that the City Council had “zero authority” to pass an official resolution on behalf of the city which took a position on international affairs.

  Council Member Jazmarie Melendez, who originally authored the resolution,  countered Pereira by saying that the meeting to revise the resolution was not a secret meeting and both she and another council leader were present for the discussions.

Bombing kids not acceptable. (Reginald Johnson photo)

  And Councilman Ernie Newton said that it is appropriate for the Bridgeport City Council to weigh in on such a critical issue as the war in the Middle East. He said things come up from time to time that do not directly tie in with Bridgeport affairs but are nonetheless important enough to take a stand on.

 “We have the right to voice our opinion,” he said

   Many of those who attended the Tuesday council meeting were Muslims and Arab-Americans. But members of the Jewish community also attended to show their support for the resolution.

 One of those was Stephanie Carrow of Fairfield.

 Carrow decried what was going on in Palestine and called it a “genocide.”

 She said that Jews have experienced considerable prejudice in their history and she was raised to believe that as a result of that prejudice “we stand up for all people and we would never oppress anybody and we always speak out against oppression. That’s the Jewish ethic that I was raised with and that’s what I believe in.”

 She also said,  “I’m also very upset, in addition to the horrors of what’s happening there, that it is being done in my name as a Jew.”

                              

Members of Jewish Voice for Peace back the Bridgeport ceasefire resolution
(Reginald Johnson photo)

 Others, from the group Jewish Voice for Peace came down from New Haven  to the Bridgeport Council meeting to show their support and held a banner in the back of the room which read, "Another Jew for a Free Palestine."

 Hanan Abdulwahid, one of the organizers behind the ceasefire resolution and someone whose 16-year old nephew was killed by an IDF soldier in the West Bank, said after the resolution passed that she was “very, very happy and pleased with the City of Bridgeport for doing this. We really thank them for this. They gave us so much hope.”

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  Prior to the council session, there was a public forum where a number speakers made powerful statements about the terrible situation in Gaza and the need for council action.

 Mohammed Shaham began his talk by saying, “The silence speaks for itself.”

After a long pause, he said, “28,000 slaughtered, yet you remain silent.”

After another period of silence he said, “More than 10,000 innocent children, yet you’re silent.”

He continued making statements, interspersed with long pauses.

“Bombs are dropping yet you’re silent.”

“New Year. Same genocide.”

“Day 88, yet you’re silent.”

Then he said, “We the people will not be silent until you take action.”

 Another speaker was Seyal, of the Bridgeport Islamic Community Center. He said that he was a journalist, lawyer and human rights activist in Pakistan before moving to the United States in 1984.  Seyal said he was very happy coming to America because America was in his words the “champion of human rights” in the whole world.

   “I never thought that one day the political leadership of this great nation will go against basic human values and will help a foreign nation with our tax dollars to kill innocent children of Palestine,” he said. “Today the whole world is crying for peace but only our country America is using its veto power in the UN and has become the main hurdle in stopping the genocide. The champion of human rights has become the main financier and supporter of a nation that has crossed all limits of humanity,” he said.

  Seyal described atrocities he says Israeli forces have carried out in Gaza such as bombing refugee camps, killing innocent children and shooting pregnant women on their way to the hospital. He further maintained that “more than 7000 bodies are still under rubble.”

   He said, “Palestinians cannot bury their loved ones. The dead bodies have become pieces, scattered. Have you heard of these types of atrocities in human history?”

   Seyal continued, “This is definitely not a war between two armies. This is a genocide of the oppressed. Israeli former head of Security Council Giora Eiland wrote in an Israeli paper last week that we must kill every Palestinian to win the war yet Netanyahu is already working on this barbaric plan. We’re all watching this with their own eyes in the 21^st century yet are being threatened to stay quiet?”

    Seyal then said, “I know with your resolution this genocide will not stop. But it will bring us closer, and you will be able to tell your children and grandchildren that you did your part and tried to save children of God.”