BRIDGEPORT REPORT
By Reginald Johnson
BRIDGEPORT
--- Reversing a previous stand, leaders of Bridgeport’s Jewish community have
come out against the City Council’s recently passed Gaza cease-fire resolution
and are demanding that the resolution be rescinded.
On January 2
when the resolution calling on Congress to work for a cease-fire in Palestine
was passed by the council, Jewish leaders present at that time indicated that
they were satisfied with the statement, after language criticizing Israel was
removed.
However, a
coalition of Jewish groups and synagogues that came together after that have now
issued a statement saying that the City Council had no place taking up an
international issue and have asked Mayor Joseph Ganim and the City Council to
withdraw the resolution.
Some leaders
are claiming that the resolution is fueling anti-Semitism.
“The resolution you passed has divided our community
and promoted anti-Semitic vitriol,” said Carin Sevel, CEO of the Jewish
Federation of Greater Fairfield County, speaking at the City Council’s public
forum Monday night, “Hate crimes against Jews are up 400% since October 7… There
is too much hate and division in our community and I think you can do better,”
she said.
Deborah Boles
president of the Congregation Rodeph Sholom on Park Avenue, said “We learned
about the resolution 2023 (ceasefire resolution) the day it was reported on the
front page of the Connecticut Post and read that there was Jewish input. We
knew nothing about it.”
Boles
maintained that the council appears to been “misled” by the group Jewish Voice
for Peace. She said that her research showed that Jewish Voice for Peace is “anti-Israel”
and “don’t represent the mainstream Jewish community.”
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| Pro-Israel supporters attended the City Council meeting to oppose the ceasefire resolution. (Reginald Johnson photo) |
A number of opponents
of the resolution showed up at the City Council on Monday to voice their
disapproval and wave pro-Israel placards and signs.
However, a
much larger crowd of resolution supporters were on hand, many of them wearing
the traditional Palestinian keffiyeh and waving Palestinian flags. A number of
speakers from this group stepped forward to thank the city’s legislative body
for passing the resolution and urge that the council hold firm in keeping the ceasefire
statement in place.
The Rev.
Anthony Bennett, pastor of the Mount Aery Baptist Church in Bridgeport, was one
of those.
“I’m
encouraging you to stand your ground in keeping this resolution which calls for
an immediate cease-fire, humanitarian aid, and a return of all hostages in
exchange for the previously negotiated release of Palestinian political prisoners,”
he said.
The president of the Bridgeport Islamic
Community Center, Dr. Khaled Elleithy, said he was proud of the City Council
for adopting the cease-fire resolution, making Bridgeport the first city in Connecticut
to do so.
“With the understanding that the City Council
has no power to enforce such a resolution or investigate any claims of
wrongdoing, it remains a historic
statement by the City Council. It is a call for peace. Just a call for peace.
Nevertheless, some cannot digest a call for peace,” he said.
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| Palestinian supporters tell the City Council to stand firm against attacks on the Gaza ceasefire resolution. (Reginald Johnson photo) |
There was no
indication Monday that there is any serious move afoot on the council to
rescind the resolution. The original vote on the statement was a decisive 13 to
2 in favor. Council Members who voted for the resolution said that while it is
true that the city does not typically take up international matters,
occasionally there are issues that are so important on a moral level that a
statement by the council is in order.
Council Member Maria Pereira, a vociferous critic of
the resolution, maintained the body had “zero authority” to take up the matter.
Pereira, who is known as an outspoken elected
official who is often blunt in her criticisms of other people, was punished by
the council Monday night for reportedly using derogatory language to describe
Palestinians and the city police chief.
She was also criticized for gesturing with her middle finger toward a
member of the audience at the January 2 meeting.
The council voted 13 to 1 to hold Pereira in
contempt and strip her of her committee assignments. She will still be able to attend
council meetings and take part in votes, according to the Connecticut Post.
Members of
the Palestinian community have been outraged by Pereira’s comments and were
calling for her resignation or expulsion from the council.
The cities
of New Haven and Windsor in Connecticut are also considering passing cease-fire
resolutions. Several other cities around the country have passed the
resolutions including Detroit, Michigan, Atlanta, Georgia and Oakland,
California. The resolutions are aimed at pressuring Congress and the Biden
administration into taking steps to bring about an end to the brutal Israel-Hamas
war, which has now taken 30,000 lives and left 2 million people displaced.
The International
Court of Justice recently found that there was evidence that Israel was a
committing genocide in Gaza.
