Proud moment for Bridgeport

           

         By Reginald Johnson

                                                     Commentary

          

   This past year has been a blur. So much has been happening with me both on a personal level and also in terms of what I’ve been writing about and working on I really wouldn’t know where to start in terms of a recap.

   But none of this would be very interesting to anybody else so I’m not going give some long recounting. But I just want to say one thing. I can’t be more proud of the fact that officials in my hometown of Bridgeport, Connecticut stood up and were counted on the absolutely awful events that are going on in Palestine.

 A year ago at this time the City Council was debating whether they should pass a resolution urging Congress and the President to push for a cease-fire in the Gaza-Israeli war. Already at that point thousands had died and there were numerous war crimes. It was clear to anybody who was reasonable and looking at the facts objectively that Israel needed to stop their brutal attack and the United States had to stop enabling their campaign.

 There were a number of packed and emotional meetings in the City Council chambers in which pro-Gaza supporters and pro-Israel supporters vented their feelings on the proposed resolution. Some members of the Palestinian community, in particular, gave moving speeches. Things got heated and police at one point intervened to stop a fracas.

 In the end, despite harsh attacks by some from the Israeli side, council members voted overwhelmingly to pass the nonbinding resolution. The moment the resolution passed, the council chambers erupted in cheers and people were hugging and waving Palestinian flags. It was a powerful moment.

 Several weeks later, the council stood strong and rejected an effort to overturn the resolution.

 There were those who said that the resolution was inappropriate for the Council to work on since it didn’t deal specifically with any city issue and was a waste of time. But from my point of view. the vote was one of the best things the city ever did. People were taking a stand on a deep moral issue which in the long run means a lot more than just voting to pass money for a new road or a new school. 

 I was proud of what the City Council and Mayor Ganim (who I’ve been often been critical of over the years) did that night. Thank you.

 Unfortunately, it’s just too bad that now, almost a year after that resolution was passed (resolutions were passed in a number of other cities as well ---  thank you to them) the war drags on and Israel is still carrying out its genocidal campaign, aided and abetted by the United States. Now, 45,000 are dead, and that’s in all likelihood a severe undercount. Thousands are starving from lack of food and Gaza's health care system is collapsing as Israeli forces bomb hospitals.

 There has been no concerted effort by our so-called leaders in Washington, DC. to stop the carnage. This has been one of the most disgraceful performances by members of Congress, in both parties, and by a President, in US history. The cowardice being shown is just beyond words.  An unspeakable horror is continuing and these people sit back and worry about their AIPAC contributions. Disgusting.

 The US could put an end to this war very quickly if it wanted to, and it’s just a shame that hasn’t happened.  Tell Israel to stop the killing and agree to a ceasefire or all aid and support, stops.

 So in the new year we still have a lot more work to do to turn this policy around. But it can be done.  In the spirit of what Bridgeport and other cities have done, let’s keep pushing for a permanent ceasefire.

 That's the least we can do for the people of Palestine.

   

Greenwich woman loses family in Gaza genocide

 

 By Reginald Johnson

 

  For years, Raghda Shawa was a beloved doctor in Gaza.

 A pediatrician, Dr. Shawa cared for thousands of young children when they were sick, according to Lana Shawa Savoca, a relative who lives in Greenwich, CT and who was treated by Dr. Shawa at age 1-1/2.

 Shawa rose to be head of the Children’s Department at Al-Shifa Hospital, a top medical institution in Gaza City.

“She was a brilliant, kind woman,” said Savoca.

  Last November, Dr. Shawa, 85, confined to a wheelchair, was living in her home near Al-Shifa Hospital with her two ailing sisters, and two nurses, as the Israeli military campaign raged in the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces were fighting near the hospital and homes in the area were being bombed.

  “One day, two young Israeli soldiers came to the door. They said her home was marked to be bombed and they needed to evacuate,” said Savoca. “She looked at them and said, ‘You know I’m in a wheelchair. Where can I possibly go? There’s nowhere to go. Everything’s been bombed. I’m elderly. I have two older sisters who are sick here and two nurses. Why would you bomb my home?’ ” recounted Savoca.

  Savoca continued, “after she explained her situation they decided to leave. They apologized and said, ‘It’s okay, we’ll make sure that your home won't be bombed.’ “

    After a number of days the army pulled out of the Al-Shifa area, and Dr. Shawa and the other women were spared --- for now. But fierce fighting continued throughout the Gaza Strip, with Israel bombing at will --- striking hospitals, refugee camps, universities, food warehouses and wiping out whole neighborhoods. Despite international condemnation for the brutality of their campaign, Israel  --- fully backed by the United States --- refused to agree to a ceasefire.

  In March, fighting returned to the Al-Shifa hospital area, with the hospital itself coming under attack. Doctors and medical personnel who refused to leave were shot.

  Perhaps with a sense of foreboding, Dr. Shawa left the following voice recording with a relative: “Gaza has been exterminated. Look at your TV and watch… The whole world is watching… That’s all you’re doing, just watching, not doing anything.… Everyone is dancing on our wounds.”

  The exact details are not clear, but Savoca’s uncle, Mirwan Shawa, said Israeli warplanes which were bombing the area, also bombed Dr. Shawa’s home, despite the earlier pledge this would not happen. All the inhabitants were killed. No evacuation warning had been given, he said.

  After the Israeli army withdrew weeks later, relatives returned to where the house once was, and recovered the remains of those killed. A record of the deaths was made at the Gaza Health Ministry.

 Savoca’s aunt in Ramallah in the West Bank, who knew Dr. Shawa personally, sent out a text relaying the sad news. “I can’t believe this monstrous act,” she wrote.

                              

Dr. Raghda Shawa, center.  A distinguished doctor in Gaza for decades, she was killed along with her sisters and two nurses when an Israeli warplane bombed her home in March. No evacuation warning was given before the bombing.

 Tragically, Dr. Shawa’s death was just one of many among the wider Shawa family in Gaza. Savoca said that the Health Ministry has recorded some 92 members of her family who have died since the Gaza war began in October of last year.

 “They were killed by bombing, shelling, and possibly starvation,” Savoca said.

 The news of Dr. Shawa’s death, and so many others in the Shawa family, has left Savoca shattered.

 “It’s just so, it’s beyond words at this point,” she said. “I mean there is no regard for Palestinian lives, at all. I mean the elderly are not valued, the young are not valued, doctors, especially, are not valued, nor are the lives of writers or journalists. This is unprecedented what is happening… this is indiscriminate killing,” she said.

           

The spreadsheet put together by the Shawa family of Gaza showing the names of 92 family members who have been killed in the Israel-Gaza War. The names were taken from the Gaza Health Ministry.

  

 What happened to the Shawa family has happened to many other extended families in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas conflict. An investigation by the Associated Press published in June said that 60 families in Gaza lost dozens or more members in the war during the deadliest period of the war, between October and December of last year.

  The AP investigation found in those families that at least 25 people were killed – sometimes four generations from the same bloodline.

 “To a degree never seen before, Israel is killing entire Palestinian families, a loss even more devastating than the physical destruction and the massive displacement,” the article said. https://apnews.com/article/gaza-palestinians-families-israel-war-deaths-a9f8bcfe402c17f1f78903eae67b7a7d

  “It’s just so horrifying,” said Savoca. “They say ‘Never Again.’ But it doesn’t apply to the Palestinians.”

  The war in Gaza began in October of last year when Hamas militants raided a music fair in southern Israel and killed 1200 people. Israel responded with a major counter attack and has waged a relentless campaign in the months since in efforts to root out Hamas, the faction that leads the government in Gaza.

  Some 38,000 people in Gaza have been killed, the majority women and children, according to the Health Ministry. A recent study by the medical publication Lancet, however, reported that the real death toll is more like 186,000.  “The study pointed out that the death toll is higher because the official toll does not take into account thousands of dead buried under rubble and indirect deaths due to destruction of health facilities, food distribution systems and other public infrastructure,” said an article on the Lancet report in al-Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/7/8/gaza-toll-could-exceed-186000-lancet-study-says

  A number of human rights groups and UN officials have accused the Israeli military of using disproportionate force and committing numerous war crimes. In February, the International Court of Justice said there was a plausible case to be made that Israel was committing a genocide in Gaza.

 There's also reports by UN officials that famine is setting in in Gaza, due to food shortages, caused in part by Israeli attacks on relief trucks and food centers.

   Israeli officials have countered the criticism by maintaining that they use precision in targeting Hamas fighters and try to avoid killing civilians. They further maintain that Hamas combatants use Palestinians as shields, so the loss of Palestinian lives is unavoidable.

  They also deny trying to impede relief efforts.

  Meanwhile, despite the widespread criticism of Israel and its tactics, the Biden administration has continued to provide all the funds necessary for Israel to wage war and most members of Congress from both parties have also given Israel full backing. Only a few representatives have said that they would not vote for further appropriations for Israel and support a permanent cease-fire.

  The devastating losses of her family members in Gaza has prompted Savoca to turn to activism to try to change US policy and stop the war. She spends almost all her time now calling the White House and members of Congress including U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-4, who represents lower Fairfield County, and Connecticut’s two senators, Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy --- urging them to back a permanent ceasefire.

 She also attended a massive demonstration against the war in Washington, DC in January and joined others to protest President Joe Biden when he came to Greenwich for a campaign fundraiser at the home of an HBO executive.

                      

Lana Shawa Savoca, of Greenwich, at a demonstration against the Israeli-Gaza War in Washington, DC in January. 

 Savoca has also worked hard to get cease-fire resolutions passed by local city and town councils.

 While she’s been heartened by the support given by some for her work she’s had some real disappointments, too.

  Savoca and other pro-Palestinian activists tried unsuccessfully to get the City Council in Yonkers, New York (where she used to live)  to pass a cease-fire resolution for Gaza. Such resolutions have been passed by more than 100 other towns and cities around the country including Bridgeport, CT,  Albany, NY, Chicago, Ill., Atlanta, GA, San Francisco, CA and Seattle, WA.

  At the meeting to consider the resolution proposal, Savoca told the heartbreaking story of what happened to Dr. Shawa and her other relatives.

 “I probably sobbed the whole way through,” Savoca said. “We had 60 people that shared their stories and the entire time, one of the councilmen was on the phone. Another one was eating. We were just standing up pouring out our feelings crying, pleading, saying, please!” she said.

 “We know that the City Council in Yonkers doesn’t have much say on world issues, but my God, we just want you to listen to your constituents, like there are so many Arabs in Yonkers --- so many Jordanians, Palestinians and a huge Christian Jordanian community,” she said.

 Savoca was stopped from finishing her testimony when the council chairwoman, Tish James, who did not look at her while she was speaking, slammed down her gavel and said ‘Your time is up! Your time is up!’ “

Another upsetting experience for Savoca has been how her career has evaporated since she began her activism on behalf of Palestine.

  Previously a blogger and writer promoting products online, Savoca said many of her business contacts have dried up once she made known that she was an advocate for the Palestinian cause.

 “Some people blacklisted me. There are some people who live in Westchester that are Jewish and maybe they feel like they have a connection to Israel. I found out later they actually blocked me. I’m not invited to any of the influencer events or blogger events. I kind of had to reinvent myself because I’m a very social person,” she said.

  “I’ve lost all revenue, everything,” said Savoca. “Which is fine. I mean I will always speak my opinion, especially when it comes to Palestine. I can’t stay silent on this.”

  As the US presidential election campaign heats up and news outlets turn their attention to Joe Biden and Donald Trump, as well as to developments in the Ukraine war, the focus on the Gaza conflict has receded.

 "That shouldn't happen, because it's becoming this terrible norm," Savoca said. "We need to have brave journalists to talk about it and people still to call Congress to protest. It's just, it's a living hell – it's an absolute living hell for those people."

 

 

 

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Bridgeport council stands firm on ceasefire resolution

 

           By Reginald Johnson

 

    BRIDGEPORT, CT --- The City Council voted overwhelmingly this week to keep in place the city’s historic resolution passed in January calling for a permanent ceasefire and military de-escalation in Gaza.

  There has been a major pressure campaign by some Jewish groups and others to overturn the resolution, saying it was unfair to Israel and the City Council had no business taking up international matters.

 But the council was not deterred and the final vote to retain the original resolution was 14-4.

  The statement is non-binding and is aimed at encouraging members of Congress and President Biden into backing a ceasefire in the bloody Gaza conflict, which has taken 32,000 Palestinian lives, a majority of them women and children.

   Another 1.5 million people in Gaza have been displaced and hundreds of thousands face starvation, since the Israeli military is blocking aid trucks from bringing food into the besieged enclave.

 This week, Israeli missile attacks destroyed aid trucks from the World Central Kitchen, killing seven people. Israeli officials said the attacks were a mistake.

  UN and world court officials have stated that there’s evidence a genocide is taking place in Gaza.

 Prior to the vote, Councilman Jorge Cruz said he knew there was suffering on both sides of the Israeli-Gaza conflict.

   “I’m with you,” he said. “But I cannot support rescinding the original resolution.”

   He went on, “I have seen the news and I see the kids with little cups and Tupperware lined up to get food in the Gaza Strip and that makes my heart break. I know the Israelites are suffering on the other side, too, for their loved ones still held in captivity…. So my prayers are that we can find common ground and come together.”

             

The Bridgeport City Council upheld its ceasefire resolution for Gaza, despite a campaign by some Jewish groups to have it rescinded. (Reginald Johnson photo)

      

  Cruz took issue with the fact that after the ceasefire resolution was approved both on the committee level and then by the full council on January 2,  another council member (Scott Burns) decided to offer a new resolution to overturn the document.

  “Never in my all my years on the council have I seen this,” Cruz said. “This was disrespectful and should not have happened.”

  Bridgeport and Windsor are the only municipalities in Connecticut that have passed Gaza ceasefire resolutions. Other cities such as Hamden, New Haven and Hartford are still debating ceasefire proposals.

 Ceasefire resolutions have been passed by 70 other cities and towns around the country.

  U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-4, who represents Bridgeport and southwestern Connecticut in Congress, has refused to support a Gaza ceasefire proposal.

  In fact, a majority of the members of Congress do not support a ceasefire and have consistently sided with Israel on the issue of the Gaza war. This is despite recent polling which indicates a majority of the American people favor a ceasefire.

  As this article was being written, President Biden was reported to have asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire.

  But many observers are skeptical as to whether the Israeli leader will take the request seriously, since Biden is not making further US aid to Israel conditional on acceptance of a ceasefire plan.

   Aziz Seyal, vice president of the Bridgeport Islamic Community Center, which spearheaded the effort to get the City Council resolution passed, commented that “the whole world should stand up against them (Israel), but the problem is our leaders are suggesting some things but are still providing the bombs to Israel, so that’s not happening.”

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Fight over Gaza ceasefire resolution continues

    

      BRIDGEPORT REPORT

 

     By Reginald Johnson 

 

 BRIDGEPORT --- There’s no ceasefire in the battle over the ceasefire resolution.

 After hearing emotional testimony by Palestinian-Americans about the terrible human toll resulting from the Israel-Gaza conflict, the City Council voted overwhelmingly on January 2 to  pass a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the fighting and asking members of Congress to press the Biden administration into facilitating a peace.

 The final resolution that was agreed to was a stripped-down version from the original one which had put Israel in a negative light, referencing the forced removal of Palestinians from their ancestral homeland in 1948 to create Israel and the “apartheid” system Israel had set up in the Occupied Territories.

  The latest version is more neutral in tone, with the historical references about Israel’s founding removed, the line about “apartheid” taken out and the term “Occupied West Bank” changed to simply “West Bank.”

 The statement calls for an “immediate de-escalation and permanent ceasefire” in Gaza, Israel and the West bank; calls for the release of both Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners; and the provision of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

 And the resolution adds,  “The community in Bridgeport across all faith groups and backgrounds supports an end to the continued violence in hopes for a solution where Palestinians and Israelis can live side-by-side with a two state solution in enduring peace, safety, justice and dignity. Every human being deserves a dignified, peaceful life regardless of religion race or color.”

 Some Jewish leaders were present at the January 2 meeting and they reportedly supported the statement, after the language changes were made.

  After the vote was taken to pass the resolution it appeared the issue was settled. Bridgeport became the first city in Connecticut to pass a Gaza cease-fire resolution and it seemed that calm would finally return to City Hall, after a number of stormy meetings.

  Not so fast.

Within 10 days after the resolution passed, other Jewish leaders came out and denounced the statement saying it was unfair to Israel and criticized the process in which the resolution was passed. That same group, reportedly a coalition of Jewish groups, has called for the rescinding of the cease-fire document.

  As a result of the backlash, City Council meetings have continued to be as packed as they were before the resolution was passed, with both supporters and critics of a ceasefire vying to speak at the public forum prior to the regular council meetings. Supporters come in waving Palestinian flags and showing pictures of people who’ve  been killed in Gaza, while critics show up with Israeli flags and pictures of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7th.

                           

Bridgeport City Council meetings are packed as the debate over a Gaza ceasefire resolution continues. (Reginald Johnson photo) 

  

Carin Sevel, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Fairfield County, has been leading the charge to get the resolution withdrawn.

 Sevel claimed that the resolution spreads anti-Semitism and in essence calls for “the destruction of Israel.” Sevel said she’s very troubled by the fact that the resolution does not mention the fact that the miltant group Hamas, which is the governing authority for Palestine, conducted the brutal October 7^th attacks against Israel which resulted in the killing of 1200 people.

“Hamas has said repeatedly that their goal is to kill Jews and get rid of Israel,” she said.

Sevel told News 12 after a recent meeting that she considered the Bridgeport resolution a “hate bill.” Asked later to explain that, Sevel said that while there is no mention of what Hamas did on October 7, “it mentions Israel fighting. So that in my opinion is blaming the victim.”

 Sevel, as well as other Jewish leaders in Bridgeport, have also charged that the Bridgeport bill was rushed through without getting enough input from the wider Jewish community.

 She disputed the reports that Jewish leaders who were present on January 2, when there was a large crowd in the council chambers, had agreed to support the bill after the language changes were made. Actually, Savel maintained, the rabbis that were on hand the night the bill was passed were frightened into supporting the bill.

  “They were coerced,” Sevel said.

 She claimed that one of the rabbis that was there was  “terrified.” and “left out of there afraid for his life because it was a mob mentality.”

 Commenting on the situation going forward, the federation leader said, “They thought when they passed this resolution that the Jewish community would say ‘well okay, no big deal.’ But it is a big deal. And we are not going away and we will not stop fighting no matter what happens with this. We will not stop. It’s anti-Semitism.”

 Several attempts were made to get comment on Sevel’s remarks from City Council officials who were key players at the January 2 meeting. Both Aidee Nieves, president of the City Council and Councilwoman Jazmarie Melendez, who authored the cease-fire resolution, were called and emailed but could not be reached.

 However, a top official of the Bridgeport Islamic Community Center, which promoted the resolution, pushed back strongly against Sevel’s comments.

 “They’re lying. They’re trying to scare people,” said Aziz Seyal, a member of the center’s Board of Directors.

  About Sevel’s comment that the resolution amounted to a call “for the destruction of Israel” and was a “hate bill,” Seyal said “There is nothing in the resolution which talks about destroying Israel or taking any action against Israel.”

 He added, “They’re just wasting time. They don’t believe in peace. They just want to see the destruction of Palestine and the Palestinian people.”

                 

A billboard on I-95 in Bridgeport calling for a halt to the bombing of Gaza. (Reginald Johnson photo)

Seyal also said that the Jewish federation official was wrong in claiming that Jewish leaders did not have enough input in the resolution’s development. He said that the entire day before the meeting a group of three people representing the Muslim faith the Jewish faith and the Christian faith were working on the resolution to develop something that they could all agree on.

“There was a consensus, he said.

 Further, he said, in the evening more input was sought from other Jewish leaders and they too, agreed to the changes and support the resolution.

 Sevel and other resolution critics also attacked the group Jewish Voice for Peace which supported the Bridgeport resolution.

Deborah Boles, president of the Congregation Rodeph Sholom in Bridgeport, said that Jewish Voice for Peace was an organization that didn’t represent the “mainstream” of the Jewish community. Boles claimed that the group “misled” the people crafting the Bridgeport bill.

Sevel went even further and labeled Jewish Voice for Peace a harmful organization bent on the “destruction of Israel.”

 Jewish Voice for Peace nationally is one of the organizations that is working hard to get a truce in the Israel-Gaza conflict and has sponsored a number of demonstrations.

 Leaders of Jewish for Peace in Connecticut issued a statement responding to the comments by Boles and Sevel. It said in part: “The Jewish Federation is not an accurate representative of Connecticut’s diverse Jewish community. Although groups like the federation often attempt to speak for all Jews, no single organization can do that,”

 It added, “Far too many Jewish people have had the painful experience of being dehumanized or having their Jewishness called into question by those who seek to conflate Jewishness with unconditional support for the state of Israel. We know that the attempt to silence or discredit anti-Zionist or non-Zionist Jewish speech only serves to distract from the Israeli government’s genocidal war on the Palestinian people.”

  “The political beliefs and policies of states such as Israel and the United States must be subject to critical debate. Our Jewish values give us the imperative to speak up against the unconscionable violence and human rights violations perpetrated by the state of Israel,” the statement said.

  A proposed resolution which would rescind the current Bridgeport cease-fire resolution has been offered by Councilman Scott Burns of Black Rock.  It will be the subject of a review and possible vote by the council’s Miscellaneous Matters Committee on Thursday, March 14 at 6 PM in City Hall, 45 Lyon Terrace.

 Meanwhile, the war in Palestine continues unabated, despite some occasional talk by President Biden of forging a ceasefire agreement. Since October 7, when the war began when Israel responded to the Hamas attacks, some 30,000 people have been killed. A majority of them are women and children. Another 2 million people in Gaza have been displaced. UN officials say that food shortages are acute and many people may starve.

  The International Court of Justice recently found that there was a “plausible case” for concluding that Israel was committing a genocide in Gaza.

 

 

Jewish leaders ask City Council to rescind Gaza ceasefire resolution

     

       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.”

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.

                                      

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.

 

 

 

   

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.”