Nearly two weeks after it was forced to adjourn due to a demonstration at its regular meeting, the Northampton City Council approved a resolution calling for a ceasefire between Israeli forces and Hamas.
Dozens of activists filled the council’s chambers on Feb. 15 and drowned out the councilors with chants of “ceasefire now” and “city council you can’t hide – you’re supporting genocide” before the meeting was brought to a close.
A week-and-a-half later, the council met again, this time remotely, with members of the public continuing to voice their views on the matters, including three resolutions on the agenda — two of which called for a ceasefire.
"I really want to see Northampton focus on getting one of these resolutions passed as quickly as we can,” said Northampton resident and Palestinian-American Maha Moushabeck.
While the comment section at the council meeting on Feb. 15 was largely made up of individuals calling for a ceasefire resolution, Tuesday’s meeting featured views across the board, including a number of residents saying the resolutions should be tabled or re-examined — or even scrapped.
One speaker requesting the ceasefire items be revisited was Roni Gold, who identified himself as a Jewish and Israeli resident of Northampton.
"I beg of you, do not try to revise and edit and vote on these ceasefire resolutions tonight without resubmitting them to the public to learn how any updated suggested resolutions will impact our sense of safety and belonging here in Northampton,” he told the council.
Gold also suggested the council edit the one, non-ceasefire resolution before it – a resolution supporting Jewish, Muslim and Arab community members.
He asked that the terms “Palestinian” and “Israeli” be added, which the council later obliged.
Other views expressed included those wishing to support one of the two ceasefire resolutions specifically, either “R-24.016 A resolution to the end the war in Gaza,” recommended by Councilor Jeremy Dubs, or “R-24.018 A resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza,” recommended by four other members of the council.
Taking up slightly less than a page, the Dubs resolution describes the Palestinian death toll of 28,000, how half-a-million Palestinians face starvation and disease, and that both Israeli hostages and Palestinian political prisoners remain at risk.
It calls on the council to demand Congress and the White House quote “take every measure necessary to end the war on Gaza.”
Meanwhile, the other resolution makes mention of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks that resulted in 1,200 Israeli deaths, gives a similar Palestinian death toll figure of 29,300 killed, and points to 1.9 million people displaced by Israeli forces besieging Gaza.
In addition to condemning both the Oct. 7 attacks and bombardment of Gaza, the resolution states the council calls for an immediate, “enduring and permanent ceasefire by both sides,” among other items.
It also would require the resolution be submitted to local lawmakers, as the well as President Biden.
Voting to suspend council rules and approve the measures, the councilors ultimately opted for the second resolution, with Dubs throwing his support behind it as well.
Dubs noted the main goals of his item could be found in the other resolution, which he ultimately voted for, along with seven other councilors. One councilor abstained.
Before his vote, Dubs responded to a comment that passing a ceasefire resolution will not automatically stop the war in Gaza. Agreeing, he added that passing a ceasefire resolution could inspire other communities to follow suit.
"It will encourage other, hopefully, other cities to pass resolutions and, that, hopefully, there will be more and more people that do that and hopefully then - we can have an influence on this conflict, on a local level,” the councilor said.
One community that is expected to consider a ceasefire resolution as early as next week is neighboring Amherst, where the town council has a “Amherst Resolution for a Ceasefire in Gaza” item on the agenda for Monday, March 4.
That meeting was originally scheduled for Monday, February 26, but was postponed and moved to the middle school’s auditorium after officials said they were aware more than 80 people were expected to attend, according to the town’s website.
