The Binghamton City Council voted unanimously to pass a resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza.
The resolution calls for the Biden administration to push for the return of hostages, a permanent cease-fire in Gaza, the reinstatement of aid funding to UNRWA, and unrestricted humanitarian aid “at the levels recommended by the United Nations.”
“The Binghamton City Council expresses its unwavering support for all Arab, Israeli, Palestinian, Jewish, Muslim, and all other members of the community who are impacted, each of whom has the right to learn, work, worship, gather, advocate, mourn, and celebrate free from intimidation and harassment,” the resolution reads.
The resolution was drafted and submitted to the council as a request by Amari Pavati, a Jewish organizer at Binghamton University.
A tense, two-hour public comment period
Nearly 100 people showed up to the city council meeting Wednesday to weigh in on the resolution over the course of a heated public comment period that lasted for two hours. Most of the speakers were in favor of the resolution, though several residents spoke against it.
Binghamton resident Jacob Weber said as a child attending Hebrew school, his teachers asked students to think about how the Holocaust was allowed to occur.
“The answer was regular people wanting to keep their heads down for fear of retaliation from the state and from the people who control it,” Weber said. “And everyone in this room, both city council members and the people here to speak their minds, have an opportunity to prevent a similar atrocity from occurring in Palestine.”
Broome County resident Oren Levi spoke in opposition to the cease-fire resolution. He said passing the resolution would be tantamount to supporting terrorism.
“What Hamas tried to do is the definition of genocide. Currently, there are over 130 hostages,” Levi said. “The terrorist group holding the baby hostage is the evil one. We're now six months into the war between Israel and Hamas. Hamas is a vicious, merciless, evil enemy that many, if not all, Israelis consider to be at the level of Nazis.”
In an especially tense moment towards the end of the meeting, Levi and Democratic Council Member Olamni Porter engaged in a heated back-and-forth argument, while Porter was discussing the resolution.
“I'm not offended by being a terrorist, or being called a terrorist. Because one man’s terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. So I take that on, bring it to me,” Porter said. “Because I'm not gonna stand for genocide.”
Porter said it was “insulting” that Levi and another resident wore the Israeli and American flags.
“I find that very offensive coming from somebody who is Jewish,” Porter said. “How dare you. How dare you. You have forgotten! What happened to you? You have forgotten what was done to your people.”
The exchange was so contentious that police came to the council chambers to intervene.
After two hours of heated and emotional public comment, Binghamton City Council has voted unanimously to pass a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza pic.twitter.com/TmN7V4lBhV
— Phoebe Taylor Vuolo (@phoebe_vuolo) April 11, 2024
Council members weigh whether to take a stance on war in Gaza
Though the city council ultimately passed the resolution unanimously, several city council members expressed concerns about weighing in on geopolitical issues.
“I have to weigh the slippery slope arguments about opening city politics to international and national politics,” Cavanaugh said. “I have to weigh our sphere, our lane of what we normally do against what so very many of our constituents have been coming out and saying.”
Cavanaugh said he also felt that the action would be largely symbolic.
Council Member Nate Hotchkiss, who introduced the resolution, said he understood the hesitation that some city council members felt about taking a stance on the war. But he said the city council should be receptive to the wishes of constituents who asked for the resolution.
“I understand why people are moving on the local level, when there hasn't been a response at the federal or state level that we would like to see,” Hotchkiss said. “I think it stings a lot to have to say the Pledge of Allegiance knowing that we're actively funding and facilitating a genocide.”
Broome County Republican Committee Chair Benji Federman released a statement Thursday saying the passage of the resolution “brought divisive national politics into our community.”
A copy of the cease-fire resolution will be sent to the office of President Joe Biden, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, and federal and state officials representing the region.
“The Democrat-led Council rejected pleas for a more unifying message of peace and the condemning of terrorist group Hamas,” Federman said. “In contrast, we unequivocally support our Jewish community who just yesterday received some closure after a Cornell graduate plead guilty to violent threats against Jewish students.”
Over 70 municipalities across the country have passed resolutions calling for a cease-fire in Gaza. Ithaca’s Common Council passed a similar resolution during a contentious meeting last month.