Nora Grace-Flood Photo
Advocates for the resolution protest at the Board of Alders in February.
Hundreds of people turned out to offer polarized and passionate testimony before the Board of Alders during an online hearing about a resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza — a proposal that local legislators plan to take up for deliberations next week.
That public hearing started at around 6 p.m. Wednesday and concluded at 11:16 p.m. Click here or see below to watch the hearing on YouTube.
After mounting pressure from pro-Palestinian activists to consider the resolution, which a group of local activists had submitted in November, alders organized a long-awaited public hearing for Wednesday.
The “Committee of the Whole” — a committee that includes every alder on the board and that’s helmed by President Pro Tempore Jeanette Morrison — convened for the hearing.
Morrison led a highly regulated Zoom call on Wednesday evening, beginning with a presentation from five activists who had drafted the resolution’s text.
After that presentation, members of the public who had previously signed up were each granted two minutes to testify. Morrison called testifiers one by one, alternating between those who indicated support for the resolution and those who indicated opposition. She said that 300 people had signed up to testify at the meeting; about half of those people had a chance to speak.
The committee did not take a vote on the ceasefire resolution Wednesday. Instead, according to Morrison, the full board will take the matter up during its next meeting on Monday, May 6.
The resolution on the table calls for an “immediate and permanent ceasefire” in Gaza.
It calls for “the release of all hostages including Palestinians arbitrarily detained by Israel, the unrestricted entry of humanitarian assistance into Gaza, the restoration of electricity, water, food, and medical supplies to Gaza, an end to the siege and blockade of Gaza, and respect for international law by all parties.”
And it states that “United Nations, human rights experts, and legal scholars have raised the alarm about the risk of genocide in Gaza.”
Alternately calling on alders to approve or reject the proposed resolution, testifiers were fiercely divided in their reactions to these words, though they seemed to share a sense of dismay and anger about the tenor of the public dialogue.
Those supporting the resolution called attention to Israel’s mass bombings, forced evacuations, and restriction of food and medical supplies in Gaza. The Gaza Ministry of Health has said over 34,000 people have been killed since Oct. 7, a statistic that testifiers on both sides disputed for being either too high or too low.
“Since our original submission, the death toll of Palestinians in Gaza has almost doubled … Nearly one in three Gazans is at risk of starving to death,” said law student Chloe Miller, who submitted the resolution. She referred to recent reports of mass graves in Gaza, which Israeli officials have denied. “Last week, hundreds of bodies were found, many stripped naked with their hands tied behind their backs.”
“Being against Zionism is not anti-semitic. It is anti-nationalism,” said Paula Panzarella. “Jewish values do not include bombing, mass starvation, or the forced relocation of people. These were tactics used against Jews.”
Proponents of the resolution pointed out that the Board of Alders passed a resolution in 2022 supporting Ukraine in the Russia-instigated conflict.
“It’s a local issue because our federal taxes fund the Israeli military,” said Laith Aqel, a Palestinian human rights lawyer.
“This council cannot pretend that we cannot pass a Palestine resolution. This council passed a Ukraine resolution,” said Gabriela De Jesus.
They framed the resolution not only as a call for federal legislators to withdraw support from Israel, but as a message that New Haven is a city in support of human rights and dignity.
“The New Haven that we all call home should not stand for this because we know that none of us are free until all of us are,” Miller said.
Opponents, meanwhile, primarily called out the text of the resolution for not mentioning Hamas.
They argued that the resolution did not sufficiently acknowledge the horrors of the October 7 murders and violence against Israelis, the hostages still in Hamas’ captivity, or Hamas’ continued role in rejecting ceasefire deals.
“Hamas does not value the lives of the people in Gaza,” said Arnold Margolis, echoing arguments from many testifiers that Hamas bears responsibility for Israel’s air strikes and restriction of aid.
Rob Schonberger lambasted the resolution as “anti-peace” for not acknowledging Hamas and for not supporting a two-state solution. “It offers Hamas a moral distraction,” he said.
“It will be divisive and detrimental to our city,” said Beth-El Keser Israel Rabbi Eric Woodward. “All this resolution will achieve is to cause the vast majority of Jewish residents of our city to feel unwelcome.”
Many argued that alders should focus on local issues rather than international affairs — including Holocaust survivor Endre Sarkany.
Referring to the October 7 attacks, Sarkany said, “ ‘Never again’ just happened.”
“Hamas has the same attitude as Hitler,” he added: “Kill all the Jews in the world.”
While most testifiers took a strong stance in favor or against the resolution, a few said they would theoretically support a ceasefire resolution containing different language.
Jim Berger argued that the resolution in its current form has led to “voices speaking past each other.” Calling for a “peace resolution” honoring the pain and trauma of both Palestinians and Israelis, he said, “I think it’s important to urge that the war be stopped now [and] … a lasting and fair sense of justice for both Palestinians and Jews, each with legitimate claims to part and not all of the land.”
The hearing can be viewed on YouTube here.
The full text of the resolution can be read here.
Testifiers at Wednesday's hearing.
I love how all the protesters think anyone in the mid-east cares about their opinions.
Ive never seen a group of more self-important people in my life.