The Common Council voted 10-1 on Wednesday to pass an amended resolution demanding a ceasefire in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
The resolution, which was originally drafted by Kayla Matos (D-First Ward) and amended several times, demands that the city support legislation that calls for a “permanent negotiated bilateral ceasefire” in Gaza.
The final resolution also calls on higher levels of government to support humanitarian aid to Gaza, an end to United States military funding to Israel, the release of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas, the release of thousands of Palestinians “indefinitely held without charge” in Israeli military prisons, the codification of the right to self-determination for both Israeli and Palestinian people and the maintenance of strong and enduring peace in the Middle East.
Matos told The Sun that bringing forward the original resolution aligned with her commitment to fighting for racial justice in Ithaca.
“I am very big into social justice and racial justice — like what I do during my day job,” said Matos, who works as the deputy director for the Southside Community Center. “So when the community came forward and felt as if they could trust me with bringing forward the resolution as such, I of course jumped at the opportunity and fought tooth and nail for it.”
By passing this resolution, Ithaca became one of five municipalities in New York to formally support a ceasefire in Gaza.
Tensions Spark Before Resolution Discussions
By the Common Council’s 6 p.m. start time, around 60 people crowded the audience of the meeting, marking a near-capacity level, according to Mayor Robert Cantelmo’s grad remarks to the crowd. Several members of the audience carried signs and flags in support of Palestine.
David Shapiro (D-Third Ward) denounced a banner in the audience that stated “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” — a phrase he explained was antisemitic — after the Ithaca Youth Council made an unrelated presentation about mental health at the start of the meeting, sparking a tense confrontation.
“We would not be allowing racist signs of other ethnicities, of other religions [and] of other cultures [at Common Council meetings]. We would not be allowing other people to stand here with ‘All Lives Matter’ signs. We will not be allowing people to [carry ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ posters] here,” Shapiro said.
“And you’re probably learning from some of these professors in town who are saying all of these hateful things to our kids, like the Mr. Exhilarated,” Shapiro continued, referring to Prof. Russell Rickford, history, who said he was “exhilarated” in the aftermath of Hamas’s initial Oct. 7 invasion into Israel at an Oct. 15 off-campus rally.
Mona Sulzman and Mario Hernandez, who brought the banner to the meeting, told The Sun that members of the Finger Lakes branch of the Party of Socialism and Liberation created it in Geneva, NY.
“[We share the sign] among the region, and we are all around the Finger Lakes region,” Sulzman said. “And I’m Jewish. I’ve been active in Jewish Voice for Peace [and] have been fighting for Palestinian Liberation for almost two decades.”
25 Pro-Ceasefire Speakers, One Dissenting Voice
During the public comment portion of the meeting, 25 consecutive speakers spoke in support of the ceasefire resolution, with many citing the death toll in Gaza — which has exceeded 30,000 according to the Gazan health ministry — and concerns about hunger and famine in the region.
Prof. Eric Cheyfitz, literatures in English, and faculty member of the American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program, backed the resolution, expressing his belief that Israel is intentionally targeting civilians.
“My teaching and scholarship focuses [on] a comparison of settler colonialism in North America [to] Palestine [and] Israel,” Cheyfitz said. “The Israeli war on Gaza is not simply against Hamas — it is [also] against the civilian population of Gaza [and] against Palestinians as a national population, which is one of the definitions of genocide in the 1948 United Nations convention.”
Prof. Alexander Vladimirsky, mathematics, who joined the meeting via Zoom, was the only speaker in opposition of the original resolution.
“This resolution is mostly an exercise in virtue signaling and grandstanding the way it’s written now. More importantly, it’s highly divisive and does not represent a broad spectrum of opinions among your constituents, despite what you hear in the room right now,” Vladimirsky said. “You will also find no mention of rapes, mutilations and murders [from Hamas on Oct. 7 in the resolution].”
As Vladirmirsky went on to detail the terrorist attacks Hamas committed on and since Oct. 7, members of the audience began to laugh and deny details of the attacks.
Despite the overwhelming support for the resolution during public comment, Shapiro told The Sun after the meeting that the viewpoints of speakers at the meeting may not be reflective of the broader Ithaca community, noting that he received over 800 emails from constituents urging him to reject the original resolution.
Alderpersons Debate Ethics of Labeling Hamas Terrorists
After public comment, alderperson Patrick Kuehl ’24 (D-Fourth Ward) presented an amendment to address concerns regarding a lack of collaboration in the resolution’s creation and to align the Common Council with the Biden-Harris Administration’s recent commitment to ensuring an immediate ceasefire.
“I feel a little bit dissuaded because at our last Common Council meeting, we had a discussion that we would work together to create [a ceasefire resolution]. … And I think [I and other] members of this council feel that wasn’t really accomplished,” Kuehl said.
Unlike the original resolution, which did not include the word “terrorist,” Kuehl’s proposed amendment also included more background around the terrorist attacks of Oct. 7 and their aftermath.
“‘Whereas on Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas perpetrated a terrorist attack in the state of Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,139 individuals,’” Kuehl said, reading the proposed amended resolution.
However, Tiffany Kumar ’24 (D-Fourth Ward) presented an amendment to remove the word “terrorist” from Kuehl’s amended resolution, claiming that the usage of the label is harmful.
“I think we can call [Hamas’ actions] wrong. I think we can call it terrible. But I think that the use of the word terrorist — regardless of what it technically means [and] what the dictionary definition of it is — [has] been weaponized against all brown people, including people who look like me and my family,” Kumar said.
The U.S. Department of State has formally recognized Hamas as a foreign terrorist organization since October 1997.
Vote Overwhelmingly Favors Ceasefire Resolution
The Common Council passed the final resolution in a 10-1 vote after adopting both Kuehl’s and Kumar’s amendments.
The lone dissenter, Pierre Saint-Perez grad (D-Third Ward), disagreed with how the resolution was passed and amended “ad-hoc” during the meeting. Saint-Perez proposed an amendment to refer the motion to a standing committee on human rights, but it failed to pass.
Shapiro initially appeared to vote against the resolution with Saint-Perez, but told The Sun after the meeting that it was a mistake and spoke to the stenographer to correct the record.
Saint-Perez explained that establishing a human rights committee and consulting experts in the community would have been a better path forward and set a precedent for future resolutions addressing global conflicts.
“What I am truly concerned about is the idea that we may pass this motion and fail to acknowledge other immense tragedies around the globe,” Saint-Perez said during the meeting.
In a post-meeting interview with The Sun, Saint-Perez emphasized that he is passionate about promoting a ceasefire but disagreed with the resolution’s manner of creation.
“I prayed for a ceasefire this morning. I care a great deal about this,” Saint-Perez said. “But how the sausage gets made matters.”