From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, January 31, 2024
Chicago City Council to vote on resolution calling for ceasefire in Gaza
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
CHICAGO — The Chicago City Council will gather this morning to vote on a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The initiative is purely symbolic. Still, no city in the US as large as Chicago has passed such a measure.
The resolution is also being framed as a message to US President Joe Biden — who backs extended humanitarian pauses in exchange for hostage releases, rather than a permanent ceasefire — before the city hosts the Democratic National Convention this summer.
The resolution calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, the unconditional release of the hostages and the entry of humanitarian aid into the Strip, reaffirming a UN General Assembly resolution passed last month that issued those same demands.
It Chicago City Council calls “for the creation of plans to protect civilian populations in the region.”
Today’s debate is expected to be heated, with hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists — many wearing Palestinian keffiyehs — lining up outside City Hall over an hour ahead of time to watch the vote.
Among those on site is civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson, who has spoken out in favor of the resolution.
Rev. Jesse Jackson is here at Chicago City Hall today to show support for the Gaza ceasefire resolution that is finally up for a City Council vote.
Aldermen expect a tight vote and a contentious meeting. pic.twitter.com/SM8PyqeIuB
— Jake Sheridan (@JakeSheridan_) January 31, 2024
Mainstream Jewish organizations in Chicago have been lobbying council members into the 11th hour to oppose the resolution in what is expected to be a narrow vote.
Mayor Brandon Johnson has sought to tip the scale, issuing a statement last week in support of a ceasefire and reportedly lobbying council members to vote in favor of the resolution.
The Israeli Consulate in Chicago has facilitated screenings of the IDF’s compilation of footage from the October 7 onslaught for some of the 50 city council members.
Jane Charney, who serves as assistant vice president for local government affairs at the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago, acknowledges that the impact of today’s vote on the situation in the Middle East and US foreign policy is nil.
However, she argues that debate around the resolution “has fanned the flames of antisemitism as antisemitic incidents” in the city.
Starting Soon! Chicago City Council meeting: Agenda: Police Arbitration and Cease Fire in Gaza. https://t.co/mMuVnGPvCH
— The Daily Line (@thedailylinechi) January 31, 2024
“We have seen a Chicago in which antisemitic tropes are taken for truths; the binaries of oppressor-oppressed has become the key talking point; and Jews are harassed, our businesses and institutions are vandalized and our heritage is denied and denigrated,” Charney says.
As she speaks, pro-Palestinian activists can be heard shouting, “Deb, are you cleaning war crimes out of your desk? Are you using all the Zionist money?”
The antisemitic tropes are directed at Alderwoman Deborah Silverstein, city council’s only Jewish member, who has been leading efforts against today’s resolution.
Silverstein has slammed the resolution as it doesn’t explicitly condemn Hamas, whose October 7 onslaught in which some 1,200 Israelis were massacred and another 253 were taken hostage is what set off the war in Gaza.
