City Councils stand against military aid to Israel

 "Senate Assembly passes UMich divestment resolution" MICHIGAN DAILY  (Ann Arbor, Michigan) January 30, 2024 “… The Assembly then discussed a second resolution, which called for the University to divest from companies  profiting from Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. This faculty resolution followed  several  student  protests  demanding divestment and is based on past U-M divestments under similar circumstances — most recently, the University  divested  from companies with financial ties to Russia after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.   “…The resolution calling for the Board of Regents to divest from companies with financial ties to Israel’s military campaign passed with a vote of 38 yes, 17 no and five abstaining.” -----------------

" ‘The fight isn’t over’: UMich students take part in silent pro-Palestine demonstration at Senate Assembly”   MICHIGAN DAILY (Ann Arbor, Michigan) January 30, 2024     https://www.michigandaily.com/news/administration/the-fight-isnt-over-umich-students-take-part-in-silent-pro-palestine-demonstration-at-senate-assembly/   “…The  first resolution  the Senate Assembly voted on condemned the administration’s cancellation of the CSG midterm ballot. The  second  called on the Board of Regents to divest from companies invested in Israel. The first resolution passed with 38 in favor, 17 against and 5 abstaining, and the second passed with 37 yes, 15 no and 5 abstaining.    “In an email to The Daily, Silvia Pedraza, professor of sociology and American culture and Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs member, wrote that she believes the resolution came from faculty members seeing the  ongoing violence  in Gaza and wanting to take action to end the University’s support

  "Flint officials’ support of ceasefire resolution like ‘slap in the face,’ Jewish Federation says"  Updated: Jan. 25, 2024, 2:41 p.m. https://www.mlive.com/news/flint/2024/01/flint-officials-support-of-ceasefire-resolution-like-slap-in-the-face-jewish-federation-says.html FLINT, MI — Mayor Sheldon Neeley says his endorsement of a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza was rooted in his desire to protect life, but the city’s venture into international affairs has caused a rift with some members of Flint’s Jewish community.   The City Council approved the ceasefire resolution on Monday, Jan. 22, and the city said in a news release the measure was supported by Neeley and the Arab American Heritage Council of Flint.   The resolution decries the “genocidal death toll in Gaza” and the “dire humanitarian crisis, with Gaza’s health system in collapse, and 1.9 million Palestinians facing displacement, homelessness, starvation, and lack of water...”

  January 25, 2024 See the CBS News article at:  https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/minneapolis-city-council-passes-veto-proof-resolution-calling-for-israel-hamas-ceasefire/ "With a 9-3 vote, the Minneapolis City Council passed a cease-fire resolution Thursday calling for an end to U.S. aid to Israel... "...The resolution itself is four-fold, advancing a full and permanent cease-fire, ending U.S. funding to Israel, releasing Israeli hostages taken by Hamas, and ensuring the release of Palestinians from Israeli military prisons. "Minneapolis joins Detroit, Atlanta and Seattle in passing similar resolutions. It will now be expected to be shared with lawmakers from Minnesota, including Gov. Tim Walz, and President Joe Biden." 

January 22, 2024 Ann Arbor, Michigan City Council meeting: During public comments, the City Council is informed that 100,000 Palestinians have been killed, wounded, buried under rubble by Israel -- with their U.S. tax dollars.  Council is asked again, as they have been asked for 20 years, to approve a resolution againt military aid to Israel: Not a single Council member says a word about the resolution or about Palestine.  As soon as public comments are finished, the City Council has a good laugh. They launch into a laughing annnouncement of a friendly competition to encourage commuting without cars. The Councilmembers laugh some more. And the genocide of Gaza continues. Then, later on, the City Council takes action on something they prioritize much more highly than any Palestinian's life: With zero debate, City Council unanimously approves a "Resolution to Recognize the City of Lubny, Ukraine as a Sister City of the City of Ann Arbor", at the request of the United States

  The Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners approved a Gaza ceasefire resolution on 1/17/2024, after many comments in favor from the public. Eight of the nine Commissioners voted for the resolution. One Commissioner left the board room before the vote. See the MLive article at:  Washtenaw County leaders pass resolution calling for ceasefire in Israel and Gaza - mlive.com "WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI - Washtenaw County’s top elected body has passed  a resolution  calling for an 'immediate lasting bilateral ceasefire' in Gaza and Israel, even as county leaders grappled with the act of weighing in on the conflict playing out across the globe from their own backyards..."

  “Ann  Arbor  School Board OK’s a Resolution Supporting a Cease-Fire in Gaza" “In a raucous meeting, the board became one of the first in the country to vote for a statement supporting an end to hostilities in the Israel-Hamas war.” January 18, 2024 New York Times:  https://www.nytimes.com/2024/ 01/18/us/ann-arbor-school- board-gaza-israel.html ------------------------------ ----------------- “Ann Arbor School Board passes bilateral ceasefire resolution” 1/18/2024 MLive:  https://www.mlive.com/news/ ann-arbor/2024/01/ann-arbor- school-board-passes-bilateral- ceasefire-resolution.html ------------------------------ ----------------- “Ann Arbor school board endorses call for ceasefire in Israel and Gaza” 1/18/2024 JTA:  https://www.jta.org/2024/01/ 18/united-states/ann-arbor- school-board-endorses-call- for-ceasefire-in-israel-and- gaza?preview_id=1853128 “Jewish opponents of the resolution carried signs reading ‘Focus on Education’ and ‘Slippery Slope,’ while pro-Palestinian suppo

January 10, 2024:  University of Michigan campus march for Gaza, in Ann Arbor, including demands for divestment against Israel. See also the Michigan Daily coverage: " 'New Year, No Rest’: Pro-Palestine protesters march through multiple campus buildings" MICHIGAN DAILY January 12, 2024 https://www.michigandaily.com/campus-life/new-year-no-rest-pro-palestine-protesters-march-through-multiple-campus-buildings/ "Chanting ‘Up, up with liberation! Down, down with occupation!’, more than 100 University of Michigan students and Ann Arbor community members gathered in front of Angell Hall to protest the U-M administration’s response to the Israel-Hamas war and to mourn Palestinians killed in the conflict. The protesters marched through the Diag and entered the Willard H Dow Chemistry & Laboratory, Mason Hall, the School of Kinesiology Building and the LSA Building before ending at the Michigan Union... “...Social Work student Ariana Gonzalez Pelaez said she attended Wed

On January 12, 2024,  MLive (the Ann Arbor News) reported on the Ann Arbor  City Council's unanimous ceasefire resolution. Many speakers at the City Council meeting confirmed that a resolution for ceasefire alone is really the bare minimum. -- So we will see you at the same City Council on Monday, 1/22/2024, at 7 pm, when we will ask for a resolution against military aid to Israel. -- We object to funding Israel as it kills another 30,000 Palestinian people in Gaza.  -- Richmond City Council has  already  approved a resolution opposing all military aid to Israel.     See  https://www.ci.richmond. ca.us/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/ Item/13435 See the MLive article, on Ann Arbor City Council's ceasefire resolution, as published Jan. 12, 2024, at  https://www.mlive.com/news/ ann-arbor/2024/01/we-must-not- bring-this-war-to-ann-arbor- council-takes-stance-on- israel-hamas-conflict.html A brief excerpt from the article: "Ann Arbor has joined a growing list of cities calling for a

 Dr. Mozhgan Savabieasfahani spoke up for the Palestinian people at the Ann Arbor Human Rights Commission, January 10, 2024, in Michigan: The meeting is on YouTube  at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh4Dt27q890 Public comments start at 27 minutes into the video.

Dr. Mozhgan Savabieasfahani spoke up for the Palestinian people at the Ann Arbor City Council's special session of January 5, 2024, in Michigan: Start watching at 11 and a half minutes into the video. The meeting video can be found at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeyeQrq4_q8