Palestine activists urge ceasefire resolution before City Council

Jack Glagola, News Editor

Signs crowded the room as pro-Palestine activists took over the public comment period at the Richmond City Council meeting last Monday. They want the city to issue a resolution supporting a ceasefire in Gaza, which is currently the site of a massive retaliatory bombing campaign and ground invasion by the Israeli Defense Forces, according to BBC.

A coalition of groups including Virginia Coalition for Human Rights, American Muslims for Palestine and Students for Justice in Palestine staged both the lineup of speakers as well as a small rally outside City Hall after the meeting.

Three speakers from the coalition took the stand before the assembled council members following a discussion about bike lanes on Westover Hills Boulevard in Forest Hill.

The first speaker, Mads McElgunn, who is Jewish, said Jewish values of “justice, repairing the world and preservation of life in all its forms” are not represented by Zionism or Israel.

Jasmine Cuellar, the second speaker and an environmental studies major at VCU, said Richmond should “lead by example” and “call for a ceasefire and lifting the siege on Gaza”.

The final speaker, Roxane Rucker, cited Martin Luther King Jr., and said his birthday last week gave “us another opportunity to reflect on his prophetic word,” she said.

“He once said ‘the ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty of the bad people, but the silence over that by the good people,’” Rucker said. “We are asking the Richmond City Council to be part of a growing worldwide force for a ceasefire. Let us not be silent, good people, let us stand and call out oppression and cruelty in all its forms.”

Joshua Bennett, a fabrication shop proprietor and adjunct faculty member at VCU, said the “genuine moral outrage” he felt brought him to City Hall.

“It seems like we haven’t been able to get any movement on our federal elected officials,” Bennett said. “But hopefully we can get some movement on our local elected officials and actually get them to take a moral stand.”

Bennett said he hopes to see local elected officials start to put more pressure on higher levels of government.

“This is the level that higher elected office recruits from, and it sort of goes up the chain,” Bennett said. “I can’t expect our elected leaders to make a moral stand, but maybe they’ll make a pragmatic stand when they see how many people are outraged by this.”

Richmond City Council did not adopt the ceasefire resolution. Organizers plan to press the resolution again at the next meeting, according to Jasmine Cuellar.

Sara Jamal, a pharmacist, said she feels it is important to stand up for Palestine now.

“Richmond city itself has really stood up in a big way in 2020 for the rights of persecuted people, and I think that this is basically just a continuation of that advocacy for civil rights for persecuted individuals in the United States and globally,” Jamal said.

The Confederate statues lining Monument Avenue became flashpoints for demonstrations in 2020 following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, according to NPR.

Jamal said “we are at a historic time” and things will change.

“I’ve been following this issue for well over 30 years now, and this is just unprecedented in terms of the support that this particular cause has had, and the fact that people now understand what is going on,” Jamal said.

Zaferia Zolotas, a nanny and Richmond resident, said she wants to show any support for a ceasefire she can.

“What else is more important? Putting some pressure on people who do have some power is absolutely necessary right now,” she said.

Zolotas said she has a lot of faith in the next generation to make change.

“They’re doing a lot of things, and they will change the world,” Zolotas said. “We need to help them. We need to make sure they have the footing for this.”

Cuellar, one of the speakers at the meeting and a first-year environmental studies major at VCU, said in an interview she believes the Palestinian cause is intersectional with many others.

“It’s important to advocate because I think the liberation of Palestinians is the liberation of all people,” Cuellar said.

Cuellar said that even though the resolution, if adopted, would not change any laws, it would put pressure on higher levels of government.

“Especially with Richmond being a capital city, that holds some weight,” Cuellar said. “It puts pressure on the state governments, which puts pressure on the federal government — it’s a trickle-up effect. It’s not going to happen overnight, right? It’s a gradual thing. That’s why you’re seeing these resolutions passed in a lot of cities.”

Two California cities, San Francisco and Oakland are among the other cities that have passed resolutions supporting a ceasefire, according to AP.

The coalition plans to present a petition at the next city council meeting and also have conversations with individual council members, Cuellar said.

“It’s easy to just look at these people like they’re just vessels. They are people at the end of the day,” she said. “I think appealing to that and making them understand that as a human being this is your job — not just as a councilperson — you have a moral duty as a human to advocate for other humans.”

Cuellar said people need to make their voices heard.

“People need to call their representatives, call their city council members, email your city council members — come out. Show up in numbers,” she said. “They’re going to visibly see that and be like, ‘Wow, there’s a lot of people here — people that really care about this.’ That’s what they need to hear.”

Mohammed Hasan, a Richmond resident, said advocates have to keep being hopeful.

“We have to always be optimistic and we have to always make sure that we keep the pressure on, and they will change,” he said.

Hasan, who is originally from Tulkarm, a city in the West Bank north of Jerusalem, said “everywhere you go in the world, no matter where you go, there is always a Palestinian.”

“Why? Because we have no land and we were dispersed all over the world,” Hasan said. “One day we will be back. You don’t give up your home — your home is your home.”

A small group opposed to the resolution held up signs and distributed flyers displaying names and pictures of Israeli hostages captured by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Oct. 7, approximately 110 of which are still in Gaza, according to the Associated Press.

Amy Scharf, a retired nonprofit executive, said the resolution has “no business before city council.”

“I don’t believe our city should be engaging in foreign affairs,” Scharf said.

Drew Alexander, a retired teacher, said the conflict is complicated and it is “easy to say ‘the bombs are dropping, it’s evil, it’s bad.’”

“It’s a powerful thing to say, but it’s not 100% accurate — you can’t put that on a poster. It’s just a very difficult decision for everybody,” Alexander said.