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Boston City Council calls for cease-fire in Gaza
The resolution, which also called for the release of hostages held by Hamas, passed with an 11-2 vote.
The Boston City Council passed a resolution Wednesday calling for an immediate and permanent cease-fire in Gaza by an 11-2 vote. The resolution also called for the freeing of hostages held by Hamas, the freeing of administrative detainees held by Israel, an expansion of humanitarian aid, and other measures meant to protect the “safety and dignity [of] all Israelis and Palestinians.”
Loud applause rang out from those in attendance inside the Christopher A. Iannella Chamber after the final vote was tallied.
Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson, the first Muslim American to serve on the body, was the driving force behind the resolution. She and her colleagues had attempted to pass versions of a cease-fire resolution multiple times since the Oct. 7 attack. Fernandes Anderson addressed the failed attempts.
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“I don’t think that that’s a bad thing. If anything, I think that it demonstrates the determination of this body to ensure that we have the capacity to work collaboratively on difficult issues,” she said during Wednesday’s meeting. “Our message is simple: All life is precious, and the time has come for us to stand up and call for an end to this senseless violence.”
Fernandes Anderson said that council members worked with community members, interfaith organizations, and advocates to formulate ways that they could be most impactful.
Councilors Ed Flynn and Erin Murphy both voted against the resolution.
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“I still believe that the City Council is not the right body to address this. We have critical issues facing the city: the budget, public safety challenges, getting our economy back on track, neighborhood services,” Flynn said.
Another vote was held on whether or not the resolution would be taken up by the City Council in the first place or sent to a committee. Flynn said that he initially wanted to block a vote on the resolution and that a committee hearing was the proper place to discuss these issues. Fernandes Anderson convinced him to allow a vote, he said.
Councilor Benjamin Weber, who is Jewish, drafted a cease-fire resolution earlier this year as one of his first priorities as a member of the body. Weber has heard both from Palestinian constituents who are grieving for loved ones in Gaza and Jewish constituents who feel like the pain from the Oct. 7 attack on Israel has not been properly recognized by Boston residents, he said.
“But I think that just highlights how we need to create a space for healing in Boston,” Weber said.
Leaders in both Cambridge and Somerville approved similar resolutions earlier this year.
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Councilor Julia Mejia said that finding common ground on such a contentious issue could help the City Council work more collaboratively and accomplish more for Boston residents.
“At the end of the day, when we’re able to lead with love, and compassion, and the basic principles of humanity, only then is when we’re able to really work collectively. And I think this act really gets us a little bit closer to that,” Mejia said.
The resolution also received support from U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, a former Boston city councilor.
“From Boston to Gaza, our destinies are tied and our pro-peace, pro-humanity movement continues to grow,” she said in a statement. “With over 35,000 Palestinians and 1,200 Israelis killed, over 100 hostages still held captive by Hamas, and millions at risk of starvation in Gaza, a lasting, bilateral ceasefire to save lives, release all hostages, and deliver the life-saving humanitarian aid that Gaza needs is essential.”
On the other hand, American Jewish Committee New England Director Rob Leikind called the resolution counterproductive.
“Rather than forthrightly address the concerns that inhibit a cessation of violence, the Boston City Council embraced a one-sided narrative that did not neatly portray the obstacles to a ceasefire, and which itself poses an obstacle to a reduction of conflict,” he said in a statement. “We would have hoped that the Boston City Council would have used this opportunity to advance understanding and soothe a polarized climate. Instead, it threw fuel on the fire and offered no solace to Palestinians or Israelis.”
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