Even the Cambridge, Massachusetts City Council has issued a Gaza Resolution tonight,
including the Red Cross's blistering condemnation of Israel, and rightfully blaming Israel for
"the deaths of thousands of Palestinian civilians."The next day, Tuesday, we hope the Michigan Student Assembly (MSA) will issue a MUCH stronger condemnation of Israel's massacre of Gaza, and call for an
immediate boycott of Israel, such as the following proposed Resolution:
http://dearbornboycottsisrael.blogspot.com/2008/09/msa-resolution-to-boycott-apartheid.htmlHere is tonight's news from Cambridge City Council, followed by their Gaza Resolution--
Monday, January 12, 2009, Cambridge, MA
Breaking News Release reported on GazaSiege.org, at:
http://gazasiege.blogspot.com/2009/01/breaking-news-cambridge-city-council.html
The Cambridge City Council today convened a public hearing on a bold and timely resolution regarding the situation in Gaza, with eloquent comments by many residents of Cambridge and heartfelt deliberations by City Council Members.
Summary of original resolution: "That the Cambridge City Council go on record recognizing the grievous impact of the loss of lives in the conflict on families and communities, mourning those lives on both sides of the conflict, condemning the attacks and invasion of Gaza by the Israeli military and the rocket attacks upon the people of Israel, and call for an immediate end to all attacks on civilians on both sides."
The resolution was proposed by Councillor Marjorie Decker and Mayor Denise Simmons, and drafted with the support of the Cambridge Peace Commission.
In an unprecedented decision after the 3-hour hearing, the Council voted to adopt the resolution with 8 members voting in favor and 1 voting present. It included a last minute amendment requesting a long-term negotiated truce between both parties and support for a 2-state solution.
Read the full text of the original Gaza resolution (Cambridge City Policy Order Resolution O-15, January 12, 2009). The amended resolution will be posted online soon.
This landmark resolution should encourage many others around the country to propose similar actions in their own city councils and have congressional representatives finally take notice of the injustice and bias in US foreign policy in the Middle East, particularly regarding the devastating siege of Gaza.
Please show your support by thanking members of the Cambridge City Council for their bold and courageous action for an end to the siege in Gaza and a just peace in the region. Contacts for council members can be found here: http://www.cambridgema.gov/ccouncil.cfm________________________________
Gaza Resolution on the Internet at:
http://www.cambridgema.gov/cityClerk/PolicyOrder.cfm?item_id=24033 |
 | Policy Order Resolution
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| O-15 |
| IN CITY COUNCIL | |
| January 12, 2009 | | | | COUNCILLOR DECKER | | MAYOR SIMMONS | | | | WHEREAS: | The citizens of Cambridge and their representatives on the Cambridge City Council have a strong tradition of upholding principles of democracy and respect for all peoples; and |
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| | WHEREAS: | The Council has often affirmed its support of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, principles of international law and of peaceful alternatives to war; and |
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| | WHEREAS: | The current hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel as of the morning of January 8th have killed over 700 Palestinians, a third of them children, and injured over 3000 Palestinians and killed eleven Israelis; and |
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| | WHEREAS: | The UN pulled out their Humanitarian Aid staff citing Israel for its refusal to guarantee the safety of their workers from Israeli fire; and |
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| | WHEREAS: | The International Red Cross in a rare condemnation criticized Israel from blocking aid workers to reaching Gaza residents who had been bombed; and |
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| | WHEREAS: | Since 2004, rockets fired from Gaza into Israel have caused the deaths of 20 civilians; and |
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| | WHEREAS: | Israeli military responses have caused the deaths of thousands of Palestinian civilians; and |
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| | WHEREAS: | Even more Palestinian loss of life has occurred in the last 20 months due to the severe economic blockade imposed on Gaza by Israel; and |
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| | WHEREAS: | The Supreme Court of Israel has ruled that Israel must immediately allow foreign journalists access to Gaza, because, in the words of the New York Times, "As in every war zone, reporting by journalists — and human rights monitors as well — can discourage abuse and is essential to full public understanding of the conflict"; and |
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| | WHEREAS: | The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, has called for an immediate ceasefire; now therefore be it |
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| | RESOLVED: | That the Cambridge City Council go on record recognizing the grievous impact of the loss of lives in the conflict on families and communities, mourning those lives on both sides of the conflict, condemning the attacks and invasion of Gaza by the Israeli military and the rocket attacks upon the people of Israel, and call for an immediate end to all attacks on civilians on both sides; and |
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| RESOLVED:
| That the Cambridge City Council urges the United States government to press for: access for journalists; access to humanitarian aid; a cease-fire on both sides maintained with international monitoring; a long-term truce and an end to the economic blockade of the Gaza Strip and an increased flow of goods and people between Israel and Gaza; and |
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| RESOLVED:
| That the City Clerk be and hereby is requested to forward a suitably engrossed copy of this resolution to President Bush, President-elect Obama, the Secretaries of State and Defense, the Secretaries-designate of State and Defense; and be it further |
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| | RESOLVED: | That the City Clerk be and hereby is requested to forward a suitably engrossed copy of this resolution to the Massachusetts Congressional Delegation, together with a request that the congressional delegation take action on this issue and communicate to the Cambridge City Council what action was taken.
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