People pack the Bloomington City Council chambers March 27 holding signs calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
(Lucas González, WFIU/WTIU News)
Editor's note: The title of the resolution initially released by the city council office did not include the phrase "cessation of hostilities." This article has been updated to reflect the resolution's altered title.
The Bloomington City Council is considering a resolution calling for a multilateral ceasefire and humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza amid the current Israel-Hamas war.
The council said it will introduce the resolution at its next meeting on April 3.
The resolution, released late Thursday by the council office, urges national leaders to work toward "a cessation of hostilities directed to innocent civilians, especially children (and) a multilateral ceasefire in Gaza to allow humanitarian aid to the civilian population," among other things.
The resolution also condemns the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians and taking of hostages.
A memo from resolution co-sponsors Isabel Piedmont-Smith and Dave Rollo states the following:
"We do not presume to know how to resolve the complicated, nuanced, long-standing conflict between the State of Israel and the Palestinian people. What we intend is to speak out against the intolerable cruelty of children dying of hunger, women subjected to surgery without anesthetic, and Gazans of all ages stricken by preventable disease due to unsafe drinking water."
Reuters reports the United National Security Council on Monday called for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The city council's resolution comes as dozens of residents and a city commission have urged members to support a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire.
Indiana University graduate student Bryce Greene said such a resolution can help urge the federal government to cease military support to Israel.
“You all know the U.S. is who pays the bills and who keeps this going,” Greene said. “Without U.S. support, the bombs would stop falling. It's as simple as that. Passing resolutions in favor of a ceasefire is one way in which we can help stop the bombs.”
Bryce Greene (Courtesy, Community Access Television Services)
Greene was among several dozens of organizers who filled the council chambers Wednesday. Most supported the resolution. They held signs reading “Ceasefire now” and “Free Palestine.”
Aidan Khamis, a Palestinian student at IU, also supports the resolution.
“It is our job because of the explicit connection of the United States to tell the United States government we will not support the sale of arms,” Khamis said. “We will not support the forced starvation of children. We will stand as a community and say we want a full and permanent ceasefire.”
Aidan Khamis (Courtesy, Community Access Television Services)
Resident David Szonyi, who authored a column on a potential ceasefire resolution in The Herald-Times last month, said the resolution should include language calling for Hamas to give up political control and military activities in Gaza.
“Hamas, whose atrocity started this war, should have no political role and no military presence in the Gaza Strip going forward,” Szonyi said. “It is the textbook example of terrorism.”
David Szonyi (Courtesy, Community Access Television Services)
Noah Stoffman said the council should not consider this type of resolution and instead focus on issues it can immediately address.
“I understand peoples’ desire to want to do something about it, but … spending the time frankly that I know that you have spent on a resolution like this is not what this Bloomington City Council should be spending its time on,” Stoffman said.
Noah Stoffman (Courtesy, Community Access Television Services)
Stoffman later said charges of genocide and apartheid against Israel are unfounded, which prompted some audience members to yell “shame” in unison.
Piedmont-Smith, the council president, warned attendees to respect peoples’ turns at public comment or be removed from the council chambers.
Mayor Kerry Thomson, referring more specifically to another item on the council’s agenda, said she will not sign symbolic resolutions passed by the council that “do not directly impact the business of our city.”
At least 48 U.S. cities have passed resolutions calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, and six others have passed resolutions advocating more broadly for peace, according to Reuters.
