Title
Resolution for the City of Ann Arbor to Hold a Community Conversation about the Palestinian People and Palestinian-Americans
Memorandum
Budget/Fiscal Impact: None or less than $500.
Body
Whereas, On April 5, 2021, Ann Arbor City Council unanimously passed a resolution condemning anti-Asian hate crimes https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2021/04/ann-arbor-passes-resolution-condemning-anti-asian-hate-crimes-and-rhetoric.html <https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mlive.com%2Fnews%2Fann-arbor%2F2021%2F04%2Fann-arbor-passes-resolution-condemning-anti-asian-hate-crimes-and-rhetoric.html&data=04%7C01%7CKGriswold%40a2gov.org%7C880a94d33a744c9ec8f708d8fd1f8ea6%7C48afa58563754170b9d1e9c568bb92f3%7C0%7C0%7C637537659603452888%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=mfmSmAWXZbE%2Bmr6%2FBw%2BDONImjg%2FvxPQ8cTHb%2BUWRX6I%3D&reserved=0>;
Whereas, At the same meeting, some Councilmembers expressed their concern that this resolution, while important and timely, does not go far enough;
Whereas, At the same meeting former Councilmember Kathy Kozachenko was praised for her human rights record and we were reminded that she advocated strongly for Palestinian human rights in the 1970’s;
Whereas, In January 1984, thousands of Ann Arborites petitioned Council for a resolution against aid to Israel;
Whereas, In 2003, the Ann Arbor Human Rights Commission officially asked Ann Arbor City Council to oppose US military aid to Israel;
Whereas, For many years since then, we have been asked, in our meetings, to provide moral guidance against the harm being done to the Palestinian people through our tax dollars;
Whereas, The International Criminal Court (ICC) is currently investigating Israel for crimes against the Palestinian people. It takes years for the ICC to arrive at such a weighty decision;
Whereas, The academic community across the United States (the University of Michigan included) has cast its vote also. Approximately ninety student governments have voted for resolutions demanding boycott, divestment, and sanctions against Israel for its human rights violations;
Whereas, We are being petitioned once more to pass a resolution against military aid to Israel:
https://www.change.org/p/ann-arbor-michigan-city-council-ann-arbor-city-council-resolution-against-military-aid-to-israel <https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.change.org%2Fp%2Fann-arbor-michigan-city-council-ann-arbor-city-council-resolution-against-military-aid-to-israel&data=04%7C01%7CKGriswold%40a2gov.org%7C880a94d33a744c9ec8f708d8fd1f8ea6%7C48afa58563754170b9d1e9c568bb92f3%7C0%7C0%7C637537659603452888%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=QmyE5ey2aqsHPtSenaDcJPKzzQwzXJhde2Y12BOeI1I%3D&reserved=0>; and
Whereas, The situation is extremely complex, multifaceted and slowly shifting. THE WASHINGTON POST, in a April 27, 2021 article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/04/27/israel-report-apartheid/ <https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fworld%2F2021%2F04%2F27%2Fisrael-report-apartheid%2F&data=04%7C01%7CKGriswold%40a2gov.org%7C0a29e482312c4331ab6208d90975597e%7C48afa58563754170b9d1e9c568bb92f3%7C0%7C0%7C637551222673828261%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=e7oGwciI4S7HHdAYK9g5amr9iUh1dVfrKNXRSs2SWm4%3D&reserved=0> reports,
But the conversation around Israel is clearly, if slowly, shifting in the United States. “This new HRW [Human Rights Watch] report raises critical concerns that should deeply trouble both supporters of Israel and those who care about Palestinian rights,” said Jeremy Ben-Ami, the president of J Street, a liberal pro-Israel advocacy organization in Washington that does not use the term “apartheid” to describe the Israeli context. “The fact that the occupation inherently threatens Israel’s future as a democratic homeland for the Jewish people and involves the systematic deprivation of Palestinian rights simply cannot be ignored,” he told Today’s WorldView.
RESOLVED, That the City of Ann Arbor hold a forum about the Palestinian people and Palestinian-Americans with the goal of having a community conversation; and
RESOLVED, That the City Administrator be authorized to take any other necessary administrative actions to implement this resolution by July 1, 2021.
Sponsored by: Councilmember Griswold