Public Comment

It has been over 5 month of constant bombing on Gaza. Over 40000 civilians killed and most of Gaza is destroyed! How many more people need to die so cleveland city council call for a ceasefire. Enough is Enough. Cease fire now!

Hear, O Israel: why do you make war on your brother Ishmael {also son of Abraham}? Why do you keep your bother in an open air prison {Gaza} forcing him to despair? Why do you accept over $3 billion in military aid from the United States every year? Why are you so preoccupied with killing your brother? Cannot brothers {Jews and Arabs} live in peace? The peaceful removal of one man will solve this crisis once and for all. That man is Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu. Hamas and Hezbollah are the direct result of his hate towards all Palestinians. As a citizen of and believer in democracy, I applaud the efforts of the Palestinian people. Their efforts are similar to what is happening in many other parts of the world. Believe it or not, one thing that overrides capitalism and political correctness in the United States is the right to have one's voice heard. This is the foundation of which our democracy is built on. The Palestinian people should continue to defy Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu’s powerful armed forces so that Palestinian democracy can continue to thrive. It is unfortunate that the United States compromised on one of its most fundamental values in order to protect its economic interests in the Middle East; something that happens all too often domestically as well. It is not the Palestinian people that are attempting to expand Hamas and Hezbollah power but rather it is Netanyahu who has engaged in intimidation to prevent the will of the people {both Palestinian and Israeli} from being heard. Why else would he stoop to such underhanded tactics to block various means of communication among the citizens of Palestine and Israel? Why is Netanyahu forcing Israel to return to the Cold War utilizing political strong-arm tactics such as violence? Netanyahu, you have had over sixteen years to acknowledge Palestine and have failed them by your own choosing. The days of your despotic regime are finally coming to an end as it appears the desire for freedom will continue to sweep among the Middle Eastern nations as well as Israel. Accordingly, let the call go forth among all citizens of Palestine that your brothers and sisters of democracy {from all over the world} are with you during every trial and tribulation you may encounter during this crisis. To the people of Palestine, the trumpet of freedom beckons you to rise in protest and louden your voice to preserve your sacred heritage, promote your children's future and obtain the blessings of liberty we all cherish. Palestine, the hour of your redemption is at hand. As you the rightful citizens move forward to reclaim your own country, rise and strike! In the name of those who were murdered fighting for everyone's rights, rise and strike! To push back this evil regime, rise and strike! Let no one continue to fear this man. Every Palestinian must be strong and fight on for their freedom. Rise and strike! Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu, you little weasel...let Palestine go! Hey hey Mr. Bibi how many kids will it be be? The whole World is watching !!! JOE BIALEK Cleveland, OH USA

The council should not adopt any resolution that calls for a unilateral ceasefire from the state of Israel. To do so would endanger the hostages held by the Hamas terrorists, leave Hamas in power, and guaranty future attacks that would harm innocent Israeli and Palestinian civilians. Any ceasefire resolution adopted by the council would be solely performative, with no binding effect on either party of the conflict. Rather than wasting time on a war thousands of miles away for which the city has no ability to impact, the council should take efforts to ensure the safety of all the people in the city and to promote dialogue and cooperation between those with differing opinions.

Cleveland stands with all oppressed peoples in Ohio and around the world. City Council needs to listen to the will of the people and use their position to advocate for a ceasefire NOW!

There needs to be a ceasefire resolution, nothing less. Gaza will be free.

I have lived in Ward 15 since 2013. It is appalling to me that council will not even call a vote on the proposed ceasefire resolution. Council clearly does not shy away from making politically-expedient resolutions related to global affairs (such as that supporting Israel after October 7 or that supporting Ukraine's resistance to the Russian invasion), but when making such a resolution requires even the smallest amount of bravery or fortitude, there seem to be endless excuses - even when council's sole Jewish member, Ward 12 Councilwoman Rebecca Maurer, is herself in favor of the resolution. This is a geographically distant conflict, but it is one that has direct implications for many members of the Cleveland community - to say nothing of the clear humanitarian crisis well underway that should make any living human ashamed. At this point, even US Vice President Kamala Harris is publicly pushing for a "6-week" ceasefire in her meeting with Israeli cabinet member Benny Gantz, and numerous other prominent US cities have passed resolutions themselves, including Detroit, MI and Akron, OH. It is disappointing and disheartening that my own representatives in the city I've called home for over a decade don't even have the courage to go on record with a full council vote. I thank councilwoman Maurer for her courage in standing up to council and verbally supporting the resolution, and I urge council as a whole to follow her lead and support the resolution, as well.

Ceasefire now

There needed to be a ceasefire 5 months ago. Israel is an apartheid state that cannot claim self-defense when they illegally occupied Palestine. Israel has been killing innocent civilians before October 7th and continue to escalate the killing every day. They are bombing, shooting, starving and torturing innocent civilians. We are all complicit in this genocide and Cleveland needs to pass this resolution. Passing a ceasefire resolution is the bare minimum, we are asking for innocent families to not be murdered, is that such a hard thing to ask for?

CEASE FIRE NOW- END THE OCCUPATION AND GENOCIDE- FREE PALESTINE-FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA.

Many have already stated what I believe. Your refusal to acknowledge the overwhelming views of your constituents by passing a declaration of outrage against the death and destruction rained upon Palestinian civilians is reprehensible. Not all of us can afford to visit Washington D.C. to express our indignation, so you, as our local office holders, must acknowledge the horror we all feel.