February 14, 2024

By Fightback News staff

(fightbacknews.org)

February 8, 2024

Minneapolis

The Minneapolis City Council voted Feb. 8 to override Mayor Jacob Frey’s veto of their ceasefire resolution.

Palestinians and Palestine solidarity activists are celebrating the victory across the country. They are excited that Minneapolis is joining cities like Chicago, San Francisco, Atlanta and Detroit in calling for a ceasefire and an end to the genocide in Palestine.

Sana Wazwaz, a leader with American Muslims for Palestine-MN, explained the significance of the vote: “Our victory signals a radical shift in what is considered acceptable criticism of Israel. We are the first city in the U.S. to pass a resolution to call for a complete end to U.S. aid to Israel; a measure that was once ‘too radical’ is now becoming normalized.

“Minneapolis has broken that barrier, and we believe that our city will set the precedent for cities across the U.S. to continue pushing that boundary, for language to become more and more progressive. To override Mayor Frey’s veto is to send the message that principles win over politics — that Minneapolis stuck to their strong language and didn’t back down despite pressure to conform to ceasefire resolution norms.”

Meredith Aby, an activist with the Anti-War Committee, explains the next steps for the Free Palestine Coalition: “We have started attending Saint Paul City Council meetings and pressuring them to join Minneapolis in calling for a ceasefire and an end to the U.S. support for genocide in Palestine. We want to keep this momentum growing so that we can end U.S. aid to Israel.”

End of Fightback article. The following are the conclusions of the Minneapolis City Council resolution: 

That the City Council of the City of Minneapolis supports our state and federal delegations and the Biden administration using their authority to:

1. Advance a full, immediate, and permanent ceasefire, along with urgently needed humanitarian aid as a necessary step towards lasting peace.
2. Support an end to U.S. military funding to the State of Israel and an end to U.S. tax dollars contributing to humanitarian catastrophe and loss of life.
3. Ensure the release of all Israeli hostages taken by Hamas.
4. Ensure the release of thousands of Palestinians held indefinitely without cause and trial in Israeli military prisons.

For the complete resolution, which might prove a useful resource for activists working on getting similar resolutions passed, see tinyurl.com/Resolution-Minn.