Council Member Diaz Proposes Second Gaza Ceasefire Resolution

For months, groups like Westchester for Palestine have actively urged the Yonkers City Council to show their support for a ceasefire in the Israel/Palestine conflict. Their own Ceasefire Resolution requested that the City Council , alongside all elected officials, leverage their platform and authority to address the harrowing suffering, loss of life, and violence devastating Gaza.

A “Peace Resolution” brings anything but

In response, Council President Lakisha Collins-Bellamy rejected the proposed idea of supporting a permanent ceasefire, instead opting for a more tepid “Peace Resolution.” The Palestine supporters perceived this move as a symbolic gesture or diplomatic maneuvering to address the crisis in Gaza. Consequently, protests and criticism from Palestinian advocates, organizations, and communities arose.

At the City Council meeting on April 9, there was a chorus of disparate community members consisting of students, activists, and residents. All of whom spoke passionately about the role City Council members are expected to uphold in the community.

When the City Council failed to fully acknowledge and amplify Palestinian accounts in the resolution, some Yonkers residents and organizations expressed disappointment in the perceived lack of action.

In contrast, the Westchester Jewish Council opposed the proposal for different reasons. They cited concerns about its potential to spread hateful and harmful rhetoric, and emphasizing the imperative to prevent terrorist acts targeting the Jewish community.

Pro-Palestinian and pro-Isareali groups both seized the opportunity to present their arguments and express their views at committee meeting. However, the City Council did not cast any vote on the resolution. Instead, they remanded it to the intergovernmental committee for further review. All in a stated concerted effort to address concerns from both sides.

An alternative proposal

Following that lively meeting, Council Member Tasha Diaz released a version of her own ceasefire resolution . This version more closely aligns with the originally proposed statement from “Westchester for Palestine.” During the April 16 Rules Committee meeting, Council Member Diaz's resolution was also placed into the intergovernmental committee for further discussion. You may read this resolution in full below.

Read the full text of the City Council's updated resolution

WHEREAS, the City Council of Yonkers believes that all human life precious; and
WHEREAS, the City of Yonkers is home to a diverse population representing many races, ethnicities, religions and nationalities, including Arabs, Jews, Muslims and Christians, who, like many Americans, wish for an immediate end to the deadly Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the prompt and safe return of all remaining hostages of this conflict, the prompt end to the displacement of, injury to and loss of life of innocent men, women and children, and the establishment of a just and enduring peace for all in the region; and
WHEREAS, we acknowledge the immediate need for a ceasefire in the Gaza conflict, to facilitate the entry and delivery of necessary humanitarian aid in all forms to the innocent men, women, and children of Gaza; and
WHEREAS, military activities in Gaza have failed to adhere to basic principles of International Humanitarian Law; and
WHEREAS, our City mourns the killing of thousands of people, Israelis and Palestinians, the unjust captivity and imprisonment of both innocent Palestinians and Israelis, and the subsequent disproportionate and indiscriminate devastation of Gaza by Israel, including the killing of over thirty-three thousand Palestinians, including innocent women and children, the displacement of over one million Gazans, countless injuries to, and the continued starvation of hundreds of thousands; and
WHEREAS, we unite in calling upon our elected officials to raise—together, as one, and with all conviction—our voices to the administration of United States President Joseph R. Biden, a recognition that it is the United States that holds the decisive diplomatic influence to save Palestinian and Israeli lives; and
WHEREAS, we recognize that it is the right of all Palestinians and Israelis to live with respect, dignity, freedom, and self-determination; and
WHEREAS, we recognize and pray for the release of all Israeli and Palestinian hostages and that they be freed immediately; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT BE RESOLVED THAT this City Council urges our all of our elected officials, at every level, to demand an immediate ceasefire, rigorously pursue an end to this unceasing state violence, to effectuate the prompt and safe return of all hostages and prisoners—from both sides, to provide for the prompt entry and delivery of all critical humanitarian aid to Gaza, and to prevent the continued displacement of, and/or injury and death to, innocent men, women, and children; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT, we, the members of the City Council, condemn all forms of hate and discrimination, including Islamophobia and antisemitism in the City of Yonkers.