By Mia Khatib
mia.khatib@triangletribune.com
DURHAM — For months, groups like Jewish Voice for Peace and Mothers for Ceasefire have been demanding local leaders support an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and an end to U.S. aid to Israel. Their demands were met Tuesday night when the Durham City Council voted 5-2 to pass a ceasefire resolution, which Mayor Leo Williams and Mayor Pro Tem Mark-Anthony Middleton voted against.
The resolution urges the federal government to call for a sustained ceasefire, facilitate humanitarian aid into Gaza, release all hostages and end U.S. military aid to Israel’s government. It was introduced by council member Chelsea Cook and is her first act since coming into public office this term.
“I know that for everyone who is going to be hurt by this resolution, there are so many of you who are feeling frustrated with its limitations. And I’m frustrated, too,” Cook, who is Jewish, said. “This resolution does not preclude our city from taking stronger stances regarding our military, regarding our investments in Israel. These are still options that are available to us.”
Nearly 30,000 Palestinians have been killed since Oct. 7. While council member Nate Baker believes this resolution should’ve been done earlier, Williams worries it will tear the community apart. He said that’s what happened in 2018 when the Council passed a resolution ending police training in Israel.
“I have not spoken publicly about this resolution or this entire ceasefire at all because I did not feel it was my place to tilt the scale either way,” Williams said. “I don’t know how we truly reflect the diversity of our community here.”
The council chambers were largely packed with people who support the resolution, but some pro-Israel residents also spoke during public comment. Deborah Friedman fears a rise in antisemitism locally and said it’s not Durham’s place to make foreign policy decisions.
“With the resolution today, you’ll be reopening old wounds from 2018 by reviving Durham’s notorious reputation of scapegoating Jews,” she said over Zoom. “Israel is essential for Jewish survival.”
But Sandra Korn, an organizer with JVP, told The Tribune there is a long history of anti-Zionist Jews and the right-wing is using Jewish safety as a “moral cover” to shut down criticism of Israel and justify genocide.
“There is obviously an organized effort to conflate Israel with Jews and to conflate Zionism with Judaism,” she said. “Nothing about Israel’s assault on Gaza has anything to do with Jewish values or making Jewish people safer, and I’m really devastated that there are people in the Jewish community who don’t see that.”
Middleton had concerns regarding the language and policy prescription, and council member DeDreana Freeman wanted to amend the resolution to include mention of genocide. She said it’s problematic to not call it how it is.
“Anytime that you’re using weapons of mass destruction to kill children, that is not OK, and this is just it. There is no other side to this,” she said. “This is not the best representation of Durham right now, and that is what is most hard to swallow.”
Residents in Raleigh and Chapel Hill have also been calling on their councils to take a stance, but nothing has been issued. And while Durham is one of around 70 U.S. cities that passed a resolution of this kind, the U.S. vetoed a ceasefire resolution at the United Nations Security Council for the third time Tuesday.
“I always wondered if someone had read [Anne Frank’s] diary while it was happening, would the world have saved her? Would we have stood up and said this is genocide and it must stop?” resident Swarnali Sengupta said. “We are witnessing a genocide unfold on our phones every night, and we need to call it for what it is.”
Korn, who also advocated for Durham’s 2018 resolution to end police training in Israel, told The Tribune she’s proud of Durham’s resolution, which is the second in the state after Carrboro, and hopes it will inspire Raleigh and other N.C. cities to follow suit.
“One of the things I’m the most proud about is the really clear call in the resolution for the United States not to send any more military funding to the Netanyahu government,” Korn said. “Right now, our tax dollars are going to arm a genocide and the Senate just passed a bill that would send $14 billion more to Israel.”
Mia Khatib, who covers affordable housing and gentrification, is a Report for America corps member.
