Burlington City Council does not pass ceasefire resolution

By Tyler Boronski

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    BURLINGTON, Vermont (WPTZ) — Monday night, Burlington City Council did not pass a resolution that called for a ceasefire in the Middle East.

The vote came to a 6-6 tie, which led to it not passing.

Before the meeting began, dozens from Vermont Coalition of Palestinian Liberation and UVM’s Students for Justice in Palestine, gathered outside Burlington City Hall rallying for peace in the Middle East.

They then filled the inside of Contois Auditorium, leading to over 2 hours and 40 minutes of public forum.

Those in favor of the ceasefire referenced the recent shooting attack last month of three Palestinian students.

“These three young men wouldn’t have been shot here if Israel, fully backed by the U.S., were not shooting Palestinians over there,” said Leah Soule of Burlington.

Jewish leaders in Burlington, like Rabbi Eliyauh Junik of Chabad of Burlington, believe that notion isn’t fair.

He believes it moved the blame to Israel for the triple shooting that occurred last month downtown that left three young Palestinian men injured. He said it questions whether Hamas actually attacked Israel.

Rabbi Junik also believed Burlington leaders have minimal impact on making change.

He felt bringing the resolution to the agenda already brought more division than unity.

“Let the city council take care of what they were elected to do and not worry about things overseas, they have no connection to, they don’t know anything about, and they have no power to influence anything,” said Rabbi Junik.

Ashley Smith, of Vermont’s Coalition of Palestinian Liberation, who also lives in Burlington, argued the opposite.

He said calling for a ceasefire, even though it didn’t pass, is the least Burlington leaders could have done.

“For us, that’s just the starting point and want larger demands to change U.S. foreign policy, to end U.S. support for Israel, end occupation,” said Smith. “It’s apartheid in this genocidal war.”

Meanwhile, some councilors and neighbors argued that it wasn’t up to the Burlington City Council to take a stance on this global issue, and instead called on Vermont’s federal delegation to condemn the violence we’ve seen across the country since the war broke out.

A formal call for a ceasefire in Gaza could appear on Town Meeting Day ballots in March. But to put a referendum on the Town Meeting Day ballot, supporters will need signatures from at least 5% of registered voters and will also need to submit the petition to the Vermont Secretary of State’s Office at least 47 days before the March election, with a cutoff date of Jan. 19.

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