The only Jewish member of Chicago’s 50-member City Council was booed for the second time in a week by an angry crowd as the council criticized Israel for its war against Hamas.
Councilwoman Debra Silverstein implored his colleagues not to pass a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire without the release of hostages, and made no mention of the Oct. 7 attack.
It came just days after protesters disrupted her remarks at City Hall as she spoke movingly about the Nazi-led genocide on Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters packed the building and public gallery for the sharp vote, which saw Mayor Brandon Johnson face strong opposition before casting the deciding vote.
“There’s not even a mention of the dozens of women raped,” Silverstein told the crowd as a police officer stood nearby.
Debra Silverstein, the only Jewish member of the Chicago City Council, cut a lonely figure as she begged colleagues not to demand a ceasefire that would keep Hamas in power
Hundreds of pro-Palestinian supporters packed City Hall to pressure councilors ahead of the vote, making Chicago the largest US city yet to demand an unconditional ceasefire.
Several protesters were ejected from the council chamber for disrupting the meeting, before eventually being ordered out of the entire public gallery
“No reference to the brutal depravity that is now burned into the psyche of every Israeli and every Jewish man, woman and child.”
The resolution made Chicago the largest U.S. city yet to demand a ceasefire in the four-month war that has cost more than 26,000 Palestinian lives, and the Democratic mayor worked frantically behind the scenes to make it happen.
He asked two top councilors to stay away if they couldn’t support it, the Chicago Sun-Times reported, and was criticized for using his casting vote to stoke tensions.
“We should not adopt a resolution unless it makes it clear that Hamas cannot and should not attack again,” Silverstein said.
“He had an opportunity to be a unifying factor, and he could have sat down with us and come up with a solution that could have potentially achieved a unanimous vote for all of us, but he didn’t.”
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker also denounced the mood in a city that will host the Democrat National Convention in August.
“I was disappointed that the women who were raped by Hamas fighters who crossed the border into Israel and kidnapped people were not taken into account, and that the deaths caused by those terrorists were not acknowledged,” he said.
“And the city council, if they’re going to talk about the challenge of war in the Middle East, you have to make sure you include all perspectives. They didn’t do that.’
Silverstein’s colleagues on the city council remained silent as she was harassed by the crowd
Chicago’s Democratic mayor was accused of strong-arming opponents and criticized for using his casting vote to ensure passage of controversial measure
Police struggled to maintain order as the hallways were taken over by demonstrators
And demonstrators erupted with joy as the controversial measure passed in a single vote
Council members struggled to get through as protesters occupied the building’s hallways
The controversial slogan ‘From the river to the sea’, which many Israeli supporters labeled as anti-Semitic, was prominently featured
But the demonstrators didn’t have it all their own way, with at least some support for Israel visible in the public gallery
Since the outbreak of the war, hundreds of anti-Israel protests have taken place in major cities and President Joe Biden has been repeatedly arrested during his lectures by demonstrators who decry his support for the country.
Biden is under increasing pressure to call for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas that began on October 7 when Hamas launched a terror attack that killed about 1,200 people and took 253 hostages.
The president has personally told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he will not support Israel’s year-long war in Gaza, and is concerned about both the growing death toll in Gaza and the impact the war is having on younger American voters in the run-up to the war. until the 2024 elections.
The United Nations says 85 percent of Gaza’s population has been driven from their homes, while hundreds of thousands of people are at risk of starvation.
And Biden previously ordered the Pentagon to investigate what weapons Israel has requested that could be used as leverage to weaken its military assault on the besieged Palestinian enclave.
Silverstein, who has represented the city’s 50th Ward since 2011, is the only Jewish councilor in a city with one of the largest Jewish populations in the US.
She looked defiantly at the demonstrators who interrupted her remarks in front of the city chamber until they had to leave the public gallery and the debate continued.
But she has been repeatedly targeted and drew shouts of protest when she uttered the words “never again” on Holocaust Memorial Day.
“Never Again is a statement against all forms of anti-Jewish hatred,” she tweeted afterwards.
“Denial and distortion of the Holocaust are recognized forms of anti-Semitism and should never have taken place at City Hall.”
The Biden administration is reportedly considering using arms sales as a means to convince Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to scale back the attack in Gaza.
And some protesters expressed anger at the broader threat to peace in the Middle East
Mayor Johnson defended the use of his casting vote, saying the city council had already passed a resolution in October affirming Israel’s “right and obligation to protect its citizens from terrorism and attacks by hostile foreign powers.”
“We continue to ensure that our city, as a global city, makes our voice heard on issues, whether it is the heinous attack on the Israeli people, or a ceasefire and the release of the hostages ‘ he added.
But the Israeli consulate in the city labeled the resolution as pointless and counterproductive.
“While this resolution will have no impact in the Middle East, it will create more division among Chicago communities and fuel more anti-Semitism, as we have seen on the floor and in the galleries of City Hall,” it added.