Will Cook County News

By Nuha Abdessalam

Hundreds gathered and awaited for Chicago City Hall to pass a Gaza cease-fire resolution. In the postponed verdict due to protests, Mayor Brandon Johnson delivered the 24-23 vote by tiebreaking the 23-23 draw by Chicago alderpersons.

Crowds of Chicago and suburban residents gathered and formed in the halls of Chicago City Council chambers as early as 8 a.m. during the council meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 31. Chicago voted yes on a resolution calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war, making Chicago the largest American city to adopt a cease-fire resolution.

Chicago resident and member of Jewish Voice for Peace Simone Pass Tucker, a descendant of Holocaust survivors, said, “As a descendant of Jewish survivors, it is essential to me to stand against genocide, and that includes Palestine.” Jewish Voice for Peace’s mission seeks and aims for a world where all people from the United States to Palestine live in freedom, justice, and equality through organizing and dismantling the institutions and structures. “My Jewish values compel me to fight for liberation; I’m here to support my Palestinian comrades and to fight for them in the diaspora and on the ground in Palestine,” added Pass Tucker.

Chants of liberating a “Free Palestine” and “Cease-fire” filled the chamber halls; among the many chanting was a fellow activist and Chicago resident Mollie Hartenstein, who emphasized the importance of being part of a growing movement.

“I’m here to represent a growing movement of American Jews & Palestine allies that demand a cease-fire now, in the wake of the International Remembrance Holocaust Day; we’re here to say that never again means never again for anyone!” The International Holocaust Remembrance Day, a tribute to remembering the victims of the Holocaust, is an international annual memorial day on Jan. 27. Hartenstein added, “Our voices have to be heard, and we are fed up with political maneuvering that has prevented this historic and important vote for the Palestinians.”

Dale Leamon attended the city hall meeting for one significant reason, “As an American Jew, I don’t support genocide, period.” The ongoing war between Israel and Hamas Forces has resulted in over 25,000 Palestinian civilian deaths and has displaced over 2 million people. Leamon added, “How does one justify the wholesale bombing and genocide that the Israeli military has carried out on basically unarmed civilians with American support and American weapons? (We) funded and enabled the most fascist government in Israel to come into power by providing impunity for its crimes of the last 75 years, and I’m here in opposition to that continuation.”

The next protest will be the Run 4 Gaza event held at Buckingham Fountain on Sunday Feb. 4th at 9:30 am.