Public Comment

Transcript (~1 h 40 min @ 2:45)

Speakers identified by voice; unnamed voices are numbered within this recording. Auto-caption text — verify against the video.

▶ 2:38 Leila Migliorelli: Um, these minutes are now approved. We are now moving on to the public comment portion of our meeting. This is the portion of the meeting where the public may comment on the matters before the council tonight. Just a reminder that public comment period is an opportunity for the public to share comments. Counselors will not be responding. Um, I would like to request that the members of the public present opinions in a respectful manner and refrain from naming individuals in their comments. Um, I will also note for the record that we have received notice about the building room occupancy. As such, I must ask tonight that only 44 people in total, that includes the counselors, um, in the room may in this room. Otherwise, as we can see, people are gathering in the hallway. Um, but feel free to move around if needed, and switch spots. Um, we have received, um, about 80 plus emails. Um, but we, I will now entertain a motion to open the floor for public comment. Motion to open the floor. Second. Motion to open the floor for public comment made by Councilor Carrum. Seconded by Councillor Ro. Madam Clerk, will you please call the role Councilor Firo Here.

▶ 3:43 Speaker 1: Oh, yes. Councilor Gar? Yes. Councilor ine. Yes. Councilor Kara Shay? Yes. Councillor Romanul

▶ 3:50 Speaker 2: Here? Yes.

▶ 3:51 Leila Migliorelli: Councilor Stewart? Yes. Council of Vanderberg? Yes. Councilor Williams? Yes. President Elli? Yes. Nine? Yes. Okay. The floor is now open for public comment. Members of the public may approach the table and state their name For the record. I believe there's been a list going. Um, do you wanna grab? Yeah, if you wanna grab the list, um, I can call your name. Um, and then we will also pay attention to who's online as well.

▶ 4:13 Speaker 1: Thank you counselor. Karen Shady.

▶ 4:18 Speaker 3: Um, yeah, I can do it. It's fine.

▶ 4:27 Speaker 1: We are starting with, um, James Bennett,

▶ 4:37 Speaker 4: President Migli. There was a question outside about the time limit. Tonight,

▶ 4:42 Leila Migliorelli: According to our city council rules, we have up to 10 minutes for Public comments.

▶ 4:47 Speaker 4: Counselors, I thank you for your kind attention. I know that many people wish to speak tonight, so I'm gonna keep my comments brief and can find myself to two points. First, I'm sure there are many who are wondering why the Melrose City Council should be taking up a resolution on a foreign policy subject, which is typically the purview of the United States Congress. There is a strategic purpose to bringing this resolution in this forum. Despite the example set by many other democratic members of Congress, our congresswoman Katherine Clark, has thus far refused to heed the cries of her countless constituents who have asked her to call for a ceasefire in the war on Gaza, Cambridge, Somerville, and Medford, other cities in her district have already passed similar ceasefire resolutions and should Melrose pass this resolution tonight, we would join that growing chorus in calling upon the congresswoman and others to reverse their positions and call upon all parties in the conflict to sue for peace. But Melrose isn't just any city in Congresswoman Clark's district, we are the community where the congresswoman lived for 20 years, raised her children and began her political career serving on the school committee. In this very chamber, she has spoken of how the values she brings to Washington are the values of Melrose, and on just about every issue which she champions. I concur. That is why I'm proud to call her my congresswoman, but she needs to understand that on this issue, her policy does not reflect Melrose values because we are a community that believes in peace. Should this council vote yes tonight, you would center her that message. Should this council vote no, you would also send a message, which is that the policy of support for continued aggression, violence, and misery in Gaza is acceptable according to Melrose values. As it is not legal for you to vote present, you are faced to make that stark choice tonight to be a peacemaker or not. Second, I would remind everybody here that the council is voting on the text of the resolution before them and nothing more. Tonight, I believe he will hear many opinions, some of them pro-Palestinian, some of them pro Israeli, with some of them you will agree, some of them will be downright offensive to you. You must not allow any of us to distract you from the issue before you, which is whether to support this brief resolution brought to you by your fellow counselor, Maya Jamine, who submitted it only after careful and respectful consultation with Melrose members of the Muslim, Jewish, Palestinian, and Israeli communities, it is a document which condemns the terrorism of Hamas and asserts Israel's right to defend itself. It calls upon all of us to stand up against the tribal at Avis Hatreds, which threaten the fabric of our peaceful community. It is in short a beautiful statement written in a spirit of love and calling upon all of us to be our better selves. Please remember that you are voting on this resolution for peace, not on any offensive sentiments you saw on social media or that you heard chanted in the streets. My friends, I believe that one day the children of Israel and the children of Ishmael shall lie down like lambs on the banks of the river Jordan and there will be no lions to threaten them. Let us do our part in Melrose to make that happy vision a reality by voting tonight for love, tolerance and peace, I ask you to please vote yes for this resolution. Thank you.

▶ 8:25 Speaker 1: I didn't get it. I didn't hear it. What was the name? I didn't hear the name. Popping

▶ 8:37 Speaker 5: City council members as a dedicated member of our community and a mother deeply invested in the wellbeing of our city. I speak to you tonight with a heavy heart regarding the proposed ceasefire resolution currently on the table. While I understand the noble intentions behind seeking an immediate ceasefire to halt the loss of civilian lives, I urge you to consider the long-term implications of such a decision. First and foremost, allow me to express my genuine concerns about the recent tragic events unfolding in the Middle East. As a member of the Jewish community here in Melrose, the safety and security of our family across the globe weigh heavily on my mind. I'm deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and my Israeli friends and family. I am both pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel. Maya Jamal Dean has been a compassionate and supportive friend to both me and the Jewish community. Through shared moments of sorrow and mutual support, Maya has demonstrated her ability to unite people. A few weeks ago when Maya approached me about the resolution, her intentions were genuinely kind. I expressed my inability to support it at that time and she respected my decision.

▶ 10:05 Speaker 5: Tonight I wanna share my reasons for not supporting the resolution in its current form, and I also propose an alternative that aligns with the share values of Maya and I have for Melrose one community open to all the horrifying events of October 7th where innocent lives were Sensely lost and families torn apart have left me devastated and deeply troubled. Hamus, the terrorist organization massacred 1200 Israelis raped women and girls, burned babies, and kidnapped over 200 individuals, many who remain in captivity. It is important for me to highlight these atrocities because when considering the closes cease fire, it's crucial not to overlook the severity of these actions that were initially related by terrorists and the civilian hostages who have not been released. I am deeply concerned about the potential unintended consequences that may arise from the adoption of this resolution within Melrose. Antisemitism has been on the rise in our community since the recent conflict, and while I acknowledge the well-intentioned nature of this resolution, there is a risk that it may inadvertently fuel further antisemitic sentiments. As an alternative to the current proposal, I propose that Melrose City Council consider putting forth a resolution to actively combat antisemitism and anti-Islam in our community. By fostering a culture of understanding tolerance and unity, we can promote one community open to all, thereby creating a safer and more inclusive environment for all residents. I also question the appropriateness of the Melrose City Council evolving itself in international matters. It is also worth considering why this particular conflict is being singled out for resolution when there are numerous other active armed conflicts worldwide, many of which have raised concerns about under have raised, have higher civilian casualty rates. The disproportionate focus on Israel raises concern about underlying biases. As the only Jewish state in the world, Israel often faces heightened scrutiny and criticism With so many pressing issues closer to home that demand our attention and resources, I wonder if our efforts would be better focused on monitors directly related to the governance and wellbeing of our beloved town. In light of this concern, I implore you to carefully consider the broader implications of this resolution and its potential impact on our community. I respectfully request that you vote against it. Instead, both prioritize issues that directly affect the livelihoods of our residents and promote an inclusive environment for all of our diverse Melrose residents. Thank you for listening to me tonight and for your dedicated service to our community.

▶ 13:06 Leila Migliorelli: Next, I'm hoping I'm reading this correctly, Artie Abowitz. Abowitz. Abowitz. Okay.

▶ 13:12 Speaker 4: Oh, hi. Thank. Thank you for giving me this moment. I'm gonna be very brief. I'm not gonna get into politics. I just think it's very inappropriate for Melrose To Take on this resolution. I look at it as being very divisive. I know how it's affecting me and other members of the community, and it's just a place not to go. We need to join together and find solutions to live together in peace. I don't wanna see the community divided against each other if this resolution passes, so I respectfully ask you to vote it down. Thank you.

▶ 13:57 Speaker 1: Thank you. Um, Mo Basti.

▶ 14:06 Speaker 4: I will actually take more of that time, uh, but hopefully not 10 minutes.

▶ 14:12 Speaker 4: Honorable members of the city council. My name is Mohammad Chui. I'm a fellow melian from Ward four. As a Palestinian American, like many other Palestinian Americans in Melrose in all around the country, have watched the ugliest killings, starvation, humiliation, afflicted on our direct family members and friends in Gaza. Over the five months following the equally ugly killings of Israelis on October 7th, as a community, particularly as Palestinian and Israelis, we've been completely paralyzed by these events ever since. Not only many of us being experiencing extreme grief on a daily basis in this town, but we've also been right here at home subjected to violent acts of Islamophobia, antisemitism, anti Palestinian and anti arabism. Not too long ago, a 6-year-old kid was stabbed in Chicago 26 times simply because he was Palestinians, because many disturbed individual think that we're funding this with our money. Every single one of us in every town, in every city, three Palestinian American college students were shot in Vermont soon after that because of the silence of so many around us. Leaders in community members, many people like me have been under the mercy of disturbed individuals who took the silence as a license to attack and threaten us and mute our culture, whether by making us fear for our lives, for wearing a scarf or for fearing what could happen if we take part in cultural events around the city here for celebrating diversity. It also saddens me that many Palestinians, Muslims, and Arabs and Melrose are not able to feel safe. Coming here tonight, many shared with me that let's forget about that Mo. They don't want us here still. For whatever reason, I remain hopeful. I have good friends that makes me feel hopeful. I'll be brief. I'm here to ask you to support the resolution of a ceasefire in Gaza as member of the council's entrusted with the welfare and safety of our community. Your decision affect us all, every single one of us. I'll start by turning the tables and showing you what it would mean to turn this resolution down as some been doing for the past five months. If you think Israel's right to self-defense dictates the killing of Palestinian casualties, women, children, and the elderly and the tens of thousands, please go ahead and vote against ceasefire. If you think Netanyahu government is moral and intends to minimize casualties, please go ahead and vote against the cease fire. If you believe that 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza are human shields and furthermore believe that shooting at a human shield is not a war crime, please go ahead and be my guest to vote against cease fire. If you think all Palestinians are terrorists, please go ahead and vote against cease fire. If you think Palestinian lives are less valuable, please go ahead and vote against cease fire. If you think we can't speak against this bloodshed because it means divisiveness and and anger and revenge are more important than reasoning, go ahead and please vote against the ceasefire, but I'll give you one reason not to do that and support the ceasefires. Instead, the sanctity and dignity of life is above all else. Be it Palestinian or Israeli, be it right or left, be it Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, atheists, none or all of the above, be it our family, friends or enemies. The sanctity and dignity of life is above all our positions, affiliations and allegiances. The ongoing bombardment in Gaza has resulted in immeasurable suffering and loss of life of innocent civilians that have revolted all of us being Israeli Palestinian, pro or pro, that everyday families are torn apart. Kids are left without limbs and killed homes destroyed. Communities shattered by the rental cycle of violence affecting both sides. The toll is not only measured in numbers, but in a profound human suffering that it inflicts upon countless individual, particularly the most vulnerable, not the ones ensues like us in jackets and being comfortable here. It is impossible to look away from the humanitarian crisis unfolding before us. A growing number of children are dying from starvation and hy dehydration. We're seeing it happen right now in real time, describing one of these children. A New York Times journalist said it is all too easy to trace the skull beneath that gazen boy's face the palate skin stretching tight over every curve of bone and sagging with every hollow. His chin jus with a disturbing sharpness, his flesh has shrunk and shriveled life reduced a little more than a thin mask over an eminent death. It is our moral imperative to take a stand. These kids don't care whether ceasefire looks good or bad for Hamas, whether it looks good or bad for Palestinians or Israelis, their kids. Let's put a stop to this madness because all of us are taxpayers and all of us as a country. Collectively, we decided to send firepower to this Netanyahu regime. A ceasefire is essential to alleviate the immense humanitarian suffering that has blanketed Gaza. It is unthinkable that innocent civilians who have already endured so much continue to bear the brunt of this violence. We must act with compassion and humanity. As Mil Rosen. We believe in humanity. We believe that violence is in a vehicle to purify pain. As Mil Rosen, we teach our kids who go to school with each other that violence only begets violence. I ask you today to live up to these community values. Nothing more, nothing less. Our voices matter and our support for ceasefire, as clearly was stated earlier, is a signal to our state and federal representative that we want them to broker negotiations instead of sending more weapons. Silence is not an option. Our silence is an approval of the power of violence and destruction over the power of policy making and conflict resolution. I urge this council to take a bold and principle stance in support of cease ffi and Gaza. Let us send a clear message to our leaders, both at home and abroad, that we stand for the inherent dignity and sanctity of every human life. Let us stand firm on the premise that hostilities are resolved through dialogue and not through bloodshed. I'll leave you with this. As a country, we've made so many mistakes. We initiated, participated in war that we still apologize for and wished we never started. We recognize that this repeated parental warfare has made us callous and passive to balance checking. Our federal representative who took our passivity as a blank check to write whatever the electoral calculus has needed, we even accepted our immoral brand among the nation and used our financial technological superiority. As a counterbalance, call me hopeful, but I do believe that we can stop going down this ugly slippery slope and avoid needing to use the crush of an apology after yet another mistake we make. Let's lead instead the state and federal representative of our only carriers of your decisions, your votes. You are the true leaders. The people who actually meet with constituents, not just show up on the camera as if meeting with the constituents. You are the ones who walk through whole foods, Shaws and other places. You meet with real people, you are the true leaders and you hear the hopes and needs of the people. And then decide which path forward benefits us all besides all the slogans that we hear everywhere else. That can be on the extremes. It's all up to you. You get to choose whether to lead or be led by supporting a ceasefire in Gaza. We're not standing up for the people of Gaza. It's way past that. Support for a ceasefire is beyond the support of Palestinians at this point. It's a vote for upholding all our collective morality. It's a vote for the values of our country. The flag that you started this session with pledging for, I hope you do live up to that. Thank you.

▶ 22:41 Speaker 1: They can do, but they have to tell you because there might be people in here who are,

▶ 22:54 Leila Migliorelli: If there's anyone videotaping. I just want make you aware that you have to get released from people in the room to be showing faces. So I just want people to know that um, there's consequences to that video. Tapings allowed video videotaping is allowed. There

▶ 23:11 Speaker 6: Videotaping is allowed.

▶ 23:15 Speaker 1: You just have to tell 'em I'm videotaping, so you're aware. Okay, thank you. Yep.

▶ 23:19 Leila Migliorelli: Um, next up is ya, uh, me garfinkel.

▶ 23:28 Speaker 1: Thank you everybody. Um, hopefully people in the back can hear me. It's really hard to hear back there. Um, let me start by saying, uh, Anna, my name is, and I'm here as a resident of Melrose. I am coming here tonight wearing two things I would like you to know before I say something. One is a necklace and it says, my name Yel. It is from Israel. It was given to me by my Israeli father. The other thing I'm wearing is a bracelet. It has a Palestinian flag on it. It was given to me by my friend Zer, who is an East Arab Palestinian and a good friend of mine. These things are not mutually exclusive and I I just wanna start this by saying a lot of the rhetoric we may hear tonight is going to talk in a lot of binaries. Binaries that ultimately create more division in our community, which I believe is not in the spirit of what this resolution is, which is why I actually am here to speak fully in support of the resolution and I think it's critical that we pass it. So on October 7th, my world fell apart with most of my extended family in Israel and my parents and my sister's family visiting exactly during that time. I was among many Mel Rosens who were deeply and irrevocably traumatized by the violence unleashed on Israeli civilians. I knew things would get worse, but I couldn't have imagined the scale or length of the violence. We've been through these cycles before and obviously we have not seen something like this to date, at least not in my lifetime, in the 152 days since I've only recently started to feel like myself again to sleep at night without the constant fear of rockets falling on my aunts, cousins and friends who live across Israel to not cry whenever we recite prayers for peace at Temple Beth Shalom. And if you don't know our children every single week at our, at our shalom school, at our Jewish religious school, sing a song called Salam. We literally pray for peace in the region every single week. It is part and parcel of who we are, but my Palestinian friends have had no such relief for them. The continued violence in Gaza has given them no respite from the nightmare that has become their reality. Each day brings news of death and destruction, eating away both their hope and their faith in the world's humanity. When I think of how the trauma of October 7th shattered my soul and wreaked havoc on my body for weeks, I wonder how any of my Palestinian friends and neighbors can carry on after so much grief and loss. It's truly unfathomable and I just wanna say how, um, humbled I am that people are here and willing to speak and after everything that they're going through, and especially when so many people are observing Ramadan wishing you all a blessed Ramadan. It is a lot to be here tonight, and so I wanna give special recognition of that. Um, during those dark early days of October, one of my few sources of consolation came from the enormous outpouring of empathy I received from friends and neighbors. So many Mel Rosens reached out to ask after my family, some stopped by to give hugs or drop off a treat that love and kindness was overwhelming and sustained me in my time of crisis. Today I'm asking you to show that same empathy to all our community members who are still in crisis. Many of you may be asking why the council should wade into the muddy waters of complex conflicts and foreign affairs. It's a really fair question, and I can imagine many of you are reluctant to attach your names to anything seen as remotely controversial. But if you read the text of Councilor Jamal Dean's resolution, you will find no trace of divisiveness. Rather, the statement reaffirms what we in Melrose have always believed, that hate against any group has no home here, and that all human life is precious regardless of race, religion, or nationality. By reaffirming the right of all Palestinian civilians and Israeli civilians to live in peace and disavowing the forces that strive to divide us, we can model the principles of compassion, justice, and humanity. Our community, especially those with family and friends in Gaza right now. They deserve at least that thank you for your time and consideration. I appreciate your dedication to this community and I know that a lot of you wish that this was not happening tonight and that this wasn't the battle that we had to, that we had to take up tonight. But if there had to be a resolution that I think can unite this community, I am so proud of my friend Maya, for putting this one forward and I am so enthusiastic and I have so much more hope for this community because of her partnership and cooperation in this process. As other people will talk about, there's so much horror in the world, we can always go back and forth and argue about who caused what and who is whose oppression and pain is worse. I know that we don't have that much influence on global affairs. We can only influence how our children feel safe in their schools and Melrose how our neighbors feel welcome and safe here. And if I could feel that same blessings of strength and support and empathy when I was in my moment of crisis, I really hope you'll do the same for our Palestinian Muslim Arab friends who are begging for anyone to acknowledge the bare minimum of the grief that they're going through. I trust that you'll make the decision that aligns with the values of our city, that we hold sacred. Thank you.

▶ 29:12 Speaker 1: Next, next is Jane Allen.

▶ 29:25 Speaker 1: Hello, my name is Jane Allen and um, thank you for allowing us to address you members of the city council. I wanna thank Councilors General Dean Ramen and Williams for co-sponsoring the Gaza Ceasefire resolution. And thank you also to those of you who have committed to support it. And to those of you who may be undecided at this time, I want you to reflect on what it would mean for you to vote no. Um, no, you do not affirm the right of all Palestinian and Israeli civilians to live in peace. No, you don't support an enduring ceasefire. No, you don't support the provision of life-saving humanitarian aid in Gaza. You don't support the release of all hostages. You do not recognize Israel's right to defend itself within the bounds of international law. You do not condemn the terrorist attacks by Hamas on October 7th. You do not condemn antisemitic, anti Palestinian, anti-Israeli anti-Arab Islamophobic and xenophobic rhetoric. I urge you to join your fellow counselors in voting yes in supporting the Gaza Cease Fire resolution. Thank you

▶ 30:46 Speaker 1: Carolyn Cronin.

▶ 30:56 Speaker 1: Um, Carolyn Cronin, 22 Greenwood Street, Melrose, mass. Um, I read the proclamation. It is asking for peace. It's asking you to vote for peace. It's not asking you to take sides, it's not asking you to make judgments. I support peace. I'm a person of faith. I believe in the inherent worth and dignity of everyone. And I think that this proclamation asking for us to support a ceasefire, um, does just that. Thank you

▶ 31:34 Speaker 1: Jim Garrett.

▶ 31:48 Speaker 4: Thank you. I'm Jim Garrett, 70 yards more road. Thank you for your time. I'd like to speak in favor of the resolution. I think that this is a moment of great moral gravity, uh, for the United States. Uh, we cannot deny that the United States is is uniquely, um, culpable here because Israel cannot do what it does without our material support, monetary support and international cover. I think if our leadership were to choose, they could, they could coerce Israel in any number of ways with a word or two if they decided to. And we as US citizens of course have limited um, Influence, but we are citizens and we do have some voice and we have to try to do something. Um, therefore I find myself, uh, these days often thinking about fear of God. I personally don't believe in God, but I know that others do and, and others believe in a heaven and hell and a judgment. And I just cannot imagine any God that would say, where were you when the, when the gazen had no one, when, when the United States managed that Israel was in charge of Gaza and had an incentive that Israel doesn't want gazen people to exist. They have no incentive to protect their safety. They are we, the international order has them in charge and that is our doing to a large extent. Um, we are culpable. What kind of God would not hold someone accountable for that? Would not say on the day of judgment, did you do nothing? Did you really, did you really do nothing? If you, if you happen to be one of those people, I would ask you to please consider it with great prayer and gravity. Thank you

▶ 33:56 Speaker 1: Maureen.

▶ 34:14 Speaker 1: Good evening. Maureen Busby, 54 West Highland Avenue. As a longtime resident of Melrose, I feel particularly qualified to share what kind of community I believe Melrose is. I go all the way back to the blizzard of 78 when roads were closed and we pulled sleds down Snowfield streets to the local corner market to get groceries and then sledd on those same streets with our neighbors, neighbors who shared electricity with one another neighbors, one street on one street who had electricity running long extension cords through their backyards to neighbors who didn't. On through 40 plus years to more recent times, we're now seeing Melrose residents supporting local businesses, our schools, youth, sports, cultural events, supporting food rescue, donating to local warming shelter for unhoused residents so that they can have clean, dry, warm clothing, filling our little free pantries, showing up for Pride Day. If Tara Juneteenth and White Ribbon Day right here at City Hall just last week, this is a community filled with kind people, thoughtful people, generous people, people who care not just about themselves, but who also care about others. That is why I love Melrose and that is why I stand. I was gonna say stand, sit before you. We have a chance here today to display who we are, to show the state, the nation, the world. What a kind, caring, loving community we truly are and what a courageous community we are. We are a community committed to freedom and justice, ready to stand for those who are suffering those locally who are hungry, lack housing, have no medical insurance or mental healthcare services, as well as those thousands of miles away who have no shelter, no food, no hospitals, mothers, sons, daughters, young children. And yes, infants freezing and literally starving to death. We stand with them. This is not a political issue. This is a humanitarian crisis. We can at least stand up in our clean dry clothes, in our safe, warm building after eating a nice hot meal. We can at least do this. Thank you.

▶ 36:35 Speaker 4: Jill Batchelder,

▶ 36:47 Speaker 7: Hi, I am Jill Batchelder. Um, I have the unique experience of living with a lifelong Mel Rose, my husband, and then myself, the new, um,

▶ 36:56 Speaker 1: and not only that, you know,

▶ 36:59 Speaker 7: I was very nervous to speak tonight. In all honesty, I'm a huge supporter of Maya. I'm a huge supporter of Melrose, very active in the schools, the community as a whole, and I'm also a proud Jewish mother. Um, the acts of October 7th, we all know they were horrific. There's no question there. Women mutilated and raped on the streets, heads chopped off, bodies burned. There's no way I will ever get those images out of my mind. I was traveling to London for work right after watching a whole group of Orthodox Jewish people being guided by security through the gates. Another group of Palestinians terrified walking through as well. Two people in the same land who should come together as one. In many ways we hope and we wish, but in Melrose of all places, why not? Well, I think the resolution has some wonderful points to it and it comes from the heart. I think it needs to either be revised to be the one community or we shouldn't be voting on it. To be quite frank, this is an international issue and matter. If we're not voting on Ukraine, we're not voting on the horrific things going on in Africa right now. Why are we voting here? Instead, we should be working together as a community at large to build education and inclusive moments so that we aren't causing anti-Semitism or as you know, Islamophobia or anything of that nature, and that we're coming together as one community, one Melrose. That's what we pride ourselves on. That's what people love Melrose for. So why aren't we doing that and why should we as a city council be voting on something going on that is going to cause I hate to say such divide and animosity that it really shouldn't because this resolution I know came from a very good place. It's just unfortunately the after effects of it aren't going to be so good. I've gotten the calls from my daughters from their schools with the Antisemite graffiti. I'm explaining to them what that means and how to just be one still be with all and that's how you should be and should be proud. And I just hope that you all vote no tonight and consider yourselves not just here, unfortunately as the city council with the vote of this nature. But as people of this community realizing you're the ones who are here representing each and every one of us in this room and further out as you bring us together, not dividing. Thank you.

▶ 39:30 Speaker 1: Uh, Robin Mosa. I'm not sure if I'm saying that right.

▶ 39:46 Speaker 6: It has been 156 days,

▶ 39:49 Speaker 7: 156 days since the start of this ongoing despicable genocide, 156 days of living in agony. But it is nothing compared to what the helpless and powerless people of Palestine have been exposed to. This is not a complicated issue. It is not political and it is not religious. It is a humanitarian issue. This is quite literally the most heavily documented genocide, yet it remains to be the most denied. The images and videos that we have seen are horrifying. We've seen a man carrying his child's body parts and plastic bags, a child blown to pieces and hanging from a wall, a person zip tied down and flattened by an Israeli tank. This all we've seen. I cannot begin to imagine what we haven't. For five months we've seen the cruelest methods of torture and murder being used on the civilians of Za. The global Palestinian community has been shaken at first, but has turned numb as we realize that no leaders are trying to put an end to the senseless carpet bombing of a population that has absolutely nothing. The lack of action being taken by our leaders has allowed for 6-year-old wmi to be stabbed 26 times in his home in Illinois. His murder was his landlord who was fueled by Islamophobia and hatred. The lack of action has allowed for Hamani Kinan Abdel to be shot while on a walk in Burlington, Vermont. Those kids were wearing the Kofi, which is a symbol of Palestinian resistance and solidarity, and they were speaking Arabic. This is a hate crime that has left Hisham paralyzed. The rise in Islamophobia has left me feeling unsafe in my own city. Every day I worry about the safety of my little brother and sister, my parents and my friends. I feel afraid to speak my mother tongue in public because I worry that I end up around an individual who decides that they're entitled to hurt me because of the language I speak or where I come from. The Palestinians are being humiliated and the whole world is watching. They're being forcibly starved and children have started to die from malnutrition. Zen Alana was a 9-year-old who died a couple days ago. He weighed 11 pounds at the time of his death. He was a skeleton. Is his life not valuable? On February 10, 29th, civilians in the north of Za awaited an a a truck, but were instead met with an ambush. The Israeli army opened fire on starving people that tried to bring food to their families. The drone footage that has been posted online is scarily dystopian. How are we moving on? As if nothing is happening. The events of October seven are wrong and horrifying, but it's collective punishment of the people of Za the answer, the death toll on Za is approaching 40,000 people. How many is too many? How many is enough for us to take action? Homes have been destroyed, families have been destroyed. Some families have been entirely wiped off the civil registry. Can you imagine an entire family name being non-existent anymore? Children are either dead, starving to death or traumatized for life. Children are losing dozens of family members all at once and they're left disfigured. What have they done to deserve this? Using Hamas as an excuse is not valid anymore because if this was really about getting rid of them, the job would've already been done. This is ethnic cleansing of a native population. It is war crime after war crime with no accountability. The evil committed onto my people will haunt me forever. And it should haunt you too. Stop the normalization because it's not normal. I guess the point of all of this is to urge you to vote yes on passing the ceasefire resolution. After all the documentation and proof of Palestinian suffering, do you really need

▶ 43:36 Speaker 7: to be convinced Voting no is shameful and I'm sure it goes against Melrose community values. Your decision today will have a huge impact on the people of Za and the Melrose Palestinian slash Arab community. I hope you decide to honor the principles of justice and compassion. Thank you

▶ 44:00 Speaker 3: Gabriel.

▶ 44:02 Speaker 1: Gabriel Nja.

▶ 44:08 Speaker 5: You wanna repeat that? What? You wanna repeat it?

▶ 44:11 Speaker 1: Gabriel Nja. Sorry.

▶ 44:16 Speaker 8: Hello, my name is Gabriel Nja and I am a 9-year-old fourth grader at the Roosevelt School. I have a future. I am asking you to vote to call for the children of Gaza to have a future too.

▶ 44:41 Speaker 1: I I just wanna pause for a moment. Is there anyone online that has raised their hands?

▶ 44:48 Speaker 7: I don't see any raised hands at this

▶ 44:48 Speaker 1: One. Okay, we'll check back again. Sure. Um, just Continuing on the list. Um, Stephanie Adams.

▶ 45:10 Speaker 7: Hello. Um, I'm a Melrose resident, mother of two elementary aged kiddos. I'm a nurse, I'm a women's health nurse practitioner and I had absolutely no personal connection to Palestine before October 7th. So you might be wondering why is this white atheist here today? Because the people of Palestine asked me to, because they asked all of us to, they asked all of us to show up for them in every way that we possibly can. They screamed it through my phone while running for safety. As the white phosphorus rained down, they whispered it while they were hiding behind bushes under sniper fire. They sobbed it while holding the dead bodies of their children. They begged us for help as they lay on a dirty wet hospital floor. They prayed for us to hear them as they lay under the rubble waiting for rescue. While I understand that decisions you make as city officials don't occur in a vacuum and you may stay silent on the issue because you're prioritizing another, I'm here to tell you that I don't think those rules apply during a genocide. You may argue that this is not a local issue, however, that is incredibly dismissive to the members of our community whose families and friends are suffering through the atrocities that I've just described and that is just a fraction of the actual number. When I started Melrose for Palestine two weeks ago, 29,000 Palestinians had been killed in Gaza. It's a shocking number. It's also about the same as the entire population of the city of Melrose. Today, two weeks later, almost exactly to the minute that number is over 31,000. That means in the last two weeks, 1000 people per week have been murdered in Gaza. Can you imagine the entire population of our city wiped off the map? I'll remind you also that the average age of the person who killed in Gaza is five years old. The average age is five years old. So I ask you members of the city council in a few years, are you going to look back at this meeting and be proud of how you advocated for those who are actively being silenced? Or will you think I'm glad I stepped to my This isn't a local issue stance during the Palestinian genocide. I don't wonder if saying yes is the right thing to do. It's the only moral thing to do as a nurse.

▶ 47:39 Speaker 7: I'm fortunate, I guess to say that I have an innately greater tolerance to some of the more raw and gruesome footage that has become unwatchable for most of the people in this room.

▶ 47:51 Speaker 7: As a nurse, it's become an honor for me, um, in my professional life and with what I witness to be able to bear witness to such events. Um, and so because of that I would like to share them with you. So I will use the rest of the time to share their stories.

▶ 48:10 Speaker 7: As I watch the piles the bodies pile up in Gaza, I watch a parent sob over the white sheet that his three-year-old was placed into because he went to get biscuits and when he came back his entire house was bombed. And so I watched as he placed the unwrapped biscuits in his son's hand in hopes that he would be able to enjoy them in the afterlife. I saw a five-year-old boy tell the story of how his parents were murdered in front of him by the Israeli occupation forces. He said they brought them out into the hallway and shot them one by one. His mother was also seven months pregnant, so they shot her in the stomach first before killing her.

▶ 48:55 Speaker 7: I watch a grandfather close his eyes and breathe in the smell of his granddaughter one last time,

▶ 49:05 Speaker 1: gently opening her eyes so that he can see them again.

▶ 49:12 Speaker 1: I watched a father saw off his daughter's own leg without

▶ 49:16 Speaker 7: anesthesia at their kitchen table.

▶ 49:22 Speaker 7: I watched a nurse get shot by a sniper live on video while inside of an operating room. I watched a father carry his 10-year-old daughter's lifeless body into the hospital begging for help only to have her intestines fall out on the floor as he tried to layer down on a stretcher. I watch a grandmother feed a newborn baby water because the mother is dead and there's no formula. What many of you don't know is that water will kill a newborn baby, but not as fast as if he didn't have any milk. I'm sure that baby is dead because that was back in November. I watched a two month old take his last breath after being starved to death because his mother is starving and can no longer breastfeed and there is no formula or clean water. I watched a three-year-old take her last breath as she suffered from internal blast injuries that pulverized her insides. I watched a grandmother get shot by a sniper while holding a white flag in one hand and her 6-year-old grandson's hand in the other, they were walking with a group of people, um, mostly women in hijabs and children all holding white flags.

▶ 50:36 Speaker 7: I watched Babies

▶ 50:42 Speaker 7: and incubators their bodies decomposed after dying of starvation and rotting After the parents and staff were forced to lean them at gunpoint by the Israeli occupation forces they were expecting to return. I don't think they were expecting that the next footage of their babies would be their lifeless bones. Still with the hospital tag around its little ankle, I watch a father cry as he identifies his own child's body as he was placing another one inside of the tent of the deceased. And as he's holding his child's body and grieving another person brings in the body of one of his other children, I watch a father dying in the street after being shot by a sniper. He's crawling in the street to try to cradle his 1212 month old baby girl also dying from being shot in the street. I watched a video of a dog eating the remains of a human being while the person taking the video laughs and laughs. I watched a mother cradle the bodies of her twin infants, the ones that took her over 10 years and three rounds of IVF to be able to have

▶ 51:51 Speaker 7: I watch a charred car in the middle of the street and two bodies pulled out. I realize that one of them is still breathing and I just witnessed his last moments because he died several hours later due to the lack of medical care because all of the hospitals are no longer functioning. I watched a young boy in immense pain because his body had been burned so badly that his eyelashes were melted together. I watched a grandmother pick up her three-year-old son's lifeless body and scream where is his family.

▶ 52:30 Speaker 7: I watch a father and son clutching each other in death as they are dug out from the rubble. They sleep together so they can die together.

▶ 52:41 Speaker 7: I watched a young boy no older than eight years old, skin and bones rescuers, barely being able to pull him out from the rubble after being stuck under there for nine days alone. I have a 6-year-old and I have an 8-year-old. And the stories of the children and hearing the parents

▶ 53:05 Speaker 7: hearing how parents cry at losing their children is something that I don't think any of us should ever be subjected to. And I don't think that we should continue to witness it any longer. And while I understand that, um, voting yes on this resolution may feel upsetting to some members of the community,

▶ 53:29 Speaker 7: I would like to say that, um, I don't know that anyone could say no after learning all of the information that we've learned and everything that we've shared. Um, so I urge everybody to vote yes today on the ceasefire resolution. Thank you.

▶ 53:55 Speaker 1: Almost done. Cody

▶ 54:01 Speaker 1: Osterman Osterman.

▶ 54:13 Speaker 4: Hello, my name is Cody Osterman. I'm a resident of Melrose. I am Jewish and I am here to speak in support of the resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza as a Jew and as a new father. I hope my son will grow up proud of his Jewish heritage just as I am. But to do that we must repudiate Israel's genocidal actions and the US policies that enable them. Israel and the US claim to take these actions in defense of Jews worldwide, but they do not speak for us and they've only made the world a more dangerous place for Jews and Palestinians alike. Since the horrific attacks perpetrated by Hamas on October 7th, 31,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza. One out of every 75 people every hour in Gaza, 15 people are killed. Six of whom on average are children. 35 people are injured, 42 bombs are dropped, 12 buildings are destroyed. Of the 31,000 Palestinians killed, 20,000 are women and children. More than half of Gaza's homes have been destroyed or damaged. 85% of the population has been internally displaced. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are close to starvation for a UN report and children have begun to die from malnutrition and dehydration due to a lack of food and clean water. The people of Gaza have been suffering well before October 7th. Since 2007, Israel has maintained strict control over gaza's airspace and territorial waters and restricted the movement of goods and people in and out of Gaza. Prior to October 7th, an estimated 1.2 million gazen had required food assistance per a UN report and around 1% of children under the age of five five in Gaza have been acutely malnourished per the World Health Organization. For these reasons and countless more, it is imperative that there be a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. It is imperative that all of the hostages held by Hamas be released immediately and it is imperative that Israel end its illegal occupation of Palestine. Thank you. Here

▶ 56:37 Speaker 1: Jessica Ental.

▶ 56:53 Speaker 3: Hello. Thank you all so much.

▶ 56:57 Speaker 1: Can you hear me? A few notes before I begin. Uh, I'm Rabbi Jessica, but tonight I am speaking for myself. Anyone who thinks they could possibly speak for the entire Jewish community has clearly never actually met a Jew. I also just wanna say that I do not believe this resolution will have any impact on our foreign policy.

▶ 57:20 Speaker 1: I lay blame for the lack of a ceasefire at the feet of Hamas who continue to reject offer after offer. And I want to reiterate that this resolution does not ask for a unilateral ceasefire, which I could never support. But for a bilateral ceasefire, which is what I believe we are still working for, and I wait every day to hear news about. I am here to support the leadership of Councilor Jamal and the work she has done to create a resolution that both acknowledges the horror and suffering of the Gaza population, as well as the basic right for sovereign nations, which does include Israel to defend themselves rather than cave to pressure. For all of those who prefer we vilify each other and would vilify Israel. She was determined to walk the incredibly fine line of reasonableness and building bridges. Her resolution reflects the need for our community to support each other, to stand against hate and hate crimes, and to let our Muslim and Palestinian community members know that we absolutely do see them. We do mourn with them and we do want an end to this war. Sadly, we know just how divisive this conversation is. I have been doing this work for a very long time. I remember the first time I was protested. I remember the second time and the third time, and I remember realizing that it doesn't matter because I need to do what is right and I need to support my people and I need to follow my heart even when I might be wrong. While the resolution is something I of course can support the rhetoric that has come since makes it harder. I hear the typical anti-Israel rhetoric. I have seen the letter that doesn't even mention Hamas once and I have heard the idea that Israelis are just evil people who just find joy in oppressing and killing Palestinians. This is the type of language that leads to antisemitism and Islamophobia by requiring that each person picks side and inherently opposes the other side. This demands that we see each other as enemies. After October 7th, Maya was the first person outside of my community to call me. We cried together and we mourn together and we pledge that we would not return to the status quo. We would be in community with each other. Even when we disagree, even when we say things that upset and anger each other. And even when the world is pressuring us to radicalize, I am committed to changing the narrative that we de see displayed so often. We will not choose sides. The only way for the region to live in peace is to recognize Israelis and Palestinians must find a way to live side by side. Those of us who are tied to Israel and Palestine, those of us who are mourning losses every day, those of us who are affected by the divisiveness here in our own community, we are the ones that are doing really powerful work. I thank Maya and for my friends for your continued leadership. No matter what happens here tonight, I pledge to continue working together and to change the narrative. I truly believe that we will live together one day in peace. Thank you

▶ 1:00:46 Speaker 1: Jeff Ray.

▶ 1:00:58 Speaker 5: Thank you. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to, uh, address the city council and, and, uh, as they consider this resolution. Um, I have been a Melrose resident for more than 15 years, and I am also a member of Rabbi Jessica's congregation at Temple. Be Shalom. Since October 7th of last year, I have mourned the deaths of all the Israelis and Palestinians killed in the way latest wave of violence, including the thousands of GA and civilians. And I have been forced to think more deeply than ever about the ongoing conflict in the region. I understand this resolution as an attempt to avoid taking aside in this conflict while pressing for an enduring ceasefire and peace in the region. Peace and tolerance. Who could be, who could not be for peace? The terrorists acting at the behest of the government of Gaza who went door to door executing innocent Israeli families and dragging hostages back to the tunnels are proudly not for peace. They broadcast and boasted of their actions to the world and have pledged to repeat their atrocities over and over again until they'd reached their goal of the destruction of Israel. If this council saw fit to wade into international affairs, having to my knowledge declined to do so and any other recent geopolitical conflict, many of which have seen far more innocent lives lost that Hamas barbarism was worthy of immediate condemnation. And if this resolution truly seeks peace, it should address the removal of the group that is most, the most intractable obstacle to achieving it. There is no lack of us or international pressure on Israel to moderate its response to the existential threat represented most recently by Hamas, which is what a ceasefire amounts to and where this resolution seeks to add its voice. In fact, without any prompting from this council, many members of the Massachusetts Congressional delegation are already among the most outspoken policymakers calling for the US government to pressure Israel, Israel by reducing our aid and support. There is, however, a glaring lack of pressure to change the behavior of a leadership in Gaza. While the resolution clearly seeks to use inclusive language, the practical reality is that calling for a ceasefire places the burden on Israel to stop its pursuit of soldiers and their leaders in an army whose sworn purpose is to wipe it off the map. Soldiers who crossed into Israel to kill and capture as many Jews as possible before returning to hide behind and underneath innocent civilians, leading directly to the conditions in Gaza, which the resolution now decries. The United States formerly declared, declared Hamas a terrorist group in 1997. Yet their leaders are given safe havens in other Arab countries, enriching themselves and oppressing Palestinian Arabs while declining to consider any peace that doesn't include wiping out the state of Israel. And while this resolution may seek balance by naming the most recent ha mosque killing spree, it remains silent on what our government should demand of Palestinian and Arab policymakers to alleviate the suffering in Gaza and help bring about a lasting peace. I have read a supporters description of this proposed relu resolution as merely a simple call for peace. Like it or not, this issue is far from simple, proven by thousands of years of Middle East history. For this, these reasons and many more, I ask that the Melrose City Council not to put itself in a position to pass any judgment on this centuries old geopolitical and religious conflict. Contrary to the resolution's goal, I believe inserting the council into this emotionally charged issue has more potential to stoke tension in the community than to bring it together. And this at a time when the council has several immediate local challenges to embrace over which they have far more control. I would add, however, my support, join others to call the council to take appropriate steps to limit the damage that the current conflict may have in our own community, such as working to eliminate any anti-Semitic, and anti-Muslim language or behaviors. Thank you very much for your time and for the opportunity to speak

▶ 1:05:01 Speaker 1: Reverend Travis. I'm going to butcher your last name, Bonnie Cavin.

▶ 1:05:13 Speaker 4: I am gonna invite people to take a moment to breathe and to, uh, have a moment of silence. It's a tough night. It's a tough night for everyone here, and it's a bold night for you as a council and I appreciate that. Um, we live in a system where people can come and speak and, um, we can listen to each other and disagree with each other and mourn. So take a moment before we do anything else.

▶ 1:05:57 Speaker 4: Thank you for your consideration of difficult matters. I am gonna read a statement written from my tradition by my Council of Bishops on um, what has happened, uh, since October on and since October the seventh, um, my council of bishops, from my tradition of the United Methodist Church, have written the United Methodist Council of Bishops, along with millions of people across the globe, are weeping and praying for the people of the holy land. We decry the October the seventh, 2023 attack, ba, Hamas, and the continued loss of life. Ofra and Palestinians, including thousands of children. We cannot remain silent while preventable humanitarian crisis. And Gaza unfolds with no safe haven for the citizens of Gaza, our volunteers and agencies seeking to prevent starvation and treat the wounded. We value all life. We encourage, we encourage every effort toward a peaceful solution. We call for the release of hostages, and for the killing to stop. We call for the immediate allowance of unrestricted humanitarian assistance. As bishops of the council, which I am not. We'd announce acts of and the proliferation of antisemitism, Islamophobia, hate and crying. And we begin with words that overturn the violence toward persons whose race, ethnicity, or religion is disparage. I guess I pause at the wrong moment because I do support the ending of antisemitism and anti Islamophobia. I just wanted to make directly clear that I'm not a bishop, so I'll read that again. As bishops of the Council, we denounce, denounce acts of in the proliferation of antisemitism, Islamophobia, and hate, hate crimes, that they may begin with words and often turned to violence directed to our whose race, ethnicity, and religion is disparaged we com we commit to join all people and creating life, giving ways to journey toward peace and justice for all.

▶ 1:08:00 Speaker 4: As I look for this resolution to see if it's something that I would encourage the council to support, I read the words that it condemns antisemitism, it condemns anti Palestinian, anti-Israeli anti Arabic Islamophobic, and all xenophobic rhetoric as I read it, I see it calls to affirm the rights of Palestinian civilians and Israeli civilians to live in peace that encourages by, by any means, support life long lasting peace and lifesaving humanitarian aid and release of hostages. I think these are values that we all can affirm, and therefore I invite you to consider that as you vote for this, and to affirm firm the ways that we can stand against hate and violence. Thank you,

▶ 1:09:06 Speaker 1: Betsy Garrett.

▶ 1:09:26 Speaker 1: Hi, I am Betsy Garrett, 70 Yard More Road, ward four. I will be brief. Um, I urge you to support this resolution. Um, it has, it is very well written. Um, I know that Maya, um, councilor Jamine consulted with many people across, um, the spectrum and Melrose, um, to, to craft a resolution that speaks to many voices. Um, I know that many of us disagree on how to resolve the conflicts of them in Israel and Palestine, but the situation is terrible there. The humanitarian crisis is, is worse than we can possibly imagine. Um, in supporting this resolution, Melrose will be sending a message to our representative, Clark, senators, Warren and Markey, to push for a ceasefire on the, on the in Congress and to ensure safety for all residents in Gaza. We'll also be, we'll be sending a message to all the people in Melrose that we support humanitarian, our humanitarian, um, help, help for people and, and to, to end this crisis. Um, I deeply appreciate the courage of the counselors who brought this forward because it is not an easy thing to do, and I, uh, hope that you'll show the same amount of courage in passing this resolution, uh, for the sake of compassion and for human rights. Thank you.

▶ 1:10:53 Speaker 1: FA

▶ 1:11:11 Speaker 4: please be with you and also with you,

▶ 1:11:17 Speaker 4: Antisemitism and Islamophobia and the increase of it. Nobody can deny it, but we cannot also deny that since what's happening in Gaza, it went all the way to the roof. That means something happened beyond what happened on October seven. And the problem is deeper than that. And to solve it, we have to go deep into the problem and not just a face where, just an incident that happened. And we need to figure out why did this happen and became that much more since

▶ 1:12:06 Speaker 4: It wasn't the attack, it was what many say the response. 'cause in the beginning, it didn't work much. And I'm not gonna go into the details and bo everybody with it because I'm pretty sure you all know about it and we all believe it.

▶ 1:12:25 Speaker 4: The second point, which is part of the same thing, when we say it's October seven, is it really October seven? What's doing, what's happening today? Is it really a response or is it collective punishment for the people? Is it really something that they're doing to Hamas or to the resistance or whatever you wanna call it? Or is it against civilians? They killed over 30,000 people, 15,000 still under deliverable. That brings the number to 45, 40 6,000 because we know nobody's coming alive out of there, injured close to 80, 90,000 destruction, 80% of a city, and people are stuck in the desert on a border with no food, with no anything. I don't think that's a response to an October seven. And if you want to think that way, you're really putting things way outta proportion. I'm not justifying anything. I'm not condemning anything. Don't get me wrong. All killing is wrong. All violence is wrong. But if we are gonna solve the problem, we need to know what's the problem and decide what we can do about it by realizing the actual problem to get the actual solution.

▶ 1:13:56 Speaker 4: Many people I heard here said, let's stay local. And this is our local and doesn't affect a hundred billion dollars in Congress for war and bombs around the world. Why can't this be local? It is local. Can you imagine if we get a million out of these hundred billion dollars for the city of Melrose? And what you can do with it, just a million. It is local because that money can go to our cities, to our veterans, to our elderly, to our housing, to many other things instead of wasting it on the war industry, bombing and killing other people around the world. My opinion, you could have another one. I never in my life supported weapons or developing bombs or anybody. I believe in peace. And I forgot to tell you, I am a Palestinian and I was born in Gaza and my neighborhood is destroyed. And I can show you the video if you wanna in private, but I am not coming here about me. 'cause I'm here in the United States. I'm blessed with many things. I'm here for my cousins, for my aunt, for my family.

▶ 1:15:21 Speaker 4: We all heard a saying, what would the view done if you were at the time of the Holocaust? And we all heard the answer, you are doing it now. Remember, Hitler wasn't appointed. He didn't have a coup. He was elected.

▶ 1:15:48 Speaker 4: He said enough things to convince people either to support him or to stay silent. Today we are doing, we are in the same situation. We see a destruction of life, a destruction of humanity, and the dehumanization of a whole people. And by the way, we keep talking about Gaza. West Bank isn't in much better shape, but somehow we're all thinking of Gaza and forgetting what's happening on the other side. This is not just about Gaza. This is about the whole Palestinian nation. And many people stayed silent and we lost 6 million of our own brothers and sister in the Holocaust. I don't know if you're gonna sit here and be silent and watch 2 million people in Gaza with the same faith. And yes, it is a holocaust. Phosphoric bombs burn, not just in incinerators. Burn is burn. When you die by burn, you die by burn. And we need to think of that. The silence of so many caused what happened. It wasn't the tyray of Fiddler.

▶ 1:17:12 Speaker 4: And today it's the silence of many of us that will allow another Holocaust. Well, it is already a genocide, whatever you want to name it. And I don't think we should sit there and watch it happen and still be silence.

▶ 1:17:30 Speaker 4: If anybody here came today through you, Madame President, if anybody here came today, I'm talking to everybody in the room. If you came here for a political victory, I promise you you're not gonna have it. Whether the resolution passes or not, because there is no political victory to have. We lost thousands on both sides and everywhere, and nothing is gonna bring him back. It's not political. We are here for a moral and a humanitarian victory. And that we can have, we all know that your resolution with all due respect, is basically trying to send a message that hopefully somebody will do something. But in reality, it doesn't really affect much. We cannot change policy. We cannot change the outcome that's in Washington dc.

▶ 1:18:24 Speaker 4: But by given this resolution, we are adding Melrose to many of other city and human being around the world, not just in the United States. Let's stop looking at the United States alone. We are a global, and if you don't believe me, check TikTok and Instagram. Everybody is watching. Everybody is looking for every little thing that we do. Just remember the no preference

▶ 1:19:01 Speaker 4: and the and committed campaign that happened. This is Massachusetts, this is Michigan, this is Pennsylvania. People are not okay with what's happening with Washington. Nobody's happy with them. We need to, to lead by showing people that we support humanity. And we will always be on that side. And like I said, it's not gonna do much in the sense of policy in Washington, but you know what that's gonna say. We are gonna tell the Palestinians and the people of Gaza and to, to the Jewish people everywhere we see you, we hear you. We will with you and we will do everything we can to bring peace to everywhere and relevant to any atrocity or any hate or anything. Please give the right message to the world. And yes, it is to the world. It's not just for Milli Rose. Thank you. And I know you're gonna do the right thing. God bless you.

▶ 1:20:20 Speaker 4: Uh, there are a few people online. I don't see any hands raised. Okay.

▶ 1:20:23 Leila Migliorelli: At this moment, Is there anyone else in the public who'd like to speak? Please approach the table.

▶ 1:20:29 Speaker 1: Name Me with your name. Uh, on the, I believe that paper there is Do you need my name?

▶ 1:20:34 Speaker 3: Yes. Yes. On the paper. Yes, please.

▶ 1:20:38 Speaker 2: It. Okay.

▶ 1:20:41 Speaker 1: Thank you. I know it's been a long time and I appreciate you taking one more voice. Um, good evening, Melrose City Council. My name is Christina Leonard. I'm a longtime community member here in Melrose from being a resident through my high school years. And I am now owner and director of Center Stage Dance Studio that has been here in Melrose for 27 years. My work is primarily with the youth. And my place as an artist here in the community has afforded me a wealth of human connections through dance from local to international. And I'm proud to be a representative artist for sea ceasefire throughout the us, Massachusetts, and widely abroad the world. I write this letter today and ask you to vote, um, for an immediate ceasefire

▶ 1:21:34 Speaker 1: and end to the Israelis Government's devastating assault against Palestinian families who have been trapped in Gaza, the West Bank, and most recently in Rafa. It is time for all local government cons officials to represent their constituency and join the global calls for ceasefire and let people know that we do not support the US government lending so much military aid to a country that is actively committing genocide and breaking international laws. Reiterating what I think Amy said earlier, uh, recently as the death tolls in Palestine reached nearly 30,000 or or more, I was reminded of the population of Melrose about 29,000. And even use the scope of reference to explain to my own young children what it would mean if 30,000 people disappeared, if 30,000 people in this familiar community were killed. Two thirds of these victims of war, as we know, are women and children and their surviving population faces starvation. While women all over Palestine bear the pain of childbirth intenses with no medical access or emergency treatment. Um, my approach as a dance artist, um, comes from a place of deep, deep respect, uh, that we hold throughout the world as dancers. And tonight I wanna tell you about camp Breakers, a collective of Palestinian dance artists that mentors the youth and has for over 10 years through leadership, motivation, and dance instruction. This is done through one of the most powerful and barrier breaking forms of communication that humans know dance. Since October 7th and through multiple displacement and evacuations, camp breakers continue to hold dance sessions and create small pockets of joy for the young children to lose themselves in. While they simultan simultaneously live with the daily trauma of war. They danced in refugee camps in, um, in the sand, and they continued to dance on the hills near the tent city of Rafa.

▶ 1:23:53 Speaker 1: Their hope and resilience was tested on February 23rd when Camp Breakers dance studio was bombed and destroyed. The global dance community shares in the sorrow and loss of Rania tota their parents, Miriam and Dana, four of which are children under the age of nine who were lost that day. This bombardment hit home for many dancers as the hopes, dreams and happiness that came from this sacred dance space was taken away by und discerning occupation forces. The necessity to stand up against the blatant disregard for human life is here upon us Now. I continue to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people as a leader and mentor of the youth here in Melrose, and I truly hope that the city council will join the right side of history. And as everybody mentioned, it may feel performative, but this vote on a ceasefire lets the world know that we stand together for the children of Gaza and for the sake of humanity.

▶ 1:25:07 Speaker 3: Thank you.

▶ 1:25:23 Leila Migliorelli: Just write your name on the page. Thank you. And state your name for the record. Mm-Hmm.

▶ 1:25:35 Speaker 1: Hello? Uh, my name is Sim Miller. Um, I am currently a resident of Medford, but I grew up here in Melrose. Um, no, a second generation of my family here in Melrose. Um, I have words and they still feel insufficient. Um, I have words.

▶ 1:26:03 Speaker 1: First I wanna start by saying, uh, thanking everyone, um, for allowing my voice after 9:00 PM uh, especially after it's fine.

▶ 1:26:22 Speaker 1: Um, after a long day after time change and especially, um, for our community members who are here on the first full day of, uh, Ramadan.

▶ 1:26:36 Speaker 1: Um, you should be elsewhere. Like we shouldn't have to be doing this. Um, I am a proud Jew. I grew up going to Temple, be Shalom here in Melrose. Uh, many people here know me. Many people here might know me by a different name or different names. Um, I am here very strongly asking this city council to vote in favor of this ceasefire resolution. Um, I asked the same thing of Medford, which did the same. Um, to put it, quite frankly, any idea of Jewish safety that, uh, that calls for, uh, uh, uh, unmitigated horrific, endless violence to over 30,000 people. And that's just people who we know who have been killed is no, is no safety of mine, especially not a Jewish one. Um, and I think, uh, I, I am also here as a teacher, as an early educator, um, as many others have said, um, also as a, a former student of Christie's, um, um, that, um, I,

▶ 1:28:10 Speaker 1: um, and, uh, and some of my students are, uh, Jewish. Some of my students are Palestinian. I see their faces every single time that I see more, more reports, more reports on a, uh, a, a dying cell phone with a fundraised eim like to, to try and get some call out to the rest of the world to do something. Um, and, and it, I could barely sleep at night. I don't, I can't. I I, I think that, you know, it is strongly in who I am from this community, um, and from many of the communities represented here, um,

▶ 1:29:09 Speaker 1: that this is the bare minimum, right? This isn't going to bring people back from the dead as others have said, this isn't going to change the mourning. This isn't going to change tomorrow,

▶ 1:29:26 Speaker 1: but it, it, it, it's another, another piece of this, of this linking up of communities and community solidarity in our own community with the nearby communities, with our commonwealth community, with our national community, I guess, um, with our global community that show the cracks and why things can't get done, um,

▶ 1:29:57 Speaker 1: like It's months later. And we're here begging for scraps for a local, a local just Melrose ceasefire, support resolution, Peace Resolution, to say that we stand together as a community months later

▶ 1:30:19 Speaker 1: in the hopes that it will do something. Or at least we'll bring us together and we could be in the same room and have a conversation. I, I, I don't know. I don't know what else we can do. We've done everything. People have done everything,

▶ 1:30:41 Speaker 1: but we haven't done this yet here at least. So I really, really urge all of you, this is a local issue. This affects every single person in this room, and it affects the ones who cannot be here tonight.

▶ 1:31:00 Speaker 1: My Jewish safety comes from building solidarity and community with my neighbors where I live,

▶ 1:31:11 Speaker 1: and at least the Judaism that I was raised in in my family buys into that a whole heck of a lot more than nationalism. So, um, I really urge everyone here. I want to respect people's time. Um, uh, I wanna urge everybody I and the, um, president council pass along. I want to urge everybody, um, voting today in the city council to please, please pass this resolution. Thank you.

▶ 1:31:56 Speaker 1: Is there anyone else willing to speak, wanting to speak?

▶ 1:32:02 Speaker 1: Good evening. My name is Amy Abbu. I'm speaking on behalf of my, uh, mother and father-in-Law, who are, um, taking care of my son tonight and couldn't be here. Um, but I'm, I'm speaking on behalf of the experience of my family, uh, and my in-laws are Melrose. Um, I lived in, uh, Jerusalem for a year following my, the completion of my undergraduate degree. I encourage you all to visit. It is such a beautiful, beautiful place. Um, the land of Israel and Palestine is filled with incredible food, as my husband will tell you. Very good shaima. Um, and, and so much joy, so much laughter. Children running down the streets of old Jerusalem, old city of Jerusalem. I highly encourage all of you to, to visit. Um, something else I took away from my time in Jerusalem was that it was like stepping back 50 years, uh, and to Jim Crow era. Um, based on the family that you're born into, the last name that you have, there are two different sets of laws based on, um, uh, who, you know, who your family lineage is. And I, I recommend that you, um, research, um, you know, the, the apartheid system that exists currently in Jerusalem or in, um, Israel Palestine, um, the different sets of laws for West Bank residents, which are my family members, Jerusalem residents, um, people, people from Gaza and 40 19 48, um, Arab Israeli citizens. There's different laws for all of those people. Um, and, uh, for the Jerusalem residents, west Bank and Gaza, they're, they live under military law. There is no such thing as civil rights. There's a 99.9 conviction percent conviction rate if you are arrested. There's administration, demi administrative, administrative detention. I mean, there's so much going on there. Um, there's, there's a lot for you to learn. Um, but I just wanted to speak to my own experience. Um, meeting my partner in Bethlehem, picking up a tear gas canister that reads USA paid for by our tax dollars. It's the same thing with the bombs that are being dropped on Gaza, USA, written on those bombs. That's our involvement. That's how we're involved tax dollars from my, you know, my income tax that goes to fund that bomb that dropped and killed those children. Uh, my partner, um, and my son were there. Uh, we all were there on October 7th. We saw the rockets. Um, his family lives in the West banquet right next to, right next to Jerusalem. So, you know, war is war. It can kill anybody. So we don't know where those bombs are gonna drop. I felt that pit in my stomach that all of those mothers felt, feel still. And because of my white American privilege, we left because of our American passports. We crossed right over that border because of the privilege of being a West Bank resident. We, it was, we could leave early. Our, our, our neighbors in, um, middle, um, I'm sorry I forget the name of the town, but I'm sure you all heard this story on NPR. Our, our gazen neighbors in a town, um, near central Mass are where American citizens and not able to leave for weeks.

▶ 1:35:14 Speaker 1: Like the la like just any Israeli American citizens. They're ready to evacuate those people. But because they're gazen, like, where's the US in that? I don't know. But they were there and they didn't know if their 1-year-old child, same as me, is gonna survive the amount of relief I felt when we made it to Egypt. I mean, I, I can't tell you. Um, my mother-in-law and Father-in-law joined, joined us here, uh, in the States a few, about two years ago. And we fly the Palestinian flag on our house proudly. That's the nationality of my husband. That's the nationality of my son. We proudly got him the passport. Um, my mother-in-Law, when she arrived, she asked us, are you not scared to fly that flag? Why should anyone be scared to fly the flag of their own nation in this country? Yes, people are scared to be Palestinian because they're being killed. For those who say that this, this, um, resolution will cause division in the community already, this community by not making resolution is already standing with the status quo, which is bombing thousands of children. So, like, don't say that this is gonna cause division. There's already so much division, it already exists. Let's not, let's not just like ignore it. And my final thing, um, that I wanna say tonight is that, um, my son, um, my 1-year-old son is in a, um, in childcare with the son of a Jewish family who are here with us tonight. And you know, this resolution calls for a shared future. A shared future where my son and their daughter can have the same, right? Isn't that what our country stands for?

▶ 1:37:02 Leila Migliorelli: Is there anyone else who wishes to speak? Public comment,

▶ 1:37:09 Speaker 1: please join the table.

▶ 1:37:23 Speaker 4: Good evening. My name is Michael Patello. I live at 11 Otis Street. And, um, my wife and I and my father-in-Law, uh, a native Moroccan brought my 9-year-old son here to get a sense of what the local government democracy, seeing it in his action. We have him, sorry

▶ 1:37:45 Speaker 4: To see this in process. He protested Black Lives Matter. He's been involved. 'cause this is something that people need to understand. Um, so I wanted to see him to see this mechanism here and things to learn. Now, I've heard a lot of, you know, issues around this. Um, I grew up in the military. I joined the Marine Corps. The closest I've seen to this was my time in the Persian Gulf War. The atrocities that we hear about here happened similarly there from Iraqis against Kuwaiti, you know, destroyed neonatal units, horrific things. Muslim on Muslim, horrible. Humans are capable of atrocities for various motivations. And yet again, you can have issues about American policy. Do we go in there to protect the Kuwaiti or do we go in there and protect the oil supply and the economy of the world? You can have debates on that, just like you have debates about how important Israel is, about the stability of the region. Good debate there. But what I'm curious about here is

▶ 1:38:49 Speaker 4: the, the effect of this. We have all this time, all these hours of everybody here speaking. And in my opinion, my opinion alone, I think this resolution is going to pass because there's no real downside to it. What it says is we don't want hatred, we want peace. We want the killing to end. Who's gonna go against that? So I am really curious as a mechanism of this, um, politics of this wonderful town. I am not native here. Um, to say you'll be voting on this. I would like to understand pe you're humans, you walk in here, you probably had an opinion on how you're going to vote. It would be interesting to hear, has your opinion been changed by what you've heard? I would like to understand if this has made a proc, I would like my son to understand if this mechanism of speaking has made a difference. Now, some have made very valid points that were making a resolution about, you know, the Gaza issue, but we didn't do it with Ukraine or China or some of the other atrocities. Well, that's probably because we had somebody advocating for it. It's wonderful. Now, we also talk about issues about consequences and division. I heard you speaking earlier about the atrocities going on there. Side note, maybe something to consider in the future if we're gonna have someone speak, if there is some way to make a note saying there may be content inappropriate for minors. If I had known some of the things you're gonna speak, which are very important, and I would've been happy to hear it, but if I'd known, I would've escorted my child out. And this is, thank you for telling me it was heartbreaking and needed to be heard, but just as a general policy, I think having young people in here understanding how this works is wonderful. But there may be content that we want to be able to say, Hey, heads up that aside. Um, but I want people to think about how is this working here? I want people to learn on this one. I want my son to learn. I want his classmates to understand and what are the consequences for my citizen? Like, I'm not comfortable right now. My job was to protect people's rights to do this. Not necessarily participate. That's where I felt strong. But what I hear is everyone agreeing and talking about a signing a piece of paper or say, Hey, we think this killing is bad. So I wonder, would it have been better to say, Hey, there's terrible things going on over there. They need food, they need bandages. Could the city of Melrose said, let's work together as a drive and help provide supplies. It may not have been much, but that would've meant something. Nobody over in Gaza is going to care that a piece of a little resolution in a little town outside of Boston did anything. But if the community with all the community values, there's a wonderful story about the blizzard of 78, how the community came together and helped each other. If we had come together and said, if we could send just a pallet of bandages water, that would've made a difference. I was, I was in the Persian Gulf. I got boxes of, of toilet paper and razors and all the things that helped me get by, but I didn't really need as much as I got some of the people that were suffering under the oppression, they needed it more than I have. So I appreciate the effort and the, and the government, the, uh, and, and to go through this process. But I wonder if all this effort could have been better used to deliver something from Melrose to the people who needed it, whether they are Israeli or Palestinian or whatever they're suffering. And what can we send to them? What can we do for them that matters to them versus ourselves? Thank you.

▶ 1:42:40 Leila Migliorelli: Can get the aid True? Excuse me, this is not a back and forth. Does anyone else have any, any more comments for public comment?

▶ 1:42:50 Speaker 1: Okay. Entertain a motion to close public comment, I

▶ 1:42:52 Speaker 5: Presume make a motion to close public comment.

▶ 1:42:56 Leila Migliorelli: Second, Motion to close. Motion to close public comment made by Councillor Stewart. Second by Councilor Firo. Madam Clerk, will you please call the Role council Ro?

▶ 1:43:06 Speaker 1: Yeah. Yes. Councilor Garipay. Yes. Council Aldine? Yes. Council. Karen Trudy? Yes. Council Armo? Yes. Councilor Stewart? Yes. Council Vandiver? Yes. Councilor Williams? Yes. President Moore. Yes. Nine. Right. We are now closed for public comment. Madam