Palestine Tet – 80 – Twenty Three Reasons Why the Boulder City Council Should Pass This Ceasefire Resolution

_____________________________

(note: On Thursday, January 18, 2024, citizens of Boulder, Colorado, USA – many associated with the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center (RMPJC) there, will present a resolution to its city council calling on that body to come out and publicly support a bilateral ceasefire between Israel and Hamas [actually it goes further, calling for a ceasefire that would include the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Northern Israel and Lebanon]. The rationale for introducing such a resolution is detailed below, written by Tom Mayer, of RMPJP’s Global Peace Collective)

_____________________________

Twenty Three Reasons Why the Boulder City Council Should Pass This Ceasefire Resolution

Concerned citizens of Boulder call upon the Boulder City Council to adopt the following resolution regarding the conflict emanating from the Gaza Strip

1. To prevent further loss of life, there must be an immediate and sustained ceasefire enacted by all parties involved in the Gaza conflict.  The ceasefire must include the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Northern Israel, and Lebanon.
2. All Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners must be released
3. A humanitarian corridor must be opened immediately allowing for the unrestricted provision of non-military goods to civilians throughout the Gaza Strip.

1. At least 24,000 Palestinians and 1,400 Israelis have already been killed.  Continuing the Gaza War will result in many more deaths.
2. Women and children are particular victims of the Gaza War.  Over 70% of Palestinian casualties are women and children (about 17,000 women and children mortalities).
3. Continuation of the Gaza War threatens the surviving Palestinian population with starvation, epidemic diseases, and a perilous absence of shelter.
4. If the Gaza War continues, all remaining Israeli hostages are likely to perish.
5. The Gaza War threatens to expand into a regional and perhaps global conflagration.  It has already expanded into both Lebanon and Yemen.
6. Israel has nuclear weapons and means of delivering them (planes, missiles, and submarines).  Thus, the Gaza War could even explode into a nuclear war, particularly if Iran becomes involved.
7. Polls indicate that about 60% of United States citizens favor an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the Gaza War.  Among well informed people the percentage favoring a ceasefire is considerably higher.
8. If gridlock or political irrationality prevents the federal government from taking urgently necessary actions, it is the duty of local government to address the civic crisis by advocating the required policies.
9. Many other American cities are now considering ceasefire resolutions.  Some cities, including San Francisco, have already passed ceasefire resolutions.  Boulder should be an ethical exemplar, not a moral laggard.
10. If the Boulder City Council passes the ceasefire resolution, it will encourage other city councils to do the same.  Such an outpouring of local demands for a ceasefire will influence Congress and increase the likelihood that our President will call for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza War.
11. The Boulder City Council has sometimes taken positions on foreign affairs.  For example, in 2003, at the urging of Boulder citizens, the Council passed a resolution opposing the United States attack on Iraq.
12. Passing a ceasefire resolution will strengthen the decaying fabric of American democracy, by demonstrating that public opinion and political actions by citizens really do matter and are not simply ignored by wealth beholden politicians.
13. Israeli military action is making the entire Gaza Strip unsuitable for human habitation.
14. Israeli military action is not primarily directed against Hamas.  Its strategic purpose appears to be driving the Gaza Palestinian population entirely out of Israel/Palestine.  Some Israeli officials even admit they are trying to impose Nakba 2 (massive ethnic cleansing of Palestinians).
15. Israeli military actions in the Gaza Strip satisfy the U.N. definition of genocide.  A comprehensive South African brief charging Israel with genocide is currently being adjudicated by the International Court of Justice at the Hague.
16. Israel’s attack on the civilian population of the Gaza Strip is a blatant violation of international law.  Every day that Israel’s attack continues weakens essential legal constraints upon warfare.
17. Israel’s brutal attack upon the Palestinian people of the Gaza Strip as increased antisemitism worldwide.  A ceasefire that halts Israel’s attack on the Gaza Strip will also halt the growth of antisemitism.
18. Mass media in the United States focus upon the crimes perpetrated by Hamas on October 7, but largely ignore Israel’s suffocating 18 yearlong blockade of and numerous attacks upon the Gaza Strip.  These atrocities surely provoked the October 7 actions of Hamas.
19. United States political esteem is severely damaged by our complicity in Israel’s attack upon the Gaza Strip.  Decisive U.S. action to end the Gaza War (including insistence on a ceasefire) would help to repair U.S. international esteem.
20. United States military support for Israel has been extremely costly.  Between 1946 and 2022 the United States government gave Israel approximately 318 billion dollars (inflation adjusted).  This is far more than the USA gave to any other country during this time period.   Much of these funds have been used for military purposes.
21. Continuation of the Gaza War will not solve the Israel-Palestine conflict.  On the contrary, it will merely be a prelude to future warfare and an incubator for subsequent Palestinian generations committed to armed insurrection.
22. Continuation of the Gaza War will exacerbate the international isolation of Israel and enhance the strength of chauvinistic anti-democratic elements within the Israeli government.
23. The Gaza War distracts the United States and the entire world from dealing with the urgent problem of climate change.  Moreover, military action is a major source of carbon emissions.  Climate change, if not seriously addressed, could eventually doom human civilization.