{ "type": "rich", "version": "1.0", "provider_name": "Action Network", "provider_url": "https://actionnetwork.org", "html": "
", "author_name": "Palestine Solidarity GR", "author_url": "https://actionnetwork.org/groups/palestine-solidarity-gr", "title": "Move the money, Grand Rapids! ", "thumbnail_url": "https://can2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/letters/photos/000/321/331/normal/Move_the_Money_Announcement_post_(1500_x_750_px).png", "description": "As Biden continues his genocide in Gaza and the U.S.-funded occupation of Palestine, we need the Grand Rapids City Commission to do the right thing , echo the demands of the People of Grand Rapids, and follow in Hamtramck's footsteps of passing a "Move The Money" resolution. Our resolution calls on the City of Grand Rapids to tell Congress and Biden to move significant funds away from the imperialist budget to fund local community needs, social services, and safety net programs. In 2023 the Biden administration passed a grotesque imperialist budget of $886 billion. This level of spending is more than the military budget of China, Russia, India, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, Germany, France, South Korea, Japan, and Ukraine combined. This does not include the millions of tax-dollars that Biden has bypassed congress to give to Israel or the billions of tax-dollars that many in Congress want to give to the Israeli occupation forces despite the nationwide mass movements in solidarity with Palestine and the growing American majority calling for ending weapon shipments to Israel. This is the second opportunity the Grand Rapids City Commission has to do the right thing. At the end of 2023, thousands of Grand Rapids residents urged the City Commission to pass a symbolic ceasefire resolution and have our city lead the way in standing on the right side of history. Over a hundred spoke at multiple City Commissioner meetings to solidify the public's commitment to this demand. As U.S. serviceman and martyr for Palestine, Aaron Bushnell, said, “Many of us like to ask ourselves, ‘What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing genocide?’ The Grand Rapids City Commission answered this question by opposing the idea of a ceasefire resolution. Commissioner Drew Robbins, Milinda Ysasi, and now-resigned Commissioner Nathaniel Moody claimed the matter was beyond the scope of a city yet that same evening both Dearborn and Dearborn Heights unanimously passed similar resolutions. In the weeks since, 10 additional Michigan cities and 3 counties have passed ceasefire resolutions including: Detroit, Lansing, Kalamazoo, Flint, Ferndale, Hamtramck, Canton Township, Ypsilanti, Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County, Wayne County, and Kalamazoo County. Currently, the City of Grand Rapids is the biggest city in Michigan to have yet issued any sort of statement on the matter. Despite a record 17% of Democratic voters in the City of Grand Rapids who voted "uncommitted" in protest against Biden's support of ethnic cleansing in Palestine. The lack of action from our city's leaders has left our local Arab feeling disregarded and city residents feeling frustrated that our local officials continue to fail to take action on such an urgent and clear humanitarian matter. City Commissioners have a second chance to stand on the right side of history by passing this resolution and demonstrate to their constituents that they, as Commissioners, are ready to defend their constituents by demanding Biden, Senator Gary Peters, and Senator Debbie Statenow, and U.S. Congresswoman Hilary Scholten to stop forcing working-class families to fund a genocide. We need money for schools and homes, not guns and bombs! Pass the people's "Move the Money" resolution!", "url": "https://actionnetwork.org/letters/move-the-money-grand-rapids" }