CITY Of RICHMOND
PEACE AND JUSTICE RESOLUTION SUBMITTED ON JANUARY 8TH, 2024
WHEREAS, the City of Richmond advocates for the safety, dignity, freedom, and equality of all people, regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, or religion; and
WHEREAS, the City of Richmond affirms that all human life is precious, and calls upon elected officials and residents to protect the lives of civilians and stand for equality, dignity, peace and justice; and
WHEREAS, experts describe the Israeli bombing of Gaza as among the most intensive, destructive, and deadliest in history (see here, here, and here); and
WHEREAS, as of March 1, approximately 1,000 Israelis and more than 38,000 Palestinians have been killed, of whom 14,350 are children and more than 8,620 are women, and more than 71,000 have been injured (See here), with thousands of Palestinians missing under the ruble resulting from Israeli bombing (See here), the real number of Palestinians killed by the Israeli forces is likely to be significantly higher; and whereas collective punishment is a war crime under international law; and
WHEREAS, Israeli forces have killed more than 130 journalists, 326 medical workers, 41 civil defense workers, more than 100 university professors, and increasing numbers of civilians carrying white flags (See here, here, here and here); and whereas 3,120 persons have been detained or forcibly disappeared without charge; and
WHEREAS, UNICEF reports that thousands of children have been seriously injured by Israeli bombings, and that more than 1,000 have undergone surgery to amputate one or more limbs, many without anesthesia; and whereas as many as 100 Palestinian women are giving birth every day without medical care (See here, here, here, and h ere); and
WHEREAS, over half of Gaza’s homes - 350,000 residential units have been destroyed or damaged (for comparison there are 110,000 housing units in Richmond - see here); 406 educational facilities damaged; 1,920 industrial facilities, including electrical generators and water purification plants, have been destroyed; all 35 hospitals in Gaza damaged or rendered non-functional from Israeli bombing; 163 ambulances damaged or destroyed; and 616 places of worship damaged or destroyed, including 613 mosques and 3 churches, and 199 heritage sites (See here, here, and here); and
WHEREAS, approximately 2 million Palestinians have been forcibly displaced, and 2.2 million require urgent humanitarian assistance; and whereas the forced relocation of persons is illegal under international law (See here); and
WHEREAS, Palestinians are suffering from what UN officials say is a deliberately-engineered mass starvation campaign, causing famine to arrive at "incredibly speed"; and Palestinians are dying from preventable diseases, a situation made worse by the decision on the part of Western nations, including the United States, to suspend funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), (See here, here, and here); and UNICEF warns that time is running out to prevent the large scale death of as many as 1.1 million children, where many have already died of malnutrition (See here and here); and
WHEREAS, more than three months ago United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres described the situation in Gaza as a “crisis in humanity”, finding that “[g]round operations by the Israel Defense Forces and continued bombardment are hitting civilians, hospitals, refugee camps, mosques, churches and UN facilities — including shelters” leading to the “unparalleled and unprecedented” killing of Palestinian civilians, and human rights experts have raised the alarm about the risk of genocide; and
WHEREAS, 55 Holocaust and Genocide Studies scholars issued a statement on December 9th, in which they describe precisely how the Israeli assault on Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank meets the definition of genocide as codified in the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (See A Textbook Case of Genocide, International Law and the Palestinian People; South Africa files case with International Court of Justice, and here, here, and here); and
WHEREAS, the indiscriminate killing of civilians, destruction of infrastructure, denial of access to food, water, and medicine, and the forced relocation of populations constitute elements of genocide, and whereas Israeli officials, including high-ranking political, military, and religious leaders have expressed the intent to target all Palestinians and force all Palestinians from Gaza, as detailed by the South African government in their application to the International Court of Justice (See here for the full text; see here for the recorded presentation of their case, and see here for a transcript​​ of their presentation); and
WHEREAS, the International Court of Justice ruled on January 26, 2024, that the evidence indicates plausibility to the claim that Israel intends to commit genocide and that actions undertaken by Israel constitute genocide, and enumerated the following provisions: that Israeli “military forces do not commit any of the above-described acts,” to wit, according to Article II of the Convention on Genocide: “(a) killing members of the group [that is, Palestinians]; (b) causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c) deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; and (d) imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group”; that “Israel must take all measures within its power to prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to commit genocide in relation to members of the Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip”; and that “Israel must take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address the adverse conditions of life faced by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip” (See section VI, pp. 22-23 here); and
WHEREAS, the United Nations General Assembly and United Nations Security Council voted on October 26, 2023 on a resolution calling for a sustained humanitarian ceasefire, with 120 nations voting yes,, 45 abstaining, and 14 voting no, including Israel and the United States; and on December 12, 2023, the UN approved a second resolution calling for a ceasefire, with 153 nations voting yes, 23 abstaining, and just 10 voting no, including Israel and the US; and whereas on December 19, 2023, the UN voted to affirm the right of the Palestinians to self-determination, with 173 nations voting in favor, 10 abstaining, and 4 voting against: Nauru, Micronesia, Israel, and the US; and on December 21, the Security Council voted on a ceasefire resolution, with 13 voting in favor and just two states, Russia and the United States, abstaining; and on February 20, 2024, the UN Security Council voted 13-1 to support an Arab-backed and widely supported U.N. resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, with the UK abstaining from voting, and the US being the lone veto of the ceasefire resolution; and
WHEREAS, approximately $3.6 million dollars annually collected from Richmond city residents goes to support the Israeli military; enough to fund 429 families with public housing for a year; 1,258 children receiving free or low-cost healthcare; the annual salaries of 39 elementary school teachers; 10,293 households with solar electricity produced for a year; cancellation of loan debt for 95 students (See here); and
WHEREAS, the additional $14.5 billion in military aid to Israel approved by Congress would cost Richmond city residents approximately $13.7 million dollars; enough to fund approximately 1600 families with public housing for a year; 4800 children receiving free or low-cost healthcare; the annual salaries of 148 elementary school teachers; 39,000 households with solar electricity for a year; cancelation of loan debt for 361 students (See here); and
WHEREAS, the current hostilities are spreading to other nations, including Yemen, Syria, and Iraq and there is a real danger of becoming a regional war, potentially more fully involving global powers; and
WHEREAS, the Richmond City Council condemns anti-Semitic, anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab, and other racist attacks across the nation; and the doxxing of elected officials, professors, students, journalists, and other individuals speaking truth to power; and
WHEREAS, Israeli political figures, military leaders and soldiers, media pundits, and ordinary citizens are using dehumanizing language to justify the killing of Palestinian civilians and destruction of Gaza and to call for the death and mass expulsion of all Palestinians from Gaza (See here, pp. 59 - 70); and
WHEREAS, Israeli’s weaponization of anti-Semitism and violence inflicted on the Palestinians are fueling antisemitism and resulting in Jewish people in the US and elsewhere being less safe; and
WHEREAS, Jewish organizations, including Jewish Voice for Peace and If Not Now, and workers at more than 140 U.S. Jewish organizations, as well as hundreds of unions, are calling for a ceasefire, the provision of humanitarian aid, an end to the occupation, equal rights for Palestinians and self-determination for Palestine; and
WHEREAS, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and B'tselem's issued reports designating Israel as an apartheid state, and whereas the Rome Statute defines apartheid as a crime against humanity (for more see Inside Israeli Apartheid); and

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL that the City of Richmond takes seriously the entreaty of “Never Again,” and that the historical memory of the Holocaust means doing all we can to oppose racism and prevent genocide, ethnic cleansig, and apartheid everywhere; and

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL that the Richmond City Council joins city councils across the nation, including the city councils of Atlanta, Georgia, Detroit, Michigan, Providence, Rhode Island, Chicago, Illinois, San Francisco, Oakland, and Richmond, California, and Harrisonburg, Virginia to call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire; the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinians detained without charge by Israel; the unrestricted entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza; the restoration of electricity, water, food, and medical supplies to Gaza; an end Israel’s siege and blockade of Gaza; an end to the illegal occupation of Gaza and the West Bank; an end to US aid to Israel; negotiations to ensure freedom, equal rights and self-determination for all persons; and respect for the jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice, the convention on genocide, international law, and the general assembly of the United Nations; and

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL that the City Manager and all agencies, authorities, or other officers, employees and representatives of the City under the supervision and control of the Council, are directed to divest as expeditiously as same may lawfully be done, funds that are currently invested or deposited in the banks, financial institutions or other companies which provide financial assistance in the form of loans, grants, or investments of any kind to the Israeli government, Israeli—owned corporations, or corporations located in Israel, or United States citizens doing business in Israel, and are further directed and instructed to invest such funds as shall be reinvested in banks, or other financial institutions or businesses which furnish the City of Richmond and its agencies satisfactory proof of their compliance with the provisions of this resolution; and

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL that the City shall further be prohibited from purchasing goods and/or services, equipment and materials from entities or corporations that are located in Israel or that do business with such corporations or entities; and

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL that should the City Manager or the Director of General Services encounter substantial hardship in identifying complying businesses or in negotiating competitive transactions in regard to financial arrangeænts and services, equipment and materials, respectively, the City Manager or the Director of General Services shall report to City Council the facts related to said substantial hardship. The City Manager or the Director of General Services may in such cases of substantial hardship allow a waiver from the requirements and prohibitions stated herein, provided no such waiver shall be effective until reported to Council.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED BY THE RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL that Richmond affirms its commitment to combat anti-Semitism, anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab, and anti-Muslim racism; to ensure the dignity and safety of all residents; and to serve as a model city of inclusion, diversity, and equal rights for all persons; and
FINALLY, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL that a copy of this Peace and Justice resolution be sent to the offices of: Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney; Virginia State Senators Ghazala F. Hashmi and Lamont Bagby; General Assembly Delegates Betsy Carr, Rae Cousins, and Michael Jones; Governor Glenn Youngkin; House Representative Jennifer McClellan; Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner; U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken; U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin; U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris; and U.S. President Joe Biden.

Sources:
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/israels-military-campaign-in-gaza-is-among-the-most-destructive-in-history-experts-say
https://www.commondreams.org/news/bombing-gaza
https://www.cnn.com/gaza-israel-big-bombs/index.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68006607
https://euromedmonitor.org/en/category/19/Infographic
https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/12/1144927
https://www.hrw.org/report/2009/08/13/white-flag-deaths/killings-palestinian-civilians-during-operation-cast-lead?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
https://www.democracynow.org/2023/12/28/palestinian_children_gaza
https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/12/1144927
https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/unicef-geneva-palais-briefing-note-gaza-worlds-most-dangerous-place-be-child
https://medicalextremism.com/2024-01-03-1000-gaza-children-amputated-mostly-without-anesthesia.html
https://www.point2homes.com/US/Neighborhood/VA/Richmond-Demographics.html#:~:text=There%20are%20110%2C224%20housing%20units,have%20renters%20living%20in%20them.
https://euromedmonitor.org/en/category/19/Infographic
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2023/10/9/israel-hamas-war-in-maps-and-charts-live-tracker
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https://twitter.com/MiddleEastEye/status/1751314781368365197
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtuAfGH9-HY&t=184s
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https://contendingmodernities.nd.edu/global-currents/statement-of-scholars-7-october/
https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/documents/atrocity-crimes/Doc.1_Convention%20on%20the%20Prevention%20and%20Punishment%20of%20the%20Crime%20of%20Genocide.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXjl2uXa220
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/29/south-africa-files-case-at-icj-accusing-israel-of-genocidal-acts-in-gaza
https://jewishcurrents.org/a-textbook-case-of-genocide
https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20231228-app-01-00-en.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2vQ7suQWGg
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LumgWaM72nU