City Council Resolution
We need your help.
As per the IHRA Definition of Antisemitism, employing double standards against Israel is a form of antisemitism.
This Thursday, the St. Pete City Council will vote on a resolution (pg. 203 of link) calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. The resolution contains other double standards, but calling for a ceasefire is the worst of them.
Israel is engaged in a defensive war against genocidal terrorists who perpetrated brutal terrorism on October 7. A ceasefire would benefit only Hamas by preserving its ability to pursue its openly stated goal: genocide of Jews.
Every innocent life lost is a tragedy. Supporting humanitarian aid and peace talks should not be used to oppose Israel’s right and obligation to defend its people – a right no other country is forced to fight for on the world stage.
The St. Pete City Council officially adopted the IHRA Definition less than a month before Hamas’s 10/7 attacks. Rejecting this resolution is the perfect opportunity to operationalize the definition.
Aside from calling for a ceasefire, there are multiple double standards embedded in the resolution.
It defines October 7 as the beginning of the current conflict without referencing Hamas’s attack or their atrocities – a key omission that serves to “both-sides” a conflict that has a clear villain.
It lists organizations that have called for a ceasefire, including the United Nations and Amnesty International, that have a long and continuing history of employing antisemitic double standards against Israel.
It asks the city to support US House Resolution 786, which called for a ceasefire almost two weeks before Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza in response to the 10/7 attacks.
Our great city should not support a ceasefire that rewards a terrorist group for employing human shields after massacring 1,200 Israelis. We applauded Council for adopting IHRA; now it’s time for them to put it into practice.
We urge you to join us at the City Council meeting at 9:30am this Thursday, February 1, to tell them as much.
If you can’t be there – and even if you can – please email your councilmember and express your opposition to the resolution.
Copley Gerdes – copley.gerdes@stpete.org
Brandi Gabbard – brandi.gabbard@stpete.org
Ed Montanari – ed.montanari@stpete.org
Lisset Hanewicz – lisset.hanewicz@stpete.org
Deborah Figgs-Sanders – deborah.figgs-sanders@stpete.org
Gina Driscoll – gina.driscoll@stpete.org
John Muhammad – John.Muhammad@stpete.org
Richie Floyd (resolution sponsor) – richie.floyd@stpete.org
Fighting antisemitism, especially at the policy level, takes concerted action. This Thursday, please choose to show up.
