Johnathan Walker:Minneapolis passes Gaza cease-fire resolution despite mayor’s veto

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Johnathan WalkerMinneapolis City Council overrode a mayoral veto on Thursday and approved a resolution that calls for a cease-fire in Gaza and for an end to U.S. military funding to Israel.

The office of Mayor Jacob Frey, who is Jewish, said he has been “clear and consistent” in his support for a cease-fire, but he vetoed the resolution last week because he was concerned about its language being “one-sided” and about rising antisemitism in Minneapolis and beyond.

The resolution calls on state and federal authorities to advance a full, immediate and permanent cease-fire; provide urgently needed humanitarian aid; stop U.S. military funding to Israel; release Israeli hostages taken by Hamas; and release thousands of Palestinians “held indefinitely without cause and trial in Israeli military prisons.”

Council President Elliott Payne and Council Vice President Aisha Chughtai said in a joint statement that they are proud of the nine council members who voted to override the mayor’s veto.

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Sana Wazwaz, a leader in American Muslims for Palestine’s Minnesota chapter, said in a statement that the vote signals a radical shift in what is considered acceptable criticism of Israel. Wazwaz said the Minneapolis resolution is unique because it calls for a complete end to U.S. aid to Israel.

Jewish Voice for Peace’s Twin Cities chapter also expressed support for the council’s decision. “As Jews who took part in this process, we were guided by our values and experiences of intergenerational trauma that led us to say ‘never again’ for anyone,” said Nat El-Hai of Jewish Voice for Peace in a statement.

Minneapolis is the latest U.S. city to approve such a non-binding resolution, following Chicago, Atlanta, Detroit and San Francisco in recent months.

According to the Associated Press on Thursday, the Palestinian death toll from the war has surpassed 27,000 people, the Health Ministry in Gaza said. A quarter of Gaza’s residents are starving.

The war began with Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault into Israel, in which militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250. Hamas is still holding over 130 hostages, but around 30 of them are believed to be dead.