Public Comment

The city of Cleveland and all of its elected representatives, need to make a clear and unambiguous call to an end of the genocide being waged against Palestinians by the terroristic settler-colonial regime of Israel, and an end to the U.S. aid for the state sanctioned massacres by Israel. Despite Palestinian-Americans in Cleveland, who this council represents, being targeted with violent hate crimes while their families in Gaza are killed, their representatives choose to stay silent or to support Israel with their genocidal vision. Their representatives refuse to see their humanity, listen to their voices, or stand up for who they claim to represent due to their own self-serving interests or lack of courage and compassion. Instead of unequivocally calling for an immediate ceasefire, an end to the genocide against Palestinians, an end to Israeli colonial occupation of Palestine, representatives only show support for Israel’s efforts to ethnically cleanse Palestinians. By continuing to support or stay silent about Israel’s terror, Cleveland’s representatives fail not only their constituents, but as well as their own humanities. We hold you responsible to act against ongoing warcrimes now. The U.S. and the city of Cleveland is complicit in the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestine.

I am ashamed that our city leaders will not condemn Israel and the atrocities that they have inflicted on the Palestinian people. You know that this is not a war. This is a genocide. I am disgusted with our country and Cleveland. We will continue to fight for the freedom of Palestinians with or without you. But we don’t forget who stood on the wrong side of history. You have blood on your hands.

I went to City Council yesterday for the open comment, just wanted to bring up the disrespect I noticed from the people we rely on to represent us. Other than the supporting of the genocide going on, as all the Palestinian supporters were speaking, council was having side conversations, rolling their eyes and sleeping, but they wanted the respect that they were not willing to show. People are getting killed not just overseas but here in America because all of the hate that's being spread. All these council members care about is lining their pockets. Disgusting. Do better.

It is absolutely abhorrent to watch this country and its state and city representatives make political pacts and accept funding handouts from an occupying, genocidal, authoritarian, barbaric government in Israel which has publicly commented on their intentions to “kill all” of the Palestinian “animals”, and it is even worse watching US news and government officials attempt to paint support for Palestine as inherently violent - when it is, in fact, the US funding violence, encouraging the massacre of babies and children and civilians, condoning the bombing of cries, vetoing the UN’s proposed ceasefire agreement, denying aid to a dying and oppressed ethnic population which has historically been ruled by invasive fascist elements - being against genocide is not anti-semitism or pro-terrorism. Denying Palestinians the right to their own land, food, water, internet, electricity, military forces, humanitarian and medical aid, and actively pursuing the destruction of said people, is anti-Semitic. America is eating out of the hand of Israel, and now the whole world knows. As a citizen I will not promote or vote for any Israeli-funded candidate. I will not speak of other good things any of you may have done. You are funding a mass extermination of these people. You are backing Nazis. You are paying for genocide. And we are done playing your political party games. We are done being spoon fed half truths at best and blatant lies at worst. This next generation will lead better. I wouldn’t count on the public’s support in lieu of these events. We are supposed to stand for free speech and the right to protest in this country. We have watched every major news outlet conflate truth and lies for decades. We have watched police beat peaceful protesters and charge them with domestic terrorism for peace-promoting actions. America’s freedoms are a joke. You claim to uphold the values of our country, yet you do everything in your power to suppress true freedom while espousing corruption and *actual* terrorism.

I do not support the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Just based on the human rights offenses and war crimes alone, there is no way the City of Cleveland should be in support of this.

I was watching today’s council meeting and heard some people talking about the city spending money with Israel. I’m going to do my own research but I really hope this is not true because I am tired of our federal government sending Israel billions of dollars each year and we get nothing in return and now they’re trying to drag us into a war, is there anywhere I can see who authorized money to be spent in Israel? I work very hard and can barely make ends meet to be allowing my tax dollars to go to a different country.

Just wanted to say that I will no longer support councilman McCormack due to his support of Israel. My family has been huge supporters of his for many years now and we no longer can continue our support. As a Jewish American, and an Ohio business owner, whose family company employees over 500 people we cannot support the genocide that’s taking place in Gaza. I completely understand that some console members do not really know what’s going on over there, and that they only hear certain things from certain people with certain agendas but playing ignorance and not knowing is definitely going to start costing people their positions. There is no justifying the many, many years of horrible things that Israel has done to innocent civilians! McCormack you have lost our support, Griffin you have lost our support, Mayor you have lost our support! My family and I are still in discussion, but we may start a ad campaign against all political individuals who have pledged her allegiance to Israel.

I do not support the apartheid state that Israel has become; nor the genocide/ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people by the Israeli military. The USA should not be funding a theocratic state’s genocide against an indigenous people. However, the USA is currently funding war crimes and the genocide of Palestinian people. This is not only a serious human rights violation but contributes to the climate crises we are currently facing. This is not a matter of religion. It’s a matter of supremacy culture which is being proliferated by the USA and the actions of the Israeli government. The USA should not be contributing aid to the Israeli government/military nor should we be contributing to the propaganda which promotes anti-Arab/anti Palestinian sentiments. It’s wrong, we know better. We’ve seen this behavior before, and it’s disgusting. The laws which restrict boycotting Israeli defense forces are truly disgusting as well. The people do not support this, but our government has been complicit in these atrocities. I will not be voting for any elected officials who support this genocide. Free Palestine. Ceasefire now. Stop funding genocide. (The amount of funding being used for Israeli military aid could completely eradicate hunger in the USA approximately 3 times over. It is ridiculous. We cannot afford to fund this genocide. It needs to stop now)

Israelis supporters often brings up the idea that "Hamas beheads babies," even though this has been refuted numerous times. Palestine gives the whole world evidence to what israel does to the children and peoples homes time after time. When we have people who defend Israel, they never fail to bring up the October 7, 2023 attack. They can only go back to that point. Palestine can go back all the way back to 75 years ago when occupation started. Families are torn from their homes for decades and children are dying. We have the United states funding a genoicde! They let israel send more bombs to Gaza way. A question I have for you is Why is Israel killing children and removing people from their homes if its primary goal was to counter Hamas' attack on Oct 7 2023? I don't know how many times people need to say this but killing children is not self defense... Israel became a country by stealing land and killing people ‼️

FREE PALESTINE