The City Council on Friday passed a controversial resolution condemning Hamas’ attack in Israel during a fiery, chaotic session in which supporters of Palestinians and Israel shouted over each other, leading Mayor Brandon Johnson to clear the public from the chambers.
Johnson ordered the removal of the public from the room about an hour into the special session held to debate Ald. Debra Silverstein’s (50th) resolution denouncing Hamas. Opponents of the resolution said it lacked the nuance to also condemn Israeli treatment of Palestinians.
The resolution overwhelmingly passed through a voice vote nearly two hours into the meeting, with the only no vote coming from Ald. Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez (33rd), who attended virtually during a trip to Milwaukee.
Silverstein’s resolution was initially introduced Wednesday, but the vote was pushed to a special session Friday, almost a week after the attack on Israel last Saturday by Hamas militants, who stormed across the border and massacred hundreds of Israelis in their homes, on the streets and at an outdoor music festival.
Israel on Friday ordered more than a million Palestinians in Gaza to evacuate to the south as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government appeared to prepare for a ground offensive. The Israeli military said more than 1,300 people, including 222 soldiers, have been killed in Israel. Netanyahu’s forces retaliated by bombing Gaza, where there are reportedly 1,800 dead and 7,400 wounded, according to the Associated Press.
As Silverstein delivered her comments on her proposal a woman in the gallery interrupted her — after Johnson issued a final warning.
“That’s it,” Johnson said. “This body will remain cleared.”
Several women resisted police trying to escort them, yelling “Free, free Palestine,” and “No justice, no peace.”
Dozens of people continued protesting and shouting outside the council chambers well after the meeting concluded.
After the public was cleared from council chambers, alderpersons offered their own views for or against the resolution. Most council members expressed support.
Silverstein, the only Jewish member of City Council, said the resolution is “about Israel against Hamas, an international terrorist organization.”
She added that, since Congress could pass a resolution in solidarity with Israel, so should the City Council.
Ald Daniel La Spata (1st) condemned the attacks but said the city should also recognize the struggle of Palestinians.
“I believe it is irresponsible to divorce this moment from the decades-long conflict,” he said.
Ald. Anthony Beale (9th), who supported the resolution, praised Silverstein’s bravery in the face of heated shouting from opponents after the resolution was introduced.
“It’s Ald. Silverstein today. It could be anyone tomorrow,” Beale said.
Critics of the resolution were guilty of “equivocation,” said Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd).
“It should not be hard to condemn terrorism. It should not be hard to condemn the murder of children. It should be easy,” Hopkins said.
Rodriguez Sanchez, who had pushed back on the resolution earlier this week, said, “If we are against violence, we are against all types of violence. And we need to be in solidarity with our Palestinian siblings.”
Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th) connected the plight of Palestinians to U.S. profiteers and arms dealers who sell weapons to Israel’s military.
“We’re blind for profit,” he said. “If we want peace, we must demand the end of violence from the occupation.”
Ald. James Gardiner, whose 45th ward includes many Palestinian Chicagoans, said he did not support the resolution, adding it is “vital to be a voice for the voiceless. I empathize with all victims of Oct. 7.”
Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) lamented that public was booted from the room.
“It is sad that, despite our public dialogue, [we’re] shouting down to each other and threatening each other. That’s not Chicago,” Reilly said. “But what we’re doing here is agreeing that this kind of terrorist violence is wrong,” Reilly said.
David Goldenberg, the Anti-Defamation League’s Midwest regional director, spoke in support of the resolution during the public comment period, saying, “When it comes to Hamas, there are no nuances.”
After the vote passed, Goldenberg said in a statement: “Today, the Chicago City Council unequivocally condemned the terrorist organization Hamas’ attack on Israel. The Council, in doing so, rejected those who have tried to draw a moral equivalency between acts of terrorism and the barbaric massacre and kidnapping of innocent children and elderly to a sovereign country’s right to defend the safety and security of its own citizens.”
