City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams is drafting a resolution to end the Gaza war, but some of her fellow Democrats are furious at the idea of being forced to vote on it, sources told The Washington Post.
“No matter what you say, you’re either pro-genocide or anti-Semitic, there’s no middle ground,” the council official fumed. “The reason I vote for the speaker is to make sure we’re not put in that position.”
The declaration, which was discussed at the Democratic Caucus meeting Tuesday afternoon, is being pushed by the left wing of Congress, but Adams is expected to sign on as sponsor.
A Security Council official said about 20 council members were “deeply unhappy” at being forced to hold an open vote on whether to support an Israeli ceasefire in the war-torn Gaza Strip.
“Why would the Speaker put this to a vote when it is really a big deal for the community? Tensions were building,” they said.
At least two other council officials expressed similar frustration.
“Will the resolution help bring peace or just give progressives a false victory?” one person asked. “These people are only interested in looking like they’re doing something.”
Another said he didn’t understand why the city council needed to vote on a situation overseas.
“This is not the United States Congress,” they said.
Another official who attended the meeting said some Security Council members opposed the speaker’s ceasefire resolution in principle.
Pro-Israel Security Council members pointed out that the Security Council had failed to pass a resolution condemning the terrorist group Hamas, which invaded Israel on October 7, taking 250 hostages and massacring nearly 1,200.
“We didn’t say anything on October 8 and 9. The first thing we say is that there needs to be a ceasefire,” said a source who attended the meeting.
The speaker’s office blocked a resolution condemning Hamas last fall, according to people familiar with the matter.
According to people familiar with the meeting, Security Council members were not given a copy of the ceasefire resolution and had to have it reviewed by the Security Council’s chief of staff.
Two Jewish Council members, Lynn Shulman of Queens and Julie Menin of Queens, did not attend the council meeting.
To make matters worse, the Jewish holiday of Shavuot begins at sundown on Tuesday, with many devout Jews observing the holiday until Friday morning.
Tensions are higher than ever in the United States between those who oppose Israel’s continued and relentless attacks on the Gaza Strip’s residents and those who believe Israel should do everything in its power to destroy Hamas.
Israeli air and ground strikes in the Gaza Strip have killed at least 37,084 Palestinians since October, according to data from the Gaza Strip’s Hamas-run Health Ministry, and thousands more are feared buried under the rubble of bombed-out buildings.
