March 6, 2024

The language of the ceasefire resolution passed today by the St. Paul City Council was a marked improvement over the antisemitic resolution passed in Minneapolis and reflects genuine interest in the consensus perspective of the Jewish community.  

The St. Paul resolution appealed to city unity; explicitly condemned the use of murder, kidnapping, and rape by Hamas on and since October 7; and did not call for an unqualified end to U.S. military aid to Israel. It also avoided the most inflammatory aspects of the Minneapolis resolution by not invoking the false charges of genocide or apartheid against Israel. 

JCRC thanks Council Member Rebecca Noecker, the Council’s only Jewish member, for her leadership in working with her Council colleagues to incorporate and modify language that reflects the consensus Jewish community perspective. 

In contrast to thoughtful, inclusive comments from CM Noecker, several Council Members made disturbing comments about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from the dais, including an instance of Holocaust inversion. Predictably, the whole resolution charade invited intense anger and anti-Jewish sentiments to City Hall today. We continue to believe that international policy is not the responsibility of city governments. 

Finally, we remain grateful to the scores of Jewish St. Paulites who connected directly with their council members, the approximately forty community members from St. Paul and beyond who came to this afternoon’s hearing, and our colleagues at the St. Paul Federation, Mt. Zion Temple, Temple of Aaron, Beth Jacob, and Chabad of Macalester-Groveland for helping to organize our community. 

We remain a resilient community. Am Yisrael Chai! 

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