Iowa City Council unanimously voted to boycott Israel bonds and companies

[vanessa_ca]

Iowa City Council unanimously voted to boycott Israel bonds and companies complicit in Israel’s genocide in Gaza, becoming the first city in a GOP-majority state to do so. The measure builds on its Jan. 2024 ceasefire resolution, marking a major win for the BDS movement.

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The decision was met with cheers from community members who filled the council chambers and the lobby of City Hall. More than 20 people, ranging from 10 years old to senior citizens, spoke during public comment in support of the resolution. Dozens more stood by with signs and Palestinian flags.

“Tonight is a resolution that is rooted really in our community values of what we really stand for, which is peace, justice, dignity for every human,” Mayor Bruce Teague said Tuesday night at the City Council meeting. “… This resolution does call for the city of Iowa City to boycott public investments and entities complicit in the ongoing humanitarian crisis (in) Gaza, including assistance and the oppression of the Palestinian people. I have no issues calling it what it is. It's genocide, and that does not make me antisemitic at all.”

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Weilein and council member Mazahir Salih were visibly emotional when discussing the resolution, specifically a line that mentions the number of children who have been killed in Gaza since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel ignited the conflict.

“... It is a step, a step toward justice, toward dignity, toward recognition that Palestinian people deserve a future, a future with peace, with safety and with hope,” Salih said of the resolution.

Council member Shawn Harmsen, who voted in favor of the resolution, told those present that the city needs to be prepared for some backlash and loss of funding on a state or federal level as a result of supporting the resolution.

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https://www.thegazette.com/local-government/iowa-city-passes-resolution-calling-for-boycott-of-public-money-toward-israel/

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[JT45242]

1. "first municipality in a majority republican state" ...sort of

Iowa city is a blue dot (or blue stain if you're Covid Kimmy our governor or "we all die" senator Ernst) in a majority republican state in a way that few cities exist.

When I moved here 12ish years ago from Ohio, I was told how different the area was from the rest of the state.

40 percent of the families have at least one parent with a master's degree or higher.
The average ACT score at the three public high schools that serve Iowa city and the suburbs is over 27 (so the average kid is in the 90th percentile nationwide).

At one point the top six employers were in no particular order: the university, the school district, the hospital, and the three assessment giants, ACT, College board, and Pearson.

We are so different from the rest of Iowa to be almost on another planet.

[emulatorloo]

2. Of course. Iowa City is very blue and very progressive. Thanks for posting!