State College passes controversial cease-fire resolution to ‘stand on the side of humanity’
The State College Borough Council unanimously passed a resolution calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war on Wednesday, after weeks of deliberations and making changes to draft resolutions.
During a four hour long meeting Wednesday — a continuation of a meeting from earlier in the week — the council heard from more than 60 people both in support of and in opposition to the resolution.
The resolution, a simplified version of what had previously been considered, states the State College community “shares a common humanity” and asks the borough’s congressional representatives to join the council in:
“Urging the Biden administration to immediately call for and facilitate de-escalation and a ceasefire, condemning the October 7th attack on Israelis by Hamas and that all parties should join to urgently end the current violence in Gaza and to continue its work toward the release of all hostages; and
Calling upon the Biden administration to promptly send and facilitate the entry of humanitarian assistance at the scale needed into Gaza; and
Supporting all of its residents and condemning all forms of racism, bigotry, and discrimination; and
Advocating for the dignity and safety of residents in every community; and
Affirming its commitment to combating antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism, homophobia, xenophobia, and ethnic discrimination in all its forms; and
Recognizing the need to address the root causes of crises for a pathway to lasting peace and justice; and
Calling for continued open, honest, respectful, and tolerant conversation among our local community in support of our common humanity.”
Council member Nalini Krishnankutty said State College is the first in Pennsylvania to pass a resolution calling for a cease-fire and to “stand on the side of humanity, on the side of peace and on the side of children,” thanks to the community’s unity.
Resolution ‘clearly lays out’ goals
Earlier this month the council voted 4-2 to withdraw a similar resolution after the proposal drew an impassioned response from community members. In the weeks since, more residents have spoken about the lack of call to action from the council.
It was originally Council member Gopal Balachandran’s idea to pass such a resolution, and he and council member Nalini Krishnankutty were the only two to previously vote against withdrawing the resolution.
Throughout the process, some residents have argued that the council should focus on local issues, saying that this resolution won’t do anything. On Wednesday, Balachandran said just because the council is a local governing body doesn’t mean it won’t have an impact.
“Of course, we are a local body. But that doesn’t mean resolutions like these are not important as a statement of our values. Many towns and city councils throughout the country are having these very conversations, providing valuable opportunities for residents to voice their opinions,” Balachandran said. “And I have no illusions about this, right? I mean our resolution, it’s not as if Joe Biden is waiting for a resolution from State College borough ... but that does not mean its impact is zero. It’s like a drop of water and with enough drops, canyons are carved.”
Other council members explained why they changed their stance on the resolution.
Council member Peter Marshall said wasn’t in favor of a resolution at first because the issue is emotional and divisive. But reconsidered when he learned the large amount of explosives Israel used on Gaza, and that some air and ground missiles have been unguided in Gaza.
“I support a resolution that provides for either an extended temporary cease-fire or a permanent cease-fire to permit massive humanitarian aid to the citizens of Gaza. This includes water, food, medicine, fuel, etc. And I think that the indiscriminate bombing by Israel and Hamas has to stop.”
Council member Janet Engeman said she didn’t think the council had enough time to consider the resolution previously. But this simplified resolution “very clearly lays out what it is we want to do.”
Residents divided on cease-fire
Many of the 100-plus area residents in the room had signs and flags they held and waved throughout the meeting. Some signs said “Please council, do not expose your inhumanity by voting no,” others had pictures of civilians killed in the war with messages like “not just numbers.”
Some questioned the timing of the meeting and lack of notice. Jenny Smith, a borough resident, said she was happy the meeting was taking place but noted that it was happening while a large majority of the borough’s population — college students — were not in town due to winter break.
“As a student and as a worker in the community, I know that students and workers both overwhelmingly support a cease-fire. If you vote against this resolution, I can tell you that you will lose the votes of those students whose voices you pretend to care about until it’s inconvenient for you to do so. We will not vote for you,” Smith said. “If you vote against this resolution, you will show everyone here that the borough isn’t actually the voice of the community, but is instead an anti-democratic group of spineless politicians who run on the promises of equality and allyship, but don’t do anything to concretely support marginalized people here and abroad.”
Mohammed Al Megbel, of State College, supported the cease-fire but questioned why a line condemning the Oct. 7 attack was added. He asked if there would be a motion to condemn what happened on the days leading up to Oct. 7 or in the days since.
“Let’s stand with humanity. And that’s what we’re calling for. We’re asking our counselors to call for a cease-fire to stop the killing of women, children, men, who are just like us. And this by no means is a war against Hamas. Zero percent. This is a war against the Palestinian people. The bombing is targeting Palestinian people. They’re not killing Hamas, they’re killing the Palestinian people. And at this point, I don’t know how someone can stand by and look at what is happening and think that this is OK,” he said.
Others, like Robert Eckhardt, said he was shocked they were having the meeting and called it “one of the most politically rigged situations” he’s seen. The council made the correct decision when they declined to vote on a resolution, he said.
Zoe Boniface, a member of the State College Planning Commission, said she was more concerned about what happens next than about what happened with the vote. She asked the council what they can do after the meeting to help everyone be members of one community.
“I am concerned that there are a lot of people in this room who now actively are hurting, maybe passively were hurting before but now we may have a harder time living with our neighbors and remembering that everyone in this room, as well as other places, is a human being,” Boniface said. “...There is a sign that I saw as I walked in the door tonight hanging over that open space, and it said ‘hate has no home.’ How can we make that real?”
