A resolution calling for a “permanent ceasefire in Israel and Gaza” sparked outbursts at the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners meeting. A few disruptive members of the audience were escorted out by police.
The resolution, written weeks ago by Commissioner Ted Terry, was ultimately withdrawn. The first version of the resolution was defamatory, said a local expert in the First Amendment and international law.
“Some of the things that they put into original resolution were beyond false. They were defamatory and downright antisemitic, blood libel level. Those were taken out,” said attorney Mark Goldfeder.
Read the original resolution below:
Constituents and religious leaders spoke at the opening of the meeting. Palestinian flags and signs were on display in the audience.
“Respecting human life is not antisemitic. Be brave, be courageous, be remembered for doing the right thing and standing on the right side of history. A ceasefire supports both sides,” said Muse Ghanayem, a Brookhaven attorney of Palestinian descent.
Activist Keyanna Jones, representing the Atlanta Interfaith Coalition for Palestine, asked commissioners to “do the right thing.”
“Stop hiding behind who you might be afraid of who has Jewish money to give you … When you say that something is antisemitic, it is not simply because you condemn wrongdoing by Jewish people or Israelis. Antisemitism refers to everyone in that area. We need to stand on facts. We need to stop being led by conjecture,” Jones said.
Goldfeder, who is also director of the National Jewish Advocacy Center, called Jones out as an antisemite.
“We just heard an antisemite stand here with her antisemitic tropes about Jews and power and money and she couldn’t control herself,” Goldfeder said. “I am shocked to the core that I just heard a public display of antisemitism from a woman who pretends to be a person of faith. That was disgusting and horribly offensive.”
As Goldfeder continued, shouting could be heard from the auditorium. Commissioner Robert Patrick asked for the immediate removal of the disruptor.
“This is a highly contentious issue,” said Patrick. “Everyone has been given an opportunity to speak their mind. Excuse me … Please escort that gentleman out.”
Goldfeder later told Rough Draft that local government should “focus on doing what they were put in government to do.”
Terry introduced a substitute ceasefire resolution, which was not yet publicly available, and asked for a one-week deferral. The resolution was in response to emails and comments for the commissioners to “acknowledge what’s going on in Gaza,” he said.
The American Jewish Committee was one organization that urged the committee to remove some of the most offensive assertions, Goldfeder said.
The motion failed for lack of support. Rough Draft has requested a copy of the legislation.
Commissioner Steve Bradshaw said the issue was “not in our lane” and pushed for the withdrawal of the resolution. Commissioner Larry Johnson said the discussion should begin with the community, not the government.
“We waded into this issue on Oct. 10, with a proclamation where we stood in unity with Israel, and we expressed our profound sorrow and combination of the tragic loss of life by the genocidal terrorist attack by Hamas, because Hamas has said that they intend to destroy every Israeli and Jew not only in the area, but on Earth,” said Terry.
“Since then, we have seen the very sorrowful killing of innocent civilians in Gaza,” said Terry. “There is a right to respond but how that response is to be conducted should exist within the confines of the rules of war.”
“While some might think that it’s not our business to weigh in on every world event, it does become our prerogative when we have dozens, if not hundreds, of our own residents asking us to weigh in on it. I do not take lightly stepping into a discussion that is controversial, and certainly is divisive. We’ve seen that here today,” said Terry.
The commissioners voted 5-0-2 to withdraw the resolution to March 2024. Commissioners Terry and Lorraine Cochran Johnson abstained from the vote while Patrick, Johnson, Bradshaw, and Michelle Long Spears voted to withdraw.
Editor’s Note: This article has been corrected. Rough Draft Atlanta originally reported the resolution was deferred. It was withdrawn.