Minneapolis passes Gaza ceasefire resolution despite mayor's veto – Winnipeg Free Press

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The Minneapolis City Council on Thursday overrode the mayor's veto and approved a resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza and an end to U.S. military funding to Israel.

The office of Mayor Jacob Frey, who is Jewish, said he had “clearly and consistently” supported the ceasefire, but he vetoed the resolution last week because its language was “one-sided” and about rising anti-Semitism in Minneapolis and beyond.

The resolution calls for a full, immediate and permanent ceasefire by state and federal authorities; providing urgently needed humanitarian aid; End US military funding to Israel; release of Israelis held by Hamas; and the release of thousands of Palestinians “held without reason or trial in Israeli military prisons.”

In a joint statement, Council President Elliott Payne and Council Vice President Aisha Chughtai said they were proud of the nine council members who voted to override the mayor's veto.

Sana Wazwaz, head of the Minnesota chapter of Muslim Americans in Palestine, said in a statement that the vote represents a radical change in what it is possible to criticize Israel for. Wazwaz said the Minneapolis resolution is unique because it calls for a complete end to US aid to Israel.

The Twin Cities chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace also supported the council's decision. “As Jews involved in this process, we were guided by our values ​​and our experiences of intergenerational trauma, which led us to say 'never again' to anyone,” Jewish Voice for Peace spokesman Nat El-Hay said in a statement.

Minneapolis is the latest US city to approve such a non-binding resolution in recent months, following Chicago, Atlanta, Detroit and San Francisco.