Public commenters press Cincinnati to divest, cite Gaza humanitarian crisis; no council action recorded

Several speakers during public comment urged Cincinnati City Council and city pension authorities to divest from companies they said are complicit in abuses in Gaza, invoking international law and past local divestment precedent.

A Zoom commenter, identified as Aiko Kamura, read the U.N. definition of genocide and said they had seen "a baby that had just been born. The top half of their skull was missing" and that "food hasn't entered Gaza in over 2 months." Bettina Ernst referenced a 1985 City Council motion that urged the city pension system to divest from South Africa, and urged Cincinnati to consider divestment now. Lina Zharub criticized council silence about what she called a rise in anti-Palestinian hate and said the council's refusal to say the word "Palestinian" contributed to erasure.

Speakers framed their appeals as moral and fiscal. Bettina Ernst said the citywas previously willing to "encourage the divestment of Cincinnati's money from any company in any countries that institute systemic discrimination and violence," and argued the current situation "does not protect human health" and "amounts to genocide." Jonathan Norman and others connected local community harms and racialized violence to international events.

The nut graf: These public comments were appeals to municipal policymakers and pension boards rather than agenda items for immediate council action. No council motion, vote or instruction to staff to begin a divestment process was recorded in the meeting minutes. Several speakers called for an immediate divestment and for the city to use its financial leverage; council members did not announce any formal next steps on divestment during the session.

Council members acknowledged the public comments but did not take action. The meeting record shows the testimony entered into the public record and speakers asked the city to "divest now."