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Public commenter urges Bethlehem council to condemn reported killings in Gaza
Summary
A public commenter called on Bethlehem city leaders to explicitly condemn what he called a genocide in Gaza and criticized media, academia and local institutions for failing to take stronger anti-imperialist stances.
During the public-comment period on Jan. 13, Harry Faber urged Bethlehem's City Council to explicitly acknowledge and condemn killings in Gaza and criticized the summarization of his previous remarks, saying the minutes had removed words he used.
"When you choose to remove these specific words from my comments, you're effectively complicit in Israel's genocidal policies," Faber said. He urged the council to "normalize speaking out against genocide" and said that local leaders could set an example for the region and the state by issuing an explicit condemnation. Faber quoted an academic critique of U.S. political institutions and said systemic change was necessary.
The council did not vote or take action on the speaker's request during the meeting. President Colon and other members received the public comment during the open-comment period.
Ending: The record shows the remarks aired during the public-comment segment; no formal council motion or response was recorded on the subject during the Jan. 13 meeting.
