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Multiple speakers at Cincinnati council meeting urge full Gaza ceasefire, arms embargo and city divestment
Summary
During public comment at the Jan. 22 Cincinnati City Council meeting, several residents and activists criticized the council's language on Gaza, urged a full ceasefire and called for an arms embargo and divestment; one speaker also asked the city to create a registry of individuals who served in the Israeli military.
At the Jan. 22 Cincinnati City Council meeting, a sequence of public commentators urged the council to take stronger action on Israel’s conduct in Gaza, including calling for a full ceasefire, an arms embargo and divestment of city funds from companies linked to the Israeli military.
Speakers said the council’s earlier language — described by multiple speakers as a “pause” rather than a call to end violence — was insufficient. Mohammed Amal cited human-rights organizations when he told council members that “Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and a United Nations special committee, have all declared that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.” Lena Zarrub urged accountability for individuals who served in the Israeli military, saying council members were preparing “to welcome back individuals who served in the Israeli military, individuals who have committed war crimes” and demanding “the city of Cincinnati create a registry identifying these individuals and their addresses.”
Other speakers repeated calls for an arms embargo and divestment. Alexander Witty and Aiko Kimura asked the council to support municipal divestment from companies complicit in Israel’s actions; Kimura said the U.S. government was preparing “to sell $8,000,000,000 worth of new weapons to the Israeli occupation.” Jonathan Nortman and other commentators described civilian casualties and alleged ceasefire violations and urged the council to go beyond symbolic statements.
Not all speakers cited the same sources. The speakers referenced reports and institutions in differing ways: Amal named Amnesty, Human Rights Watch and a U.N. committee; another speaker referenced figures attributed to The Lancet medical journal. Several speakers framed their remarks as moral or humanitarian appeals to the council’s conscience rather than requests for a specific local ordinance.
Council members did not take action during the public comment period on the items raised. The remarks were taken under the meeting’s public-comment agenda before the formal business portion began.
Public-comment speakers who addressed Gaza included Mohammed Amal; Lena Zarrub; Jonathan Nortman; Aiko Kimura; and Alexander Witty. Other speakers during public comment addressed unrelated local concerns, including housing and city corruption.
