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Residents praise Northampton council’s divestment vote and urge further action on defense contractor presence
Summary
Public commenters at Northampton’s Oct. 6 meeting praised the council’s unanimous divestment resolution and urged next steps, including addressing local ties to defense contractor L3Harris; multiple speakers said the resolution has energized activists across Western Mass.
Several residents used the public-comment period at the Oct. 6 Northampton City Council meeting to thank councilors for a unanimous resolution to divest from Israeli apartheid and genocide and to press for additional local actions.
"I live in Northampton, Ward 3, and I'm here today to express my sincere appreciation to the council for passing a resolution last meeting to divest from Israeli apartheid and genocide," Eve Glazier told the council. She said the unanimous vote has energized activists across Western Massachusetts and the Commonwealth, and offered to deliver collected thank-you notes to the council.
Ace Thalo (Ward 3) also thanked the council for the divestment vote and said he appreciated Councilor Rothenberg acknowledging a prior mistake. Thalo criticized later comments by Rothenberg comparing Northampton’s current government to the Israeli government as "dismissive and belittling" of harms he described, and said that the next step in the movement should include attention to local ties to defense contractors such as L3Harris.
Council rules prohibit councilors from responding during public comment; the council received the remarks for the public record. The speakers framed their remarks as civic advocacy and asked the council and mayor to clarify next steps for implementation of the divestment resolution at a future meeting.
