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Ithaca council approves amended Reawakening mural after heated debate over 'Free Gaza' text
Summary
After a two-hour public-comment and council debate, Ithaca's Common Council retroactively approved the amended Reawakening (Underground Railroad) mural design — including 'Black Lives Matter' and 'Choose Love' — and rejected a separate amendment to remove the 'Free Gaza' text; council members cited both process concerns and artistic expression in their remarks.
The Ithaca Common Council voted 9–2 on March 4 to approve an amended design for the Reawakening (Underground Railroad) mural on Green Street, concluding a contentious public-comment period and lengthy council debate about whether the mural’s added language should be retroactively sanctioned.
The resolution before the council asked the city to execute an updated agreement with Ithaca Murals reflecting the amended design. Several speakers from the Jewish community and other residents urged the council to remove the "Free Gaza" text and a Palestinian flag element that they said were not in the originally approved sketch and made them feel unsafe. "By allowing this free Gaza and…
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