Residents urge South Burlington to place ‘apartheid‑free community’ pledge on ballot after flag‑related assault

Dozens of residents used the public‑comment period at the Oct. 6 South Burlington City Council meeting to urge the council to place an “apartheid free community” (AFC) pledge on the March ballot and to publicly condemn what they described as dehumanizing rhetoric tied to events overseas.

Drew Shatzer, a South Burlington resident and organizer with the local AFC group, told the council he recently was assaulted outside City Hall and linked the attack to displaying a Palestinian flag in his car. "I was targeted because I was flying a Palestinian flag in my car," Shatzer said, and asked councilors to let voters decide whether to adopt the pledge.

Supporters framed the measure as consistent with the city’s 2022 declaration of inclusion. Joanne Blanchard, who said she reviewed the pledge language, told the council it aligns with earlier city commitments to "provide a safe and welcoming community for all." Several other speakers, including Jordana Churchill and Crystal Cole, said they feared that rejecting the pledge on the grounds that it would cause division would repeat past mistakes and urged the council to enable a democratic vote.

Opponents were not on record in the meeting room; speakers acknowledged contentious debate in other Vermont towns that had taken similar steps and said the local vote would not affect federal or state policy but would express community values. The speakers repeatedly asked the council to place the pledge on the ballot and to treat the public safety incident outside City Hall as part of the urgency for the measure.

The council thanked commenters and said staff would follow up about placing this item on a future agenda so it could be considered for ballot placement.