Two months after proclaiming its support for Israel, DeKalb County commissioners blocked a resolution calling for a permanent cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war, saying now that foreign policy matters are outside their purview.
Commissioner Ted Terry introduced the cease-fire resolution earlier this month at the urging of residents who asked the county to also speak up in support of Palestinians in light of the increasing civilian casualties in Gaza since the war’s start.
The resolution was criticized as one-sided and antisemitic. In the days after it was introduced, commissioners were deluged with emails for and against. At their meeting last week, public debate on the proposal erupted into a shouting match and ended with several members of the audience being removed by police.
It’s the latest example of how the war that erupted after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel is straining interfaith relationships and leaving local politicians with diverse constituencies caught in the middle. Cobb County commissioners were also criticized for a resolution deemed one-sided — theirs was in favor of Israel — that ultimately was withdrawn, too.
Terry tried to introduce a second resolution, one that removed the call for a cease-fire and tried to address some of the concerns raised by the Jewish community, but no other commissioners supported it, pushing instead to withdraw the resolution entirely.
Commissioner Larry Johnson was the first to seek the resolution’s withdrawal, saying it had “caused a lot of dissension and division.” Commissioner Steve Bradshaw echoed the request.
“I’m not the national security adviser of the United States of America... I’m not the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations... I am not secretary of state... And I am certainly not the president of the United States,” Bradshaw said. “My point is, this is not in our lane.”
A suggestion to delay a vote and discuss the issue more drew shouts from the crowd.
“I’m sorry to interrupt you but by the time you get to March, people will be dead,” a woman shouted before being escorted out by police. “There will be no Gaza left to debate. Shame on you.”
The vote to withdraw the resolution was 5-0-2, with Commissioners Terry and Lorraine Cochran-Johnson abstaining.
Terry said commissioners brought the issue into their lane by taking a stand in October and now lacked the courage to take a stand on a contentious topic.
“I take a little bit of issue with saying: ‘Oh we shouldn’t deal with this issue because it’s controversial.’” Terry said in an interview after the meeting. “That’s exactly why we should deal with this. The people that we represent have asked us to say something about this.”
Commissioner Robert Patrick said the issue was beyond the commissioners’ ability to resolve, and that further debates by them would only lead to more community division. In an interview, he stood by the commissioners’ October proclamation but said the issue has grown more complex in the weeks since.
“Since then, the intractability of that conflict has become more evident,” Patrick said.
Public comment on the issue was fraught, with some speakers moved to tears and others to shouting. Several speakers asked commissioners to approve the resolution as it was introduced.
“This is an ongoing horror and must be stopped,” Ilise Cohen said. “We need to register our voices as DeKalb County.”
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