ATHENS, Ohio — While Athens this week joined a growing chorus of local governments in Ohio and beyond calling for a ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza, public officials contacted by the Independent did not say they were taking such resolutions into account.
The Athens resolution, prompted by community pressure and passed in a 4-2 vote Monday, calls for an “immediate ceasefire and de-escalation in Israel and occupied Palestine.” The resolution came the same week that the U.S. for a third time vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution for a humanitarian ceasefire.
Large crowds at the past three Athens City Council meetings pressed for the ceasefire resolution, with many speakers condemning Israel’s actions in Gaza as a genocide of Palestinians.
A spokesperson for U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat representing Ohio, did not directly address the Independent’s questions about the Athens resolution. In a statement, the spokesperson affirmed Brown’s commitment to funding Israel’s war on Gaza, citing Israel’s “right to defend itself.”
The spokesperson said Brown voted last week “to send critical military support to Israel, along with humanitarian aid to Gaza.”
“Senator Brown also believes that the United States must work with our allies to secure a diplomatic solution that frees the hostages still held by Hamas, ensures the continued delivery of humanitarian aid, ends the fighting that has killed too many civilians in Gaza and Israel, and forges peace in the long-term,” the statement said.
Republican U.S. Congressman Troy Balderson, who represents Ohio’s 12th Congressional District that includes Athens, did not share a statement pertaining to the Athens resolution.
Office staff said Balderson stands by his November 2023 vote to provide $14.3 billion in funding for Israel’s war and previous statements that he will work “non-stop in Washington to stand up for the people of Israel” and that “The U.S must stand ready to provide the support Israel needs to defend itself.”
Activists have called on governments to divest from Israel for its actions against Palestinians; at Monday’s meeting, council member Micah McCarey, At Large, and Athens residents alike referred to Ohio’s large holdings of Israeli bonds.
McCarey said at Monday’s council meeting that “the Ohio purchase of Israel bonds that have been shown to have intended military purposes” makes the council resolution locally relevant.
Athens resident Selena Wilkinson said at the meeting, “I’m appalled that the state I now proudly call home would invest so heavily … in the genocidal actions of Israel.”
When contacted by the Independent for comment, a spokesperson for Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague indicated that the state’s position would not change.
“Like every Ohio Treasurer dating back to 1993, both Democrat and Republican, Treasurer Sprague views Israel Bonds as a sound investment for Ohio thanks to their perfect record of interest and principal payments,” said Brittany Halpin, Sprague’s press secretary.
State Rep. Jay Edwards (R-Nelsonville), whose term ends Dec. 31, attended Monday night’s council meeting and spoke mainly about the city’s regulatory environment, which he said has made Athens “the worst place” many businesspeople have operated. He condemned the council’s priorities, including the council’s focus on a ceasefire resolution in recent weeks.
“We’re picking and choosing outrage, we’re picking and choosing things to work on that isn’t benefiting the city of Athens and the people that have lived here,” Edwards said.
Ash, a Palestinian Athens resident who has participated in community organizing for a ceasefire and requested to be identified only by their first name, said the Athens resolution is just one part of a growing movement.
“Eventually it looks pretty bad the more towns in this nation state disagree with what its federal government is doing with directly funding the genocide and simultaneously withdrawing humanitarian aid, when the primary rhetoric this country uses to justify its power is claiming itself to be a democracy,” Ash said in an email.
Ash added that even if the resolution does not impact state or federal policy, the resolution can have a local impact by showing that the “anti-Palestinianism present within many communities throughout the US, particularly in white Israel-supporting spaces … is not supported by the surrounding community.”
“Overall, while the passage of a ceasefire resolution in Athens, Ohio is obviously not going to bring about the liberation of Palestine, it is justified that we fight for liberation by all means, from all over,” Ash said.
