Attend Cambridge meetings from Jan. 26-Feb. 2 about a Middle East cease-fire call, senior homes
These are just some of the municipal meetings and civic events for the coming week. More are on the City Calendar and in the city’s Open Meetings Portal.
Middle East cease-fire order
A protest Jan. 8 at Cambridge City Halls for city councillors to pass a resolution calling for a cease-fire in the Middle East. (Photo: Yaakov Aldrich)
City Council, 5:30 p.m. Monday. In a so-far sedate term for a new council, the biggest public tumult has been over demand for a Middle East cease-fire resolution, a version of which failed last term when councillors weren’t able to offer changes in language. A difference this time is that instead of coming from two councillors, a new version is backed by four – including one who wanted to propose changes last term – and arrives already closer to passage.
Much of the rest of the agenda looks to move forward existing work, such as taking off the books an unenforced law against unrelated people living together and confirmation from the city manager that staff will look into buying property at 727 Massachusetts Ave. near City Hall. An order meant to encourage electric-car infrastructure returns after being set aside a week ago.
An update on the family homeless shelter that the state opened in December at the Registry of Deeds in East Cambridge is promised by the City Manager’s Office, and councillors call for support for a bill before the state Legislature that would, in turn, help Cambridge expand its struggling tree canopy.
Televised and watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
Advisers on bike lanes meet
Cycling Safety Ordinance Advisory Group, 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday. An agenda for this meeting hasn’t been posted, but this is the group that advises the city on outreach and engagement around Cycling Safety Ordinance projects – the installation of approximately 25 miles of separated bike lanes by 2027 – and gives feedback on project installations. The group meets at the City Hall Annex, 344 Broadway, Mid-Cambridge. Watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
Lechmere Park and senior homes
Planning Board, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. The board gets an informational update on changes at Lechmere Canal Park in East Cambridge and reviews a proposal by the nonprofit B’nai B’rith Housing to add 110 units of affordable senior housing to an existing 80 at 89 Blanchard Road, in the Cambridge Highlands (covering 87-101 Blanchard Road), under the provisions of Affordable Housing Overlay zoning. It was a hearing intended for Tuesday, when a tech glitch prevented the hearing from being held: The city”s Internet connectivity went down, staff said. Watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
This post was updated Jan. 26, 2024, to show that Monday’s meeting of the City Council will not be held in-person.
What difference does it make if city councilers say to cease-fire in Gaza. Do these protesters think Just because Cambridge City Councillors say it. It will stop, pretty stupid thinking! Protesters should go help your people, stop messing up our country. A bunch of cowards for sure!
I’m sorry some Cambridge residents don’t understand why Detroit, Oakland, San Francisco, Atlanta; Seattle; Dearborn, Mich.; Albany, N.Y.; Akron, Ohio; Providence, R.I., Bridgeport, CT, Somerville, MA …. have voted for a ceasefire in Israel/Palestine. For the most part those opposing a ceasefire do not recognize the humanity of Gazans–they view their lives as simply expendable–as revenge, which by the way is not a Jewish value. The incredible Islamophobia accompanying support for the genocide within Gaza should strike a city that confronted how to recognize its Muslim residents–that led to including Muslim holidays among the other school holidays–something that we who were commissioners on the Human Rights Commission were proud to sponsor. If only our city councilors would read the writings, perhaps publicly, of the many Gazan poets, journalists, writers, the young people that discussed their dreams as musicians, athletes, inventors, etc. now dead by Israeli missiles, funded by the US. If Gazan humanity has a place in the world then a ceasefire must be supported! Perhaps you heard the well known actor Brian Cox (Succession) read the poem by the late Refaat Alereer, If I Must Die. If not here it is. A real mensch was he.
If I must die,
you must live
to tell my story
to sell my things
to buy a piece of cloth
and some strings,
(make it white with a long tail)
so that a child, somewhere in Gaza
while looking heaven in the eye
awaiting his dad who left in a blaze —
and bid no one farewell
not even to his flesh
not even to himself —
sees the kite, my kite you made, flying up above,
and thinks for a moment an angel is there
bringing back love.
If I must die
let it bring hope,
let it be a story.
A well-financed pro-Israel lobbying group based – ironically, given their suggested talking points – in “Greater Boston,” are attempting to mobilize opposition to efforts in Cambridge to call for a “durable Ceasefire” in Gaza and stop the ongoing genocidal slaughter of Palestinian men, women and children there with an unprecedented intensity the world has rarely, if ever, witnessed or been compelled to endure. It’s interesting to see how some of these points are already being parroted by some of our Cambridge City Councillors, some of whom seem more “skittish” about the unlikely possibility of some noisy disruption (now that a policy order is on the agenda) than they are about the reduction of an entire extremely dense territory and people to rubble.
Bono attended the Somerville meeting where a heavily watered down Resolution was, indeed, passed. All who attended were well behaved, despite constant fear-mongering by those who will brook no criticism of genocidal violence whatsoever, unless it harkens back exclusively to the horrors of the Nazi Holocaust. (Why not, instead:”Never Again – to Anyone!” as some courageous Jewish groups like ‘Not in My Name’ and ‘Jewish Voice for Peace’ have urged?) Yet here in Cambridge, draconian, undemocratic and silencing censorship prevails. This can only succeed in aggravating, for good reason, those unreasonably excluded, achieving the exact opposite of the allegedly intended and announced “goal” – by, for example, deciding to conduct Monday’s City Council Meeting entirely”remotely.” In an historic vote of 15-2 – given the inherently political nature of this UN body – the International Court of Justice in The Hague have declared that a “plausible case” of Genocide can be found, and they have ordered immediate interim measures to mitigate the crisis and prevent “irreparable harm.” One can only hope the Cambridge City Council will shake off their complacency and find the courage to, in this case,”Do the Right Thing.” [The aforementioned “talking points” being circulated will be included below in a separate post if possible.]
Here are the aforementioned “talking points” being circulated and promoted by people associated with the “Jewish Community Council of Greater Boston.” You can also see some of this same material featured prominently on their website…
______________
The following are some talking points that you can use:
Thank council for trying to represent the interests of the community, but point out that we want our city council to work on actionable matters at city-level that fall in the scope of councill, and avoid international affairs that divide the community.
Ask for an amendment to specifically identify Hamas as a recognized terrorist organization according to the Department of State and Department of Treasury, alongside the European Union, United Kingdom, Argentina, Japan, Paraguay, New Zealand, Australia and Canada.
Point out that people from outside Cambridge are leading the calls for a ceasefire resolution, sending emails, making phone calls; those people do not represent us, and city council does not represent them.
Ask the council to replace “ceasefire” in the title with “cessation of violence / hostility”. It is unclear what a ceasefire means at this point given a ceasefire existed on 10/6.
Ask for an amendment to remove specific Palestinian casualty numbers, as they are provided by Hamas and purposely mix combatant and civilian casualties together to mislead and bamboozle. (We should not state them as fact without understanding that these numbers come from the same terrorist organization responsible for 10/7.) The resolution also fails to call out Hamas for embedding and fighting from civilian centers.
Ask for a change in the word “urging” to “demanding” for the unconditional release of the hostages etc.
Ask the council to condemn the bullying and non-democratic disruption of recent Cambridge council meetings. The council must send a message that they will listen to all voices, and not simply allow the loudest and most aggressive ones to drown out other Cantabrigians. Bullying is not democracy.
We want dialogue and respect. We expect councilors in general to seek consensus and find effective compromises– this does not mean caving to the most militant voice that knocks down their door, but rather working within the community to find unity.
The Jewish community of Cambridge is threatened and impacted by genocidal chants of “From the River to the Sea” and “Globalize the Intifada”. We call on Cambridge council to condemn these antisemitic dog whistles.
This resolution fails to recognize Israel’s right to exist in safety and security, and its right and obligation to defend its citizens. It also centers around an unrealistic assumption that an enduring ceasefire is possible while Hamas is in power.
[end]
Or…
in other words:”Hamas, Hamas, Hamas…”