The Brunswick Town Council opted not to consider a resolution calling for a cease-fire in the war in Gaza, drawing consternation from advocates and praise from opponents.
Monday night’s Town Council meeting kicked off with tension as Council Chairperson Abby King read a statement explaining why she would not bring the resolution before council despite residents asking her to do so. She said that while she has heard about a petition and calls for a cease-fire resolution, she believed the issue was “divisive” and that fellow councilors supported her decision to not consider it.
“The war in Israel and Palestine is very clearly a humanitarian crisis. I am as personally horrified by the violence as anyone,” King said. “It’s also an extremely complex issue that has resulted in a spectrum of strong emotion both worldwide and right here in Brunswick.” She noted that she understood those calling for a cease-fire and empathized with those impacted by war in Gaza.
“To put the work into crafting a statement that adequately would capture our condemnation of global violence, while also acknowledging the complexity of residents’ individual perspectives on this issue, is a Herculean task that neither town staff nor council have the expertise or capacity to do even if it were possible, which I don’t really believe it is,” King said. “Furthermore, I have not seen evidence that a statement from this body would contribute in any meaningful way to a peaceful resolution of this long-standing conflict. I have seen evidence that attempts to enact a resolution on this highly personal and politicized issue would cause further division and anger in a town that already has a lot on its plate and, frankly, has already experienced quite a bit of division over the past year.”
The entirety of King’s statement can be viewed on Brunswick TV3.
Divided on a cease-fire
Former Lewiston Mayor Larry Gilbert was the first to step to the microphone after King’s statement at the meeting.
Gilbert, who is also a former police chief and Vietnam War veteran, called on the council to reconsider its position, stating that Lewiston City Council adopted a similar measure in April. Gilbert also told the council that since U.S. Sen. Angus King lives in Brunswick, a resolution for cease-fire could carry more weight within the U.S. government.
“I came here because my tax dollars that I pay are supporting this,” Gilbert said. “[Because] we are complicit, I don’t care if you’re the president, you’re a senator, you’re a congressman, you’re a city councilor — by not speaking out against this genocide … the silence is deafening.”
Three residents spoke against the cease-fire resolution at the meeting, while six residents spoke in favor, with many expressing disappointment that the council would not consider it.
“I will clarify that I’m not opposed to meaningful conversations, I just don’t think Town Council is the place to have them,” King said in response to one resident.
Brunswick weighs in
Carol Masterson
Brunswick resident Carol Masterson drafted a petition for the cease-fire resolution in early March. The petition drew over 80 signatures on actionnetwork.org and over 200 signatures on change.org as of May 23.
Masterson said the petition has become a coalition project, garnering support from groups like Jewish Voices for Peace and Maine Democratic Socialists of America. Masterson said she was additionally inspired by student efforts at Bowdoin College to push for a cease-fire.
“I was, and still am, feeling grief and sadness over the slaughter of thousands of innocent Palestinian civilians,” Masterson said. “I was hearing about cities and towns passing cease-fire resolutions and felt strongly that Brunswick should make a statement about this human rights tragedy as well.”
Judy Gatchell
Judy Gatchell of Brunswick questioned why town councils were being asked to weigh in on the war and said that the discourse made the Jewish people she knew uncomfortable.
“It’s unfortunate that it has to be this divisive,” Gatchell said, adding that many Americans may not understand what it is like to be Jewish here. Of course, she said, she has compassion for innocent people but worries that ending the war at this point would leave Hamas in power.
“It’s a sad, sad time,” she said.
Jessica Czarnecki
Brunswick resident Jessica Czarnecki said that Zionism, the movement to establish, develop and protect a Jewish nation in what’s now known as Israel, should not define Jewish values, history or culture. As long as Zionist Jews have been around, Czarnecki said, anti-Zionist Jews have also been present.
“Opposing the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people is perhaps one of the most Jewish values I can think of,” said Czarnecki, who is Jewish.
Czarnecki added that they do not want their tax dollars being spent on the destruction in Gaza.
“That money could be far better spent housing, feeding and educating everyone who lives here.”
Shaun Hogan
Shaun Hogan, a 10-year combat veteran, said that while he respected differing opinions on the war, he disagreed with the proposed cease-fire resolution.
“To characterize Israel’s self-defense of their ability to exist as genocide cheapens the meaning of the word ‘genocide,’ ” said Hogan, who later referenced the Holocaust, Rwandan genocide and the elimination of the Uyghurs as true examples of the term. “It makes me really sad to hear from fellow veterans and fellow Jews that they actually feel this way.”
Joanne Rosenthal
Retiree Joanne Rosenthal said she agrees with King’s decision not to put the resolution to a vote.
“Within Israel there is a growing mass movement of Israelis and Palestinians working together for a cease-fire and hostage release deal,” Rosenthal said. “Rather than taking a ‘side,’ engaged citizens can stand in solidarity with and support these grassroots activists on the frontlines of this humanitarian catastrophe.”
Debates increase as war drags on
The push for cease-fire has been a contentious topic in Brunswick in recent months. As more Brunswick residents advocate for action at Town Hall, students and professors at Bowdoin College have also joined the universities across the nation in advocating for peace in the Middle East.
In early May, over 80 Bowdoin College professors signed a letter of support for students protesting the war across the country. The letter also called on the school to respect the results of a student vote to disclose investments, amongst other requests that would limit the school’s financial involvement in the war. The student-backed measure received pushback from college President Safa Zaki.
The growing Brunswick debate comes after the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and three Hamas leaders. These political figures are accused of crimes against humanity, charges that both sides have rejected, according to The Associated Press. The leaders will join the ranks of Russian President Vladimir Putin and leader of the African Lord’s Resistance Army Joseph Kony, who the ICC is also seeking to prosecute, the publication wrote.
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