Iowa City residents ask city to support ceasefire in Gaza, back Palestine
Iowa City residents, University of Iowa students and employees, and Palestinian Americans packed the city council chambers on Tuesday night, urging city leaders to declare their support for the Palestinian people and support a ceasefire in Gaza.
More than 75 people attended the council’s public comment period to address the Israel-Hamas war. Some spoke of their negative experiences with the Israeli military, while others were concerned with how arrests were handled on Dec. 9 during a pro-Palestinian protest outside of Kinnick Stadium.
Palestinian recalls military brutality
Deema Totah detailed her experience with Israeli forces while growing up in Palestine. She remembers hiding in the basement at a young age with her sister as Israeli soldiers surrounded her home. They detained her parents and shot her windows to announce their presence.
“Palestine has become a taboo topic,” Totah said. “A loaded word. But this word is my identity. It’s who I am, and it’s taken me 15 years of living in the U.S. to start speaking publicly about my experiences, for fear of retaliation, misrepresentation, and suppression here in the U.S., as well as safety concerns when visiting family back home.”
Totah denounced the use of U.S. tax money to support Israel, displaying an inflation-adjusted graphic with Israel topping the U.S. foreign aid charts.
One speaker, identifying themselves only as Nix, said they were terminated from their job at United Action for Youth because they suggested Palestinian education programs and had pro-Palestinian posters displayed in their office.
“Subsequently, I was called to a meeting with my supervisor and the executive director, where I faced reprimands and was written up on two accounts — sharing information on Palestine and displaying the posters,” Nix said.
More: Nine arrested after chaining themselves to Kinnick Stadium in pro-Palestinian protest
Nix said they were written up and but not warned to remove materials. Nix said they tried to quit with a two-week notice but was instead terminated.
“In my time working at UAY, I was never made aware of a written policy restricting unapproved materials from being shared with youth,” Nix said. “...During my time at UAY, management clearly and consistently stated that we should advocate for trans rights, abortion rights, queer rights, women’s rights and racial justice, yet the same advocacy was not extended to Palestine.”
The local United Action for Youth organization did not respond to the Press-Citizen's request for comment.
Jewish citizens call for peace
Members of the local Jewish community called for peace Tuesday and denounced Zionist rhetoric and action by Israeli leaders.
Audrey Messinger, a member of the local Jews in Solidarity with Palestine and Eastern Iowa Jewish Voice for Peace groups, said the humanitarian crisis in Gaza violates international law.
“Critiquing the Israeli government’s disregard for human life and human rights right now and since 1948 is not inherently antisemitic,” Messenger said. “In fact, Jews and even Zionists, have been criticizing human rights abuses in Israel for years.”
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She said the Israeli government attempts to quiet peace activists by merging criticism of Israeli action and antisemitism. Messenger believes those actions impact Iowa's rallies.
“This has real consequences in Iowa City,” she said. “For those of us who frequently protest for a ceasefire, demonstrations are becoming more risky because people passing by are more likely to shout at us and accuse us of anti-Jewish sentiment. We should not be afraid to protest for basic human rights and freedom for Palestinians.”
Public critical of law enforcement's handling of Kinnick protest
A handful of those who protested for Palestinian justice and freedom Dec. 9 outside Kinnick Stadium also spoke. They made comparisons between U.S. law enforcement and in Israel.
Iowa City resident Kate Doolittle said local police and other law enforcement officers as “agents of violence." She accused Iowa City police of "standing by" while University of Iowa police used what she said was "force" during the Dec. 9 demonstration, a group that included her partner.
More: Nine arrested after chaining themselves to Kinnick Stadium in pro-Palestinian protest
“The multiple militarized police agencies in and around Iowa City cannot be separated from each other,” Doolittle said. “They cannot be separated from the IOF, waging genocide in Palestine, and these agents of violence are all part of the same machine, the machine that brutalizes U.S. citizens here, Palestinians there, with U.S. weapons and tax dollars.”
Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at rhansen@press-citizen.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ryanhansen01.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Public asks City of Iowa City for Palestinian support, Gaza ceasefire
