Some St. Louis Jewish leaders are reacting to the recent vote by the St. Louis Board of Alderman calling on President Joe Biden to work toward a cease-fire in Israel’s war with Hamas.

The unanimous vote on an updated version of Resolution 137 occurred on Friday, Jan. 12.  Alderman Rasheen Aldridge of the 14th Ward introduced the original resolution on Oct. 20, 13 days after Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 Israelis, but made no mention of Hamas. The resolution that passed last week was revised to condemn both the Hamas attacks and Israel’s response.

Before the vote, the Legislative and Rules Committee met via Zoom on Jan. 9. Nancy Lisker, regional director of the American Jewish Committee (AJC), talked on the Zoom about AJC’s opposition to the resolution.

“I am disappointed that none of the people today that have given testimony, or have made mention of Hamas, a recognized terrorist organization and whose founding charter calls for the destruction of the state of Israel. (Hamas) broke the long-standing ceasefire on Oct. 7,” said Lisker.

(You can watch the entire committee meeting here.)

Lisker invited the members of the committee to meet with AJC, no matter if the resolution passed or not, to discuss factual information that was not being discussed during the committee meeting.

After the committee meeting, Resolution 137 was submitted without changes for a full vote of the St. Louis Board of Alderman. After Jan. 12’s vote, the AJC issued the following statement:

“The passage of this resolution is deeply disappointing. Its final language does not acknowledge the origin of the Israel-Hamas War or Israel’s unequivocal right to self-defense. Israel is not fighting against the Palestinian people but against Hamas, a terrorist organization sworn to annihilate Israel.

“A premature ceasefire without dismantling Hamas’ capabilities will only prolong its tyranny over the people of Gaza, perpetuate its threat to Israeli citizenry, and doom any prospects of peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

“It is Hamas that bears responsibility for the loss of life and suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, just as it is responsible for breaking a ceasefire on October 7, when it slaughtered more than 1,200 men, women, children, and babies, committed monstrous rapes of women and girls, and kidnapped more than 240 people, more than 130 of whom are still held hostage.

“Hamas opposes Israel’s existence. St. Louis should not.

“The Board of Aldermen has done a grave disservice by passing a resolution that will inflame tensions and potentially put the St. Louis Jewish community and the city’s Jewish institutions at risk, especially at a time when antisemitism is surging across the nation.”

The ADL responds 

In a response sent to the media, Jordan Kadosh, regional director of ADL Heartland said the resolution is inaccurate.

“The St. Louis Board of Alderman cease-fire resolution (Resolution 137) is riddled with inaccuracies and fails to address the ongoing threat of Hamas terrorism,” said Kadosh. “Additionally, municipal ceasefire resolutions are performative and divisive; unnecessarily distracting them from the growing challenges in our region. To instead spend time articulating the position of a terrorist group that broke the last ceasefire is disturbing and disappointing from otherwise inspiring leaders like Alderman Aldridge.”

What do you think?

What do you think of the actions taken by the St. Louis Board of Alderman? Tell us in our comment section below this story.

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