'Heil Hitler:' US city votes for ceasefire in forum rife with Jew-hate

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators protest as they take part in the ‘Biden: Stop supporting genocide!’ rally in New York City on January 20.

The Bloomington, Indiana City Council passed a resolution calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in a Wednesday meeting rife with antisemitic statements and accusations of genocide leveled against the Jewish State.

The resolution “Calling for a cessation of hostilities and for delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza” was passed unanimously. However, as one public commenter noted, Mayor Kerry Thomson had previously said she would not sign any resolutions unrelated to city business. According to the Indiana code, the city executive must decide to veto within ten days, but the veto can be canceled by approval of two-thirds of the city council.

If the resolution is signed, Bloomington would urge the federal US government to call for a “A cessation of hostilities directed to innocent civilians, especially children,” a long term ceasefire and increased funding to facilitate humanitarian aid, the immediate release of all hostages, and a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

City Council President Isabel Piedmont-Smith, who co-sponsored the resolution with Councilmember Dave Rollo, said they felt “it is our moral obligation to bring forward this resolution.”

While some Bloomington residents, like the one who identified herself as Hadar, rejected involvement in global affairs, as they felt the council was not qualified on the issue and only caused domestic division, Piedmont-Smith referred to arguments echoed by Pro-Palestinian citizens that US tax dollars were used to supply Israel with weaponry.

Pro-Palestinian protesters attend ”Flood Brooklyn for Gaza” demonstration, as the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas continues, in New York, US, October 28, 2023. (credit: CAITLIN OCHS/REUTERS)

Pro-Palestinian protesters attend ”Flood Brooklyn for Gaza” demonstration, as the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas continues, in New York, US, October 28, 2023. (credit: CAITLIN OCHS/REUTERS)

“We have a long history of standing up to injustices,” said Piedmont-Smith, who noted that the city had made statements on the Vietnam War, the South African Apartheid regime, and the Darfur genocide.

Antisemitic comments made during the meeting 

While the resolution began with two paragraphs condemning “all forms of antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism, and bigotry in Bloomington,” the meeting saw several antisemitic statements made through Zoom.

A man calling himself Ethan Foreskun, a fake name likely referencing circumcision, claimed that Jews were behind an agenda to replace all Caucasians in European countries and the United States of America, ending his statement with “White power” and “Heil Hitler.”

“There are 32 NGOs that are promoting mass immigration and helping bring illegal immigrants across our southern border, and all these 32 NGOS are Jewish,” claimed the commenter. “White people are getting sick of being replaced in our own country that our ancestors fought, died, and bled for throughout all these Jewish wars that happened in our past, and we’re sick of it.”

A commentator against the ceasefire resolution noted that Hamas also made claims about Jews being behind the world’s wars.

Another man calling himself James Connolly said he supported the ceasefire resolution because Israel had been engaged in ethnic cleansing and taking of political prisoners for a long time. He said that Hamas was only trying to stop the sacrifice of red heifers “Because the Jews in Israel want to bring about the antichrist.”

“I encourage all Muslims to read your korans and hold true to what your korans say about these disgusting Jews,” said the commenter.

Earlier, the man calling himself Connolly asked for the council to draft a resolution to create a day commemorating the 1967 War USS Liberty incident, which he said was a deliberate Israeli attack swept under the rug.

Another man, likely to be a troll, claimed to be an Israeli American, claiming that his “illegitimate state” would seek “greater Israel” and demanded Gazan beachfront property because Jews were “God’s chosen people.”

Mayor Thomson said that she was disappointed and shocked by the community over what she said were white supremacist and Nazi statements.

“I condemn all hate speech, it is inappropriate, and while I stand for freedom of speech, and we will always allow it in these council chambers, I am here to ask the people of Bloomington, when you hear hatred, when you hear Nazi speech, when you hear deliberate threats and condemnation of black and brown people you do not need to say something perfectly, just stand up and say something,” said Thomson.

A ceasefire supporter said in her public comment that she was dismayed by the antisemitism but that support for antisemitism shouldn’t be conflated with being pro-Palestinian and that anyone who did so should be removed from the proceedings. Another resolution supporter wearing a Keffiyeh and medical mask compared Pro-Israel speakers to the Ku Klux Klan and Nazis and said that they should not be platformed and that it is our “moral obligation to boo when racists speak.” Another commenter with a Palestinian flag pin claimed that those opposed to the ceasefire wanted the murder of children and aid workers and that they were motivated by bloodlust.

Various pro-Palestinian citizens alleged that Israel was using indiscriminate fire and starvation as a strategy and engaged in holy war against Palestinians. One man compared Israel to a domestic and sexually abusive husband who complained about being slapped once by his wife in self-defense. One person wearing a keffiyeh and waving a vandalized American flag said that the resolution was an indigenous rights issue and that they were against “settlers” like the US and Israel. A student who presented a petition allegedly signed by 2,000 supporters of the resolution attacked the council for watering down criticism of Israel, saying that they would be seen as defending evil and not taking  a strong stance against “One of the worst genocides in history.”

Rollo and Piedmont-Smith said that they had tried to set aside their personal views in the drafting of the resolution and taken into account the concerns on both sides, revising a February draft that was more strongly worded against Israel. They declined to include mention of UNRWA over some of its members being allegedly involved with Hamas, did not include a call for the US to end arms deals with Israel, and did not comply with Pro-Palestinian calls to remove clauses condemning Hamas for October 7 — though Piedmont-Smith noted some caveats.

“The attack by Hamas did lead to many of those [October 7 massacre] deaths; some of those deaths were also caused by other players — the Israeli Defense Forces and others,” said Piedmont-Smith.

The resolution also condemned the IDF for “the widespread killing of innocent civilians,” which consisted  of “more than 32,226 Palestinians (civilians and combatants) have been killed, with about two-thirds comprising women and children.”

“We understand that Hamas does embed their fighters in and under civilian buildings, but many civilian deaths in Gaza could be avoided while prosecuting a war,” said Piedmont-Smith.

Rollo said that their concerns were purely humanitarian, and without a ceasefire, aid could not have been delivered properly.

A commenter said that Hamas’s war strategy was designed to invoke international sympathy and that Hamas could end the humanitarian disaster themselves by surrendering arms and releasing hostages. A ceasefire would only allow Hamas “breathing room,” and noted that the terrorist group promised to attack Israel again.