Hamtramck approves proclamation supporting Palestinians

Hamtramck city council has approved a proclamation expressing support for Palestinians and opposing military aid to "all repressive governments."

The proclamation did not mention Israel, but appeared to criticize the country, drawing criticism from some residents and support from others during a council meeting Feb. 28, when the proclamation was approved. It's the latest council move that has drawn intense debate in a city with changing demographics. It was signed by Mayor Amer Ghalib and five of six city council members; the one member who did not sign it, Amanda Jaczkowski, announced last week she is resigning and her resignation was accepted by the council during the meeting.

The impetus for the resolution originally came from a pair of Ann Arbor activists who have tried unsuccessfully over the years to convince Ann Arbor and Dearborn to pass resolutions criticizing Israel.

Hamtramck has one of the highest poverty rates among cities in Michigan, which was noted in the proclamation.

"The City of Hamtramck believes that the Palestinian People should enjoy the right of self-determination that comes with having a free, peaceful and secure homeland of their own; and ... the City of Hamtramck stands against occupation of any country and supports the right of every occupied nation to gain freedom, sovereignty and independence," the proclamation read. "U.S. military aid to foreign governments has enriched defense contractors at the expense of struggling cities like Hamtramck while threatening the safety and security of the people in the region and elsewhere."

The proclamation concluded by stating "that the Mayor and Council of the City of Hamtramck oppose military aid to all repressive governments around the world."

Ghalib read the proclamation during the meeting and explained why he supports it, acknowledging that some were concerned.

"There was a lot of tension around this," Ghalib said. "I keep getting calls from members of the community to explain, thinking that we are doing stuff that are unnecessary."

He said that Hamtramck has issued previous proclamations in support of other groups. In 2020, Hamtramck passed a resolution slamming India for its treatment of Muslims.

"We have done proclamations before for Ukraine ... for Poland, for Yemen, for Bangladesh," Ghalib said. "And this is for Palestine. ... Three things we cannot bargain about ... faith, family, and freedom. ... We support the freedom of every nation to live free of occupation and free of repression and persecution."

There was no formal vote since proclamations don't require one, said City Clerk Rana Faraj. No council member objected to the resolution at the meeting.

Carrie Beth Lasley, a Hamtramck resident and former city councilwoman, blasted the resolution, saying it was part of a pattern of missteps by the council that feeds into stereotypes of Muslims wanting to establish sharia, or Islamic law. Faraj read Lasley's comments, which were submitted in writing.

Lasley suggested the proclamation was introduced by an anti-Semite and that the council is "acting exactly how Islamophobes have said the first majority-Muslim council would act," making it seem like Hamtramck residents are "petty, hateful people."

"You're all playing right into the stereotype," Lasley said.

The proclamation came during an intense round of Israeli-Palestinian violence. More than 60 Palestinians and 14 Israelis have been killed this year, according to the Associated Press.

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The debate over the proclamation touched upon some tensions in Hamtramck over the past year on LGBTQ issues, religious animal sacrifices and bars as the city's demographics change to a population with more Muslim residents.

There is strong support for Palestinians among many in Hamtramck, which has one of the highest percentages of residents of Arab and Bangladeshi descent among cities in the U.S. The mayor and all of its city council members are Muslim, believed to be the only city in U.S. history with an all-Muslim council. The city has the highest percentage of immigrants among cities in Michigan. During the meeting, most of the residents and others who spoke about the proclamation expressed support for it and criticized Israel.

Metro Detroit communities have, over the years, weighed in on foreign policy topics, but in some cases, have resisted attempts to weigh in on matters over which some say they have no jurisdiction. In January 2009, the Dearborn city council voted 6-0 on a resolution after war between Israel and Palestinian forces that mourned the loss of life, called for U.S. intervention and an end to the blockade on Gaza. In 2014, Dearborn City Council President Susan Dabaja, the first Arab American to lead the council, pushed back against attempts by activists from Ann Arbor to pass a Dearborn resolution criticizing Israel.

The activists from Ann Arbor who were at the Dearborn meeting in 2014, Blaine Coleman and Mozhgan Savabieasfahani, were at the Hamtramck council meeting urging passage of the proclamation.

Ghalib told the Free Press that idea for the resolution originally came from Coleman and his associates.

Coleman said he and Savabieasfahani "proposed a simple seven-word resolution to Hamtramck City Council which we have also proposed to Ann Arbor City Council for many years: 'We are against military aid to Israel.'"

Ann Arbor Council has rejected Coleman's anti-Israel resolution in previous years.

Ghalib told the Free Press by email that "Blaine and his people have been advocating and requesting that for months. They finally came to the council meetings a few times. A councilman volunteered to bring a resolution with that idea. It mentioned Israel by name. Another council person opposed that. We tried to compromise with removing names and generalizing the idea to include all repressive governments and occupying forces around the world."

Ghalib added that Hamtramck "passed one for Ukraine last year and we are not afraid of voicing our support for freedom, peace, sovereignty and independence of every nation around the world."

Coleman and Savabieasfahani spoke at the Dearborn city council meeting, urging them to pass a similar resolution opposing military aid to Israel. Councilmembers did not comment on it during the meeting after they spoke and don't appear to have a resolution planned.

A leader with a Jewish group in metro Detroit said it will continue to work with Hamtramck on other issues and believes the proclamation does not refer to Israel since Israel is not a repressive nation.

"While many may see this resolution as targeting Israel, I am glad Israel is not specifically mentioned," Rabbi Asher Lopatin, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of metro Detroit/American Jewish Committee told the Free Press by email. "Israel is certainly not a repressive government. The situation in the West Bank is one of disputed territory that needs to be resolved by the Palestinians and the Israelis. Since 1967, Israel has struggled for a peaceful and equitable solution on this territory. And many Jews ... can agree that the Palestinians should have a right to nationhood."

Lopatin added that Israel should not be held to a double standard.

"I am glad that the resolution mentions 'all repressive governments' rather than singling out ... any one nation," he said.

Speakers at the council meeting who support the proclamation expressed different views of Israel, calling it racist and an apartheid state. One speaker, Nasr Hussain, lamented that the proclamation did not mention Israel specifically. Hussain also noted Hamtramck's sizable Bangladeshi American population, comparing Israel to Pakistan, which used to occupy the area that is now Bangladesh.

"Nobody hates occupation more than Bengalis with Pakistan occupying Bengal" before Bangladesh became a free country in 1971, Hussain said.

Bill Meyer, an activist in Hamtramck, also spoke in favor of the proclamation, saying that criticizing Israel is not antisemitic.

"Supporting Palestinians does not mean you're antisemitic," Meyer said.

The debate over the Hamtramck proclamation is the latest local controversy in Michigan over the Middle East dispute. In January, a group of protesters on the campus of the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor who demonstrated in support of Palestinians during a visit by Vice President Kamala Harris drew criticism from Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, the nation's largest Jewish civil rights group, because they chanted in support of "intifada," an Arabic word that means "shaking off." The word has also been used to refer to armed uprisings against Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. UM spokesman Rick Fitzgerald told the Free Press the university is reviewing the matter.

In January 2022, Hamtramck's council passed a resolution condemning antisemitism shortly after the all-Muslim council took office. At the time, Lopatin and the American Jewish Committee hailed the move as a positive step for Jewish-Muslim relations in metro Detroit. Lopatin and other Jewish leaders then went to Hamtramck to meet with Ghalib and Jaczkowski.

Lopatin said this week that "while certainly we can disagree on the Middle East, that should not stop us from working together in areas that we agree upon locally."

The January 2022 resolution condemning antisemitism was introduced by Jaczkowski, a Polish American convert to Islam and the only woman on the council. In a Facebook post, she said she resigned for health reasons. In a statement from her that was read at the meeting, she said: "I don’t want anyone to take my resignation as a reason to blame others, fight, or walk away from Hamtramck. In fact, I encourage the opposite. Attend more meetings. Join a commission. Educate yourself on the political process, public policy, and more."

In another proclamation approved Feb. 28 by the Hamtramck council celebrating women's history month, her name was on the proclamation. Jaczkowski has at times disagreed with members of the council who are more conservative, but her colleagues and Ghalib praised her at the meeting.

"We always had some disagreements," but they were minor, Ghalib said. He said Jaczkowski leaving is "a big loss."

Contact Niraj Warikoo: nwarikoo@freepress.com or Twitter @nwarikoo

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Hamtramck city council approves proclamation supporting Palestinians