Pro-Palestinian group stages protest at Fort Worth city council meeting
Speakers critical of the state of Israel’s war in Gaza dominated the Fort Worth city council’s public comment meeting Tuesday night.
They criticized the city council’s support for Israel, and listed a slew of alleged Israeli war crimes perpetrated against Palestinians in Gaza.
It comes exactly one month after Hamas terrorists crossed into Israel from Gaza to kill over 1,400 Israelis and capture roughly 240 hostages.
Israel’s response to the attack has also drawn criticism after the country cut off water and electricity to Gaza and killed roughly 10,000 Palestinians in bombing runs, according to the Palestinian territory’s ministry of health.
Members of the city council attended a vigil in the wake of the attack where Mayor Mattie Parker reaffirmed the city’s support for Israel.
Jewish community organizer Rachel Gollay told city leaders she is intimately familiar with the refrain, “never again,” referencing the deaths of Jews during the Holocaust.
“We should understand this to mean, ‘never again,’ means never again for anyone including Palestinians,” Gollay said.
She said the deaths of Palestinian civilians in Israel’s air campaign can not be written off as a “cost of war.”
Several speakers were also critical of city council member Elizabeth Beck, the only Jewish member of the 11-member body. The accused Beck of conflating anti-semitism with legitimate criticism of Israel.
“Since when has anti-semitism looked like resisting the blind carpet bombings of schools, churches and hospitals,” said speaker Izzy Locksan.
The council also faced criticism for canceling the Oct. 24 council meeting, with one speaker claiming this was an attempt at censorship.
However, the meeting was canceled due to lack of a quorum, a city spokesperson said in an email to the Star-Telegram after the Oct. 24 meeting.
Several council members including Mayor Parker were in Kansas City, Missouri to discuss transit initiatives with local officials, and Beck was attending the her daughter’s last volleyball game of the season, according to the spokesperson.
“This cancellation is not related to any political statements,” the city spokesperson said.
None of the council members made any comments after the meeting Tuesday night.
The group of roughly 20 protesters raised their hand stained with red paint and began chanting, “free Palestine,” after Parker gaveled out the meeting.
Beck responded in a text message after the meeting that the speakers were entitled to their opinions.
“I may not always agree with the actions of the Israeli government, but I will always unapologetically defend the existence of the State of Israel,” she said, adding that she is grateful for her fellow council members’ support of Fort Worth’s Jewish community.
This story was originally published November 7, 2023 at 9:04 PM.
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