 Not every Zionist is Jewish. And not every Jew is a Zionist. This is for Palestine, Ramallah, West Bank, Gaza. It's about same global as the interfauna. Listen closer. Free, free Palestine. And thank you all for being here. This rally is organized by Vermont Coalition for Palestinian Liberation. My name is Moe Singletary and I'm an organizer in the coalition. I would like to start us off by grounding us in the words of the Revolutionary of Saudi Shakur. Repeat after me. It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains. Thank you. We have a short speaker list before we are gonna head in to sign up. And if you're planning to testify and you haven't signed up in one of the sheets, come forward to the front and there are folks who have some for you. To start off, we have two students from UVM's SJP. Hello everyone. Can everyone hear me? Yeah. Okay. We're gathered here today because we have been bearing witness to the atrocities committed in Palestine for the past nine weeks and for the past 75 years. Some of us have been following the freedom fighters on the ground as they called for us to gather today and through our union, call for a ceasefire. As an out of woman, I have seen a blatant disregard for human life, for Middle Eastern and Palestinian men, women and children in the rhetoric of the media. I have seen the dehumanization of Palestinians where with their dying breath are asked to condemn the actions of others while simultaneously being blamed for their own martyrdom. Mayor Murrow has given us nothing but empty words, promises unkept and he has proved to us that he is disingenuous in his work as a representative of the people. He states that a ceasefire would not cause peace. Shame. Shame. But he cannot talk of peace. To him, we say, do not speak of peace when your words and actions actively prop up an apartheid state. Do not speak to us of peace when you support a state that imprisons eight, nine, 10, 11 year olds. Do not speak to us of peace when you back and support the use of white phosphorus, bombing of hospitals and unrelenting terror, killing 17,000 people in just over two months. Do not speak to us of peace. Shame. Shame. We want liberation. We want the statement of dignity, of the human right that people can live on their land and raise their children. We need liberation for there to be peace. I implore you all to use your voice to go in there and point out the hypocrisy of Murrow and other officials and show them what peace really requires. Free, free, free, free. And they're gonna vote tonight on the most bare bones moral litmus test that Burlington has ever seen. And we're here to send them a clear message that their city is watching and the state is watching and the world is watching. Two years ago, they voted against the BDS bill. Their refusal to stand with our Palestinian community culminated in the shooting of three Palestinian boys in our city. Every coward in there who has refused to stand on the right side of this fight should hang their heads in shame. Shame. Shame. Tonight is their chance to make a small step towards undoing the damage that they have done and using their power for good for once in their careers. We will not forget what happens here tonight and we will remember the names of every politician that votes in support of genocide. And we will know, they will know that wherever they go, we will recognize them and we will call them out and they will not know peace because this city will not tolerate genocide sympathizers. And regardless of what happens tonight, we will turn Burlington into a city against imperialism, against genocide, whether they like it or not. They will either get with us or get out of the way. Freedom within our lifetime. Freedom within our lifetime. Freedom within our lifetime. Free Palestine. Right, everybody. So as they just said, the city council stands at a moment of decision. Are they with Palestine or are they against it? There's no middle ground in this. You either oppose genocide or you aid and abet it. The US government is aiding and abetting the genocide with guns, with bombs, with political support, with vetoes in the UN. We are here to say tonight to the city council of Burlington and our mayor that you have to get with the majority of the world. You have to get with the majority of people in the United States who are demanding a ceasefire now. So what do we want? Cease fire. When do we want it? Now. What do we want? Cease fire. When do we want it? Now. What do we want? Cease fire. When do we want it? Next up we have April Fischer from Food Not Bombs. To you all tonight, as an anti-Zionist Jewish woman, as a person whose Jewish ancestry goes back countless generations, I refuse to allow Zionists to say that Israel stands for Jewish values or acts for the liberation of Jewish people. Take a hard look at the genocide happening in Palestine right now and ask yourself, is this what liberation for Jewish people looks like? Once Israel bombs every last hospital, every last school, every last kindergarten classroom, will Jewish people then be liberated? As Israel blocks humanitarian aid from entering Palestine, forcing doctors to perform surgeries without anesthetics, are Jewish people any closer to liberation? Of today's violence lies an essentially long, white supremacist settler colonial project. It began with the British who had the anti-Semitic goal of ridding England of Jews and establishing Western imperialist control over Palestine. Between 1948 and 1967, Israel expelled over a million Palestinians from their homeland and captured 78% of historic Palestine. Since 2007, Israel has maintained a suffocating blockade on Gaza, turning it into the world's largest open-air prison. Now, in this latest chapter of genocide, Israel has killed more than 17,000 Palestinians, including more than 5,500 children. One out of every 200 children in Gaza has been killed since October 7th. Now, are Jewish people any closer to liberation? Liberation for Jewish people means ending cycles of violence. Liberation for Jewish people means a ceasefire, demilitarization, decolonization. Liberation for Jewish people means liberation for Palestinians. Make some noise for April. Make some noise. Let them know we're here. We're not gonna look away. We're not gonna be silent. Hear from Jewish voices for peace. Welcome, everyone. My name is Dana, and I am another anti-Zionist Jew here with Jewish Voice for Peace. We're gathered tonight on the fifth night of Hanukkah to call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and an end to the Israeli government's genocidal onslaught against the people of Gaza, which has killed over 18,000 people and threatens full ethnic cleansing. We are unified in our support for the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement, unrestricted humanitarian aid, Palestinian self-determination, right to return, and equal rights. We call for Israel to free all Palestinian prisoners and hostages and for an end to the occupation and apartheid system. No matter how bleak, the Hanukkah light never extinguished. And so even in the darkest time, when the Israeli government is massacring hundreds of Palestinians every day with U.S. funds and arms, neither will our commitment to act. The genocide of Palestinians is being done in the supposed name of Jewish safety and Jewish Zionist institutions, many here in the U.S., continue to provide moral cover for the Israeli government and military to continue ethnic cleansing. As Jews for Palestinian liberation and JVP members, we reject this narrative. Tonight we are here specifically to support a proposed resolution before the Burlington City Council for a ceasefire to Israel's genocidal attacks on Gaza and conditions on U.S. aid to Israel. At the public comment tonight, you may hear Zionists try and make the case that supporting a ceasefire is anti-Semitic. We know this is a dangerous lie. That's right, Dana. The real anti-Semitism is the assumption that all Jews support the settler colonial state of Israel. That's right. We say not in our name, not in our money, and we call on the mayor and the city council to use their power to pass the ceasefire resolution tonight and support the referendum to make Burlington an apartheid-free city. The Israeli government is counting on us to be too tired to keep organizing and showing up, but the people of Gaza refuse to give up, and so do we. This Hanukkah, we rekindle our own commitment to struggling for a ceasefire and to struggling for full Palestinian freedom. We are here tonight and gathering across the country in growing numbers to say no more. Cease fire now. Palestinian freedom now. Palestinian freedom now. Because Palestinians deserve safety in Gaza, in the West Bank, in Palestine, and here in Burlington. Woo! We recommit with everything we have, and we will not stop until Palestinians and all people are free. And now we invite you to join us in lighting the Hanukkah candles. This year, these eight nights, we are not celebrating, but holding a vigil for the eight weeks that Gaza has been under siege in the eight decades of occupation in Palestine. Woo! Just getting our menorah set up. Now you're lighting the menorah. Some technical difficulties. Kid is Shah Nubim, it's full time. Thanks, Dana. We should be clear that the entire political establishment is against us. Both parties, the Democrats and the Republicans, there's only a handful of Democrats that have shown they have principles. The rest of them have lined up voting for bills in support of Israel. They've lined up either voting for the equation of anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism or in a sign of shameful cowardice have abstained. As the great socialist historian Howard Zinn said, there is no neutrality on a moving train. You have to pull the handbrake of history and stop the madness. But we should also be confident that all our demonstrating, all our sit-ins, all our occupations of buildings, all our disruptions of meetings is beginning to turn people to our side, including those in the establishment. We know we are the majority. 80% are for a ceasefire in the Democratic Party. 66% overall are for a ceasefire. We are a majority. And here in Vermont, because we've taken that majority power to the streets, to protests, to confrontations at Becca Ballant's fundraiser, we've begun to flip the political establishment in Vermont. So Becca Ballant is now for a ceasefire. Peter Welch is for a ceasefire. The only exception in our congressional delegation is Bernie Sanders. We are here tonight to tell Bernie Sanders to get with the majority. As a socialist, as an internationalist, he has a responsibility to stand with the oppressed without exception. And we're here tonight to tell the city council that not only should you pass the ceasefire resolution, but you should also include the pudding of conditions on all aid to Israel. But we are also here to say much more than that. All aid to Israel should be immediately suspended. No arms, no bombs, no money, nothing to a state that's carrying out genocide. Not in our name. Never again means now. All right, everybody, please give it up to Wafiq Fawor from Hunters for Justice in Palestine. Salaam alaikum. I wanna start this by saying happy holiday to my siblings, my sisters and brother from the Jewish faith. May this season give us the light, all of us to see each other as a humanity. May this season give us the light for more courage so we will walk through this dark, dark tunnel together. Our freedom from our Jewish siblings, the freedom as well. This resolution written by some members of the Berlington City Council, it is their language. And I wish everybody who agrees with the language, it is watered down or not to stand by it and supported for the struggle of Palestine. One stab for all. If it comes to us to write a resolution, it will be five words resolution. We would have called for a stop genocide, ethnic cleansing and simply free Palestine. But when you are in Rome, you do what the Romans do. For that, please be all disciplined inside. You're going to hear language you don't like. You're going to hear a lot of lies, don't get upset. Be determined, but please take a little bit of Palestinian patience and look them in the eyes and stand up with your testimony. Be courageous, make Vermont courageous, make Berlington courageous to stand with justice one more time. We are not alone. There is many resolution across the United States is going. The waves are with us, the wind in our back and the victory is coming and freedom for Palestinian people coming. So please, calmly, let's enter inside, be determined and say the right thing for history. The people who will vote against this resolution, history will judge them. The people will coward and stand against justice. History will judge them. So please make stand and thank you. Thank you so much. It's humbling. The Palestinian in Gaza, Palestinian everywhere, they're going to hear about this. Free Palestine! Free, free Palestine! Free, free Palestine! Free, free Palestine! Free, free Palestine! Long live Palestine! Long live Palestine! Long live Palestine! Long live! Just a few words about tonight and then we can line up to testify. The city council is an executive session now until six o'clock. We wanted to end early so that everybody could line up and assemble to testify. We also wanna tell people that when you fill out the form, the item number that you will be speaking to is item 8.1 and on the issue regarding right ceasefire. And then put your name, Burlington address, et cetera. That's all straightforward. But it's 8.1 and ceasefire. The other thing is we have heard that the city council will suspend the meeting if we disrupt the proceedings. So tonight we are gonna respect that because we know that our arguments are infallible. We know that if we get up and testify, we are on the right side of history. We want our words to be heard and we don't wanna give them an alibi to suspend the meeting so they avoid taking a public position. We want our testimony to be heard. We want their vote to be documented. And when loser draw tonight, this is just the beginning in a long fight to free Palestine. So if you have enjoyed the Vermont Coalition for Palestinian Liberation, April who spoke is going around and will take your email address and add you to the Vermont Coalition for Palestinian Liberation email list so that you can hear about all the other demonstrations, actions, et cetera. The final thing, this is a stepping stone for the referendum that will be on the ballot in March. That referendum is a popular vote for or against Burlington becoming an apartheid free city. We wanna use tonight as a platform to then go out into the community, into the workplaces, into the schools, into the colleges and universities and make the case that everybody should vote for Burlington to be an apartheid free city. When we brought the same thing to the city council, they scuttled it. We want to win a popular referendum to send a message to our state, to send a message to our country and to send a message to the world that Palestine will be free, we will not collaborate with apartheid, occupation, genocide and sieges. We are gonna stand as Burlington for a free, free Palestine. So please tonight be disciplined, don't disrupt the event, testify, let your arguments speak and let the arguments win, lose or draw and then we're gonna win the referendum to make Burlington an apartheid free city. So everybody calmly assemble inside the chambers and we'll line up to testify.