More than two dozen City Council members sent a letter to Ald. Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez (33rd) Thursday asking the Human Relations Committee chairwoman to postpone next week’s Council vote on a resolution demanding a cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas.
Ald. Debra Silverstein (50th), the City Council’s only Jewish member, is the driving force behind the effort to put off another emotionally-charged debate about the war, which has dragged on for more than three months.
Co-signed by Silverstein and 27 of her colleagues, the letter cites two reasons for asking Rodriguez-Sanchez not to call the resolution for a final vote Wednesday: the proximity to International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Jan. 27, and the fact that the Council already will consider another resolution Wednesday marking 79 years since Auschwitz was liberated.
“In deference to this commemoration and out of sensitivity to the Holocaust survivors who suffered so horribly, we do not believe the January meeting is the proper time to discuss this,” the letter states.
“We appreciate that our colleagues are working to improve this resolution and we are committed to working with them to find a version that is consistent with U.S. policy and that a large majority of us in City Council and our constituents across the city of Chicago can support.”
Israel launched the offensive in Gaza after a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7 that killed 1,200 people and took some 250 others hostage. Roughly 130 hostages are believed by Israel to remain in Hamas captivity. Israel’s counterattack has killed nearly 25,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.
Silverstein told the Sun-Times she hopes the next month can be spent softening the language of what she called a “very one-sided resolution.”
“It doesn’t really talk about the atrocities that happened in Israel at all. It talks about Palestinian hostages, not about Israeli hostages,” Silverstein said.
“A nine-month-old [Israeli] was taken into hostage and is just having his one-year-old birthday today. And we don’t even know if he’s alive. None of that was mentioned,” she added.
Rodriguez-Sanchez did not return phone calls, but sent a text message to the Sun-Times saying she is “taking their request very seriously” and plans to consult her co-sponsor, Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st), along with what she called the “broad and diverse coalition that supports a cease-fire.”
As for Silverstein’s desire to soften the language of the resolution, Rodriguez-Sanchez said she has been “engaging with our colleagues in discussions about the resolution for the last few weeks.”
“The situation in Gaza is critical. According to the World Health Organization, a child is killed in Gaza every ten minutes. We desperately need a cease-fire now,” she wrote.
Of the December committee meeting that culminated in approval of the cease-fire resolution, Rodriguez-Sanchez wrote, “We heard from many Jewish leaders who made clear the urgent need for a cease-fire and that ‘never again’ is now and for everyone.”
In mid-October, the City Council passed a controversial Silverstein-sponsored resolution condemning Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack in Israel during a tense, chaotic session that forced Mayor Brandon Johnson to clear the chambers after supporters of Palestinians and Israel shouted over each other.
Opponents said Silverstein’s resolution lacked nuance, and should also have condemned Israeli treatment of Palestinians.
The resolution passed overwhelmingly by voice vote nearly two hours into the meeting. The only “no” came from Rodriguez-Sanchez, who attended virtually during a trip to Milwaukee.
