by Allie Cislo
The Multifaith Coalition decries the Mayor’s choice to deny an overflowing room of Pro-Ceasefire constituents a vote on the record
In a 6-5 vote, Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty opted Jan. 7 to ignore the calls of the 1500+ petition signatories, Muslim, Jewish, and Christian community members, and dozens of Worcester-based healthcare professionals and union leaders urging the council to pass the resolution. The resolution also called for the return of all hostages and detainees and the enforcement of US law pertaining to humanitarian aid provision and military arms transfer. The council’s slim majority used bureaucratic measures to once again avoid a vote on the record, and Mayor Petty refused to address the content of the measures.
“Members of my community sat in the council for four hours and shared pictures of their loved ones who were murdered by the Israeli army. Mayor Petty looked those people in the eyes and chose to gavel them off. Did nothing move in his heart?” said Ayeh Tanteh, a Muslim organizer with the multifaith coalition. Prior to the meeting, over a hundred attended the Multifaith Coalition’s quiet, mournful vigil to read names of Palestinians killed and to say prayers for the dead.
In the council chambers, over a dozen Jewish members of the multifaith coalition criticized the imbalance of passing a resolution in October 2023 which condemned Hamas with no regard for Palestinian lives. “The council received ample evidence that Jews are not a monolith on this issue. In fact, the majority of Jewish speakers tonight refused to be a shield for some councilors’ political cowardice,” said Allie Cislo, a Jewish organizer with the multifaith coalition.
Councilors Haxhiaj, King, and Nguyen spoke on the record in support of the efforts of the multifaith coalition, and Pacillo and Ojeda joined them in refusing to file the vote. Thirteen municipalities in Massachusetts have passed ceasefire resolutions. Mayor Petty and councilors Russell, Colorio, Toomey, Mero-Carlson, and Bergman went against Worcester’s entire federal delegation with their votes: Senators Warren and Markey and Congressman McGovern all publicly support a ceasefire.
Prior to the meeting, the American Civil Liberties Union had issued a public letter asserting that the city had violated the law by denying the multifaith coalition equal time on the agenda in October 2024. Before voting to file the ceasefire resolution, Mayor Petty admitted on the record that it was his mistake to place the October 2023 anti-Hamas resolution on the council agenda. Multifaith coalition activist Sarah Lerman-Sinkoff said in response: “It’s embarrassing to be represented by a Mayor and council majority who are more willing to admit incompetence than they are willing to condemn a genocide.”