Mohammad Ahmad, a Covington resident of Palestinian descent, called upon the Covington Board of Commissioners to pass a resolution supporting a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip at meetings on Nov. 21 and Dec. 5.
“I’m a proud Palestinian-American Muslim,” Ahmad said in his address to the commission members on Nov. 21. “So as you can imagine, I’ve been living through a nightmare, to say the least, in the last month and a half because I don’t think myself or anyone in this room with a conscience can comprehend the level of death, destruction, violence and suffering that we have witnessed in Gaza.”
Ahmad, who’s originally from Lexington and who has lived in Covington for about a year and a half, said that he did not represent any particular group or organization. He spoke on his own on Nov. 21, but put out calls on social media for people to attend the Dec. 5 meeting to show their support for his proposed resolution.
Supporters with signs filled the commission chambers on Tuesday.
Ahmad’s initial proposal called on the city commission to disavow ethno-nationalism, ethnic cleansing and collective punishment, all of which he argued Israel was committing against the people in Gaza. He also called upon the commission to oppose both current and future U.S. military aid to Israel. Finally, he asked the commission to support a ceasefire.
Ahmad revised his original proposal for the meeting on Dec. 5, where he added language to include disavowals of antisemitism, expanding his remarks to include condemnations of “all conflicts causing harm to innocent human beings in Israel, Palestine and many other nations suffering from violent conflicts all across the world.”
He also added language asking the city to recognize that “our Palestinian, Muslim and Jewish communities in the city of Covington are all impacted by the ongoing violence” and asked the commission to support the release of prisoners on both sides.
Municipal resolutions have little concrete power; they’re not binding pieces of legislation like a city ordinance or state law. But they can be a way for cities to demonstrate support for a particular policy or send messages to lawmakers at the state and national level.
One other Covington resident, Thurman Wenzl, a regular fixture at public meetings who frequently speaks on issues of housing and tax policy, spoke in support of the resolution. Wenzl’s statement drew particular attention to the United States’ military support of Israel. He also argued that criticism of Israel or Zionism wasn’t the same as antisemitism.
“What we’re here to oppose [is] not Judaism or Jewish people,” Wenzl said. “We’re opposing antisemitism and opposing U.S. military aid to perpetuate what’s going on.”
One person, Rob Craig, an attorney who lives in Fort Mitchell but who works in Covington, spoke out against the resolution.
“I have to ask, first of all, the city deeply consider whether it’s appropriate to take up this proclamation right now,” Craig said.
Craig argued that the city ought not to take any position on international issues and described the proposed resolution as “one-sided.”
“The ceasefire that was in effect last week would have continued if Hamas had chosen to continue to release hostages,” Craig said. “But they refuse to do that. Israel has a right to protect itself. It’s not a question of Zionism. It’s a question of if a lawful state has a right to protect itself.”
Craig called for the resolution to be reconsidered and rewritten and offered to help Ahmad do that if he wished. Craig left the meeting shortly after he spoke, but Ahmad told LINK nky that they had exchanged phone numbers.
The crowd was not pleased with Craig’s statement. Boos and jeers filled the chambers, and Mayor Joe Meyer banged his gavel to try and quell the noise.
“We’re treating everybody with respect here,” Meyer said. “Everybody listened, and we’re not going to have a reaction.”
The commission members did not discuss the comments, but attendees shared their thoughts with LINK nky after the meeting adjourned.
“I’m disappointed with how things are going in terms of government action that’s being taken, but it gives me hope to see people come together like this, even just on a small level,” said Tess Grant, a Westwood resident who learned about the meeting on social media.
“They’re actual people that are getting massacred,” Sarah Wood, a Palestinian-American who lives in Cincinnati, said. “And they just don’t want to say massacre. They don’t want to say genocide. They don’t want to say ethnic cleansing, but when is it enough?”
LINK nky reached out to Craig for additional comment, but he had not responded by the time this article was published.
Watch Tuesday’s meeting, including full statements from Ahmad, Wenzl and Craig at the Telecommunications Board of Northern Kentucky’s Facebook page. The broadcast of the meeting begins at the 26:27 minute mark.
The next meeting of the Covington City Commission will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 12 at 6 p.m. at Covington City Hall on Pike Street.