Milwaukee County Sup. Ryan Clancy (District 4), in a statement supporting his resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza where he said a U.S.-funded genocide is taking place, wrote: “The Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors cannot remain silent or impartial any longer.”
A resolution calling for an “immediate and permanent ceasefire” in Israel’s War on Gaza will go before the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors Thursday.
First proposed in January, it went to the board’s Intergovernmental Relations Committee last week Monday before a capacity crowd supporting the resolution. Voting 2-2, the committee deadlocked, and is sending it to the full board without a recommendation.
If passed, Milwaukee County will join about 100 U.S. municipalities and counties calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
“We have the duty, we have the responsibility, to stand up as individuals, as organizations and at every level of government to say we will not do this,” said Milwaukee County Supervisor Ryan Clancy, who is sponsoring the resolution, along with Supervisors Juan Miguel Martinez, Caroline Gómez-Tom and Steven Shea.
At a March 2 rally in Milwaukee supporting a ceasefire in Gaza, Ryan explained, “The United States is not complicit in this genocide; we are responsible for this genocide. We cannot stand back and be disappointed in (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu or the Israeli government and continue to send them billions of dollars in aid.”
Netanyahu declared war Oct. 8, triggered by a surprise attack by Hamas militia in which 1,200 people were killed. In the following six months, more than 50,000 Palestinians have been reported killed or missing, 75% of them women and children.
In a statement supporting the resolution, Clancy wrote: “The pressing need for de-escalation and humanitarian assistance demands action, and the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors cannot remain silent or impartial any longer.”
Clancy encouraged Milwaukee County residents to reach out to their supervisors via phone or email.
More than 1,000 protestors marched down South 13th Street March 2, the second Global Day of Action for Palestine, joining hundreds of thousands, possibly millions, of people around the world calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Q & A with Milwaukee County Supervisor Ryan Clancy
Wisconsin Muslim Journal interviewed Supervisor Clancy Tuesday about his resolution for Milwaukee County to call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. (Clancy is completing his final month on the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors. He was elected to the Wisconsin Assembly and currently serves as a representative.)
Here’s what he had to say.
What prompted you and your colleagues to sponsor this resolution?
To look back at three quarters of the century of genocide and occupation and understand the United States is responsible for it is to understand we’re also responsible for ending it.
What will this resolution do?
It would essentially put the county on record as being in favor of a ceasefire. It also uses really direct language. It talks about how this is a genocide and that the tactics of genocide and apartheid are not ever acceptable. It talks about the number of Palestinians killed by Israel since Oct. 7. That is unfortunately outdated. When I wrote it the official death toll was closer to 20,000. Now unfortunately it has passed 30,000.
Milwaukee County Sup./Wisconsin Rep. Ryan Clancy (D-Milwaukee) spoke against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza March 2 to a crowd of hundreds at the Islamic Society of Milwaukee.
What response has the resolution had from the public?
It was overwhelming. I’ve never seen anything like it.
More county residents came out to testify and emailed us and called, as far as I can tell, as anything in the history of the County that’s gone to a committee. We’ve had thousands of calls. We had over 160 people register to speak. We had well over a hundred people show up in person. We filled not only the hearing room, but the overflow room and the hallway.
How do you feel about the response?
It’s really encouraging to see that sort of public engagement. I’m incredibly grateful to the many folks who have organized to get people engaged. I was so disheartened to see the small handful of folks who made some bad faith attacks, charging antisemitism, but those folks are in a distinct minority.
I’m a cynical person. I’ve seen enough not to take hope lightly. But I’ve never seen public opinion in the U.S. like this.
If you think back to October, folks were lining up to pledge support to Israel and not being very critical about it. I can’t count the number of times I was asked to condemn Hamas. It was clear to me that was a distraction from the larger issue—that we are funding and very much responsible for what is happening in Gaza.
Public opinion finally seems to be changing with 80% of Democrats, 65% of people overall, a plurality of Republicans and nearly 100% of the left are all in favor of lasting peace. Even the Democratic Party of Milwaukee County just weeks ago in a 35-3 vote said they want a ceasefire and a free Palestine.
It’s an exciting time. I’m more optimistic about this than I’ve ever been. The testimony at the committee meeting was incredibly powerful. It’s clear we have a critical mass of people in the country who feel compelled to stand up and say this has to stop.
A capacity crowd of Milwaukee County residents attended the County’s March 4 Intergovernmental Relations Committee meeting on a resolution calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
What are your long-term goals for this situation?
I don’t want a ceasefire that is temporary. I don’t want a ceasefire to be the goal so that once it is achieved, we brush off our hands and return to the status quo. The status quo is horrific.
I was there in 2011 and saw the totally inhumane conditions we were subjecting people to. We—the U.S. and Israel—have held folks in what is essentially an open-air prison for a long time. That is not acceptable.
The resolution notes “targeting civilians with apartheid and genocide” is against international law. Are you saying the Israeli government is committing genocide?
The Israeli government’s goal here is genocide. The stated aim of many of those within the Israeli government is genocide, wiping out the people in Gaza. There really isn’t any gray area.
It’s obviously very important to differentiate between the Jewish people and the Israeli government. We have amazing Jewish advocates for this resolution. And we have amazing Jewish advocates in Israel who are opposed to what the government is doing.
Over 160 people registered to speak to Milwaukee County’s Intergovernmental Relations Committee March 4 on a resolution calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
What obstacles does the resolution face?
It’s been frustrating because we saw two attempts to substitute out some of the language in the resolution. We saw an attempt to table it, which would have killed it. They don’t want to weigh in on controversial things. They are looking for compromise that would give them cover.
What I want is a vote on the original resolution. It’s clear the conservatives and some of the moderates are banding together to try to amend it again on the floor.
I think it’s irresponsible to try to avoid those conversations, to pass something that is weaker, because we’ve been avoiding this conflict as the United States for three quarters of the century. The death toll and the amount of harm we’ve caused generations of people who have grown up under the occupation is unacceptable. We need to be more decisive than just passing some kind of milquetoast.
What can people in Milwaukee County who want to support the resolution do between now and Thursday?
Calls and emails to all 18 of us on the County Board of Supervisors are great. I would say the most important thing to do is to ask to meet with supervisors. In those meetings, ask them to commit to vote for the unamended resolution.
Supporters of a resolution calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza filled the room where
Milwaukee County’s Intergovernmental Relations Committee met March 4, as well as the overflow
room. Others occupied the hallway.
