KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Community leaders, activists and Knoxville City Council members clashed during a tense meeting on Tuesday. The agenda included a proposal from Amelia Parker, a city council member, to show symbolic support for the people of Palestine after tens of thousands were killed in the Israel-Hamas war.
The resolution failed after it did not find a "second" from city council members. Without a "second," the city council could not take a vote.
The proposal comes after activists dressed in black during a Nov. 14 meeting and distributed photos of people killed in the war. That group, named "Palestine Action and Liberation," also called for city council to pass a resolution supporting a ceasefire and to issue a statement vowing to refuse any contracts or training with Israel.
The resolution specifically calls on federal leaders to de-escalate the conflict and urge for a permanent ceasefire. It also expresses "the Council of the City of Knoxville's support and solidarity with the people of Palestine facing genocidal levels of violence at the hands of the state of Israel."
"The state of Israel is engaging in collective punishment against the Palestinian people in Gaza in response to Hamas attacks on Israel," the resolution said.
It would have also endorsed a resolution introduced by federal representatives that similarly calls for a ceasefire and de-escalation of the Israel-Hamas war. It's named the "Ceasefire Now Resolution."
After the proposal failed, chants erupted in the City County Building such as, "Ceasefire now," and, "Free Palestine." The meeting briefly went into recess when activists and community members walked up the stage with flags of Palestine.
"We did not ask for Palestine to be brought into the middle of Knoxville's local politics. Indeed, we asked that Indya not begin this madness earlier this year, in taking a trip to Israel earlier this year in her official capacity as mayor to strengthen ties between Knoxville and the fascist regime," said one speaker in support of the resolution. "She took the trip to strengthen ties between Knoxville and a state founded on the graves of our grandparents — Muslims and Christians alike."
Both an Israeli and a Palestinian flag were held up behind him by meeting attendees as he spoke.
In March 2023, Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon traveled to Jerusalem as part of a program that brought a delegation of U.S. leaders to Israel named "Project Interchange." The American Jewish Committee previously said in a press release that the program is meant to give U.S. mayors a first-hand understanding of Israel's government and technologies.
As part of the program, the delegation of mayors was also brought to Ramallah, a Palestinian city in The West Bank. They also visited Tel Aviv and the border with Lebanon and Gaza.
During the meeting, Parker said the resolution was an important part of demonstrating that Knoxville stood against genocide.
"Growing up Jewish here in Knoxville not only gave me a spiritual home, but it also instilled in me powerful values ... values like 'Tzedek,' which means justice and 'Tikkun Olam,' which is a Jewish concept that implores us to create a world where everyone has basic human rights," said another speaker in support of the resolution. "What we have also witnessed is the collective punishment of the Palestine people of Gaza, which is a war crime under international law ... This is genocide. There is no other way to see it."
As she spoke, a person wearing a shirt with the Israeli Defense Force logo approached her from behind and Kincannon stopped the meeting to ask them to sit down. Following her, speakers approached the podium to speak against the proposal.
"There are those among us tonight, who may pretend to speak for the Jewish community and support this resolution. If they represent the Jewish Voice for Peace, they are not members of the Jewish community," said Bryan Goldberg, the president of the Knoxville Jewish Alliance.
The Jewish Voice for Peace is described as a progressive, anti-Zionist advocacy group. It has chapters across the U.S. — including in Knoxville.
The Knoxville Jewish Alliance is a community group that operates community centers and early education programs, as well as an extensive offering of programs. It also oversees a local affiliate of the Jewish Federations of North America, a group that lobbies for federal funds to Jewish communities and a partner of the Israeli government.
"As a son, and a grandson of a proud Zionist, and myself a proud Zionist, I say to you, 'Enough is enough.' Anti-Zionism is anti-semitism, full stop," Goldberg said. "I have received absolutely nothing but unabashed outrage and deep sadness over the mere prospect of this resolution from my community. My community is hurt by this resolution."
He said he believes the resolution would have led to "divisiveness and hate" in the community.
It is not common for city council leaders to pass resolutions on international conflicts or national issues. In September 2022, the Knoxville City Council approved a resolution urging state lawmakers to decriminalize abortion treatments. That resolution was requested by most council members.
The last time the city council passed a resolution weighing in on an international conflict was in 2003, following the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Before then, it passed a resolution in 2001 following the 9/11 attacks.
Background on the Israel-Hamas war
Hamas, a militant group elected to power in Gaza during the mid-2000s, launched an attack against Israel around the anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, on Oct. 7. It was an Israeli death toll unseen since the 1973 war with Egypt and Syria — killing around 1,400, according to Israeli sources.
The United Nations said in 2019 more than half of all people in Gaza were under 18 years old, indicating they were not able to vote for Hamas.
The following day, Oct. 8, Israel declared war against Hamas and began bombarding Gaza. The defense minister promised a ground invasion as water, electricity and food access was caught off for the area and a million people were ordered to evacuate by Israel.
Since then, the UN said more than 11,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli attacks and around 68% of them were women and children. Around 27,400 were wounded, according to the UN. The UN also said moving people wounded in the bombardment would require critical support, making evacuation "very difficult."
Over the past month, the UN said 135 attacks on health facilities were recorded in Gaza — "the highest number recorded in such a short amount of time." In that time, the UN reported around 1,200 Israeli fatalities — mostly from the Oct. 7 attack. The UN also noted that the estimate of fatalities in the war had been changed by Israeli sources. They also said the Gazan "humanitarian crisis" displaced around 1.6 million people or around 70% of Gaza.
According to the UN, council members also voted on the resolution a day before the "International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People," also known as Solidarity Day. It coincides with the day the UN adopted a partition resolution in 1947, leading to decades of conflict.
"The International Day of Solidarity provides an opportunity for the international community to refocus its attention on the fact that the question of Palestine remains unresolved and that the Palestinian people are yet to attain their inalienable rights as defined by the General Assembly, namely, the right to self-determination, the right to national independence and sovereignty and the right of return of the refugees," the UN said.
According to the UN, Palestine's history and the history of war between Israel and several Arab nations stretches back decades into the 1940s, when the General Assembly called to divide Palestine into a "Jewish State" and an "Arab State."
The UN also said a period of time known as the Nakba, meaning "catastrophe" in Arabic, refers to when Palestinians were displaced as part of the division. Since then, hostilities have repeatedly flared in the region.