Earlier on Monday, the United Nations Security Council voted in favor of an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict, with the United States abstaining rather than vetoing the measure. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has since canceled White House talks over Rafah. These calls for ceasefires on a larger level come after liberal places, groups, and figures, have been calling for them for some time.
Recently, the small and rather liberal town of Cheverly, Maryland, had their liberal priorities on display when it passed a resolution: "AFFIRMING THE TOWN OF CHEVERLEY'S COMMITMENT TO HUMAN RIGHTS AND SUPPORT FOR CONGRESSIONAL AND WORLDWIDE CALLS FOR AN IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE IN GAZA." Outraged over the one-sided focus and the sense of priorities, concerned citizens reached out to Townhall to decry the resolution.
Not only are antisemitism and Israel just briefly mentioned in the resolution, they appear in the same sentence decrying Islamophobia and the plight of "Palestinians in Gaza."
Is the October 7 attack that Hamas perpetrated against Israel, our ally in the Middle East, mentioned? You could say that, though Hamas is never mentioned. The one part of the resolution mentioning the attack, which was the bloodiest day in Israel's history and saw more Jews slaughtered in a single day since the Holocaust, is rather bare bones. It mentions how "since October 7, 2023, over one thousand people in Israel and more than thirty thousand Palestinians in Gaza have been killed in the past three months, of whom over twelve thousand are children..."
But again, Hamas is not even mentioned, so there are no details of why it was that those people, with that number actually being closer to 1,200 were killed. There's also no mention of how Hamas not only killed Jews, but that they killed men, women, and children, with not even babies or Holocaust survivors being spared. They also raped and tortured their victims, and have kidnapped about 240 hostages.
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Further, sources for those figures about Palestinian deaths are not cited, and there is evidence that those figures have been exaggerated by Hamas.
It's no wonder, then, that one Cheverly resident told Townhall that "I saw nothing in the resolution that called for Hamas to return the hostages that they’ve raped and kidnapped. I saw the Town of Cheverly drawing a moral equivalency between what Hamas did and Israel’s right to defend itself against terrorist attacks."
Another part of the resolution strangely claims that "the Town of Cheverly recognizes the current crisis takes place within a long history and affirms that, for a pathway to lasting peace and justice to be developed, the root cause of the crisis needs to be addressed..."
In addition to getting awfully close to what could be anti-Israel language, such a point misses yet another chance to call out Hamas here. Perhaps that "root cause" might have to do with how Hamas broke what ceasefire had been in place before the October 7 attack.
The only other part of the resolution that references Israel once more does so while equating "Israeli and Palestinian lives." As it reads, "the United States holds immense diplomatic power and has the opportunity to save both Israeli and Palestinian lives, and in this moment, we are advocating to. our State and Federal leaders to use their power to call for peace..."
The resolution, as well as a press release from the Town of Cheverly also boasted about it being sent to "key officials," including the president.
Other citizens also expressed their outrage over the sense of priorities here. "Under the current Mayor, the Town has found time to pass a resolution on Gaza, give voting rights to children and illegal immigrants, debt finance a multimillion dollar warehouse, defund the police, celebrate gay pride month, and replace our historic town symbol with something that approaches 1990s clipart," another resident shared. Meanwhile, my whole house water filter is rust black colored from the poor water quality, break-ins happen every 2-3 weeks, and a tax rate is raising. Let’s keep the main thing the main thing," that same resident complained.
Another resident pointed out to Townhall that "Cheverly has time to pass an asinine ceasefire resolution, but can’t get potholes filled or crime under control. Guess this is what you get with liberal-run cities."
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) has been quite vocal in his support for an immediate ceasefire and also objected to passing a resolution from Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) condemning antisemitism on college campuses by unanimous consent last October, though the resolution ultimately passed a week later. More recently, Maryland rabbis have expressed their concern with his rhetoric on Israel.
Nevertheless, Van Hollen issued a post on Saturday expressing concern with Netanyahu over aid to Gaza. As of this time, he has not yet posted about the U.N. Security Council's decision.
The Netanyahu govt continues to arbitrarily restrict the flow of aid to 2.2 million desperate people in Gaza.
— Senator Chris Van Hollen (@ChrisVanHollen) March 23, 2024
That’s why 16 Senators & I told @POTUS that declaring its recent assurances to be "credible" would be inconsistent w/ NEW US policy which requires facilitating aid⬇️ pic.twitter.com/U7nUPlx8OE
With the state's other senator, Democrat Ben Cardin, retiring, there's an open Maryland Senate seat. As bright blue as Maryland might be, former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan's entrance into the race makes it more competitive.
In a statement for Townhall, Blake Kernen, the spokesperson for Hogan's Senate campaign said that "Governor Hogan supports Israel’s right to defend itself, and believes that pushing for an immediate cease-fire is tantamount to urging Israel’s surrender, as it would leave Hamas intact to attack again in the future. He highlighted this issue last week in his first major policy speech of the campaign."
Hogan gave that speech in question on March 15 before the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of Greater Washington. In addition to touting his record as a pro-Israel governor, Hogan also declared that "the challenges we confront today are far greater than anything we faced over the past decade" and said that "I believe that the days and months following the horrific attacks of October 7th were one of these critical moments that represent a time for choosing." He thus withdrew from his fellowships at Harvard, due to the institution's rampant antisemitism.
From there, Hogan further called out antisemitism, as well as the concerns he has about Van Hollen:
Just after the greatest loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust, we saw demonstrations essentially blaming the innocent victims of the horrific attack who were murdered, kidnapped, and raped. They are attacking the legitimacy of the world’s only Jewish state and its right to defend itself. Jews have been harassed and made to feel unsafe in their schools, synagogues, and everywhere they go.
These were not isolated incidents. Anti-semitic incidents in the United States rose by nearly 400 percent. We saw college presidents at some of our most prestigious universities refuse to answer to congress whether, calling for the genocide of Jews violated their campus policies.
The lessons of history are crystal clear. We must all take a stand in the face of genocidal acts. There is no “both sides” when it comes to the murder, rape, and kidnapping of innocent women and children. There is no room for justification or equivocation for calls to kill all the Jews. This is not a partisan issue.
This is not about the differences between the right and the left. It’s about the difference between right and wrong. I have always had a great deal of respect for Senator Ben Cardin and I want to recognize and thank him for his many years of service. Though we may not have always agreed on every issue, we always worked together as Team Maryland. He should be commended for his consistent and strong support for Israel in the face of pressure from the loudest and angriest voices.
I want you to know that if I have the honor of becoming your next Senator, that is exactly the kind of leadership that you will continue to see from me.
Sadly, this type of leadership has become far too rare in Washington. That is not what you are getting from Maryland’s Junior Senator, who has become one of the most hostile voices against Israel in the entire United States Senate. Just this week he signed an outrageous letter urging President Biden to cut off aid to Israel.
On Monday, as news of the Security Council's resolution came to light, Hogan also posted his concerns, especially how it "would leave Hamas intact to attack again in the future," something Israel has been determined to prevent from happening.
The campaign for Rep. David Trone (D-MD), who is also running for Senate and is leading in the polls for the Democratic nomination, did not respond in time for comment. He has also, as of this time, not posted to his X accounts about a ceasefire.
The UN’s push for a unilateral ceasefire would leave Hamas intact to attack again in the future. pic.twitter.com/QItQBFrKVc
— Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) March 25, 2024
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