HRC Responds to Gaza With Ceasefire Resolution
In light of the conflict in Gaza and the recent HR786 proposal in the U.S. House of Representatives calling for “an immediate deescalation and cease-fire in Israel and occupied Palestine,” the East Lansing Human Rights Commission discussed what it can do to respond.
After discussion and revisions during the Monday (Dec. 11) meeting, the commission unanimously approved a resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza. The resolution will be passed onto the City Council in the coming months.
HRC commissioner was inspired by other Michigan cities while drafting the resolution.
The resolution draft was proposed by Thasin Sardar. He read out his proposed resolution and then the commission was given space to make comments and revisions. Sardar said he had taken inspiration from other Michigan cities to produce the East Lansing HRC resolution.
“When we have war, it is a failure of our politicians,” Tina Farhat, commissioner, said. “It is a failure of our diplomacy.”
The revision recommendations for the resolution primarily involved wording and clarification. Much discussion surrounded the paragraph of the resolution stating, “FURTHER RESOLVED that we call for an end to funding wars and military across the globe…”
Some members feared this may cause confusion about other wars being fought in which the United States was sending in military for safety reasons.
Sardar disagreed. “I don’t think we [the HRC] should be choosing which wars are good or bad,” he said.
“There is no such thing as a good war. It should all be resolved by diplomacy,” Sardar said.
Ultimately, the choice was made to change the wording to “FURTHER RESOLVED that we should focus on diplomatically ending conflict and advocate for demilitarization around the globe…”
The resolution also aims to relate to East Lansing residents and answer the question of “how does this affect me?” Sardar said.
“WHEREAS, according to the United States Campaign for Palestinian Rights, East Lansing residents’ federal taxes contributes $527,026 to Israel’s weapons, which could instead fund local initiatives,” the resolution stated.
Resident asks for overlay, housing restrictions clarifications.
During public comment, Jeffrey Hank spoke of the current overlay district and housing restrictions being discussed in East Lansing.
“It’s hard to get clarification from the city of what you can actually do, who you can have in your home and what the definition of ‘family’ is,” Hank, an East Lansing resident and attorney, said.
Commission members agreed this is an important topic in the city at the moment, and plan to add discussion regarding the overlay and housing in the city in the coming months into meeting agendas.
In light of the popularity of the overlay topic, the commission also planned for its January Coffee and Conversation event to focus on the topic of housing and housing ordinances. The event is scheduled for 1-3 p.m. Jan. 21, with a tentative location of the Hannah Community Center.
Commission hears about the Women’s Center of Greater Lansing.
As part of its commitment to feature special presentations at each HRC meeting, the commission heard from one of its own – Commissioner Rebecca Kasen.
Kasen presented on the Women’s Center of Greater Lansing and what the center on Michigan Avenue is doing for the community. She is executive director of the Women’s Center.
She highlighted the organization’s staff and expansion. The full-time staff has increased from two to five in one year and the center is in the process of building a new community center.
Kasen also highlighted the services the center offers, which include counseling, a computer lab, employment services, among other offerings. She specifically discussed the career boutique.
“We offer feminine clothing to any people in the community who wear it,” Kasen said. “The purpose is to give people dignity, in addition to clothes.”
These clothes are free and can be used for job interviews, first days of work, court, etc.
Kasen said the Women’s Center continues to grow and is getting new resources each day.
Moving forward, the commission discussed what other organizations, people or topics they would like to hear about. The topics of political organization and advocacy groups, homelessness and the Refugee Development Center were proposed.
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