Elise Catrion Gregg | Editor-in-Chief
After dying in committee, the controversial “Ceasefire Now!” resolution has been plagued by delay and disagreement this past week.
The most recent version of the bill calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and asks that the university publish a statement condemning human rights violations, call Israel’s actions in Gaza a genocide and divest from “corporations and weapons manufacturers which profit from arming the Israeli Defense Forces.”
The resolution also calls on the university to “commit to academic freedom and the right of students and faculty to criticize the actions of Israel.”
The most recent version of the “Ceasefire Now!” resolution. | Courtesy Daniel Salup-cid.
The Rules and Administration Committee killed the bill on Jan. 22. Chair of the committee, lower division senator for Biscayne Bay Campus, Dale Brochinsky defended the move in the senate as simply being a matter of procedure.
In a later email to senate leadership, Brochinsky asked that the bill be added to the Jan. 29 senate agenda for a discharge vote – a vote that would allow the resolution to be revived, sending it straight to the senate.
“We have heard for weeks from students that they have wanted this legislation to be voted on quickly. I tried to hold a few extra rules meetings to listen to those voices but unfortunately, and not at the fault of any person, it took this long for rules to have a meeting,” wrote Brochinsky, citing a “clogged” agenda as the reason for wanting to fast-track it.
“It is ‘Ceasefire NOW’ after all, not ‘Ceasefire when we get a chance’.”
Senate president Kaily Lachapelle declined to add it to the agenda though, recommending postponing the vote until Feb. 5.
“Meetings are happening between YDSA and Hillel, as well as between the sponsors and fellow Senators. There has been an urgency in the past to have this resolution voted on, however, I believe it is important to be thorough when attempting to pass any legislation,” Lachapelle wrote in an email response to the senate.
After the bill died in his committee, it was an unexpected request from Brochinsky. Proponents of the bill also reversed course from last semester’s demands for a faster review of the resolution.
Young Democratic Socialists of America at FIU encouraged folks not to bring it to the floor on Jan. 29, wanting to use this next week to meet with senators and representatives from Hillel to discuss the resolution and hear concerns.
“If opponents have been serious in wanting to engage with us in good faith, as opposed to wanting to kill this resolution, there should not be a vote to discharge today,” their statement on Instagram read.
In the event of a discharge vote, however, the authors encouraged senators to vote yes.
Ultimately, none of it would matter – the senate did not meet quorum that day, and the meeting was adjourned just before 4:30 pm on Jan 29., meaning the vote would have to be delayed.
Had they met quorum, a discharge of the resolution would have allowed for senators to vote on it – a risky move at that point, given the concerns of many senators about the language of the bill.
The week between Jan. 29 and Feb. 5 was time that the authors of “Ceasefire Now!” used to meet with SGA and Hillel to discuss possible compromises on that language.
“We had noticed that people wanted to meet with Hillel and we want to make sure that the concerns of the Jewish student body are addressed,” said YDSA president Oscar Alvarez. “We also want to clarify – there’s been a lot of misconceptions about what’s written.”
Alvarez hoped a discussion would at least allow students to determine if a compromise was feasible between YDSA and Hillel, given their differences regarding the long-standing conflict between Israel and Palestine.
“I think that having a real dialogue would make it much more efficient for people to see where we stand,” said Alvarez. “We stand for the liberation of Palestinian and Jewish students – that’s explicitly written, condemning anti-semitism and Islamaphobia.”
One of the authors of the resolution, YDSA member Maria Franzblau, said one of their main goals was to talk to senators and students have consistently expressed concerns.
“Whether they agree with us or disagree with our resolution, we’re inviting them,” Franzblau said. “We stand true to our principles but we’re willing to talk them over: we’re willing to see if there’s common ground of anybody who is interested.”
The meeting between Hillel and YDSA on Feb. 1 didn’t result in compromises though – both organizations put out statements on Feb. 2 indicating that their differences were irreconcilable.
YDSA issued the above statement via Instagram post, while Hillel posted a note on their Instagram stories later that same day.
Statement by Hillel posted on Instagram on Feb. 2 | Elise Gregg, PantherNOW
YDSA reached out to PantherNOW, claiming that Hillel’s Instagram statement made untrue claims about YDSA excusing the attacks on Oct. 7. PantherNOW was not present at the Hillel-YDSA meeting and cannot independently verify what was said by either party.
The next senate meeting is on Feb. 5. At the time of publication, the senate agenda has not been published.
“Ceasefire Now!” may be discharged to the senate at that meeting, however, with YDSA encouraging members to attend.
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