Newburgh City Council recently passed a resolution supporting a “ceasefire” in the war in Gaza. Hamas started the war with a brutal surprise attack of Israelis on October 7, 2023. The Hamas attack ambushed unsuspecting Israelis resulting in the murder of 1200 its citizens and the kidnapping of 220 hostages. Newburgh’s Council and “ceasefire” resolution supporters ignore these FACTS and did not even acknowledge them in the resolution or comments.

Prior to the meeting, I mentioned to an acquaintance Newburgh’s intent to pass a “ceasefire” resolution. He asked if it was “going to stop the gangs from killing each other in Newburgh.” When I clarified the proposal he shook his head and asked “don’t they have better things to do?”

His point being the Council’s “ceasefire” resolution demonstrates Newburgh’s leadership inability to pay attention to issues they were elected to address. Newburgh’s problems are many, yet the Council ignored them to pass a divisive resolution undermining Newburgh’s credibility with the governments and the community it counts on for support. Newburgh citizens want the garbage picked up, streets repaired and a safe environment to raise their families; they don’t give a damn about events 5700 miles away.

Added to these failures, the resolution demonstrates the Council has no understanding of the issues in the war between Hamas, the brutal dictatorship that rules Gaza, & Israel. In point of fact, Newburgh’s resolution actually supports Hamas military objectives in Gaza. Council members voting for this resolution (and two members of council, to their credit, DID NOT) were clearly manipulated by a small vocal group of anti-Semitic Hamas supporters at the expense of Newburgh and its community.

As bad as all that is, the most disgusting component of this resolution is its underlying anti-Semitic racism. In the October 7, 2023 attack, Hamas terrorists murdered 1200 of Israeli’s citizens and took 220 hostages, mostly Jews, yet this “ceasefire” resolution demands Israel stop defending it citizens and nation. Any other country attacked on this scale or manner would be justified, without question, in defending itself and destroying the military capability of the attackers. In addition, anyone with a minimal understanding of Hamas knows it has never kept a ceasefire and will continue to kill Israelis and Jews until either Israel is destroyed or the existence of Hamas is ended. It was Israeli Premier Golda Meir who stated it simply; “you cannot negotiate peace with someone who has come to kill you.”

By Newburgh passing this “ceasefire” resolution, they are, by extension, supporting the military goals and terrorism of Hamas. Those goals are the destruction of Israel, one of the few democracies in the Middle East, and the genocidal murder of the 7.3 million Jews that live there. These are Hamas “founding principles” and can be found in the “Hamas Covenant” mission statement of August 1988; it’s on the internet. These “nonnegotiable” Hamas goals are why the European Unions passed a “ceasefire resolution” conditioned on, and REQUIRING the dismantling of the Hamas terrorist networks & infrastructure.

What Newburgh’s Council also failed to acknowledge was Hamas political and military leaders repeated the goals of destroying Israel and killing Jews while celebrating the 10/7/23 massacre; a brutal attack that included the gang rape & murder of women; the burning of families alive; the physical desecration of bodies; the murder of innocent men, women, children and more. In fact, Hamas terrorists put these acts on the internet, LIVE, using ‘Go Pros.’

To close, the Newburgh’s City Council’s “ceasefire” resolution on the war in Gaza is summed up, in part, by a quote from Abraham Lincoln; “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.” Added to this comment is that the resolution is inherently anti-Semitic and racist. In short, Newburgh’s “ceasefire resolution” demonstrates its Council and supporters are antisemitic, racist fools. Sadly, it is a reputation Newburgh will have until this “ceasefire resolution” is revoked, its supporters resign or the Council Members are voted out of office.