At the annual Peoria Township meeting on April 9th, 2024, Township voters rejected a proposed ballot question asking to defund Apartheid Israel by a vote of 67-93.
Once a year, using an obscure law from the mid-19th century, fifteen township residents can propose an advisory ballot question to be voted on at the annual Township Meeting. Any township resident physically present at the meeting can vote to place an advisory question on public policy on the November ballot. A simple majority is needed to add the question.
The question to be placed on the ballot was:
“Shall the United States Federal Government & subordinate divisions stop giving military funding to Israel which currently costs taxpayers 3.8 billion dollars a year, given Israel’s global recognition as an apartheid regime with a track record of human rights violations.”
The Peoria Township could not afford to livestream the meeting (despite it literally being in the same room as City Council meetings which are always livestreamed). Agitation Rising is the only news outlet which recorded the majority of the meeting.
Many opponents of the ballot proposal questioned who was declaring Israel an apartheid system. The overwhelming majority of international organizations and figures decisively affirm Israel is an apartheid regime. These include: Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People; UN Special Rapporteur Michael Lynk; UN Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices; UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA); Amnesty International; Human Rights Watch; B’Tselem; Yesh Din; Physicians for Human Rights Israel; Adalah – The Legal Centre for Minority Rights in Israel; HaMoked – Center for the Defence of the Individual; Tamir Pardo, former head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency; Amos Goldberg, leading professor of the Holocaust at Hebrew University in Jerusalem; Ban Ki-moon, former secretary-general of the United Nations; Daniel Levy, former Israeli negotiator; Yehudit Karp, former Israeli deputy attorney general; Michael Benyair, former Israeli attorney general.
One particularly deranged Zionist, Natasha Divine, compared Pro-Palestinian peace activists to white supremacist Matt Hale and Adolf Hitler.
At-Large City Council member Mike Vespa chastised those who brought the question forward for a vote saying the truthful assertion that Israel is an apartheid state was inflammatory and potentially put Peoria residents in harms way.
“Absolutely, people in pain should share their genuine emotions. I get it, and at least I try to empathize with it, but purposeful exaggeration and stirring the pot is reckless because it can set off hateful, unstable individuals,” Vespa said. “I am not accusing anybody here specifically of that, but it’s on the table. I ask everyone to listen and consider other perspectives that conflict with your own. That’s what I’ll strive to do, especially from those two communities affected, people from outside of those communities take a back seat.”
“I am not sure a ballot initiative like this would help to achieve a long-lasting peace, nor would it be helpful in maintaining the cohesiveness of our community — which is why I’m here,” Vespa continued. “I am afraid that seeing this ballot language in November is just going to make angry people angrier.”
At-Large City Councilman & alleged serial, domestic abuser Zach Oyler also opposed the ballot initiative.
“Regardless of one’s opinion on the actual decision on the question or the actual verdict of the question, I am a firm believer that we have a lane to stay in and a role and responsibility in government,” Oyler said. “I have been steadfast in my time in collective service of focusing on staying in my lane and the issues are part of my elected responsibilities, and this is not an issue for the town of the city of Peoria. This is a federal issue.”
Only City Councilmember Denice Jackson voted in favor of the placing the question on the ballot.
After the meeting, Peoria for Palestin president Mazhar Mahmood held a press conference on the front steps of Peoria City Hall. He stated he was disappointed the vote did not pass. He accused the other side of opposing democracy, even those this decision was direct democracy in action. The reality is the Peoria Zionist community simply out organized the Pro-Palestine community.
Mahmood said Peoria for Palestine will continue to organize & educate the public on the plight of the Palestinian people.
Two other Townships held a vote on the same issue: Capital Township (City of Springfield) & Cunningham Township (City of Urbana). Capital Township voters rejected the question, while Cunningham Township voters approved its placement on the November ballot.
