We are a coalition of concerned community members who have watched with horror the genocide and ethnic cleansing of the occupied Palestinian territories in real time for over 100 days.

We have watched the Biden administration twist itself in knots, bypass Congress, ignore the Leahy law, and dismiss objections to sending weapons and aid to Israel unconditionally with our tax dollars despite its many documented war crimes. 

We have watched as months of street protests, sit-ins, phone and email campaigns, petitions, and polls indicating major popular support for a ceasefire (this Data For Progress poll from October showed 66% of US voters in support) have gone ignored at all levels of the federal government, with only 61 House members and 5 senators declaring support for a ceasefire at the time of this writing.

The bombs that are being dropped on neighborhoods and schools and refugee camps and hospitals in Gaza are being made here in the US, and the US has repeatedly used its veto power to halt attempts to call for a ceasefire in the UN Security Council. It is only through our government's enabling of this genocide that it is allowed to continue. 

It is clear that traditional forms of protest are shifting the needle far too slowly, and in order to halt the death machine that the IOF is unleashing on Gaza and the West Bank, we have to take these issues directly to the centers of power and demand with the support of a large majority of Americans and almost every international court, human rights organization, and labor union in the country. For these reasons, we are demanding that Athens-Clarke County Unified Government pass a resolution for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Palestine. A resolution has been drafted with the help of a coalition of community members, commissioners, and students. 

We ask the mayor and commission to pass a ceasefire resolution rather than sign an open letter because a resolution is a firm and unified statement that cuts through the noise and pressures the federal government more effectively than if we were to leave ceasefire support up to individual politicians. 

Mayor Kelly Girtz is obstructing a ceasefire resolution and refusing to put it on the agenda because our cause is a 'tertiary campaign' that is out of the jurisdiction of local government. The commission is split -- for a full guide of commissioner stances regarding the ceasefire resolution, please see our post.

We would like to show the mayor and the commission that a ceasefire resolution is an issue Athens cares about and that his constituents' demands and interests are indeed within his jurisdiction. We want to enforce that Athens voters will be watching the Unified Government's response to a genocide.

Please sign our petition to tell Mayor Girtz and the commission: Athens wants a ceasefire resolution!

If you would like a more in-depth exploration of the potential impact of a local ceasefire resolution, the rationale for passing one, further information regarding Athens' and UGA's international ties, and an idea of how many other cities have passed a ceasefire resolution, please see our FAQ.