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Voters say no more tax dollars for Israel’s genocide against Palestinians

Massachusetts voters have delivered a decisive victory on a historic ballot question, voting overwhelmingly to end city business with companies sustaining Israel’s apartheid, genocide, and illegal occupation of Palestine. On the same night of Zohran Mamdani’s historic victory as the first Muslim-American mayor of NYC, Somerville voted for Palestine, showing that grassroots, values-aligned campaigns win.

State Representatives Erika Uyterhoeven and Mike Connolly (in back) join Somerville for Palestine members celebrating victory. — Photo by Matt Abban

On Tuesday, Somerville voters sent a strong and clear message to new mayor-elect Jake Wilson and city councilors, as over 11,400 voted “Yes” on Question 3. This public policy advisory question known as the “Palestine Solidarity Ballot Question” urges Somerville officials to divest city funds from companies which support Israel’s violence against Palestinians. “Yes on 3” garnered even more votes than Mayor-elect Jake Wilson. The initiative affirms a tidal shift in U.S. public opinion which has turned overwhelmingly against Israel’s violent actions in Palestine, which multiple international human rights groups have concluded constitute genocide.

As Israel continues to kill dozens of Palestinians weekly, and as Israeli leaders seek to annex the West Bank in violation of international law, Somerville voters feel the moral imperative of the moment.

Over 300 grassroots volunteers gathered more than 11,000 signatures to get the “Palestine Solidarity” question on the ballot. Volunteers spent 7 months canvassing the city, chatting with joggers and bikers on the Somerville Community Path, collecting signatures at farmers’ markets and between garage-band sets at the popular “Porchfest” local music festival. The homegrown Palestine Solidarity “Yes on 3” Campaign defied the odds, defeating an 11th-hour opposition from an astroturf group backed by the controversial ADL, which outspent them 4 to 1 in an effort to invalidate signatures and bring an unsubstantiated legal challenge, which was quickly dismissed.

The “Yes on 3 for Palestine” campaign garnered broad support throughout the city of over 80,000 residents and was endorsed by over 30 organizations, including the Somerville Educators Union (SEU), which represents over 700 educators, and the Union Square Neighborhood Council. “This election offers a critical history lesson for our students and for Americans across the country,” said Vincent Timmins, Somerville educator and SEU Member. “Americans want to spend our tax dollars on our kids’ schools, not to blow up schools in Gaza.”

Somerville may be the first city in the US to vote directly on a ballot question for Palestine, which has stemmed from the groundwork laid by other divestment wins across Massachusetts, such as in Medford and Northampton, as well as across the US, in Michigan, Maine, California, and Vermont.

“We won’t be bullied out of our democracy or out of our tax dollars,” said Neda Mustafa, a Palestinian American Somerville resident. “What happens in Somerville will be the fire that ignites the rest of the country to follow suit. Everyone deserves freedom, and it starts right here at home”.

The boycott proposed in the ballot measure would focus on large, multinational companies like Hewlett-Packard (HP), Caterpillar (CAT), and Lockheed Martin, that support the continued apartheid, occupation, and genocide committed against Palestinians. This will have a concrete impact on the Somerville community. The city currently invests over $500,000 of pension funds in arms manufacturer Lockheed Martin, and currently holds a tech contract with HP, which plays a key role in the surveillance state of the West Bank. “As a Palestinian American, I’ve witnessed my family endure Israel’s brutality for decades. I believe in a Somerville that is ethically invested in our community. It has meant so much to me to realize thousands of my neighbors agree,” says Amina Awad, Somerville resident and organizer with Somerville for Palestine. “Boycotts and divestments have helped create real change in the past. This monumental win demands our city leaders follow our Somerville values of protecting human rights.”

This measure would follow previous successful efforts in Somerville to boycott companies complicit in South African Apartheid and those that use practices that violate human rights, such as prison labor. Just as these movements treated local activism and foreign policy as interconnected, Somerville residents see the intersection: “ We don’t want to see children go hungry, in Massachusetts or in Gaza,” said Palestinian American Somerville resident and organizer with Somerville for Palestine, Mia Haddad, referencing the illegal termination of SNAP funding, which went into effect this week. “Americans want to reinvest in our communities, not to see our tax dollars spent for genocide or squandered on lavish parties for billionaires.” The vote in Somerville now marks a decisive trend across the United States and around the world, calling for aligning investments with community values by moving public money out of companies that contribute to Israel’s apartheid, genocide, and illegal occupation of Palestine.

— Somerville for Palestine