Somerville resident and Palestinian leader of S4P speaks to the importance of this moment for Palestinians. (Photo credit: City of Somerville Public Recording)

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By Somerville for Palestine

On Thursday, June 11, 2026, members of Somerville City Council introduced an ordinance to boycott and divest from companies complicit in Israel’s genocide, apartheid, and illegal occupation of Palestine. The proposed ordinance follows years of campaigning by Palestinian community leaders and local organizers to stop the flow of municipal tax dollars to companies that provide material support to Israel and enable Israel’s long history of crimes against Palestinians.

The ordinance was written by Councilors Ben Ewen-Campen and Ben Wheeler. Councilors Will Mbah and Jon Link also indicated they would be co-sponsors of the proposed legislation. In his opening remarks, Councilor Ewen-Campen stated, “This generation has watched, day after day, for years, as truly unimaginable acts of violence and destruction have been done to Gaza, to Palestine. A campaign that is directly targeting the civilian population, has reduced Gaza to rubble, that has been recognized as a genocide by many human rights groups and scholars. And as they have watched this unfold, they have also seen very clearly that Israel’s actions have the complete and total support of our country and our government. They see that this could not be happening without our country providing weapons, sending aid, publicly supporting these unconceivable actions that we can all see on our phones every day, read about on the news — and for many people in Somerville, it’s not just something they see on their phones. For our Palestinian constituents, every single one of them has been directly affected by this in unimaginable ways.”

Councilor Will Mbah sponsored two speakers, Palestinian organizer Amina Awad and Jewish community leader and filmmaker Erin Axelman. Awad highlighted the importance of this moment for Palestinians: “Today, we are enacting the will of the people and heeding the call of the 11,599 Somervillians who voted yes to divest in November. But the reality remains that there is an ongoing genocide of Palestinians being livestreamed as we sit in the comfort of this room. As I speak, Palestinians continue to endure unimaginable state sanctioned violence, murder, and destruction funded by our tax dollars,” still directly affecting relatives of Palestinians living in Somerville.

Axelman, in their remarks to the Council, commented on the need to support Palestine through the proposed ordinance, amidst a new political landscape shaped by increased public scrutiny of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians: “Somerville is one of the most progressive cities in the country. 100% of our city council members are Democrats. As our ballot initiative’s success showed, and as polling over and over again shows, the era of Pro-Israel Democrats is over, and our [Democrat] party is not going back.” They continued, “We need our city councilors to follow the will of the voters, both in Somerville and nationally,” by “becoming one of the first cities in the U.S. to divest from companies complicit in Israeli genocide and apartheid.”

During the introduction of the ordinance to the City Council, City Councilor Naima Sait shared, “This genocide is the most horrifying thing in our lifetime. If we can’t take action on Israel’s genocide in Palestine, then I don’t know how we can still talk about human rights or community values. I genuinely cannot go around in the community saying that I care about children or women, women’s rights, human rights, if I cannot support an ethical procurement ordinance. That’s the least we can do.”

The ordinance states that the city may not procure goods or services from an entity whose contracts, services, or operations, in any of the three most recent fiscal years, provide material support to, or derive revenue from material support provided to entities engaged in conduct recognized under international law to constitute apartheid, genocide, unlawful military occupation, or conduct recognized to constitute systematic violation of international humanitarian law, including without limitation in Israel and Palestine. It further restricts the city from purchasing financial equities or bonds that constitute investment in the same entities so long as alternatives with equivalent or better financial prospects are available. The Mayor is directed to promulgate an Ethical Procurement and Investment Policy to implement the restrictions, and consider the findings of several international legal bodies, including the International Court of Justice and the United Nations Human Rights Council, in creating such a policy.

Organizers with Somerville for Palestine have expressed concern that the ordinance, as written, may be interpreted in such a way as not to affect a boycott of any company doing business with Israel. International legal bodies have largely failed to term Israel’s conduct in Palestine a genocide or apartheid state, and rulings often take years to come out. As such, community members are pushing city councilors to include the American Friends Service Committee’s database “Companies Profiting from the Gaza Genocide” in the list that the Mayor must consider in creating a policy to, as Awad highlighted in her remarks, “provide clarity around who to boycott upon enforcement.”

The Cambridge for Palestine organizer addressed the crowd outside City Hall: “We are here to bear witness today. This isn’t everything we want for the liberation of Palestine, but this is not the end of our struggle.”

The ordinance will now be considered by the Legislative Affairs Committee, which will review and revise the language and present a final version to the rest of the council for voting.

This ordinance follows the passage of Question 3 in November 2025, which called on elected leaders to end city business with companies that sustain Israel’s apartheid, genocide, and illegal occupation of Palestine. The question passed with broad support in Somerville, securing the win in 27 of 28 precincts in the city. At the urging of local activists, the City Council passed a measure in December 2025 resolving to implement Question 3 within a year.

Somerville for Palestine is an inclusive local, community-led group that formed in response to Israel’s U.S.-funded genocide against the Palestinian people, and we are united in our steadfast advocacy for Palestinian liberation.