(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries and letters to the Editor of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)

Somerville to vote on whether tax dollars should continue to fund genocide this November.

By Somerville For Palestine

Amid a growing trend of local cities and towns reclaiming control of local investments to align with community values, the city of Somerville Elections Commission elected to place a Ballot Question 3 on the November Ballot which would call on the city to end business with companies that contribute to the ongoing genocide, apartheid, and illegal occupation of Palestine. Grassroots organizers faced a legal challenge funded by national special interest groups, attempting to disqualify thousands of voter signatures. However, at a hearing this morning, Monday, Oct 6, the Somerville Elections Commission overruled the objections, certifying over 8000 signatures, and placing Ballot Question 3 on the November ballot.

“The residents of Somerville deserve the opportunity to debate and decide on this measure for themselves,” said Amina Awad, Palestinian-American Somerville resident, “In a democracy, we are owed the right to speak freely about our beliefs without retaliation, or the threat of violence, or intimidation.”

Nearly 100 Somerville residents held a rally in front of Somerville City Hall this morning to show their support for the Palestine Solidarity Ballot Question, then packing the City Council Chambers for the hearing. The Elections Commission began the hearing by reading testimonies in support of the ballot question from elected officials, including State Senator Pat Jehlen, State Representative Mike Connolly, and City Councilors Ben-Ewen Campen, Naima Sait, and Will Mbah.

Senator Jehlen provided a point-for-point rebuttal of the challenge to the ballot question, adding, “Many people are looking for ways to end the destruction and death in Gaza,” she wrote. “They want to use this method to elevate their individual voices together, and to build a movement across the country as was done in the case of South African apartheid. It is clearly an example of free speech and a functioning democracy at work.”  

City Councilors Willie Burnley Jr. and JT Scott also provided live testimonies in support of  question 3.

“I am deeply frustrated that a relatively small number of wealthy individuals and institutions seem determined to disrupt Somerville’s democratic process by silencing the voices of over 11,000 voters,” said Somerville City Councilor and Mayoral Candidate, Willie Burnley, Jr. “As an at-large city councilor, I strongly believe that all of our neighbors should have a say in where their taxes go and to determine whether our municipal funds will be invested in building schools in our community or blowing them up in Gaza. If we are unable to even decide whether our City will remain complicit in genocidal acts, then our democracy itself will be degraded.”

The Somerville Ballot Question Committee Treasurer and organizer, Lucy Tumavicus, described an initiative which grew organically this year, as Somerville residents learned how to draft a ballot question, submit it to City Hall, and gather enough signatures to put the ballot question on the local ballot. “We did the math, and 288 community members signed up as volunteers to be part of this effort. We trained each other and learned how to organize in the process. Very few people had been this involved in an electoral campaign before! We chatted with joggers and bikers on the community path, brought our clipboards to farmers markets in different squares, and got on the mic between sets at Porchfest to gather signatures…It was powerful, it was quintessential Somerville, and it was pure democracy at work.”

After hearing testimony and deliberating, the Elections Commission overruled the procedural objection, deciding that all 8,013 signatures collected since the March 27th City Council meeting should be certified and counted.

However, on October 1st, a new astroturf group, which called itself, “Somerville United Against Discrimination” (SUAD), submitted the objection to the ballot measure on questionable procedural grounds, which today’s hearing overruled. SUAD is backed by the controversial special-interest group, the Anti-Defamation League. SUAD has reportedly raised more than $150,000 to oppose the ballot measure. The astroturf group claimed that signatures could be collected no more than 90 days before the election, which experts commented was without legal grounds, noting that the objection clearly conflicted with the written instructions from the City Solicitor and Elections Commission. SUAD also claimed that the ballot question is discriminatory, which advocates dismissed.

“The American public is getting tired of watching the Trump administration ‘using antisemitism as a smokescreen’ to undermine our democracy and the First Amendment,” said Annika Schafer, Somerville resident, member of Somerville for Palestine leadership and Jewish caucus, referencing the recent judicial ruling of U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs in AAUP vs Rubio. “As a Jew, I remain aghast at the war crimes and genocide committed by Israel in my name. As an American taxpayer, I don’t want to pay for starving children, bombing hospitals and genocide, just like over 60% of the American public. It’s past time we have a say in how our tax dollars are spent!”

Hundreds of volunteers have worked on the campaign, with over 30 local Massachusetts organizations endorsing the question, including Somerville for Palestine, the Somerville Educators Union (SEU), Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) – Boston, the Black Response, Union Square Neighborhood Council, and many more.

Much like other boycott initiatives recently passed by other Massachusetts cities such as Medford and Northampton, 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 human rights violations committed on Palestinians. 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.  If question 3passes in November, Somerville would join a growing list of cities in Massachusetts and around the world calling for aligning investments with community values by moving public money out of companies that are complicit in Israel’s apartheid, genocide and illegal occupation of Palestine.

After much ado, this November, Somerville residents will have the opportunity to decide for themselves on the ballot question, which will read:  “Shall the Mayor of Somerville and all Somerville elected leaders be instructed to end all current city business and prohibit future city investments and contracts with companies as long as such companies engage in business that sustains Israel’s apartheid, genocide, and illegal occupation of Palestine?”