The City of Knoxville will consider on March 19 a resolution that would call for Tennessee’s U.S. congressional delegation to join the city in demanding the Biden administration cease providing military support to Israel until the country agrees to a ceasefire with Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
Filed by Knoxville City Council At-Large Seat C Representative Amelia Parker, the resolution urges the United States act to force Israel to comply with an International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling that raised concerns about Israel’s practices in its defensive war against Hamas.
The resolution calls for Knoxville to demand Biden to “refrain from providing support to Israel” that includes “weapons and military support” in accordance with the IJC’s demands to the international community.
Additionally, the resolution would demand the Biden administration “use its immense diplomatic and appropriations powers to” force Israel to stop killing or injuring anyone identifiable as Palestinian. Parker’s resolution also wants Biden to make Israel stop “creating conditions” that are “calculated to bring about” the “physical destruction” of people in Palestine.
The ICJ ruling, which Parker references throughout the resolution, was made as a result of a complaint filed by the South African government.
South Africa, according to the U.S. State Department, has “[s]ignificant human rights issues” that include credible reports of “unlawful or arbitrary killings; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by the government; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest or detention; serious government corruption; trafficking in persons; and crimes involving violence or threats of violence targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex persons.”
Though Parker’s new anti-Israel resolution will be considered, the Knoxville City Council in November 2023 voted down a previous resolution submitted by Parker that similarly sought to condemn Israel and demand the Biden administration push for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Parker’s earlier resolution would have had the Knoxville government condemn Israel for “engaging in collective punishment against the Palestinian people” and demanding “an end to Israel’s apartheid, occupation, military blockade of Palestinian land and peoples.”
While Parker introduced the resolution, no other city councilor expressed support, causing it to fail without a vote.
Hamas terrorists attacked Israel in an unprovoked attack on October 7 that resulted in more than 1,100 mostly civilian deaths. Israel remains engaged in its mission to eradicate Hamas in Palestine.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and the Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Amelia Parker” by Amelia Parker. Background Photo “Knoxville City Hall” by Brian Stansberry. CC BY 3.0.
