Township Council Again Rebuffs Calls For Ceasefire Resolution

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Members of the township’s Palestinian community and their supporters were once again unsuccessful on May 28 in convincing the Township Council to pass a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

Nearly an hour of impassioned pleading for the Council to take the symbolic action was met with the same response: commenting on international affairs is not in the Council’s toolkit.

It was the same stance the Council and Mayor Phil Kramer took on November 28, 2023 and May 14, when calls went out for the Council’s resolution.

“We don’t have the expertise here to come to opinions on this and to make declarations on this,” Kramer said at the May 28 meeting. “I think everybody in this room wants a lasting peace, we certainly can call for that. But to instruct other nations what to do, I just don’t think it’s what we should be doing.”

Members of the community disagreed.

Muhammed Turan said there exists precedent for the Council in delving into international affairs in teh form of the September 11 monument outside the township library’s main branch.

“The last I checked, that didn’t happen in Franklin, that happened and affected us as American citizens,” he said.

“You also mentioned that calling for a ceasefire could anger some constituents,” Turan said. “But inaction that supports human suffering also causes anger, and to me, that’s really what’s worth getting angry over.”

“This should not be controversial,” he said. “This aspect of it is not the complicated part. Don’t kill babies is not super-hard to talk about.”

Rashid Malik told the Council that after the May 14 meeting, “As a community we left disheartened, betrayed and frustrated by mere words that lacked the necessary conviction. Certain words were spoken that did not fit the occasion.”

“Recent events have only exacerbated out anguish,” he said. “The bombing of refugee camp in Rafah that was meant as a safe zone … the harrowing images of parents cradling lifeless children … are etched into our collective consciousness.”

Regardless of your personal belief, I trust that your conscience compels you to take action,” he said. “The community stands resolute … to demand accountability.”

“Our township has a moral obligation to stand on the right side of history,” Malik said.

A Sebring Road resident told the Council that she’d bought her house in November, but has yet to have a housewarming or meet any of her neighbors.

“How can I find joy in setting down roots when so many people are losing their everything?” she asked.

“To me, a ceasefire resolution is a symbolic gesture that represent diversity and harmony that I see in Franklin,” she said. “A ceasefire resolution personally would be the difference between continuing to work within the four walls of my home and feeling encouraged to actively meet the neighbors on my street. It would reaffirm that the citizens of a diverse community can continue to live side-by-side peacefully as an example to others.”

“It’s not a political stance for any side, it’s a humanitarian stance,” she said.

“When we come here with our hearts pounding in our chests, and you tell us you need to stay in your lane, I’m here to tell you this is your lane,” a Nepote Place resident said. “We’re not asking you to make a political, religious or personal statement, we’re asking you to make a human one.”

“We are asking you to say that the killing of innocent people anywhere is inexcusable,” she said. “This is everyone’s business, and this is in everyone’s lane. We’re asking you to stand by us, your grieving constituents.”

Kramer said he and the Council “experience the pain of this too. Not just because we’re up here, but the pain of watching this on television, the pain of knowing that it’s affecting people in town. Our main focus is what’s going on with the people in town.”

“If we ask for a ceasefire, people will take offense to that,” he said. “It will increase the animosity between people.”

“This is not as simple as you say,” Kramer said. “It will place a wedge between people; it will not help the town, it will hurt the town.”

“We’re all one race, and that’s the human race,” said Councilwoman Kimberly Francois (D-At Large). “I don’t agree with the atrocities that are going on around the world, we’re all hurting, just as you are hurting. I don’t like my tax dollars going over there, either.”

Councilman Alex Kharazi (D-At Large) said that he feels “for everybody who is suffering. We want the war to end and have a lasting peace. As the second most diverse community in New Jersey, we are in a moment of noticeable division in our community over the events in Gaza.”

“This Council has had a long-standing policy to not present resolutions on international affairs, and to present matters that are relevant to the township,” he said. “Not presenting the resolution does not mean to please one group and neglect another group, or imply that we want the war to continue. It is a simple matter of long-standing policy that the Council wishes to continue.”

Councilwoman Shepa Uddin (D-Ward 2) said that she prays every night for a lasting peace in the region.

“I don’t think any of us disagree with any of the suffering that you are going through,” she said. “It really saddens me to hear that folks are going through this. We’ll continue figuring something out.”

Councilman James Vassanella (D-Ward 5) suggested that perhaps the way to address the issue is with a community forum. He said the township would support such an event.

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