IOWA CITY, Iowa— Iowa City may be a relatively small place in the U.S., but it’s the latest city to throw its weight behind the movement to boycott genocide. On Tuesday, Aug. 5, the city council here, in a unanimous vote, passed a boycott of public investments in Israeli companies that are “complicit in the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, including all entities assisting Israel in the oppression of the Palestinian People.”
The win demonstrates that a consistent and united effort by a community can achieve historic victories, even in deeply red states like Iowa.
For the almost two years of the only live-streamed genocide in human history, that of the Palestinian people in Gaza, many community members of Iowa City have been unrelenting in their belief in peace, justice, and liberation for Palestine. The grassroots community club Iowa City Action for Palestine (ICAP) has been bravely at the center of organizing actions, ensuring that this city does not forget what is happening in Palestine and who is funding it.
No matter the condition of the Midwestern weather or the number of people who show up, every Friday ICAP organizes an evening protest for Palestine in the center of downtown Iowa City, also known as the Pentacrest. The demonstrations typically feature a variety of speakers—some give updates on the conditions in Gaza and West Bank, Palestinians from the community speak about how this genocide has effected them and their family, while others discuss how, at all levels of government, elected officials in the U.S. invest public funds to directly or indirectly support the Israeli state and its crimes against the Palestinian people.
Through this consistent organizing and other local political developments, ICAP was able to gather sufficient support in the community to launch a campaign to push city council to take up and pass a boycott resolution. ICAP encouraged the community to contact council members and tell them why Iowa City should boycott companies complicit in genocide.
At around 7:45 pm last Tuesday, after nearly two hours of the formal agenda, the resolution was finally discussed by the council. City Hall was packed from the council chamber to the main lobby; an estimated 80 members of the community came out to be heard by their council members.
At the start of the discussion, Councilor Oliver Weilein spoke and confirmed that community members from ICAP had been contacting him and other members of the body (Mazahir Salih, Laura Bergus, and Bruce Teague) regarding thd boycott resolution and how the council can help draft it.
Weilein made two brief points. First, he said that the boycott resolution is a continuation of the ceasefire resolution the city council passed in January 2024. Second, Weilein emphasized that this war is unique in that, even though U.S. military forces are not directly engaged in combat, taxes from U.S. citizens are being used to fund it. Thus, he said it puts the community in a position to make a material change.
The boycott resolution declares that the City of Iowa City should withhold any public funds from investments in “entities complicit in the current and ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.” The guidelines for which companies are found to be complicit come from the American Friends Service Committee.
There are a number of companies that many may recognize, including but not limited to Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Caterpillar, and Motorola. (As of writing, it is not clear if Iowa City has investments in any of these companies).
Lastly, the resolution requires the city manager to make an annual report to the council showing that the city has been avoiding any bond or equity investments with any of the companies on the boycott list.
Over the last decade, the state government of Iowa has undergone an extremely reactionary and chauvinistic transformation. Extreme right-wing Republicans at the state level have tried everything in their power to limit the abilities of this city to make the progressive and pro-working class changes the residents want.
Evangelicals and Zionist ideologues in the state also tried their hand at suppressing the Iowa City boycott resolution campaign by coordinating with an organization named Christians United For Israel (CUFI) to create a bot email scam that sent over 10,000 unsolicited messages, preying on the potential ignorance of council members.
It was all to no avail, however. The email campaign and other attempts to distract from Israel’s crimes were a complete failure due to the collective strength of the community.
Dr. Rima Afifi, who was in attendance at the council meeting, summed up this point best: “Israel’s being shielded from accountability, and the occupation of Palestine cannot end without ending these links of complicity. Cities, states, corporations, institutions, and people of conscience must lead this change. Today, in Iowa City, we end our complicity.”
Even through constant political suppression from the state government, the local Palestine solidarity movement’s strength and unity over the last 22 months have been steadfast and resilient. ICAP and community members have shown the true power of international working-class solidarity and proved that through education, consistency, and unity, historic victories can be achieved in the darkest of times.
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