CLEVELAND — Dozens of people gathered during Tuesday night's Cuyahoga County Council meeting to protest the county's stance on Israeli bonds amid the war in Gaza.
County Executive Chris Ronayne recently emphasized during his State of the County address that officials would not divest its nearly $16 million in Israeli bonds. That decision diverged from the wishes of multiple councilmembers, and drew the ire of pro-Palestinian demonstrators.
"We have people here in need of this money," Jenna Muhieddine told 3News. "There's no reason it should be sent overseas."
Muhieddine argued that the county should not be involved in foreign affairs, citing ongoing county issues including homelessness. She and others gathered outside county outside county administrative headquarters in Cleveland to protest, and inside, their vuvuzela horns could be heard during the meeting.
Back in June, Council Vice President Cheryl Stephens and Councilmember Patrick Kelley introduced a resolution calling for the county to stop any additional investment bonds issued by Israel. However, the resolution was later withdrawn after Ronayne received a letter from Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, who cited Ohio law that makes it illegal for businesses that receive state funding to boycott, divest, or sanction Israel.
Following the resolution's removal from the agenda, Stephens and Kelley urged Cuyahoga County Treasurer Brad Cromes to suspend investments in sovereign debt issued by any foreign county, not just Israel, noting in a letter that they wish to invest exclusively in American workers and neighborhoods. Still, Ronayne has held firm, telling those gather at his address last week, "We are not moving away from Israel bonds."
"We won't stop," Muhieddine said Tuesday. "Eventually, when there's two sides of pressure, one is going to crumble, and it's not going to be us. It's going to be him."
During the meeting, some people expressed their gratitude to councilmembers, saying they are thankful they are supporting Israel and are glad the county won't be divesting from those bonds.
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