Last night, Somerville voters did not see fit to elect pro-Hamas city councilor Willie Burnley, Jr. as its new mayor. Instead, they elected fellow councilor Jake Wilson who bested Burnley, Jr. by more than 10% of the vote.
I give this one cheer because Somerville voters also approved a pro-BDS ballot measure calling upon the city to divest in companies that “engage in business that sustains Israel’s apartheid, genocide and illegal occupation of Palestine.” The measure was approved by a margin of 55.7% to 38.4%.
It should be noted that the measure is not binding. However, I have no doubt Somerville for Palestine (which Burnley, Jr. has been directly involved) will bring pressure to bear upon the city and it remains to be seen whether Mayor-elect Wilson and his new council are prepared to withstand the pressure which is sure to follow through ongoing public demonstrations followed by acts of intimidation and violence against city entities or possibly Somerville's Jewish community.
Writing in the libertarian magazine Reason, Jack Nicastro is skeptical of the proposal:
That's awfully vague phrasing. Determining whether a business is Israeli is difficult enough, considering the myriad shareholders in publicly traded multinational corporations. Whether a business "sustains Israel's apartheid" is even more opaque, regardless of one's feelings on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
I doubt Somerville for Palestine really cares about such details. The purpose of their campaign is to delegitimize, disrupt and dismantle Israel and now that the ballot measure has been approved, they have momentum on their side. If Somerville can pass such a resolution, then so can other municipalities. Along with Mamdani's election in New York City, American Jews should equally be concerned about the delegitimization, disruption and dismantling of Israel, but we should be alarmed that our standing in American society will be similarly delegitimized, disrupted and dismantled.
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