Israeli Consul General Slams Atlanta City Council’s Resolution Supporting Gaza Ceasefire 

A few days before Thanksgiving, the Atlanta City Council weighed in again on the Israel-Hamas war, passing a 12-0 resolution in support of calls for a ceasefire voiced by The Carter Center nearly a month prior.  

The measure also called for “the establishment of humanitarian corridors,” the return of all hostages and the “restoration of essential services” in Gaza, where humanitarian groups estimate that up to 80 percent of the 2.2 million residents have been displaced as a result of the war. 

The council’s Nov. 20 vote was panned by Anat Sultan-Dadon, Israel’s consul general for the Southeast U.S. in Atlanta, who blasted the body for failing to mention Oct. 7 attacks that left 1,200 Israelis dead and 240 abducted, precipitating the country’s devastating military retaliation. 

“The shameful resolution neglects to mention one key word: Terror. As if terror has nothing to do with the current war that the Hamas terror organization started on Oct. 7, in its’ murderous attack during which thousands of Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israeli towns and communities in Southern Israel, slaughtering, torturing, raping, mutilating, dismembering, beheading and murdering everyone and anyone that they could — from babies to the elderly. Even unborn babies were not spared Hamas’ monstrous crimes,” Ms. Sultan-Dadon said in a lengthy statement (printed in full below). 

In the early days of the conflict, the city council had issued a resolution condemning “Hamas’s acts of terror” and recognizing Israel’s right to defend itself after the Oct. 7 attacks. 

Last Thursday, Israel agreed to a temporary pause in fighting designed to recover some of the 240 Israeli hostages abducted when Hamas launched its surprise attack. 

Over the last week, dozens of Israeli women and children held as hostages were released in exchange for a higher number of Palestinian prisoners. According to the consulate’s daily news briefings, the deal still leaves 145 more Israelis in captivity. 

According to various news sources, Israel announced early Friday that it had resumed combat in Gaza after it says Hamas violated the ceasefire by resuming rocket fire into Israeli territory. 

Israel had always vowed to resume the war until its aim of decimating Hamas was achieved, but the two sides were aiming to extend the Qatar-brokered truce for another 24 hours.   

In the 55 days since the war began, Israel has bombarded the northern part of the Gaza Strip relentlessly from the air, following up with a ground invasion designed to methodically clear the region of Hamas fighters, often in dense urban settings. 

The Israel Defense Forces have released footage showing booby traps and tunnel networks that it says illustrate the extent to which Hamas embedded its military capabilities within civilian areas. 

Israeli leaders say the war is necessary to end the the threat from a U.S.-designated terror group bent on the destruction of the Jewish state. 

But with some 12,000 Gazans reported killed so far, according to Gaza’s health ministry — many of them civilians and thousands of them purportedly women and children — calls for a permanent ceasefire have grown more strident, and city leaders have felt pressure from activist groups backing Palestine and pushing for peace. 

Atlanta joined a handful of other cities passing ceasefire resolutions. To date, Detroit; Akron, Ohio; Oakland and a few other U.S. cities have taken on similar measures. 

The U.S. supports Israel militarily and has not called for a permanent ceasefire, but Secretary of State Antony Blinken after meetings Thursday with the country’s war cabinet called on Israel to take a different tack when the fighting resumes to avoid the mass displacement and loss of life that characterized the first phase of the war. 

Israel, for its part, says it takes great pains to minimize casualties and that Hamas uses Gazan civilians as human shields. 

The Atlanta resolution calls for “both sides” to respect international law and “acknowledges the principle of proportionality and international law in self-defense.” 

Ms. Sultan-Dadon, the Israeli consul general, saw irony in this admonition, given that Hamas has declared the destruction of Israel as one of its charter goals. 

“The Atlanta City Council members, in what is at best willful ignorance, are calling on a recognized terror organization to abide by the principles of international law? Hamas’ whole existence, goals and activities stand in stark opposition to international law. If the city council members have any genuine concern for the Palestinian people, they should be unequivocally supporting Israel’s law -biding efforts to destroy Hamas and its terror capabilities. Freeing Gaza from Hamas is not only an Israeli interest, it is the interest of all who value life and freedom.”

Other groups, meanwhile, supported the council’s move, including the Georgia Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. 

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Read the full text of the Atlanta City Council Resolution:

Read on the Atlanta City Council website

November 20, 2023

A resolution to express Atlanta City Council support for The Carter Center’s call for cease-fire in Israel and Gaza, to support the establishment of humanitarian corridors, and the reinstatement of essential services; and for other purposes.

WHEREAS, the Carter Center, a world-renowned non-profit organization founded by Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, works to improve the lives of people around the world through peacebuilding, democracy promotion, human rights protection, disease prevention, and mental health care; and

WHEREAS, the Carter Center has urgently called for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas conflict, the establishment of humanitarian corridors, and reinstatement of essential services; and

WHEREAS, the Atlanta City Council also recognizes the urgency of the Israel-Hamas conflict and the need for immediate action; and

WHEREAS, the Atlanta City Council also acknowledges the principles of proportionality and international law in self-defense; and

WHEREAS, the Atlanta City Council also expresses concern over the ongoing violence and its potential for further escalation; and

WHEREAS, the Atlanta City Council also emphasizes the importance of a cease-fire, humanitarian corridors, and essential services for Gaza; and

WHEREAS, the Atlanta City Council also highlights the tragic loss of innocent lives and the acute humanitarian crisis unfolding; and

WHEREAS, the Atlanta City Council also condemns antisemitism, Islamophobia, and anti-Palestinian sentiments; and

WHEREAS, the Atlanta City Council also stresses that collective punishment and violence against civilians are contrary to international law; and

WHEREAS, the Atlanta City Council also affirms that there is no military solution, and only a political one can lead to peace based on common humanity and human rights.

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ATLANTA, GEORGIA, that the Atlanta City Council stands in solidarity with the Carter Center’s earnest plea for an immediate cease-fire, encompassing all parties involved in the ongoing and escalating Israel-Hamas conflict within Gaza.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Atlanta City Council supports the urgent appeal for the establishment of humanitarian corridors to ensure the unimpeded delivery of much-needed aid and the reinstatement of essential services to the beleaguered region.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Atlanta City Council passionately urges the swift and secure return of all hostages, emphasizing the critical importance of safeguarding their well-being.

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that in unflinching alignment with our commitment to the principles of international law, the Atlanta City Council earnestly calls on both sides to conscientiously abide by these norms, in order to promote a just and lawful resolution to the conflict.

Read the full statement from Anat Sultan-Dadon, Consul General of Israel to the Southeastern United States

 (Atlanta, GA) November 22, 2023

“This week, the Atlanta City Council adopted a resolution pertaining to Israel’s war with Hamas that is both morally reprehensible and steeped in glaring misinformation. The shameful resolution neglects to mention one key word: Terror. As if terror has nothing to do with the current war that the Hamas terror organization started on October 7th , in its’ murderous attack during which thousands of Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israeli towns and communities in Southern Israel, slaughtering, torturing, raping, mutilating, dismembering, beheading and murdering everyone and anyone that they could- from babies to the elderly. Even unborn babies were not spared Hamas’ monstrous crimes. 

Our first responders had to agonize over the horror scenes that will forever be etched in their memories, including the unimaginable dilemma- does one need one or two body bags for the mother and baby who had been hacked out of her belly, both brutally stabbed and murdered while the baby remained attached by umbilical cord to the mother.

1400 monstrous murders of Israelis, murdered simply for being Israeli. For being Jewish. Hamas not only committed atrocious war crimes and crimes against humanity, it took pride and joy in them, documenting their acts and uploading them to social media. Hamas leadership states publicly and clearly that they will commit October 7th again and again and again.

The Atlanta City Council resolution states only a “political” solution can bring an end to this

conflict. Allow me to clarify. The Hamas charter calls for the destruction of the State of Israel and the Jewish people. Hamas’ goal is not political, it is genocidal. Stated loud and clear.

When the Atlanta city council states that “there is no military solution, and that only a political one can lead to peace based on common humanity and human rights”, I wonder what political solution they have in mind, when the governing ruler of the Gaza strip is Hamas, a designated terror organization, dedicated to the destruction of the state of Israel and the Jewish people.

Israel is doing what any country would do in the face of terror- we are fighting to defend our country and citizens, to ensure that contrary to Hamas’ declared intentions, we will never again see such atrocities committed against our people. The resolution calls for a ceasefire. I ask. Did the Atlanta city council call for a ceasefire when the free world was fighting terror organizations such as Al Qaeda and ISIS?

The resolution’s call for the establishment of humanitarian corridors ignores the fact that these have been established by the IDF, to allow for the safe passage of Palestinian civilians from the Northern Gaza strip to the South, and that ironically it is the IDF who has to protect these civilians from Hamas’ fire, as Hamas actively seeks to keep its own civilians in harm’s way.

Hamas abuses its own citizens and uses its own people as human shields. For Israeli civilians- there are no humanitarian corridors to protect them from the incessant firing of rockets from Gaza into Israel, indiscriminately targeting civilian populations. Hamas continues to commit a double war crime, intentionally firing rockets and targeting Israeli civilians, while doing so from within their own communities, using civilian infrastructures including hospitals and schools for their terror activities. There is no mention of this in the resolution.

Also missing in the resolution is 21,470 tons of aid that have entered the Gaza strip from the beginning of the war. Israel has been enabling the transfer of humanitarian aid to the civilian population in Gaza on a daily basis, despite indications that Hamas is stealing some of this aid. Dozens of humanitarian aid

trucks are entering Gaza on a daily basis, including water, food, medical supplies and even fuel, while Hamas is sitting on stockpiles of fuel that it reserves for its terror activities rather than for the civilian population needs.

Astonishingly, the resolution ends with stating that the Atlanta City Council calls on both sides to abide by the principles of international law, in order to promote a just and lawful resolution to the conflict. Israel always has and always will act in full accordance with international law. We are proud to uphold the highest moral standards, not just because of international law, but because these are our values. Israelis are committed to the sanctity of life and humanity.

Israel even provided medical care for Hamas terrorists, who were arrested after participating in the bloody killing spree against our people on October 7th. Because it is our morals that dictate our actions, not the inhumanity that these monsters demonstrated.

The Atlanta city council members, in what is at best willful ignorance, are calling on a recognized terror organization to abide by the principles of international law? Hamas’ whole existence, goals and activities stand in stark opposition to international law. If the city council members have any genuine concern for the Palestinian people, they should be unequivocally supporting Israel’s law abiding efforts to destroy Hamas and its terror capabilities. Freeing Gaza from Hamas is not only an Israeli interest, it is the interest of all who value life and freedom.

Make no mistake. This is not a war between Israel and the Palestinian people. The only two sides to this war are the side of terror and the evil which seeks death and destruction, and the side that is fighting terror and evil, for humanity, life and freedom. The Atlanta City Council has sadly chosen to stand on the wrong side of history.

As it appears that the city council members are unaware and uninformed about the facts pertaining to Israel’s war with Hamas, I would like to invite each of them to join a special screening that we will be holding next Wednesday evening, of a 43-minute video compiled of footage documenting Hamas’ atrocities on October 7th , a large part of it documented by the perpetrators themselves, taking pride in their abhorrent crimes. Perhaps viewing this footage will help the city council members better align themselves with the side of humanity.”

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