By Sunayana Prabhu
RED BANK – Although 5,700 miles away, nearly an hour of the Feb. 22 Red Bank Borough Council meeting centered around the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. A fierce debate ensued between two factions over a rumored council resolution calling for a ceasefire in the conflict. However, as it did at a previous council meeting, the governing body reiterated its neutral stance. Having faced this issue for a second time, borough leadership said it would rather focus on local governance than international disputes.
Residents and those from neighboring towns took over the Thursday meeting, seeking validation from the council on their respective stances on a war that broke out Oct. 7, 2023, and has escalated into a humanitarian crisis.
Passionate arguments from both sides conveyed details of unprecedented destruction and the scale of violence and suffering that has taken a toll on children and civilians.
An undercurrent of escalating tension was palpable in the council chambers as residents took turns to speak, exceeding the allotted time limit for public comments during the meeting. Several commenters, including rabbis and members of Jewish congregations from the Two River area and beyond, urged the council to reject any resolution calling for a ceasefire, while other residents and members of Amnesty International spoke encouraging it.
“We’re not calling for a ceasefire. We don’t have a resolution for a ceasefire before us,” Mayor Billy Portman clarified.
While Portman acknowledged those voicing their concerns on an “incredibly complex issue,” he explained the governing body was elected “during a pretty divided time in Red Bank. I’m not looking to go back to division; we’re looking to unify and take care of the things that we were elected to do,” he said, pivoting to agenda items like fixing Marine Park and buying a new DPW building.
Council member Ben Forest agreed. “I really don’t think that this governing body should get involved in the international issue,” Forest said.
As reported by The Two River Times Feb. 1, the council previously confronted the issue when a resident urged the governing body during the borough’s Jan. 25 council meeting to support a resolution she wrote and presented calling for “an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Israel and resumption of World Humanitarian Aid.”
The council politely declined to adopt a resolution at that time.
The article originally appeared in the February 29 –March 6, 2024 print edition of The Two River Times.
