Activists demand Tallahassee commission condemn ‘fascist,’ ‘apartheid’ Israel

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Progressive activists from the Tallahassee Community Action Committee and Florida State’s chapter of Students for a Democratic Society flooded the Tallahassee City Commission meeting on Wednesday, demanding a resolution for no aid or support to Israel.

Students and members of the community spoke during a public comment period for nearly an hour on why the city should introduce a resolution that condemns the “genocidal state of Israel.”

“We are at a pivotal moment of our life where we have to see, years from now, what side of history we will be on,” said Regina Joseph, Tallahassee Community Action Committee’s president.

“Will we be on the side of justice? Will we be on the side of people fighting for liberation? Will we be on the side of people who are afraid to speak up but still do? Or will we be silent and be like people who collaborated with Nazis,” she asked.

She added that Gov. Ron DeSantis is doing everything he can to “stomp out anybody who could be remotely critical of Israel.”

Dawn Orocio, who described herself as the vice president of the Tallahassee Community Action Committee, explained that the city of Richmond, California passed a resolution on Tuesday that achieved a similar goal of recognizing solidarity with Palestinians.

The California resolution, which passed 5-1, not only “stands in solidarity” with the people of Gaza, but accuses Israel of participating in “ethnic cleansing” and “collective punishment.”

The resolution justified the action by saying that the city of Richmond must pass the document in order to “never again” support the actions of antisemitism and the holocaust through the condoning of “apartheid” and “ethno-nationalism” in Israel.

Another Tallahassee activist, who did not give his name at the meeting, said that people who oppose the “genocide” are not supporting terrorists, but “freedom fighters.”

“We are supporting life and Liberty for the Palestinian community in Tallahassee and worldwide,” he said. “The city of Tallahassee can not stand with Israel. Instead, it must stand on the side of peace, the side of truth, the side of justice and the side of freedom.”

Several of the community activists in the crowd disrupted the public commenting process in between speakers by participating in chants such as “free free Palestine” and “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

Mayor John Dailey paused the process for a moment to speak up on the concern of the shouting and protesting indoors.

“Here’s how this is going to work. We’re going to give everybody the same opportunity to speak, and I’m asking you to work with me,” he said.

“Earlier in the meeting tonight, I asked everybody, both here at the dais and in the audience, be respectful so that we can make sure everybody has the opportunity to speak,” he added. “I hope you will work with me on this.”

“It’s hard when you chant over me, or the clerk or others who are coming to the podium to speak, to be able to actually hear themselves or us to be able to conduct the business,” Dailey said.

Victor Cardenas, a student at Florida State, said he was “simply a citizen who thinks it’s important to stand against genocide.”

“I think that the city of Tallahassee has an opportunity to be better than our poor vastly incompetent governor,” he said. ”And to take a stand against not only genocide, but fascism. Because that is what this is.”

“Israel is a fascist, genocidal, apartheid state. Mr. Mayor, you and the rest of the council members here have an ability, have an ability that you were voted into, to demonstrate that you do not stand with genocide, fascism, or apartheid,” he said.

Students for a Democratic Society Treasurer Elijah Ruby echoed the previous messaging and referred to Israel as a terrorist state.

“What we are seeing now is genocide,” Ruby said. “It is a holocaust on the Palestinian people.”

“In 100 years, in 20 years, in 10 years, we will look at the people who not just aided and abetted, but supported the holocaust of the Palestinians,” he said.

“And I know that the progressive people in Tallahassee, because we are a progressive city, the people who have been subjugated by the criminal police department that has never been restructured since segregation and is trained by Israel, the Arab people in Tallahassee, I know they will vote you out,” he added.

Many of the activists falsely claimed that Tallahassee had an ongoing “Sister City” relationship with a town in Israel. City Manager Reece Goad cleared up the confusion during the meeting.

“With Israel in particular, in 2019 that relationship had been inactive for some period,” Goad said. “And as a commission you deemed it inactive.”

The manager also explained that the relationship of Tallahassee’s “Sister City” in Russia was disbanded after the Russia-Ukraine war broke out in 2022.

The Tallahassee Community Action Committee and Students for a Democratic Society participated in two previous pro-Hamas protests on Florida State’s campus and at Cascades park. They plan to host a third protest on Monday at the school again.