On Tuesday, October 30, the Teaneck Town Council met online in a special meeting to pass a “Peace and unity” resolution, following its introduction on October 17.
The unity resolution was introduced following an initial resolution and unanimous passage on October 17 which condemned Hamas’s attack of October 7 and reiterated Teaneck’s support for the U.S.-Israel relationship and its Jewish and Israeli residents.
Many Teaneck residents as well as advocates from outside Teaneck spoke against the resolution condemning Hamas on October 17, and in favor of the unity resolution introduced by Deputy Mayor Danielle Gee and Council Member Denise Belcher, which expressed solidarity with all groups affected by the October 7 Hamas massacre in addition to all innocent victims in Gaza and elsewhere. While both resolutions were introduced on the same day, all members of the council expressed a wish to support both resolutions.
The unity resolution considered on October 30 condemned the loss of life on all sides. It expressed support for all Teaneck residents as well as opposition to antisemitism, Islamophobia and hate of all types. Following two hours of extensive discussion during the “good and welfare” public comment portion, the resolution was passed unanimously. The reason a special meeting was called to pass the unity resolution was because not all council members had had a chance to review and suggest language edits before the meeting.
The windup to the October 30 meeting was deeply affected by two previous protests that took place in Bergen County, including the October 17 protest outside the council meeting in Teaneck, where pro-Israel residents were escorted back to their cars by police and pro-Palestinian protesters were filmed shouting antisemitic epithets like “Gas the Jews,” and “From the river the sea, Palestine will be free.” Jewish protests sang Jewish and Zionist songs and prayed for the release of the hostages. Just a few days later, five pro-Palestinian were arrested at a similar protest outside Englewood’s municipal building, during which they shouted the same epithets and desecrated an Israeli flag. At that protest, Jewish attendees were filmed singing “Hatikvah,” Israel’s national anthem, and holding up signs advocating for the release of the hostages.
The Teaneck Town Council responded to advance announcements calling for protest of the October 30 meeting in Teaneck by recommending that the meeting be closed to the public and be held entirely on Zoom, and closing the municipal parking lot and the adjacent library building at 6 p.m. prior to the meeting’s start at 8 p.m. The Sheriff’s Office also set up a mobile jail and had many officers present. There were no incidents.
The entire town council, Mayor Michael Pagan, Town Manager Dean Kazinci, the Teaneck Police Department and the Bergen County Sheriff’s office were heralded for keeping the peace as well as possible.
