For the third straight year, Burlington city councilors will vote on whether to add a resolution to the Town Meeting Day ballot about supporting Palestinians and “declaring ourselves an apartheid-free community.” The measure, first proposed after the war in Gaza began, says “we pledge to join others in working to end all support to Israel’s apartheid regime, settler colonialism, and military occupation.” If councilors approve the nonbinding advisory measure, it would go before voters on the March 3 ballot. But councilors voted down similar proposals ahead of Town Meeting Day in 2024 and 2025. This iteration, headed for a vote on Monday night, seems likely to fail, too. In fact, the resolution nearly didn’t see the light of day. In a letter to colleagues, Council President Ben Traverse (D-Ward 5) detailed how he had “previously voiced my commitment to not include this issue on any future Council agendas.” “When deciding whether to place an item on our Council agenda or Town Meeting Day ballot, my minimum standard is that members of our community must be able to discuss it openly and safely, without fear of retaliation,” he wrote. “I firmly believe that standard is not met here.” He added that he “firmly believes all Palestinians and Israelis alike are entitled to live in safety, with dignity, freedom, equality, self-determination, and the opportunity to thrive.” But Traverse described the divisiveness the topic brings about and recounted some of the threats and nasty statements he’d received after voting against a similar measure. “I received an anonymous phone call asking, ‘How much did the Jews pay for your vote?’” he wrote. “Another caller wished that my family and I ‘burn in hell.’ A third threatened that I was being watched wherever I went. Many emails accused me and our colleagues of being ‘racist,’ ‘pro-genocide,’ and ‘baby killers.’” At Traverse’s request, the city attorney reviewed whether the council president could block items from the agenda — and ultimately determined he could not. Traverse, who said he strongly disagreed with the ruling, ultimately decided to put the resolution on the agenda. “I do so while reserving the right for myself and future Council Presidents to elect against placing items on Council agendas at our discretion,” he wrote. The nonbinding advisory ballot question is sponsored by Councilor Gene Bergman (P-Ward 2). It notes that similar pledges were put to voters in Winooski, Brattleboro, Newfane, Thetford, Montpelier, Vergennes and Weybridge during last year’s Town Meeting Day. And the measure argues that the pledge is of local import, noting the local support for Palestinian college students who have been arrested and threatened with deportation by the Trump administration — as well as the three Palestinian college students who were shot in Burlington in November 2023. Protesters in Burlington in April 2025 Credit: File: Daria Bishop The resolution also says that Neighborhood Planning Assemblies in Wards 1, 2 and 5 all overwhelmingly voted in favor of adding the question to the ballot. Also on Monday’s agenda is a resolution “promoting community dialogue.” Sponsored by Democratic councilors Allie Schacter (East District), Evan Litwin (Ward 7), and Sarah Carpenter (Ward 4), the measure proposes using money from a fund for councilor initiatives “to support additional opportunities for restorative community dialogue sessions with trained facilitators for all interested members of the public.” “While there has been disagreement on how, if at all, the City of Burlington should address longstanding conflicts in the Middle East and its impact on our community, the City Council stands united in its condemnation of the violence in the region,” the resolution reads. Democrats, who hold seven of 12 seats on the council, have previously been united in their opposition to the “apartheid-free community” measures. Monday’s agenda includes a letter of support for the resolution from the Education Justice Coalition of Vermont. “Right now the city of Burlington has an opportunity to democratically take a firm stance on this issue; a stance that would move the city from neutrality to justice and from silence to action,” it reads. “Any attempts by city councilors to hamper democracy at this moment are simply moves from Trump’s playbook and they will not be tolerated.” Read the proposed pledge below: WE AFFIRM our commitment to freedom, justice, and equality for the Palestinian people and all people; and WE OPPOSE all forms of racism, bigotry, discrimination, and oppression; and WE DECLARE ourselves an apartheid-free community, and to that end, WE PLEDGE to join others in working to end all support to Israel’s apartheid regime, settler colonialism, and military occupation. The post Burlington City Council Will Vote Again on ‘Apartheid-Free’ Resolution appeared first on Seven Days. ...read more read less