A man who was perceived to have threatened the council and used profanity was arrested at last night’s Jersey City Council meeting, which saw many emotional remarks about Gaza with flag raisings for both Israel and Palestine upcoming.
By Daniel Ulloa/Hudson County View
During public comment, Thomas Whitehead was very angry at what he perceived as the city’s support of Israel.
“They have slaughtered at least 50,000 … I do not believe in your humanity. You are the byproduct of a racist capitalist society that does not care about the well-being of people. All you respect is money and power,” he declared.
“If you continue with this flag raising, and your general support of the State of Israel, myself, and I believe the people … we’ll just make your lives absolutely 100 percent the most miserable as possible. By any means necessary, we will make it impossible for you to continue to support Israel. From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
After his remarks, Councilman-at-Large Daniel Rivera asked Whitehead to calm down.
“Okay, you gotta really relax there. And you cannot be coming here, threatening the council people like that,” he said.
F**k you,” Whitehead replied defiantly.
“We need to get him escorted out of here,” Rivera stated.
“Let him go. He’s not doing anything,” Council President Joyce Watterman said as Whitehead sat down in the audience.
Rivera called for a police officer to escort him out as he sat down and council business stood still before Watterman called for a recess.
“It’s a threat, this is enough!” Watterman said.
A City Hall guard tried unsuccessfully to reason with him, as did Ward F Councilman Frank “Educational” Gilmore and Watterman. Nonetheless, Whitehead refused to leave on his own.
Several Jersey City police officers in the building were then called into the chamber. Whitehead still refused to leave and when an officer grabbed his backpack, he grabbed it as well and still refused to leave his seat.
“Stop resisting, calm down buddy,” the officer said.
Whitehead was then brought to the ground my multiple officers, resisting being handcuffed as long as he could before being overwhelmed. He was then brought to his feet and escorted out of the building.
“I’m a little shake up from what happened back there, really kind of disappointed with how that was handled” Zeynep Cag said during public comment when the meeting resumed.
She was visibly upset at what she called “atrocities and deaths” in the middle east.
“Were you really feeling threatened by some guy? … He has greasy hair. He can’t even talk well,” she said of Whitehead’s demeanor.
Meera Jaffrey, of the group Ceasefire JC, expressed dissatisfaction with the raising of the Israeli flag, which is scheduled for April 30th.
“The death toll of those murdered by Israel … is now over 60,000 people with 20,000 of those being children,” she exclaimed.
“Despite the fact that politicians have been bought off with Zionist money continue to support Israel’s genocidal campaign … 56 percent of US voters want to see an end to this holocaust.”
Jaffrey also asserted that the Israeli flag has become a symbol of death and racism.
Albert Harary noted that the war started with a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 and that they have a right to defend themselves. He compared the event to the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.
“F*** you, you racist ***hole!” someone in the crowd yelled.
“I’m right here!” Harary declared.
“Guys come on,” Ward D Councilman Yousef Saleh, who is Palestinian and unsuccessfully put up a ceasefire resolution in December 2023.
City Clerk Sean Gallagher then asked the audience to settle down and the meeting continued.
“Let everybody respect everybody. I don’t want to call no officers to remove nobody,” Watterman interjected.
“The Israeli government … the single closet ally of the Trump Administration: They share an agenda,” stated Elizabeth Cooper.
Ward D council candidate Jake Ephros, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), was also critical of the Israeli flag raising. He noted he’s Jewish with family in Israel.
“None us are free until all of us are free,” Ephros declared, noting that he was happy Saleh was going to lead a Palestinian flag raising on May 16th to applause.
“The Israel lobby determines who I vote for,” Arthur Cook exclaimed to applause.
“Israeli is a terrorist state. Israel is the biggest supporter of the Trump Administration, which is attacking all of us,” Donna Ristorucci argued.
Daniel Santiago, an english teacher, said he went to Gaza last year to help people and was shot in the leg by Israel Defense Forces during a protest in West Bank, a story that gained widespread attention.
“I hope you reconsider the Israeli flag raising,” he requested.
The city council took no formal action related to either flag raising.
You ginned up your commies and now you are surprised how they react when you don’t continue pushing the Hamas propaganda? They all agree, dead Jews is what matters most.
Apparently dead Palestinian children is what matters most to you.
All deaths are due to Hamas. Any and all they “report” as they intentionally hide behind civilians whenever they can. Cowards.
Did Hamas release the hostages? You can stop tearing those hostage posters down.
Last I checked, it was the IDF who was bombing schools and hospitals.
Then you woke up from your Hamas BS of dreams.
THAT LOOKS LIKE A DISABLED PERSON I DIDNT HEAR ANYTHING ABOUT GAZA THIS CITY IS CORRUPT AND EVERYONE KNOWS IT AT THIS POINT …. WE NEED CHANGE
You should report your discovery to the Nobel committee; you figured out how to live without a heart.
Israel and Palestine has no place in Jersey city hall Jersey city has enough problems and now they caused another one by giving this Marxist a platform to act out in