Residents in 5 Vermont Towns Vote to Cut Economic Ties With Israel

On Tuesdays voters across the state of Vermont passed a number of non-binding resolutions declaring their towns and cities “apartheid-free communities.”

The effort, organized by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), passed in Brattleboro, Winooski, Newfane, Plainfield, and Thetford. The question appeared on nine ballots on Town Meeting Day. Vermont is the first state in the country where municipalities have voted to cut economic ties with Israel.

The pledge affirms a commitment to freedom, justice, and equality for the Palestinian people, opposes all forms of bigotry, and pledges toward ending “support to Israel’s Apartheid regime, settler colonialism, and military occupation.”

The language on the ballot measure comes from the Apartheid-Free Communities initiative, which is backed by a global network of almost 500 congregations, businesses, and Palestine solidarity organizations.

“We are on a tidal wave of change,” said Vermont Coalition for Palestinian Liberation member Wafic Faour in a statement. “Being able to grow enough support to put it on the ballot in nine municipalities is a win by itself. Never in the history of this country has the question of Palestine been put to a vote.”

Faour also said that the resolutions should serve as a “wake-up call” to lawmakers like the Burlington City Council, which blocked the initiative from reaching its ballot last December.

Zoe Jannuzi is a coordinator at the AFSC’s U.S. Palestine Activism Program. For over a year, she’s been organizing with Vermont residents on the effort.

“With their support for the apartheid-free pledge, Vermonters are drawing a line in the sand –– not between Jewish and Muslim communities or progressive and conservative communities, but between those who are willing to make a principled stand for peace and justice and those who would rather sweep our differences and disagreements under the rug,” she told Mondoweiss.

“I’m so proud that voters in five Vermont towns have, through democratic processes, stated their opposition to Israeli apartheid,” Jannuzi continued. “This historic achievement not only demonstrates the principled and dedicated work of local organizers, but also the readiness of people in the United States to act to end the harms our government is a participant in–Israeli apartheid, settler colonialism, and military occupation.”

Pro-Israel Opposition

The resolutions faced coordinated opposition from local pro-Israel organizations like the Shalom Alliance group, which devoted a portion of its website to instructing people on how to reject the measures.

“Anti-Israel ballot initiatives have infiltrated Winooski, Vergennes, Montpelier, Newfane, Thetford, Weybridge and Brattleboro, with divisive resolutions appearing in other towns,” declared the site. “These initiatives, driven by the Vermont Coalition for Palestinian Liberation’s extremist agenda, promote misinformation, antisemitism, and fear — especially for Jewish Vermonters and their families.”

Shalom Alliance called on community members to recruit pro-Israel allies, show up at town halls as a team, engage local officials, and write letters to town papers opposing the pledges.

One such letter referred to the resolutions as “an attack on the history, memory, and safety of Jewish people”. “Another asserted that the pledges were “anti-Israel sentiment disguised as human rights activism” and they emboldened antisemitism in the community.

According to a local activist connected to the campaign, some select board members received roughly 5,000 spam emails urging lawmakers to reject the measure.

“City Council members have allowed themselves to be pulled into a discussion about these resolutions, which is part of Hamas’ global PR campaign to cover up their double war crimes against Israelis and Palestinians,” reads one such email, which was obtained by Mondoweiss. “Make no mistake about it – any participation in Hamas’ PR campaign emboldens them to commit further atrocities against our only democratic ally in the Middle East, Palestinians, and increased violence against Jewish people in the world, and in U.S. cities.”

“Considering you have no authority regarding foreign policy, have you considered that voting on these resolutions might be misguided?,” it continued. “Your job as a city council member would be much better served making sure your Jewish constituents are kept safe, given the rampant antisemitism by pro-Hamas support groups..afflicting cities.”

The Vermont vote comes amid a delicate ceasefire process in the Middle East and a deepening crackdown on Palestine protesters within the United States. Earlier this week, the recently created Federal Task Force to Combat Antisemitism announced that it would be visiting 10 universities to determine “whether remedial action is warranted.” All 10 schools had large protests and encampments in solidarity with Gaza last spring.

“All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests. Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came,” wrote President Donald Trump in a Truth Social post this week. “American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on on the crime, arrested. NO MASKS! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”