November 10, 2026
On October 28th, the Cambridge City Council passed a resolution that perpetuated a malignant practice that goes back centuries. The resolution, which called for the divestment of assets from companies doing business with the Israeli military, rested on the claim that Israel’s war of self-defense in Gaza was in fact genocidal. It is an allegation that the Council did not substantiate, lacks a credible moral or factual foundation, and resembles invectives that have been leveled against Jews for generations.
“Genocide” was a word coined to describe the intentional murder of 6 million Jews during the Holocaust. The City of Cambridge has now applied this word to the world’s only Jewish state. The vast majority of Jews around the world, who support Israel and its quest to survive in an overwhelmingly hostile environment, are also implicated by the terms of this resolution.
What makes this claim especially troubling is that there are genuine genocidal campaigns happening in multiple places around the world. These include the October 7th attack on Israel that was done with the express intent of murdering as many Israelis as possible. The result was the murder, dismemberment, and rape of more than 1,200 Israelis. About this genocidal event and others, the Cambridge City Council was silent
The majority of City Council members ignored a wealth of information that might have disrupted its conclusion. It was a choice that was undoubtedly made to accommodate a loud and insistent constituency that has made the demonization and delegitimization of Israel their most important cause. Cambridge has now joined with this rabid movement, and there are real consequences for its Jewish residents.
Antisemitism has become a pervasive concern. Scores of people testified before the City Council to express their fear that the resolution would further inflame the problem. Four members of the City Council took these concerns to heart and voted against the resolution. Five others persisted in supporting a resolution that will further polarize the community and raise troubling moral concerns of its own.
Notwithstanding this disturbing turn of events, something notable and hopeful resulted. A dedicated group of Jewish Cambridge residents and their allies came together to call attention to this factually challenged and harmful resolution. Over the course of less than one week, they organized a powerful coalition that gathered more than 1,200 petition signatures, along with letters and calls to councilors and a strong presence at City Council meetings. These efforts sought to separate fact from fiction, elevate reason over inflammatory claims, and ensure that City Council members understood the harm that their actions might bring to Jewish residents of Cambridge.
As a result, they succeeded in defeating a companion resolution calling for a boycott order and won important revisions to the otherwise appalling divestment order. This was an extraordinary achievement, that reflects the deep concern felt by so many in the Jewish community that something deeply wrong and dangerous is taking root in many of our communities.
AJC was proud to support this new emerging Cambridge coalition and hope to see its voice grow and contribute to a Cambridge where, once again, residents feel seen, welcomed, and included.
