Bisbee, Arizona — September 17, 2025) – StandWithUs, an international nonprofit organization that educates about Israel and combats antisemitism, commends the Bisbee, Arizona City Council for tabling an anti-Israel ceasefire resolution introduced on September 16, 2025. The 7-member council agreed in an executive meeting to table the resolution indefinitely.
The resolution, authored by freshman councilmembers Pete Skinner and Trish Damon, unfairly singled out Israel while disregarding the threats it faces from Hamas, Iran, and their allies. Mayor Ken Budge and other councilmembers opposed the measure, with support from Arizona State Representatives Alma Hernandez and Consuelo Hernandez, citing both legal and community concerns.
StandWithUs Regional Director Jake Bennett, working in coalition with the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Phoenix and Jewish Philanthropies of Tucson, submitted a formal letter of opposition and testified before the council. He was joined by Rabbi Benzion Shemtov of Chabad of Cochise County, Pastor Jim Cleveland of Community Church of Warren, community members Douglas Levy of Tucson and Jonathan Breakstone of Scottsdale, and Christian and Jewish Bisbee residents. Together, they urged the council to reject divisive rhetoric, emphasized Israel’s defensive war against regional threats, and highlighted Hamas’s responsibility for initiating the conflict and diverting humanitarian aid for terror purposes.
Supporters of the resolution resorted to inflammatory rhetoric, including Holocaust inversion-blaming Israel for creating a Holocaust-and classic anti-Jewish conspiracy theories, while citing Hamas’s false and exaggerated casualty claims.
Bennet said, “Municipal bodies should not be weaponized to spread misinformation and division against our community or against Israel. We are grateful to Mayor Budge, the council, and community members who stood against this misleading resolution.”
StandWithUs remains committed in Arizona and across the nation to ensuring that local governments prioritize genuine community needs over divisive and misleading political agendas.
