I'm a few days late to this, but it's well worth the wait, and your time. For context, Orland Park is a southwest suburb of Chicago, home to nearly 60,000 residents. Just up the road, in the big city, a recent and closely-divided vote of Chicago's governing council resulted in an empty and pointless "ceasefire" resolution. The most committed members of the pro-Hamas community cheered in the gallery as the left-wing, unpopular, failing mayor, Brandon Johnson, cast the tie-breaking vote. Many within this crowd view any call for a ceasefire as a rebuke of Israel's existence and right to self-defense. They certainly do not view such demands as applicable to the terrorists of Hamas, who notoriously violate ceasefires and reject peace plans.
This is, unfortunately, the disturbing reality:
It's kind of horrifying that the loudest voices bemoaning Palestinian civilian suffering in Gaza will harshly criticize everyone and anyone--Israel, the US, the EU, the UN, American Jews, you name it--except for Hamas, and the one thing they won't do is suggest Hamas surrender,…
— David Bernstein (@ProfDBernstein) February 12, 2024
The 'ceasefire' brigade descended on a local government meeting in Orland Park last week, demanding the municipality follow Chicago's lead. They engaged in their typical histrionics, ranting, chanting in unison, etc. But when it was time for the mayor to speak, he started to raise facts that many of them didn't want to hear. They interrupted him. They heckled him. After multiple warnings, the council voted to adjourn the session until the gallery was cleared. The braying mob was not going to learn a damn thing, of course, but they also wanted to prevent others from hearing a different perspective. When the rude, screeching bullies were ushered out of the room, official business resumed, and the mayor picked up where he left off and said his piece. I may have a small handful of minor quibbles with some of his framing and points, but overall, this is excellent and clear. Watch it all:
The Mayor of Orland Park, Illinois @KeithPekau's response to several residents demanding that the board pass a resolution for a ceasefire in #Gaza, is a thing of beauty! 🫳🎤 More here: https://t.co/ykbiCmvRYv pic.twitter.com/b1wsJWAWfG
— (((David Lange))) (@Israellycool) February 8, 2024
I enjoyed his comments about why Orland Park is not getting involved in this, noting that it's well beyond the purview of a local government's brief. He also responded to the 'what about Ukraine?' objection (since the town publicly affirmed solidarity with Ukraine), explaining that siding with the victims of Russia's invasion was widely supported within the community, unlike Hamas' massacre of Jews on October 7th. He also spelled out his own personal feelings on the conflict, displaying moral clarity and patriotism. Mayor Keith Pekau, by the way, is a US military veteran. According to his biography, "as a U.S. Air Force Officer, Pekau was the Top Graduate at Undergraduate and Fighter Navigator Training. Additionally, he was the #1 graduate (out of 648) at Squadron Officer School. He is a decorated combat veteran, serving as an Instructor Weapons System Officer in the F-15E Strike Eagle. He has over 1,500 hours of flight time, including 45 combat sorties and 150 combat hours over Southern Iraq." God bless him. I'll leave you with this. Israel just rescued innocent civilian hostages being held against there by Hamas terrorists in Rafah. I'll leave you with some warranted media critiques following Israel's successful hostage rescue in Rafah:
What kind of Palestinians? How many were Hamas fighters? That would seem important to figure out before blasting a Hamas-provided number that never distinguishes civilians from combatants. https://t.co/HkKdazk49J
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) February 12, 2024
"Palestinian hospital officials" = Hamas. https://t.co/d4uF2CPY4E
— Ed Morrissey (@EdMorrissey) February 12, 2024
