Is Houston Mayor John Whitmire’s recent accusations about area pro-Palestinian protesters a sign that Washington D.C. “partisan” bickering is taking root in the Bayou City?
Nishu Siddique, an organizer with Houston for Palestinian Liberation (HFPL), nay be wondering that same thing.
Siddique contends Whitmire purposely made false statements about HFPL in August when the mayor cited “intelligence reports” from his Office of Public Safety and Homeland Security as evidence that some pro-Palestinian protesters who had repeatedly targeted his home were “being paid by Iran.”
However, the City of Houston said “there are no responsive documents” related to the claim after a public records request for those intelligence reports was made by Houston Public Media.
HFPL is a coalition of groups calling for the city to pass a ceasefire resolution regarding the ongoing conflict in Palestine/Israel. The coalition also wants the city to divest from Israeli bonds.
Siddique said Whitmire made the aforementioned remark, “not only maliciously and intentionally, but without consequences.”
“He knows there is no evidence, but the damage is done to Palestinian, Arab and broadly Muslim communities,” added Siddique.
Though a spokesperson for Whitmire previously said, “The City of Houston Homeland Security and others briefed the mayor on this,” not comments have yet come from the Office of Public Safety and Homeland Security regarding the lack of documentation for Whitmire’s assertion.
“There is intelligence reports, and I’m not going to go through it in public, that they are being paid by Iran,” Whitmire said in August. “It’s dangerous if it’s true, and I think I have a duty to protect all the neighborhoods of Houston.”
“The mayor’s statement speaks for itself” was the response of a Whitmire spokesperson when asked to speak on the revelation from the public records request that there was a “lack of documentation” to the mayor’s claim.
In the nation’s capital, there is a strongly partisan divide on the current issues related to the conflict in Gaza. Republicans overwhelmingly support the state of Israel’s current military efforts against the Palestinian people in the name of rooting out Hamas, the organization behind the Oct 7, 2023, terrorist attack and the taking of hostages.
Democrats and progressives, for the most part, have taken a more nuanced view. They the actions of Hamas but also contend that the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis didn’t start last October but rather traces its roots back to 1948 when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forcibly removed from their ancestral homeland.
Some progressives have labeled Israel’s ongoing war with Hamsa as a genocide against Palestinians. With the recent back-and-forth between Whitmire’s controversial comment and Siddique’s response, it sounds to some that the D.C. debate is taking root in Houston.
This is especially true given that Whitmire’s comments came as he pushed for an ordinance that would prohibit protests within 200 feet of a targeted dwelling. Not coincidentally, Whitmire’s ordinance push came after months of protests in front of his home.
Siddique interpreted Whitmire’s ordinance push as a potentially racist and/or Islamophobic move.
“The narrative that we’re paid protesters didn’t play out because it’s cartoonishly stupid, and so he’s deferring to this racist trope as a cop-out when, in reality, he doesn’t have the votes or the popularity to push his vendetta ordinance against us,” Siddique said.
The missing votes Siddique is referring to center on Whitmire’s choosing not to call on the Houston City Council to vote on it. Instead, the mayor successfully requested that the ordinance be referred to the Public Safety Committee for further consideration and possible revisions. His request was granted, with only three council members—Edward Pollard, Tiffany Thomas, and Letitia Plummer—opposing it.
The Public Safety Committee’s next meeting is slated for Tuesday, Sept. 10.
(source: Houston Public Media)
