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Portland Mayor Apologizes for His Vote Against Supporting Israel

Matte Jr
Portland Mayor Apologizes for His Vote Against Supporting Israel

Last month, the mayor of Portland, Maine, shocked Jewish communities in his backyard and beyond when he expressed full support for his city council’s successful resolution to divest from companies linked to Israel.

Now Mayor Mark Dion is taking it all back.

“After personal reflection and after many private conversations I have had with our Jewish neighbors, I have come to the conclusion that my vote on divestment was wrong,” Dion said during prepared remarks at Monday’s city council meeting.

Admit error of judgment

He went on to call his stance on divestment “pretentious,” “a serious error in judgment” and “a betrayal of the trust that the Jewish people should expect from the mayor’s office.” Dion concluded her comments by offering what she called a “sincere apology” for her vote.

The turnaround was another defining moment in the battle over divestment that has taken on new urgency since Israel’s war with Hamas began following the terrorist group’s Oct. 7, 2023, attacks last year.

Houses destroyed in the October 7 massacre almost a year ago, in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, southern Israel, September 19, 2024 (credit: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Many colleges and universities have experienced deep divisions over divestment proposals, and local governments have suffered their share as well.

Portland became the fourth highest-profile American municipality since October 7 to support some form of divestment, when its council unanimously approved a plan in September to strip municipal funds from dozens of companies it said were “complicit in the current humanitarian crisis and continuous.” in Gaza and the occupation of Palestine.”

Divestment proponents say the move is necessary to counter Israel’s retaliation in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of people and reduced most of the enclave to rubble.

The vote overcame strong objections from many members of the local Jewish community, including the Southern Maine Jewish Community Alliance, the branch of the local federation, which denounced the move as a “performative gesture” and “unilateral.”

Local pro-Palestinian Jewish activists supported it, and the Maine chapter of the anti-Zionist group Jewish Voice for Peace celebrated its approval.

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At the time, the mayor supported divestment, calling it “the greatest act of friendship” and said it was the city’s role “to grab (Israel’s) shoulder and say, ‘Enough is enough. It’s simply enough.’”

But, to their obvious surprise, the local government concluded that the measure was almost entirely symbolic. Weeks after its passage, Portland councilors said the city has no funds invested in the dozens of companies on its divestment target list and that “no divestment is expected to occur” due to the resolution.

(When the resolution was first proposed months ago, city officials said, Portland owned shares in a technology company that provides Israel with screening technology used at military checkpoints; the city sold those funds before the resolution passed .)

Both Dion and some council members told the Portland Press Herald that this news surprised them and that they believed Portland invested more heavily in companies that do business with Israel when they supported the resolution.

“I think, when you think about it, it’s a high price to pay for creating division and anxiety in the community,” said Kate Sykes, a board member who also supported the initial vote on later divestment.

Mayor thanked him for the apology

The local Jewish federation recently hired its first permanent CEO and thanked the mayor for his apology.

“In his statement, Mayor Dion admits that the resolution, which he now believes was misguided, only served to marginalize Portland’s Jewish community – particularly those who view Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people,” the Jewish Community Alliance wrote. of Southern Maine in a statement shared with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

“We appreciate your honesty in recognizing the harm this has caused and the difficulty of dealing with these complex issues in a local environment.”

In his apology, Dion repeated some long-standing Jewish communal criticisms of the divestment measures, including that a local government has nothing to do with involvement in international affairs.

He also went further, saying that his support for the measure damaged some relationships “that may never be repaired”.

He added: “Not only was I unable to stay in my lane, I went completely off the road.”



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