Meanwhile, the SDP is asking the courts to prevent City Hall from repeating the tactics used last year to keep their initiative petition off the ballot.

The City completely rewrote the petitioners’ proposal and refused to accept thousands of signatures collected under the SDP’s own wording. This restricted the time allowed for collecting signatures to a matter of weeks.

There is no mention of time restrictions in the relevant State statute. Veteran petition campaigners say they can’t remember any local election commission ever doing that before. Attorney Neil Berman, representing the SDP, says that the Somerville Election Commission "misinterpreted the law by the time issue, by requiring that the SDP use City-produced petition forms, and by illegally re-writing the ballot question."

Superior Court Justice Julian Houston is currently considering a motion, brought by pro-Israel intervenors, to dismiss the SDP suit.

"It would be to everyone’s benefit to have the court interpret the statute," says Berman, who expects Superior Court Justice Julian Houston to rule sometime in mid March.

Volunteers have been hand-delivering information packets to around 4500 residents who signed last year’s initiative petition. Their intent is to explain how the petition was kept off the ballot and encourage support for the group’s continued efforts.

Their central message: "Don’t stand for this! Your signature should count. Support democratic rights."

Among the options discussed by the SDP are promoting a Palestinian sister city for Somerville and grassroots consciousness raising, including showing films, getting youth involved, and getting city to hold a meeting on divestment.

The group also discussed a petition that calls for the city to hold a meeting on the issue of the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their former homes in what is now Israel.