MIAMI — A resolution by Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner to impose new restrictions on protests in the city initially asserted support for Israel and condemned the use of a pro-Palestinian chant before it was edited by the City Attorney’s Office to remove most of those references, according to emails obtained by The Miami Herald.

While much of the language was removed from the resolution that the City Commission passed unanimously March 13, the draft version sheds light on the apparent intentions behind establishing time, place and manner restrictions for protests — despite statements by the mayor at two recent meetings that the Miami Beach government is “nonpartisan” and that his measure “never mentioned” Israel. Although most specific references to the war were taken out of the document in draft stages, one remaining reference to Israel was left in the final version passed by commissioners, a possible oversight.

The draft language could potentially hurt Miami Beach’s ability to enact stricter rules for protesters if the city were to face a legal challenge. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that governments can only limit the time, place and manner of speech if it serves a significant government interest and is “content neutral” and “narrowly tailored.”

Howard Simon, the interim executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, said the changes made to Meiner’s draft resolution suggest city officials are “doing their best to hide their motivation.”

“The city has lawyers to clean up and get (elected officials) to basically cover up what might have been the original motivation for this, which is to try to prevent pro-Palestinian protest,” Simon said in an interview.

The draft version of the mayor’s resolution, originally dated December 2023, began by saying that the aim was to reaffirm “the city’s unwavering support for the state of Israel” and to condemn “the use of all genocidal words, expressions or phrases ... that could be interpreted to mean genocide against any ethnic or religious group, particularly the Jewish people.”

Specifically, the draft resolution said that the controversial phrase “From the river to the sea” is “essentially a Hamas call to annihilate Israel that incites violence and hatred, and threatens the safety and well-being of Jewish people throughout the world.”

The draft language urged police to “make arrests for unlawful behavior by anyone at protests to the fullest extent permitted under the law,” though that line was removed from the final version sponsored by Meiner and Commissioner David Suarez. The draft also described Miami Beach’s “sister city” relationships with two cities in Israel and condemned the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.

But emails show that, after a March 6 discussion between Meiner and Chief Deputy City Attorney Rob Rosenwald, all but one mention of Israel was removed. The resolution that eventually was presented to and passed by commissioners last month said the city is committed to promoting “peace, justice and tolerance” and “recognizes the importance of fostering strong and peaceful international relations by supporting nations that share these values, including the state of Israel.”

Meiner and a city spokesperson did not respond to questions about the resolution or why much of the original language was removed. The mayor also did not respond to an inquiry about why he incorrectly claimed the final version didn’t mention Israel.

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