The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday joined several California cities and municipalities in voting in favor of a resolution calling for a ceasefire to hostilities in the Gaza Strip.
The resolution, Approved by a vote of 8 to 3, it calls for a “sustained ceasefire in Gaza, humanitarian aid, release of hostages, and condemnation of anti-Semitic, anti-Palestinian, and Islamophobic rhetoric and attacks.”
Board President Aaron Peskin and Supervisors Connie Chan, Joel Engardio, Myrna Melgar, Dean Preston, Hillary Ronen, Ahsha Safai and Shamann Walton voted in favor. Supervisors Matt Dorsey, Rafael Mandelman and Catherine Stefani opposed it.
“I know this resolution, some people think it won’t do any good,” Safai said. “It will allow some people in our communities to feel heard and seen for the first time… in our city.”
The resolution calls for an end to “attacks on civilians” and estimates that around 1.7 million Palestinians have been displaced while hundreds of thousands more “are at imminent risk in Gaza” without a ceasefire. The resolution also recognizes the danger to the approximately 137 Israelis held hostage by the Hamas militant group.
Hamas launched an attack on October 7 that killed approximately 1,200 people and led to the kidnapping of more than 200. Israel’s response, backed by American funds and weapons, is believed to be responsible for at least 22,000 Palestinian deaths so far.
San Francisco joins other Northern California cities Richmond and Oakland by passing resolutions demanding a ceasefire. Richmond is believed to have been the first American city to call for a cessation of fighting, on October 25, while Oakland took action on November 27.
Cudahy much smaller It was the first city in Southern California to call for a ceasefire, on November 7.
Leaders in other cities heard lively debates but ultimately refused to pass similar resolutions, as was the case in Santa Ana on December 5.
Cudahy’s resolution said Palestinians had “lived in violent and dehumanizing conditions.” The Richmond resolution accused the State of Israel of “ethnic cleansing” and the war crime of “collective punishment.”
The San Francisco resolution noted the US government’s role in the conflict as it “provides substantial military funding to Israel.”
He also called on “the Biden administration and Congress to call for a ceasefire, humanitarian aid, and the release of all hostages.”
“Today we are going to start something here that will take off in cities across the United States,” Supervisor Ronen said. “And if too many of us speak up, President Biden will have to listen.”
No public comment period for the resolution was held Tuesday. Instead, nearly 200 people spoke at Monday’s Rules Committee meeting and nearly 400 attended the meeting in person during a public comment period on Dec. 5. with voice support for all but one speaker for a ceasefire.
“We have never seen this level of commitment and passion and so many people are coming forward to share their views on this,” said Preston, the author of the resolution. “And it’s not just about people coming and talking, it’s about people sharing intensely personal and emotional experiences.”
On Tuesday, chants, boos and shouts could be heard inside the supervisors’ chambers from a small audience there and a much larger one outside.
Dorsey, who opposed the measure and tried unsuccessfully to amend the resolution in committee on Monday, was the most booed. At one point, the supervisors’ room was almost cleared due to interruptions.
Dorsey said he could not vote for the resolution because it did not condemn the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. Its adoption “would send a dangerous and unthinkable message that terrorism works,” Dorsey said.
Similarly, Stefani said she “will not remain silent in the face of the threat” from Hamas, which she suggested employing. sexual assault against women during their October 7 raid.
“I will always stand up for women and girls, no matter what threats may come my way,” she said. “You cannot call for a ceasefire without calling for the surrender and removal of Hamas and the return of all hostages.”
After an hour of discussion, the crowd applauded as the board voted in favor of the resolution.
“We stood firm even when it was difficult, even when we were threatened with political repercussions, as we all have been,” Ronen said. “I just have to say that today is one of those days when it feels like San Francisco is still here. We are still San Francisco.”
