Several U.S. cities have signed resolutions urging President Biden to call for a cease-fire in Gaza as the war between Israel and Hamas nears the four-month mark.
Earlier this month, supervisors in San Francisco approved a resolution calling for an extended cease-fire that condemns both Hamas and the Israeli government. It urges the Biden administration to press for the release of the remaining Israeli hostages taken by Hamas in its Oct. 7 surprise attack and the delivery of humanitarian aid for displaced civilians in Gaza, The Associated Press reported.
San Francisco’s mayor, London Breed, has declined to veto the resolution but faulted the board for it, saying it has left the city “angrier, more divided and less safe,” the AP reported.
In a 9-3-1 vote Thursday, the Minneapolis City Council approved a resolution calling for a cease-fire and for the United States to stop funding the Israeli military.
Mayor Jacob Frey, the city’s only Jewish elected official, will now decide whether he will veto the resolution. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that Frey called the resolution “lopsided” for how it depicted the history of Jewish people.
The Detroit City Council passed a resolution in November that supported a cease-fire in Gaza. The members called for the release of hostages and the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians. No human should be deprived of water, food, health care, medical supplies and energy, members agreed, The Detroit News reported.
Days later, on Nov. 27, the Oakland City Council in California approved its resolution. It condemned the recent rise in antisemitic, Islamophobic and other race- and religion-driven attacks the city and country have seen since the start of the war. It’s not the first time the city’s council members have taken action on global events, but it may be one of the largest and most controversial, the Oaklandside reported.
Earlier this month, the Bridgeport City Council became the first group to approve a cease-fire resolution in Connecticut. A local member of the Bridgeport Islamic Community Center told Connecticut Public Radio the decision means a lot and is meant to “be taken to the congressmen, and to convince them, so they can take it to the president.”
Atlanta; Seattle; Dearborn, Mich.; Albany, N.Y.; Akron, Ohio; and Providence, R.I., are among several other cities that have reportedly passed similar resolutions.
The intention, many say, is to put pressure on Congress and the Biden administration to call for a pause in fighting.
Biden, who previously said the United States would stand with and support Israel in its mission to defeat Hamas, has asked the Israeli military to take a more restrained approach and backed attempts to create a two-state solution for the future.
After Hamas invaded Israel in October and killed 1,200 citizens, Israel launched a deadly and destructive counteroffensive that has caused tensions in the Middle East and around the world to rise. As of Sunday, the death toll in Gaza has reached more than 25,000 people, the Gaza Health Ministry said.
