The city follows Richmond and Oakland in adopting ceasefire resolutions
Staff Writer
On January 9th, San Francisco became the largest U.S. city urging President Biden and Congress to send humanitarian aid and call for an extended ceasefire in Gaza with the release of all hostages in the region. The resolution was passed in an 8-3 vote in a compromise proposed by Aaron Peskin, president of the Board of Supervisors.
Supervisor Dean Preston and Hillary Ronen introduced the original resolution in December. The resolution, per Peskin’s revisions, is now trimmed and includes language condemning Hamas and the Israeli government’s attacks on civilians.
“All human life is precious, and the targeting of civilians is a violation of international humanitarian law,” the resolution reads.
In an interview before the vote, Preston stated that local politicians should speak up because people who are affected cannot make their voices heard in Congress. “Everyone is feeling this locally, the pain and the grief and loss. It is a major issue not just in the daily lives of people in the Middle East, but in the daily lives of people in our city,” he told the Associated Press.
Oakland unanimously passed a similar resolution, joining Richmond, Cudahy, and Long Beach. Other California cities have not followed suit. At a Berkeley City Council meeting, hundreds of people came to express their concerns and call for a resolution. The ceasefire proposals were scheduled for consideration, but were ultimately withdrawn.
Protesters calling for a cease-fire recently shut down traffic on a major bridge into San Francisco during the APEC summit, and the California Democratic Party recently canceled some events at its fall convention due to demonstrations.
“This is an issue that’s touching the lives of thousands of San Francisco residents,” said Lara Kiswani, executive director of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC) to the San Francisco Chronicle. “The U.S. has the power to end this genocide — it could end today. If the Biden administration is failing to listen to the (nearly) 80% of Democratic voters calling for a cease-fire, of course, we’ll look to local elected officials to show that San Francisco doesn’t support this.”
On January 1st, protestors gathered outside Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco home. “We’re asking for an end to funding for Israel’s military machine and we’d like (Speaker Emerita Pelosi) to commit to really investing those billions of dollars here at home because people are hurting, people are sleeping out on the street here in San Francisco,” said protestor Cayden Mak to ABC News.
Some officials are expressing doubts about the effectiveness of such resolutions. “These resolutions will not end the violence abroad, but they do fan the flames of hatred here at home.” Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín said before a city council meeting. “That’s a threat I cannot ignore.”
In her statement, San Francisco Mayor London Breed said, “Let me be clear: what happened at the Board of Supervisors does not speak for or on behalf of the entire city. I don’t think any statement of resolution can do that. Our people do that. Our values do that.”
The Bay Area Jewish Community Relations Council and other groups are calling on the mayor to veto the resolution. An official clerk for the board confirmed to The San Francisco Standard that Breed returned the resolution unsigned. It will go into effect without her support.
Caption: San Francisco Supervisor Dean Preston and Supervisor Hillary Ronen at City Hall, alongside supporters after their cease-fire resolution was approved (PC: Beth LaBerge, KQED).
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