San Francisco supervisors vote to approve ceasefire resolution in Gaza
SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco's Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted 8 to 3 to approve a resolution calling for an immediate and sustained ceasefire in Gaza.
The vote came after a heated, hours-long discussion in a committee hearing on Monday.
The no votes were from Supervisors Catherine Stefani, Matt Dorsey and Rafael Mandelman.
Hundreds of people attended and rallied outside San Francisco City Hall, ahead of the 1 p.m. vote.
On Monday, City Hall was packed with hundreds of people during a committee hearing on the ceasefire resolution, which was introduced last month by Supervisor Dean Preston.
The resolution calls for the release of hostages in Gaza and condemns antisemitic, anti-Palestinian and Islamophobic attacks.
On Monday, Supervisor Matt Dorsey tried to add words to the resolution, to explicitly condemn the attack by Hamas on Israel. He confirmed to KTVU that he will reintroduce this language again on Tuesday.
Some people in the room booed the supervisor, and gave his amendment a silent, thumbs down.
But others, who spoke out, supported the idea.
Alan Burradell of San Francisco said there must be language added to the "outrageous resolution" to make it less offensive.
He told the supervisors that he wanted the "Hamas atrocities laid out in detail."
Burradell also wanted to include language calling for the removal of Hamas from military and governing control of Gaza and call for a two-state solution.
"And why a two-state solution?" he asked. "Because Hamas is seeking the annihilation of the Jewish state. That's exactly why we need a two-state solution."
But Lara Kiswani, executive director of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center, said these extra words weren't necessary to this "common sense" resolution.
All that's necessary, she said, is to demand an end to "this humanitarian crisis."
Before the hearing, more than 300 health care workers staged a protest outside the committee room, condemning the war, and the toll it's taken on hospitals, healthcare workers in Gaza and the more than 22,000 Palestinians who have died since October.
Board President Aaron Peskin announced the language of the resolution had been amended again in a hope to find a consensus. "I am offering amendments that turn this into a one-page resolution. No whereas's. We went down the road of reciprocity. Hamas did this, Israel did that, history that goes back either 75 years or goes back several thousand years. Let's dispense with all of that."
The Jewish Community Relations Council issued the following statement following the vote:
JCRC Bay Area is appreciative of the members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors who listened to the Jewish community and worked to develop a modified resolution. However, these changes do not take away from the trauma this process has spawned for the Jewish community and others who have been traumatized by the Israel-Hamas War."
Calls for a ceasefire in Gaza have swamped the country since Pro-Palestinian, Jewish peace and other groups have blocked bridges, shut down highways, staged die-ins and earlier this month, forced California's state Assembly to adjourn moments after convening.
Oakland, which is another politically liberal city in the San Francisco Bay Area, unanimously approved a permanent ceasefire resolution in November. But the Burlington City Council in Vermont last month rejected a cease-fire resolution and the city of Berkeley has declined to consider one.