Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters march down Market Street after a rally at the Civic Center in San Francisco, Calif., as part of an “International Day of Solidarity with Palestine,” on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023. Demonstrators demanded a stop to military aid to Israel and a ceasefire in Gaza. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
The Daly City City Council voted unanimously (with one absence) to pass a resolution this week calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, making it the latest city on the Peninsula to do so, after Pacifica, South San Francisco and East Palo Alto.
The resolution comes three months after activists began campaigning for the City Council to call for an end to Israel’s military strikes in Gaza.
The resolution condemned the killings, called for a bilateral ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and recognized the local Palestinian community as a population affected by the war.
Violence in Gaza escalated after an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis. Israel’s war in Gaza following the attack has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
“The City of Daly City has a long and proud history of standing on the side of peace, affirming our commitment to speak against injustice, and supporting collaborative dialogue,” read the resolution.
President Joe Biden just days ago presented a three-phase ceasefire proposal to end the Israel-Hamas war. While the original draft of the resolution in Daly City called for a ceasefire, council members amended the wording to instead call for the support of Biden’s ceasefire plan.
Across the country, including in the Bay Area, activists have set up encampments at universities and protested at city council meetings to put pressure on local institutions to call for a ceasefire and divest from Israel-linked businesses.
The Daly City council meeting ended after 11 p.m., with a majority of public commenters supporting the resolution, and a handful of pro-Israel community members urging the council not to pass the resolution.
Daly City’s resolution does not go as far as divestment. Vice Mayor Rod Daus-Magbual called the statement a small but “important step.”
“This historical ceasefire and humanitarian resolution has been months in the making,” said Daus-Magbual. He headed the ad hoc committee to co-write the draft resolution with fellow Council Member Teresa Proaño.
Similar local resolutions have been criticized by pro-Israel supporters as “anti-Semitic,” but the council assured community members they have been listening to both sides and were careful about the language of the resolution.
“It breaks my heart to hear the pain that everybody is going through, but it is important to recognize that everyone is suffering,” Proaño said. “We want you to understand that we, like all of you, want peace.”
Originally published at Ryan Macasero