Pasadena votes for Israel ceasefire in Gaza

Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo ("Fat Winner")

Despite the occasional outburst and a few moments of tension, the Pasadena City Council accomplished a marathon 5-hour special meeting on Israel's war on Gaza with a unanimous declaration for peace and a call for an immediate ceasefire.

• Jewish Voice for Peace (jvp.org)
• Not in Our Name (ifnotnowmovement.org)
• ‎شرش | Shoresh | שר”ש‎ (@shoresh_us) Anti-Zionist Jews
• IDF Veterans for Peace (breakingthesilence.org.il)
• American Veterans for Peace
• Code Pink: Women for Peace
• Amnesty International

Israelis for permanent ceasefire NOW (Shoresh)

After hours of at-times contentious public comment from hundreds of residents at the Pasadena Convention Center, the City Council approved a declaration that urges federal leaders to seek bilateral de-escalation and a ceasefire, ensure timely delivery of aid to Gaza, work to release all hostages, and pursue peace in the Middle East.

• RELATED LINKS
• Pasadena City Council approves discussion on Israel-Gaza ceasefire resolution for next week
• Pro-Palestine demonstrators call for ceasefire outside of Pasadena City Hall
• Neighboring city Montebello unanimously adopts resolution calling for ceasefire in Gaza
• Biden will announce a plan for a temporary port on Gaza’s coast to increase flow of humanitarian aid UN office
• Jewish Israeli settlements in Palestinian areas are a ‘crime’

شرش | Shoresh | שר”ש (@shoresh_us) • Instagram photos and videos

.

The approved declaration blended a resolution proposed by Councilmember Jess Rivas and a proposal from Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo, which initially used broader language and left out the specific call for a ceasefire.

The declaration will be sent to the Biden administration and federal representatives. After hours of at-times contentious public comment from hundreds of residents at the Pasadena Convention Center, the Pasadena City Council approved a declaration at their March 18 special meeting that

• urges federal leaders to seek bilateral de-escalation and a ceasefire,
• ensure timely delivery of aid to Gaza,
• work to release all hostages,
• and pursue peace in the Middle East.

Most of the roughly 200 speakers supported an immediate ceasefire resolution. The special meeting came after residents flooded public comment with calls for a ceasefire resolution at the council’s March 11 meeting and weeks of demonstrations from compassionate community groups.

However other speakers were concerned that the council would be going beyond its mandate by taking a stance in an international political issue, advocating that the council adopt a resolution adopting a policy that it wouldn’t weigh in on non-local social and political issues.

“Once you become an elected official, your responsibility, your job, is to fix local issues, not to express beliefs on foreign policy,” Beth Chevy said. “This resolution will have no impact on the Middle East, but it will cause strife here in Pasadena.” More

• John Orona (jorona@scng.com), March 19, 2024; Shauna Schwartz, Ashley Wells, Sheldon S. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly