{"id":31016,"date":"2024-01-09T22:53:49","date_gmt":"2024-01-10T06:53:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=31016"},"modified":"2024-01-09T22:55:05","modified_gmt":"2024-01-10T06:55:05","slug":"s-f-officials-call-for-sustained-gaza-cease-fire-after-tense-meeting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2024\/01\/09\/s-f-officials-call-for-sustained-gaza-cease-fire-after-tense-meeting\/","title":{"rendered":"S.F. officials call for sustained Gaza cease-fire after tense meeting"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By J.D. Morris<\/a> Jan 9, 2024 (SFChronicle.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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N. Liftawiya, member\/leader Arab Resource and Organization Center, holds a Palestinian flag as she and others react outside the San Francisco Board of Supervisor\u2019s chambers after the supervisors voted 8-3 in favor of a resolution that urges the Biden Administration and Congress to support a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas War on Tuesday, January 9, 2024 in San Francisco.Lea Suzuki\/The Chronicle<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

San Francisco supervisors have joined the ranks of local legislative <\/a>bodies calling for a sustained cease-fire in Gaza. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Board of Supervisors voted on Tuesday in favor of a resolution spearheaded by Supervisor Dean Preston<\/a> that urges the Biden Administration and Congress to support a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas War, along with the delivery of humanitarian aid and the release of all hostages in the region. Supervisors passed the resolution in an 8-3 vote after Board President Aaron Peskin successfully overhauled the document\u2019s language in an effort to gain wider support from his colleagues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The resolution \u2014 which also condemns antisemitism, Islamophobia and other forms of discrimination \u2014 drew an outpouring of public feedback<\/a>, including from hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators who packed City Hall when it was introduced late last year. A similar scene played out Monday, when the board\u2019s Rules Committee advanced the resolution and public comment lasted for several emotional hours. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuesday\u2019s meeting also drew a large crowd, most of whom appeared to be cease-fire supporters who loudly reacted to supervisors\u2019 statements from within the board chambers and an overflow room down the hall. The vote became tense at times as pro-Palestinian advocates for a cease-fire booed and chanted when supervisors voiced opposition to the resolution.

After supervisors passed the resolution, members of the crowd inside the board chambers stood and began chanting \u201cfree, free Palestine.\u201d The board briefly recessed its meeting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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People sitting in the Board of Supervisor\u2019s chambers react as they listen to speakers during the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, January 9, 2024 in San Francisco, Calif.Lea Suzuki\/The Chronicle<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tuesday\u2019s vote from city supervisors follows similar steps taken by a growing list of other legislative bodies in the Bay Area and beyond. Richmond\u2019s City Council was the first in the nation to pass a resolution<\/a> expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people in October; the Oakland City Council followed suit<\/a> with a cease-fire resolution in November. Elsewhere, the Long Beach council passed a cease-fire proclamation<\/a> in December, and other cities such as Denver<\/a> and Minneapolis<\/a> are considering their own measures. While such measures have attracted an influx of support from pro-Palestinian demonstrators, they\u2019ve also drawn criticism from some Jewish community leaders who say any cease-fire resolution should include an explicit condemnation of Hamas, among other concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Major protests supporting a cease-fire have occurred across California, including last week in Sacramento, where the anti-Zionist group Jewish Voice for Peace shut down the state Assembly<\/a> just as lawmakers convened for their first day of business in the new year.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israel\u2019s war against Hamas in Gaza began after the militant group led an Oct. 7 attack on Israel, killing about 1,200 people and kidnapping about 240 hostages. Since then, Israel\u2019s war has killed about 23,200 Palestinians \u2014 about 1% of Gaza\u2019s population \u2014 and wounded tens of thousands of more, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, the Associated Press reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Supervisor Dean Preston, center, talks to people gathered outside the Board of Supervisor\u2019s chambers after the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 8-3 in favor of a resolution that urges the Biden Administration and Congress to support a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas War on Tuesday, January 9, 2024 in San Francisco, Calif.Lea Suzuki\/The Chronicle<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In San Francisco, Peskin began Tuesday\u2019s discussion by moving to pare down Preston\u2019s original cease-fire resolution to try to reach consensus. Peskin\u2019s proposed amendments, which his colleagues adopted, trimmed the text of the resolution and kept it focused on its core demands. Peskin also added language to condemn Hamas\u2019s killing of Israeli citizens as well as Israeli government attacks on Gaza that have killed Palestinian civilians.

Additionally, Peskin amended the resolution to call for \u201cnew leadership on both sides\u201d of the conflict and an investigation into \u201cindividuals who have overseen or engaged in war crimes and international human rights violations \u2014 including but not limited to gender based violence and killing of children.\u201d

\u201cI think that says it all,\u201d Peskin said after reading his amendments at Tuesday\u2019s meeting.

Preston endorsed the amendments and said he hoped they would allow supervisors to \u201ccome together on this and send … a strong and unified message in support of a cease-fire.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Previously, Supervisor Matt Dorsey tried unsuccessfully to amend Preston\u2019s cease-fire resolution in committee on Monday to call for the surrender of Hamas and endorse a two-state solution to Israeli-Palestinian conflict. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dorsey also wanted the resolution to reference a recent New York Times investigation<\/a> that described \u201ca pattern of rape, mutilation and extreme brutality against women\u201d when Hamas attacked Israel in October. He was booed by some in the board chambers when he read that proposed amendment at the committee meeting, a reaction that the Jewish Community Relations Council later described in a social media post<\/a> as \u201ccallous and insensitive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lara Kiswani, executive director Arab Resource and Organization Center, holds her baby Salma, as she reacts after the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 8-3 in favor of a resolution that urges a cease-fire in the\u00a0Israel-Hamas War on Tuesday, January 9, 2024 in San Francisco.Lea Suzuki\/The Chronicle<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Dorsey was loudly criticized again by pro-Palestinian protesters when he brought up the same news report and raised other concerns about the resolution at Tuesday\u2019s meeting, when he said that \u201cwhat haunts me more than anything about this process … is hearing orchestrated denialism about what happened on Oct. 7.\u201d

\u201cI can acknowledge that there is enormous pain on both sides of this issue, but I am troubled that the pain of some people is being denied,\u201d Dorsey said. He was one of the three supervisors who voted against the resolution, joined by Supervisors Rafael Mandelman and Catherine Stefani.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Jewish Community Relations Council expressed support for the dissenting supervisors in a statement later Tuesday, commending them for \u201crecognizing these municipal votes have no foreign policy impact.\u201d But the council said it also appreciated some of Peskin\u2019s amendments, particularly his inclusion of a \u201cdenunciation of Hamas and the need to remove this terrorist organization from power.\u201d Those changes \u201cdo not take away from the pain this process has spawned for the Jewish community,\u201d the council said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shortly after the board vote, a few dozen supporters of the resolution gathered atop the grand staircase under the City Hall rotunda. Lara Kiswani, executive director of the Arab Resources and Organizing Center, told the crowd that \u201cSan Francisco has sent a message\u201d to President Joe Biden and other political leaders and helped build support for a cease-fire. She praised supervisors for having \u201cthe political will to do what\u2019s right\u201d and said \u201cthe genocide in Gaza must stop now.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reach J.D. Morris: jd.morris@sfchronicle.com; Twitter: @thejdmorris<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jan 9, 2024<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By J.D. Morris<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

J.D. Morris covers San Francisco City Hall, focused on Mayor London Breed. He joined the Chronicle in 2018 to cover energy and spent three years writing mostly about PG&E and California wildfires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before coming to The Chronicle, he reported on local government for the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, where he was among the journalists awarded a Pulitzer Prize for their coverage of the 2017 North Bay wildfires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was previously the casino industry reporter for the Las Vegas Sun. Raised in Monterey County and Bakersfield, he has a bachelor\u2019s degree in rhetoric from UC Berkeley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He can be reached at jd.morris@sfchronicle.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By J.D. Morris Jan 9, 2024 (SFChronicle.com) San Francisco supervisors have joined the ranks of local legislative bodies calling for a sustained cease-fire in Gaza.  The Board of Supervisors voted on Tuesday in favor of a resolution spearheaded by Supervisor Dean Preston that urges the Biden Administration and Congress to support a cease-fire in the… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1708],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31016"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31016"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31016\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31029,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31016\/revisions\/31029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}