Oakland has become the first city in Alameda County to call on Congress to demand a ceasefire in Gaza, following weeks of protests and acts of civil disobedience that have ratcheted up pressure on local officials to take a stand on the Middle East crisis.
The Oakland City Council unanimously passed a resolution Monday night calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, which has been under assault by Israeli forces for nearly two months following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. The resolution, which was introduced by Councilmember Carroll Fife, also demands the release of all hostages, unrestricted entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and the restoration of critical infrastructure, as well as respect for international law.
The resolution condemns a spike in antisemitic and Islamophobic attacks in Oakland and across the country. Fife said she chose language to depoliticize the crisis and focus on peace.
“We are not calling for the end of people’s lives,” Fife said. “We say specifically we want to end antisemitism and Islamophobia.”
Hundreds of people poured into City Hall to speak at the special meeting, which was convened specifically for Fife’s resolution. The vast majority of the roughly 200 public commenters supported the resolution. Of the 1,284 comments filed online, 86% supported the resolution, according to the City Clerk.
A small number of Israel supporters who spoke during the public comment period asked the council to include language in the resolution that condemned and called for the removal of Hamas, which killed 1,200 people during its attack.
“There will be no Palestinian Israeli peace with (Hamas) in power,” said Tye Gregory, the CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council, a San Francisco-based Jewish led organization.
“I am deeply saddened, disappointed, and horrified that you would consider a resolution without condemning Hamas, given what has gone on,” said a District 2 resident who identified herself as Juliette. “I urge you, if you want a resolution supporting peace, to include an amendment to condemn Hamas, otherwise this is not a resolution promoting peace.”
Scores of speakers urged the council to not accept any amendments.
“Hamas is the justification that Israel uses to commit genocide. Eliminating Hamas without condemning the apartheid state of Israel is basically encouraging genocide,” said District 5 resident Salah Albakri, who added that several members of his extended family in Gaza were forced to flee their homes.
Another speaker said they lost eight members of their family in the last two months due to the Israeli military’s bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza. Israel’s bombing campaign and ground invasion has displaced approximately 1.6 million people—over 75% of Gaza’s population—and killed approximately 14,000 people in Gaza, according to local authorities. UNICEF has reported that roughly one-third of the dead are children.
Many of the people attending Monday’s council meeting also called for an end to U.S. military aid to Israel, which the resolution does not explicitly address.
Dozens of Jewish speakers expressed solidarity with Palestinians and objected to Israel’s ongoing military campaign in the Gaza strip.
“I want to support this resolution for a ceasefire, which neither condemns Israel nor Hamas, but calls for a ceasefire as a first step toward life,” said Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb. “This is what is important: that we step toward life and away from the culture of war.”
There were several heated moments during the meeting between supporters and opponents of the ceasefire resolution. Several speakers claimed people pushing for language condemning Hamas were promoting “Israeli propaganda.” Some people referenced Islamophobic attacks in the U.S., including the recent shooting of three Palestinian students in Vermont and the murder of six-year-old Wadea Al Fayoume in Illinois.
There has also been an uptick in antisemitic incidents across the U.S., and some speakers at Monday’s meeting said the resolution made them feel less safe. One woman claimed there has been a rise in antisemitic incidents in Oakland, including graffiti targeting Jews.
Councilmember Dan Kalb, who has criticized other local ceasefire resolutions, said he could support Fife’s resolution because it does not delegitimize the state of Israel. He also thanked Fife for not using “hot button” or “divisive” language, and agreed that humanitarian aid is urgently needed for Palestinians in Gaza.
Kalb shared that he visited Israel in March and toured a kibbutz near Gaza to learn about water management practices. He said that approximately 50 residents from this kibbutz were killed by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attack.
During the meeting, Kalb tried to introduce amendments that condemned domestic and international terrorist organizations, acknowledged Israelis and Palestinians as victims of Hamas, and explicitly described Hamas’ role in the Oct. 7 attack.
“Downplaying, or worse yet, rationalizing the Oct. 7 mass murder by Hamas as legitimate resistance is sad, ridiculous, and antithetical to promoting peace,” Kalb said.
This caused an uproar among some members of the public who were opposed to these sorts of changes to the resolution.
Bas said she respects Kalb but objected to his amendments, saying the roots of the conflict go back “hundreds” of years.
“I do have to say that if we’re going to entertain putting those facts you mentioned into this resolution, that I do not support, we would also have to entertain the fact that this conflict did not start on Oct. 7,” Bas said, prompting cheers from some attendees.
Kalb’s motion to amend the resolution failed in a 6-2 vote, with only District 7 Councilmember Treva Reid joining him. Reid said she supported the original resolution but wouldn’t let Kalb “stand alone in this moment.”
After Richmond, Oakland is the second city in the Bay Area to approve a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Israel agreed to a temporary pause in the fighting over the weekend after Hamas agreed to release at least 50 women and children who are currently held hostage in exchange for scores of Palestinian prisoners. The pause was extended for at least two more days on Monday.
Activists are continuing to put pressure on other local governments in the Bay Area to pass ceasefire resolutions. Protesters disrupted a Berkeley City Council meeting last week to demand that members pass a ceasefire resolution. Berkeley’s Rent Stabilization Board Chair Leah Simon-Weisberg called for a ceasefire last week, making her the first elected official in Berkeley to do so.
