Why cities are passing Gaza cease-fire resolutions

With the death toll rising to more than 31,000, including 13,000 children, the conflict between Hamas and Israel has created movements at the local level. In Southern California, several cities have approved resolutions for a cease-fire in Gaza. These include Cudahy, Montebello, Alhambra, Pasadena, Pomona, Santa Ana, Long Beach, Bell Gardens and Bell. 

The City of El Monte approved a permanent cease-fire resolution on April 2nd and there is a movement to pack the Monterey Park city council meeting on April 17th to ask for the councilmembers’ support. 

These resolutions urge President Joe Biden to call for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza in the war between the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel and to deliver humanitarian assistance and protect civilians in Gaza. The conflict started on October 7, 2023 with a Hamas terrorist attack that killed more than 1,200 Israelis and took hundreds of hostages. 

Bell Gardens Vice-Mayor Marco Barcena said that while some may think the resolutions to cease-fire are only a symbolic act, the impact at the local level is greater than people can imagine. Bell Gardens approved a resolution for a cease-fire in Gaza on March 11.

"Our taxpayers' dollars are being used to bomb innocent people. We are talking about billions and billions of dollars a year," said Barcena in an interview with CALÓ News.

The U.S. provides approximately $3.3 billion a year to Israel as grants under the Foreign MIlitary Financing (FMF) program. This requires that Israel purchases U.S. military equipment and services, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. 

Bell Gardens, a city of approximately 37,000 residents, has one-third of its population living below the poverty line and has one of the lowest education levels in L.A. County. Exposure to pollution due to the proximity of the 710 freeway also makes Bell Gardens one of the cities with the worst air quality in L.A. County. 

Barcena said it is devastating to see how many people are dying overseas with the funding sent from the U.S. federal government. Meanwhile, small cities such as Bell Gardens lack basic resources due to low budgets. 

"There are a multitude of needs that are just not being met. When we find out that billions of dollars are being sent overseas, I think it's necessary to speak out about it," Barcena said. "So yes, definitely, we can use a lot more funding."

If Bell Gardens had more funding, it could be used to fund more education programs and the arts as well as address the issue of homelessness, among many other issues, said Barcena.

What happens after the resolutions are approved?

There is confusion from some residents who question what role cease-fire resolutions in local city halls can have in foreign policy. Elizabeth Alcantar, Vice-Mayor of the city of Cudahy, said the power at the local level can impact how congressional representatives react. For example, in the House of Representatives, H.R. 786 was introduced by Missouri Congresswoman Cori Bush, urging President Biden to immediately call for and facilitate de-escalation and a cease-fire in Israel and the Palestinian Territories. It also requests the facilitation of the entry of humanitarian assistance into Gaza. 

"As elected officials and city councils, we have the ability to utilize our titles and apply pressure to our congressional representatives to vote in favor to push the president toward a cease-fire," Alcantar said. 

Cudahy was the first city in Southern California and the second one in the whole state after Richmond to approve a resolution for a cease-fire in Gaza in November 7, 2023. 

In international issues such as the conflict between Hamas and Israel, local elected officials act as the liaison between residents and congress representatives so they can ask questions or voice their concerns. This is a more direct way for residents to make their voices heard, explained Alcantar. 

cease-fire must be on "both sides."

The City of Bell approved its resolution on March 27 with a four to one vote, with dozens of people encouraging the council to vote in favor. While Bell Mayor Fidencio J. Gallardo, co-presenter of the resolution, thanked the community for their support, Vice-Mayor Ana Maria Quintana opposed it, stating it is incomplete because it doesn't do justice to what is currently happening. Quintana, who voted against it, said she would like to see a resolution that specifies that both Israel and the people of Palestine need to live in an environment free of violence. 

"Both of them, the same way that Israel lives with the constant threat that Hamas will bombard them on a daily basis, so do the people of Palestine. As of now, we have to put this in context," said Quintana before the vote on March 27. "The people of Palestine are currently living under oppression under Hamas and this resolution fails to acknowledge that.”

Nonetheless, supporters indicated these resolutions are vital, not only to support the cease-fire in Gaza but also to prevent discrimination and hate at the local level. On Tuesday, the Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) made public its annual civil rights report, which showed a 56% increase in anti-Muslim hate in 2023 over the previous year. Nearly half of the complaints, a total of 8,061, were reported in the year's final three months. 

The report showed that following the October 7 attack in the fourth quarter of 2023, there was a 208% increase in bias incidents over the same period as the prior year. There was also a 323% increase in employment discrimination and harassment.

CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush said that the community has faced threats, intimidation and harassment from individual actors, school administrators, teachers and professors, colleagues and supervisors, and local and federal government officials. 

"We have had success in protecting students in schools and universities, employees facing discrimination and harassment, and Muslims facing surveillance and discrimination by our own government," said Ayloush. “CAIR is committed to continuing to challenge this discrimination and all forms of hate.” 

More actions to come

Rida Hamida, executive director of Latino & Muslim Unity, said the movements at local councils are happening because congressional members don’t want to open their doors for discussion. Therefore the only way to get to them is through local elected officials. 

“After we passed a permanent cease-fire resolution in Montebello, we noticed Representative Linda Sanchez voting against the military aid bill to Israel and called for a cease-fire,” said Hamida. 

Activists hope to pass resolutions in every city in the Eastside, Southeast Los Angeles (SELA) and San Gabriel Valley areas. They hope to get the attention of Representative Judy Chu. 

The latest actions have been hosted by the Latino & Muslim Unity group during the month of Ramadan, celebrated in the ninth month of the Muslim calendar and where some Muslims fast from dawn to sunset. 

“So we’ve been serving up halal tacos, shawarma sandwiches to break fast at sunset while they are in the council chambers,” Hamida concluded.