©Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A protester calling for a ceasefire in Gaza gestures during U.S. President Joe Biden’s speech at a campaign event at Mother Emanuel AME Church, the site of the 2015 mass shooting, in Charleston, Carolina Southern, United States, January 8, 2024. REUTERS /
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By Aurora Ellis
(Reuters) – About 70 U.S. cities have passed resolutions on the war between Israel and Gaza and most are calling for a ceasefire, a Reuters analysis of city data shows, putting more pressure on President Joe Biden ahead of the general election in November to help end the fighting.
At least 47 cities passed symbolic resolutions calling for an end to Israel’s bombing of Gaza, while another six cities passed resolutions advocating peace more generally. At least 20 have passed resolutions condemning the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, which sparked the current bloodshed.
Most of the ceasefire resolutions passed in Democratic states like California, although at least 14 passed in swing states like Michigan and could be decisive in Biden’s re-election bid against former Republican President Donald Trump.
The Biden administration has rejected calls for a ceasefire, something supported by a majority of Americans, arguing that an Israeli halt would embolden Hamas. Critics of the city resolutions say they have no tangible effect on national politics and distract from domestic issues.
Gabriela Santiago-Romero, a Detroit council member who voted to pass a cease-fire resolution in Michigan’s largest city in November, said that reflects frustration, particularly from younger officials and people of color, towards Biden and other leaders of the national Democratic Party.
“We want leadership that is willing to listen to us,” Santiago-Romero said.
Democrats should “listen to young people, invest in diversity, invest in people who are aligned with values and who actually listen to their constituents,” he added.
Asked for comment, the White House, which has said it is pressuring Israel to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza, referred to previous statements that a ceasefire would only benefit Hamas.
Reuters compiled data from 70 cities that have passed Israel-Gaza resolutions or proclamations since October 7, when Hamas militants killed around 1,200 people in Israel and took 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. They range from larger cities like San Francisco to smaller cities like Carrboro, North Carolina, and Wilmington, Delaware, Biden’s hometown.
Many of the ceasefire calls are modeled on Missouri Congresswoman Cori Bush’s “Ceasefire Now” resolution, which also urges the release of hostages and increased aid to Gaza, where health officials say Israeli shelling has killed more than 26,600 Palestinians.
At least nine of the ceasefire calls occurred in Michigan, where Arab Americans account for 5% of the vote and Biden’s margin of victory over Trump in 2020 was less than 3%. An October poll showed that support for Biden among Arab Americans plummeted to 17% from 59% in 2020.
“This (war) is something that will be on voters’ minds,” said Douglas Wilson, a Democratic strategist in the swing state of North Carolina.
“It will be a problem here and in all swing states because of the Muslim populations in these states, the Jewish populations in these states and the Black and brown populations in these states,” Wilson said.
“TAKE A STANCE”
Hamas said Tuesday it had received and was studying a new proposal for a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza, presented by mediators after talks with Israel, in what appeared to be the most serious peace initiative in recent memory. months.
US support for Israel during the war sharply divided Americans, sparking protests in US cities in support of both Israel and Gaza. However, a Reuters poll last year found bipartisan support for the ceasefire.
Some critics of the city’s ceasefire calls say they are premature, citing the brutality of Hamas’ attacks.
“We cannot have a ceasefire (with) a terrorist organization committed to doing this again,” said Tyler Gregory, head of the Jewish Community Relations Council of San Francisco, who condemned the calls as one-sided.
“(These) resolutions are not only fueling the fires of hatred, but they are creating stronger tensions,” Gregory said, highlighting an increase in anti-Semitic incidents in the United States since October 7.
At least some city officials said calls for a ceasefire had support from Jewish voters.
Hillary Ronen, San Francisco’s board of supervisors, said hundreds of Jewish and Muslim residents urged her to vote in favor of a resolution passed in the city, one of the largest to pass it.
“For people like me, Jews with family in Israel, it is extremely important to take a stand against this war,” Ronen said.
Mohammed Khader, a black Palestinian-American and policy director of the US Campaign for Palestinian Human Rights, said supporters “hope that those with local state or federal voting power will recognize their Palestinian voters.”
Analysts have warned that while much could change before the Nov. 5 election, local frustration with Biden could hurt him at the polls by reducing turnout.
Nadia Brown, a government professor at Georgetown University, said many Democratic activists “don’t see voting or taking action at the national level as a way to get what they want.”
Brown added: “And if they don’t see it now, will they see it in November? I don’t think so.”