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Mountain View City Council members again resisted calls to issue a cease-fire resolution in Gaza, opting against taking a formal stance on the issue as community members lined up at Tuesday’s council meeting to either express support for or opposition to a request that has divided the community.
Up until now, the City Council has overwhelmingly heard from community members asking for a cease-fire resolution. But on March 19, the council heard from a large group of residents who opposed a resolution and instead asked the city to stick with its “proclamation against hate” statement that came out on Feb. 21.
About 65 speakers addressed the council, in person and online, with a nearly even split in representation between those who favored or opposed a cease-fire resolution. Those who supported a resolution cited the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and asked the council to take a stronger stance to condemn the violence and suffering in the Middle East that also was impacting local residents.
The conflict began on Oct. 7 when Hamas invaded Israel and killed about 1,200 people and took another 250 as hostages. Since then, Israel’s war against Hamas has claimed the lives of more than 30,000 Palestinians, injured 70,000 and displaced 1.9 million from their homes, according to the Associated Press.
Those who were against a cease-fire resolution largely framed their opposition in terms of local concerns, stating that the City Council should not be involved in foreign matters that it has little expertise in, and has not weighed in on before in regard to other global conflicts. Many speakers also cited fears about anti-Semitism and inflaming already tense relationships in the city by issuing a resolution.
Community members’ statements, while often heated and emotional, progressed in an orderly fashion during the nearly two hours of comments, except for one instance. Audience members interrupted a speaker who was in support of a cease-fire resolution. However, Mayor Pat Showalter quickly brought the room back to order, and the rest of the public comments proceeded without further incident.
At the end of the evening, Showalter reiterated the council’s stance that it would not take up a cease-fire resolution as part of its agenda.
“As you’ve all heard this evening, and from the hundreds of emails we’ve received, these are very divisive opinions about the conflict in Gaza and about what the city should or shouldn’t do around this foreign policy issue,” Showalter said.
“The city issued a statement of peace in support of our residents impacted by the Israel-Hamas war. At this time, it does not appear that the council will take any further action beyond this statement,” she added.
Good. The city government should stick to local affairs.
Your job is to run Mountain View.
Not International matters.
Why are private citizens replacing the light bulbs in the parks after no response from maintenance? Why do people receive delinquent payments notices….over and over, and your billing department won’t fix it until the citizen gets tough with your people? Your job is to deliver services to the citizens of MV. Tell the Activists who want to address the Gaza issue that this is a free country and they can go start their own website and/or raise money on their own to promote their view points.
Where are these people at school board meetings when people are deciding how to teach their kids? When they’re deciding water policy or police policy? But of course, they think they’ll have an impact on Gaza by spending their time wasting the council’s time.
Now back to local government matters.
Thank You
Giving time to Talk It Out is in itself maybe a type of ‘community service’?