City of Sacramento
City Council - 5PM Report
915 I Street Sacramento, CA 95814
www.cityofsacramento.org
File ID: 2024-00759 3/19/2024 Discussion Item 20.
Resolution Calling for an Immediate Bilateral Ceasefire in Gaza (Two-Thirds Vote Required) File ID: 2024-00759
Location: Citywide.
Recommendation: (1) Pass a Motion pursuant to Council Rule of Procedure 1.D, to waive Rule
7.K.1, which requires non-binding resolutions be referred to the Law and Legislation Committee before coming to council (Two-Thirds Vote Required); and (2) adopt a Resolution calling for an immediate bilateral ceasefire in Gaza.
Contact: Mayor Darrell Steinberg, (916) 808-5300
Presenter: Mayor Darrell Steinberg, (916) 808-5300
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-Resolution
Description/Analysis
Issue Detail: Nothing we say or do in Sacramento may change the course of the war for Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank. But there are other compelling reasons for our city to speak out in support of an immediate, bilateral, and permanent ceasefire.
This ceasefire resolution stands out from those passed by other jurisdictions in California and around the nation because it represents a principled compromise. Leaders from both the Muslim and Jewish communities in Sacramento had input into the language, which includes important principles and concessions from both sides.
Sacramento is a special place to live for many reasons. None is more important than the way we treat each other. In good times and bad, through celebration and despicable hate crimes, our diverse ethnic, and religious communities have stood together. We are friends and have sought to model love, inclusion and support for one another in the face of intolerance and division. By passing this resolution, our City can model how we can find common ground for good even when we disagree.
This resolution appropriately calls for a permanent end to the bloodshed and upholds the spirit of mutual understanding and support that defines Sacramento.
File ID: 2024-00759 3/19/2024 Discussion Item 20.
Policy Considerations: Not applicable.
Economic Impacts: Not applicable.
Environmental Considerations: Not applicable.
Sustainability: Not applicable.
Commission/Committee Action: Not applicable.
Rationale for Recommendation: Not applicable.
Financial Considerations: Not applicable.
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): Not applicable.
RESOLUTION NO. 2024-____
Adopted by the Sacramento City Council
__________, 2024
The City of Sacramento’s Resolution for Immediate and Permanent Bilateral Cease-Fire, Release of all Hostages, and the Entry of Unrestricted Humanitarian Aid into the Gaza Strip
WHEREAS, The City of Sacramento sees all human life as precious, and the targeting of innocent civilians, no matter their faith or ethnicity, as wrong and unjust; WHEREAS, The City of Sacramento condemns the loss of all innocent civilian lives, regardless of their nationality, ethnicity or religious background; WHEREAS, The City of Sacramento recognizes that hundreds of Israeli hostages remain captive by Hamas in the Gaza Strip;
WHEREAS, The City of Sacramento recognizes that thousands of Palestinians are held unfairly, unjustly, and without charge in Israeli prisons; WHEREAS, The City of Sacramento recognizes that the current crisis takes place within a long history and affirms, that for a pathway to lasting peace and justice to be developed, a two-state solution must exist, with one Jewish state and one Palestinian state existing side by side; where each side recognizes the others’ historic ties to the land, and the right for both peoples to peacefully exist in that land; WHEREAS, On October 7, 2023 Hamas committed horrific atrocities against Israel causing the death and injuries of thousands of innocent civilians; WHEREAS, Since October 7, 2023 the Israeli government has carried out military operations that have killed 25,000 Palestinian civilians and injured over 70,000 more; WHEREAS, The City of Sacramento condemns the weaponizing of sexual violence; it is never acceptable– in war or otherwise;
WHEREAS, Many in the Jewish community are experiencing the terrible rise in anti- Semitism, the acceptance of hate speech on college campuses and elsewhere against Jews, and the refusal of some to condemn anti-Semitism without qualifications as a shocking reminder of historic reality. The Holocaust happened in the modern 20th century, and the world’s oldest prejudice never goes away. The State of Israel remains the hope that Jews can live safely and freely and never again face threats to their very existence;
WHEREAS, Many in the Jewish community are rightfully offended by the spoken views of some that while the death of innocent Israelis is unfortunate, the plight of the Palestinian people in fact justified the October 7, 2023 terrorist massacre. This implicit and sometimes explicit justification is wrong and stokes the community’s central fear that Jewish lives are easily expendable;
WHEREAS, The Muslim and Arab-American communities are experiencing the terrible rise in Islamophobia and anti-Arab rhetoric, the acceptance of hate speech on college campuses and elsewhere against Muslims and Arabs, and the refusal of some to condemn Islamophobia and anti-Arab prejudice without qualifications as a shocking reminder of historic reality. Islamophobia and anti-Arab hate are centuries old prejudices that never go away. An independent Palestinian state remains the hope that Palestinians can live safely and freely and never again face threats to their very existence;
WHEREAS, Many in the Muslim and Arab communities are rightfully offended by the spoken views of some, that the ongoing slaughter of innocent Gazans is justifiable due to the attacks on October 7, 2023. The implicit and sometimes explicit justification is wrong and stokes the community’s central fear that Palestinian lives are easily expendable;
WHEREAS, The United Nations states over 2 million people in the Gaza Strip are living in catastrophic conditions without sufficient access to shelter, drinking water, food, electricity, fuel, medical care, and basic humanitarian necessities. These innocent lives will remain at imminent risk if a permanent bilateral ceasefire is not achieved and unrestricted humanitarian aid is not delivered without delay; WHEREAS, The World Health Organization states that the healthcare system in the Gaza Strip is in a state of emergency due to the ongoing combat. The majority of hospitals have been forced to cease operations and the remaining hospitals are unable to support the overwhelming number of victims with a severe shortage of medical supplies, equipment and personnel.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the City of Sacramento
1. Calls for an immediate and permanent bilateral ceasefire to urgently end the current violence; a true and effective bilateral ceasefire must include four key simultaneous elements. (1) Hamas must cease all military operations directed against Israel, (2) the immediate unconditional release of all Israeli hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, (3) Israel must stop the bombing and military action inside the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and (4) the elimination of all offensive weapons by Israel and Hamas directed at one another.
2. Recognizes this conflict will not be resolved militarily; rather, it will be resolved diplomatically when wise, courageous and visionary leaders on both sides replace the current leaders in charge today. This resolution calls for new leadership on both sides.
There is no chance for real peace and a long-term bilateral ceasefire so long as the current leadership exists on both sides.
3. Calls upon the Biden administration to promptly send and facilitate the entry of unrestricted humanitarian assistance into the Gaza Strip.
4. Calls for the immediate unconditional release of all Palestinians held without charge or trial in Israeli prisons.
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City of Sacramento advocates for the dignity and safety of residents in every community.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City of Sacramento vows to combat xenophobia, antisemitism, Islamophobia, and racism in all forms, and denounces them in the strongest way possible.
FINALLY, BE IT RESOLVED, Sacramento is such a special place to live for many reasons. None is more important than the way we treat each other. In good times and bad, through celebration and despicable hate crimes, our diverse ethnic and religious communities have stood shoulder to shoulder with one another. We are friends and have sought to always model love, inclusion and support for one another in increasingly dark times.