Cleveland City Council on Monday passed a resolution calling for an end to violence in Gaza, after five months of refusing to do so despite persistent calls by pro-Palestinian protesters.
The impetus for council's abrupt change of direction was the decision by the United Nations Security Council earlier Monday to call for an end to fighting in the Israel-Hamas war. The United States abstained from the vote.
"Anytime you lose this amount of life, people in our community are hurt, so it’s the right thing to do," Council President Blaine Griffin told Ideastream Monday. He said he wanted to ensure Council aligned with the federal government's stance. The U.S. abstention allowed the U.N. resolution to pass.
As the City Council resolution was adopted, people held up signs reading, “40,000 people too late” – referring to the deaths of Palestinians in Gaza since Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7. A few clapped before protesters exited the chambers. The health ministry in Gaza report more than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed and 74,000 injured in Israeli air and ground strikes since the start of the war.
"This new leaf doesn’t undo the damage in Gaza," said Jenna Muheiddine of the Palestinian Existence for Peace Society in Lakewood. "We now vow to work to rebuild and prevent any future violence week after week and we’ve continued the push for a ceasefire resolution. This is the easiest and least controversial thing to request."
Other public commenters said now that the resolution has passed, they will turn their attention toward calling on the city to divest from any dealings or financial ties with Israel.
Protesters began attending council meetings days after the war began following the Hamas attack on Israeli civilians that killed 1,100 and seized more than 200 hostages.
Council's resolution, passed 16-0 with Councilmember Jenny Spencer absent, also condemned the Oct. 7 attack.
At past meetings, protesters have held signs calling for a cease-fire, accused council of being xenophobic and characterized Mayor Justin Bibb as siding with genocide because of a social media post he made following the Oct. 7 attack. In one instance, chanting and shouting ended a meeting early and in another, people were cleared from City Hall. Council also passed new rules to deal with meeting disruptions that could bar the public from re-entering a meeting after chambers are cleared.
Several other cities, including Akron, were quick to pass cease-fire resolutions. Columbus City Council considered a similar resolution Monday.
Cleveland City Council President Blaine Griffin has said council would not pass such a resolution because the issue is a complicated one. He worried about the reaction of Cleveland's Jewish community to such a resolution and suggested council needed to concentrate on local issues such as housing.
He said a resolution would only come when "both sides" of the issue — those in Cleveland's Jewish and Palestinian communities — bring a mutually agreed-upon resolution to council.
The U.N. vote changed that.
"Even though the United States did not vote for it, they did not veto it," Griffin said. "That gave me the inclination that the United States is supportive of it, and even though they might not be fully supportive of it, at least it felt like we're aligned with our government and the rest of the world."
A number of Palestinian protesters, in addition to Muheiddine, spoke during the public comment period at the beginning of the council meeting. They were aware of the impending vote on the resolution, but said it would not undo the damage in Gaza, nor the damage caused by council's months of inaction.
"Those guys (protesters) have been coming for 17 weeks now. They're coming over here. What do you do? Nothing," said Atef Zurub of Cleveland Heights.
He said support for council members and the mayor will be in short supply.
"You know, 2025 is coming, you gotta hold your seat real good," he said. "Because, you know, you're gonna miss it after that."
