Pomona council OKs call for Gaza ceasefire
Pomona’s elected leaders, pressed to take a strong stand for a ceasefire in Gaza, went farther than most would have expected.
After hearing 90 minutes of calm but impassioned comment Monday night, the City Council added statistics to the resolution to make clearer the cost of the war against the Palestinians since Oct. 7.
After the vote to approve it — 6-0, with one abstention — the packed Council Chambers erupted in sustained applause.
It was a night of surprises. For me, the surprises started at the last meeting on Jan. 8.
I’d attended for a different reason and instead found a rally beforehand in which people beat on drums and shouted into megaphones. During the meeting, 15 people demanded the council call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Some belittled councilmembers and expressed anger they hadn’t immediately taken a stand for a ceasefire after the Oct. 7 attack and Israel’s retaliation.
It almost seemed as if they’d confused the City Council with the United Nations.
Nevertheless, Mayor Tim Sandoval directed city staff to come back
Jan. 22 with a resolution. I felt like I ought to be there — for my second straight council meeting after, uh, four years away — to see how things turned out.
I braced myself for a night of shouting and conflict. For one thing, a commotion had erupted in neighboring Chino Hills at its Jan. 9 council meeting over the same issue.
At first, the public microphone in Chino Hills was muted at the council’s direction if speakers brought up “international affairs.” After an outcry, councilmembers relented and heard them out, according to the account by the Chino Valley Champion’s ever-alert Marianne Napoles.
But the council stuck to its position that a ceasefire is out of its jurisdiction.
Pomona took a different tack.
After the public comments Monday, Sandoval noted: “Most city councils probably would not have taken the initiative to do this. They would say it’s out of their purview. But I also think it’s important to listen to the community and respond.”
A few minutes later, the mayor returned to that subject: “People expect Pomona to take a stand because of our history, because of our values, because of our principles. … I genuinely believe we are a welcoming city.”
One surprise was that activists left the drums at home and largely stayed polite. Perhaps after their treatment in Chino Hills, they’d grasped that Pomona was at least taking them seriously.
One speaker told Pomona councilmembers sympathetically, “I’m sure none of you came into office thinking you would deal with foreign affairs.”
Another surprise was that virtually all the audience was in accord. I counted 41 speakers, 40 of whom said Israel had gone too far. Many were Palestinian Americans. A few were Jewish.
“Not in my name,” one said.
“This is genocide,” said another, “and the antithesis of Jewish values.”
Only one speaker dared to disagree. Jerry Fenning
wondered why Pomona was taking a position against Israel when the city wasn’t saying anything about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or other world conflicts.
Some in the audience were already hissing him before he said taking such a position “would be antisemitic.”
Sandoval intervened: “He may be the only speaker to express a point of view you disagree with. Just let him speak.”
(The next morning, Fenning emailed me to say he and his wife had been distraught during the meeting because “no one talked about Hamas’ responsibility for starting the war.”)
Sandoval told the audience that he had consulted with pro-Palestinian activists as well as with the rabbi at Temple Beth Israel and had done some reading. He and other councilmembers offered up suggestions for the resolution.
They asked that the casualty description of “many thousands of innocent civilian Israeli and Palestinian lives” be changed to “over 30,000 innocent Palestinians.” Also, that it be noted that 85% of Gaza infrastructure had been damaged, that 1.9 million people had been displaced and that the toll amounted to a “collective punishment by the State of Israel.”
Anita Gutierrez, the acting city manager, made changes to the resolution on her laptop with assistance from the city attorney.
“It’s hard to be here and not be able to do a lot,” Councilmember John Nolte lamented. “We’re doing what we can.”
Within minutes, the council was voting on the revised resolution. Everyone was a yes except for Robert Torres, who abstained, saying: “I will not be forced into a position.”
Most of the audience cheered the vote. The resolution may not have said everything they’d have wished, but it was a stand. The resolution will be sent to the city’s federal representatives. I imagine activists
Word on the street is that David Allen writes Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Email dallen@scng.com, phone 909-483-9339, like davidallencolumnist on Facebook and follow @ davidallen909 on Twitter.