Hissing, booing and then cheering. Those were the noises of a packed meeting as the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to approve a resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza Tuesday.
There was an eruption of applause inside their chamber as its passage was announced. The controversial resolution — condemning both Hamas and the Israeli government — also called for a removal of leadership on both sides as well as a release for all hostages being held by Hamas.
“Right now, San Francisco took action. That really sets the tone for us to build toward a peace agenda, to build towards recognizing the humanity of all people and to take action to stop bigotry, racism and war wherever it may be,” said Lara Kiswani, the executive director of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center.
"It means a lot for one of the largest cities in this country to say we are calling on the Biden administration to do different," Kiswani added. "To say we hear you, we see you and we are going to act in your interests and the diverse communities in San Francisco have been asking them to do for weeks now.
The tone of the meeting itself wasn’t so peaceful. Members of the public jeered at Supervisor Catherine Stefani as she called out the sexual violence Israeli women suffered during the Oct. 7 attack.
“Yesterday, in committee, Supervisor Dorsey mentioned these attacks on women and members of the public shouted him down and called him a liar, which is beyond frightening and which is happening to me now,” Stefani said.
The heckling of some supervisors, especially while they were speaking about sexual violence, raises bigger questions, according to the CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council Bay Area.
“While this calls out Hamas in the appropriate ways, we question the judgment of if these resolutions are bringing more good than harm in our communities,” Tye Gregory said.
Stefani joined Supervisors Rafael Mandelman and Matt Dorsey in voting against the resolution. They wanted language that spoke more forcefully about Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack leading to the Israel-Hamas war.
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Some felt the resolution, while validating for many opposed to the war, sidelined other pressing issues for city supervisors, including homelessness and drug addiction. It was a point Supervisor Myrna Melgar reiterated during Tuesday’s meeting.
“Even as we engage with urgent problems such as this, San Francisco is still facing many problems,” Melgar said. “And we need the relationships and the unit to deal with the pain and suffering on our own streets.”
