Following protests outside of Long Beach City Hall prior to the meeting, over 150 residents spoke during public comment, mostly in support of the ceasefire.
Long Beach became the largest city in California to formally call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Palestine war, following a highly anticipated decision by the city council on Dec. 19.
Following protests outside City Hall and over 150 residents lining up to speak during the meeting, Long Beach councilmembers voted 5-2 to pass the proclamation.
Mayor Rex Richardson, Megan Kerr, Roberto Uranga, Joni Ricks-Oddie, Suely Saro and Al Austin voted in favor of the ceasefire proclamation while councilmembers Kristina Duggan and Daryl Supernaw voted against the proclamation. Vice Mayor Cindy Allen and councilmember Mary Zendejas were not present at Tuesday’s meeting.
The message will be passed on to federal representatives asking them to support a “lasting humanitarian ceasefire in Israel and Gaza;” the safe passage of food, water, medical supplies and life-saving aid into Gaza; and a peaceful resolution that ends the attacks by Hamas in Israel and protects civilian life in Israel and Gaza.
“We as a city are not immune to what happens outside of our boundaries,” said Mayor Rex Richardson while introducing the item. “We learned in 2020 we can’t just roll up the windows or close the curtains on what happens outside our city,” he said, citing the “tension and fear” in the community during the nationwide protests following the murder of George Floyd and other Black Americans at the hands of police.
Long Beach residents have been showing up to city council meetings and protesting outside of City Hall for over a month demanding that City officials vote to call a ceasefire in Gaza.
On Oct. 7, the terrorist group Hamas launched an airstrike attack on Israel, killing 1,400 civilians. Hamas took 240 hostages during the attack, and recently released 100 of those hostages who revealed they were subject to psychological, physical and sexual torture. Israeli leaders said they believe another 129 people, mostly men, are still being held hostage.
“Hamas’ fight is not just territorial, it is a call for a new Holocaust against Jews. Israel not only has a right to defend itself, it has an obligation and a duty to do so … to not let terrorists win,” said Carol Jones, a District 3 resident who asked the city council to deny the proclamation.
In response to the Hamas’ attack, Israel has launched an aerial attack on Gaza that has been nearly constant since Oct. 7, with only one brief pause. The Guardian reported that 20,000 Palestinian people have been killed in the bombings, with another 2 million displaced as the city crumbles.
“As Jews, we say, ‘Not in our names’ as the cry for ‘never again’ includes all people everywhere.”
Long Beach resident, Estie Chandler during the public comment period.
Israel has limited Palestinians ability to leave the occupied territory of Gaza, even before the Oct. 7 attack, and has put up blockades preventing civilians from leaving the area. The Human Rights Watch called Gaza an “open-air prison” before the war began, with 80% of the population living in poverty and most residents living without education, health care or economic opportunity.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, the vast majority of victims killed by the Israeli bombings have been women and children.
“Do you guys realize that history didn’t begin on October 7 … You fail to acknowledge that the attack itself was a result of the oppression of Palestinians in the past 75 years,” said Carlos Ovalle. “You claim that Israel has a right to defend itself but purposely ignore that if Israelis have that right, why not Palestinians?”
On Dec. 8, the United Nations attempted to pass a humanitarian ceasefire similar to the one Long Beach passed, but despite the backing of more than 90 member countries, the resolution was vetoed by the United States.
Long Beach’s Equity and Human Relations Commission has discussed the Israel-Palestine war three times in the past month, inviting residents to speak at their meetings. On Nov. 8, the commission passed a resolution urging the city council to call for a ceasefire to end the violence in Israel and Palestine, provide educational resources for the public and condemn all forms of hate.
Residents asking councilmembers to reject the proclamation largely requested the language be edited to condemn the terrorist group Hamas and ask for the return of the Israel hostages being held. Both of these statements were already written into the proposed proclamation.
Mobius Lucero (left) and another attendee hold pro-Palestine signs while waiting to enter the Long Beach City Council chambers to give public comment on a vote for a response calling for a ceasefire in Gaza on Dec. 19, 2023. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune) 
A man attempts to use a sign to block the view of the camera while a group of young women chant and sing in opposition to the proposed resolution from the Long Beach City Council on Dec. 19, 2023. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune) 
A woman holds a sign and flag in support of the civilians in Palestine during a rally outside Long Beach City Hall on Dec. 19, 2023. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune) 
A man draped in an Israeli flag plays guitar and sings songs in Hebrew during a rally outside Long Beach City Hall before a vote for a response calling for a ceasefire in Palestine on Dec. 19, 2023. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune) 
Cindy Lara talks to her son Brandon, who is holding a Palestinian flag, during a rally outside Long Beach City Hall before a vote for a response calling for a ceasefire in Palestine on Dec. 19, 2023. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune)
“The city of Long Beach doesn’t have any business telling an independent free country how to defend itself,” said Anna Silesky in opposition to the proclamation. “This particular proclamation calls for a ceasefire without conditioning on a return of the hostages and the dead returning their bodies to their loved ones and I feel it’s appropriate for that language to do so and ask you to add that.”
The almost-four-hour public comment period was met with cheering, booing and the occasional shouting match as people argued from their seats and in the aisle. Residents filled the chambers with signs reading “LBC United For Peace,” “Free Palestine from the River to the Sea,” “Bring Them Home,” “History Will Judge Our Actions,” posters depicting victims of Hamas kidnapping and more.
People on both sides of the issue were accusing the other of spreading “misinformation” and citing acts of violence from the extremist Hamas group in Gaza and the Israeli Defense Forces, the national military of Israel.
Many Jewish residents spoke in favor of the proclamation and in support of their Palestinian neighbors.
“Many Long Beach residents have family in Palestine and are impacted by the ongoing genocide taking place in addition to the anti-Palestinian rhetoric they are enduring here locally,” said Estie Chandler. “As Jews, we know this dehumanizing language is intended to desensitize the public to the mass slaughter we are all witnessing. We must speak out and refuse to be complacent in this horrific violence and oppression. As Jews, we say, ‘Not in our names’ as the cry for ‘never again’ includes all people everywhere.”
The city council made their decision fairly quickly, after giving brief statements either in support or in opposition of the proclamation. Duggan was one of two council members who disagreed with the item, along with Supernaw. She echoed the statements of a few residents who said Long Beach had no place weighing in on global issues.
“I did not promise to rid the world of all issues, but to be focused on solving the issues facing the residents in the third district and in Long Beach,” Duggan said.
She added that she supports the safe return of hostages, for negotiations to lead to a lasting ceasefire, humanitarian aid to Gaza and overall ending the war. However, she said she felt the item was “born out of division” and disagreed with the “scorched Earth advocacy that includes shutting down city council meetings until we take a desired position.” Duggan was likely referencing the recent disruptions at meetings from protestors, which involved one meeting where all attendees had to be removed.
Supernaw said that residents from his district reached out to him “in overwhelming numbers” asking him to oppose the proclamation.
Before final votes, Richardson reminded residents that there’s still more work to do, and that he wants the interfaith communities to come together and be an example of “dignity and how to show mutual respect for our diverse communities.”
He added that the City needs to engage in public education about the crisis.
Nearly the entire remaining crowd was made up of free Palestine and ceasefire supporters, many of whom were holding signs saying “Free Palestine.” When the decision was announced, most of the crowd stood up with their signs held high, cheering as the councilmembers walked out for a much-needed break.
View the full proclamation here.
[The Signal Tribune is choosing to refer to the current violence as the Israel-Palestine War in reflection of the geographical areas where it is occurring. This is in line with the standard naming of wars, for example the Vietnam War and Iraq War, which the U.S. government has said was waged against the Viet-Cong and the regime of Saddam Hussein, respectively, rather than the other nations at large.
The Signal Tribune also referred to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which was recognized as a genocide by President Joe Biden, as a war.]
[A previous version incorrectly named Carlos Ovalle as Carlos Seville. The Signal Tribune regrets this error.]
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My name is Carlos Ovalle (not Seville as noted in the article). I attended this city council meeting and I was the first pro-Palestinian speaker. I objected to the way that the proclamation was written because it changed the sentiment expressed in the Equity and Human Relations Commission Commission’s initial proposal. The resolution contained three fatal flaws:
1) On Sections 1 and 2 the proclamation condemned Hamas twice for their attack on October 7th but never once mentioned the disproportionate and bloody Israeli retaliation, essentially a war crime called Collective Punishment, nor did it mention that their atrocities against the people of Palestine have been occurring for over 75 years.
2) On Section 1 the proclamation echoed Congressman Robert Garcia and Mayor Rex Richardson’s previous erroneous statement that Israel has a right to self-defense. While it is true when one nation is attacked by another, Gaza is not, it is an occupied territory, a concentration camp under complete air, sea, and land blockade, with Israel controlling water, power, and food imports. Not once was there a mention that Palestinians have the right of self-defense.
3) On Section 2 the proclamation called for the release of all hostages, in context referring to the 129 remaining hostages ostensibly held by Hamas, but not once mentioned the nearly 10,000 Palestinian political prisoners held by Israel, a third of whom are being held without charges or trial, and a third of whom are non-combatant children and women.
Taking into account the above, the proclamation is nothing more than the equivalent of offering thoughts and prayers to the parents of children murdered in a school shooting.