City Council Agrees to Vote Next Monday on Resolution Supporting Ceasefire in Gaza – Pasadena Now | #citycouncil

After supporters of a ceasefire in Gaza held a vigil at 5 p.m. on the steps of City Hall, supporters attended the City Council meeting and demanded the Council pass a resolution demanding the ceasefire.

The item had been scheduled to go to the Legislative Policy Committee early next month in a special meeting.

The City Council voted 7-1 that the Committee instead attempt to hold a special meeting this week to review the resolution and that the item then go before the City Council on Monday.

If the Committee cannot meet, the item will go to the City Council on Monday regardless.

About 70 cities across the country, including four in California, have passed resolutions calling for a Gaza ceasefire since the Israel-Hamas conflict began in October.

“I’m going to vote no only because I want it to come directly to the City Council so we can act,” said Vice Mayor Steve Madison.

The crowd became unruly at times as Madison attempted to explain that the committee, which he chairs, could not act on the resolution but only make a recommendation.

Madison all along said he was fine with the item being heard on Monday and never expressed opposition to the proposed resolution.

Several people who spoke Monday sent letters to City Council members in advance of the meeting.

The group originally planned to demonstrate outside Congresswoman Judy Chu’s office on South Lake Avenue but opted instead to try to fill City Council chambers.

Pasadena has seen a series of demonstrations calling for a ceasefire in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war and supporting Palestinian rights since shortly after the start of the war in late 2023.

Protesters have gathered at Pasadena City College, City Hall, outside Congresswoman Judy Chu’s office and various locations around the city at events sponsored by the Pasadena City College Anti-War Club, All Saints Church, and other organizations.

One interfaith group has protested almost every Monday evening since November outside Representative Chu’s Lake Avenue office, urging her to call for a unilateral ceasefire.

On Jan. 1, protesters briefly disrupted the Rose Parade while also demanding a ceasefire.

The protesters sat down in the street at Lake Avenue and Colorado Boulevard and held signs calling for a ceasefire.

Police eventually stepped in and removed the protesters, which prompted cheers from the crowd.

Israel bombarded and invaded Gaza shortly after an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants in which 1,200 Israelis died and hundreds of hostages were kidnapped.

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, which is an agency in the Hamas-controlled government, the death toll in Gaza during the Israeli-Gaza war has reached 31,112 as of March 11.

This figure includes both combatants and civilians, with the ministry reporting that women and children make up two-thirds of the dead. The Israeli military has claimed to have killed 13,000 Hamas fighters.