Millbrae officials ask Palestinian, Jewish residents to draft a joint statement on Israel-Hamas war

The Millbrae City Council discussed the possibility of directing staff to prepare a cease-fire resolution related to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the Israel-Hamas war at its April 9 meeting, hearing from residents and community members on the issue.

City staff were directed to immediately reach out to the Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center to facilitate engagement with community members, a decision that evoked frustration in some in attendance who believed the City Council should have come to a decision during the meeting.

Vice Mayor Maurice Goodman, who originally requested that a humanitarian cease-fire resolution be placed on the agenda at a Feb. 13 City Council meeting, expressed trepidation about proceeding forward with joint talks and meditation.

After ongoing dialogue on the topic, he said some representatives of the Jewish and Israeli community maintained the belief that a resolution of any kind was not the most effective path forward, meaning discussion around a document of any kind could potentially prove fruitless.

“That makes a lot of sense — if there was mutual motivation on both sides to obtain a resolution,” he said. “I would respectfully ask for a vote, and then choose sides that way. At least we’re not skirting our responsibility as leaders, and putting that responsibility onto our citizens. If we support it, we support it. If we don’t, we don’t.”

However, he then chose to support the motion to continue mediating talks as “a vote of faith in all of our community,” he said.

Millbrae resident Maha Yaser-Shihadih said a cease-fire resolution would reflect the community’s desire for peace and ending the violence in Gaza, where more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed.

“I urge you to pass a permanent cease-fire resolution. It is imperative that local leadership reflects the collective voice of our community in advocating for peace,” she said. “Anyone with a fiber of humanity can agree that ending violence and wanting peace is not divisive, it’s not complicated. Killing children is wrong, bombing hospitals, schools and religious institutions is wrong, killing aid workers and blocking aid to starving people is wrong.”

Those who spoke against a cease-fire resolution maintained that the City Council did not have a role in foreign affairs. In attendance at the meeting, Roni Rose said she was concerned passing such a resolution would fuel divisiveness and antisemitism, which she said she had personally experienced since Oct. 7.

“This resolution will not change any international cease-fire, as Hamas is rejecting any cease-fire attempted by Israel and the U.S.,” she said. “Nobody here is asking for peace or return of the hostages. Millbrae will bring more antisemitism and hate if this resolution passes.”

Councilmember Gina Papan originally told the assembled group that the City Council does not take up federal issues, although on an individual level all people can try to make a difference by advocating for humanitarian aid to the region.

But she supported the motion to potentially create a joint statement as a symbol of bringing the community together, she said.

“We don’t want walls, we want bigger tables. Bringing people to the table is the most important thing,” she said. “We can’t determine what the results will be. We can be hopeful and optimistic. That’s what the motion is.”

Councilmember Angelina Cahalan said she was pleased the City Council was trying an alternative route to potentially create a resolution that all community members could be proud of.

“I think there might be some feelings of disappointment in the community, but, coming in today, I would have guessed that this would have been a less open conversation on the dais,” she said. “I am very pleased and hopeful we are coming together to choose to take an action and to be thoughtful about it, not just take any action, but find an action that’s right for Millbrae and maybe try a model that other cities haven’t tried yet.”

The motion was introduced by Councilmember Ann Schneider with a suggestion to use material from the Jewish Community Relations Council as well as statements from the cities Mountain View and San Jose — which called for peace in the region and mourned all loss of life— as a starting-off point for further conversation.

A conflict resolution-based approach to the issue of a cease-fire resolution was a viable solution to create positive discourse and togetherness, Fung maintained.

“The document is a process — the end result being a document, but the process is what’s required to bring this community together,” he said. “It’s the process that matters, not the paper that matters.”