GUEST OPINION
Crowd spilling onto the sidewalk and the courtyard of South Pasadena City Hall (Photos – Staff)
Ceasefire Resolutions are being passed by cities throughout the SGV and neighboring areas, including Pasadena, Alhambra, Pomona, Montebello, La Puente, Cudahy, Bell Gardens, Maywood and Santa Monica.
By Dana Barbera
This reflects an awareness of the United States government’s responsibility for perpetuating the historic number of civilian deaths in Gaza following the horrific attack on October 7, and a growing awareness that something can be done about it locally.
After learning that the Pasadena City Council Ceasefire Resolution meeting was so large that it had to be held at the Convention Center, I decided to attend a city council meeting in Alhambra. There, I watched citizens share their views, some bared their personal grief, having lost over 100 family members to bombings in Gaza. Over 80 people including members of Jewish Voice for Peace, spoke with passion and empathy for people far away they had never met. The council focused on crafting the language to meet the concerns of the citizens participating, taking care to balance the loss of Israeli lives and Palestinian lives as being equally important, and emphasizing the need that it be termed a “Permanent Immediate Ceasefire.”
This is our democracy at work. It’s beautiful but not perfect. In my own city of South Pasadena, at the June 5th city council meeting, residents stayed late to speak during public comment and to hear the council debate the merits of three alternate Ceasefire resolutions. Residents spoke passionately. Like Alhambra, many had family members killed in Gaza or Israel.
Sadly, except for one enlightened council member, South Pasadena said in essence, “it’s not our concern.”
Over 100 municipalities across the US have passed ceasefire resolutions, joining courageous labor unions, churches, and humanitarian organizations calling for hope and peace in numbers too large to ignore.
I am ashamed to say my city will not be among them.
Dana Barbera is a South Pasadena resident.
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