Cease fire resolution pulled from Sebastopol council agenda amid fears discussion could grow out of hand

Sebastopol officials pulled a resolution calling for a cease fire in the Israel-Hamas war from the City Council’s Tuesday meeting agenda, worrying that passions it had inflamed could get out of control.

The resolution put forward by Vice Mayor Stephen Zollman and Mayor Diana Rich was tabled due to safety concerns, Zollman said Tuesday. There was also a worry that a crush of people wanting to speak would overwhelm the council’s meeting hall.

A public announcement the city issued Monday afternoon, said: “In other jurisdictions where this topic has been discussed recently, it has attracted large numbers of people and, due to the emotionally charged nature of the subject, has led in some instances to disruption and even violence.“

“We definitely were not anticipating physical violence. What my concern was, shared by others, is that mental health is just as important as physical health and safety,” Zollmann said. “We did not want to subject people from either side to having to endure language, emotional distress, retraumatization, none of that. It was a combination of those concerns and also the size of the venue, that we decided to at least pause this.”

Zollman said that of the roughly 70 emails, plus some voice mails, that the city received in relation to the proposed resolution, “a fair amount were from out of town.” He said he expects the public discussion over a Sebastopol cease fire resolution will continue, and that he looks forward to it — with local residents.

“I’ll be working with anyone from our local community — and let me be clear on that, from our local community and our local businesses — to reach out to me about their willingness to respectfully and peacefully have a discussion about whether we could use Cotati’s resolution as a jumping off point,” Zollman said.

The decision came as the United States on Tuesday vetoed for a third time a United Nations resolution calling for an immediate cease fire in Gaza. American representatives said that resolution risked disrupting negotiations to free hostages and secure a temporary cease fire, a stance condemned by aid agencies and nations supporting a formal U.N. demand for a halt in hostilities.

Cotati in January became the first and so far only local jurisdiction to officially call for a cease fire in the war. That action came amid a growing chorus of voices condemning as disproportionate the Israeli response to the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas in which around 1,200 Israelis were killed and 250 taken hostage.

As of Monday, more than 29,000 Palestinians have died in the subsequent Israeli attacks on Gaza, according to the Palestinian territory’s health ministry.

Cotati’s resolution demanded that governing bodies use their position and influence in calling for an immediate and permanent cease fire; the release of all hostages; the unrestricted entry of humanitarian assistance into Gaza; the restoration of food, water, electricity and medical supplies to Gaza; and respect for international law.

The proposed Sebastopol resolution said, “Sebastopol is known as a small city that often weighs in on conflicts that have the attention of the world” and highlighted the toll Israel’s war in Gaza has taken on Palestinians.

It continued: “Sebastopol has a moral obligation to condemn these types of acts. Sebastopol is known as Peace Town and as such we should be a community of peace for everyone, not just our small community but for the communities of this world.”

It called on the federal government to demand:

• “An immediate cease-fire by all parties involved, including an immediate cessation of all attacks on civilian targets; and,
• The return of all hostages to their homes; and,
• Ongoing negotiations to cultivate lasting peace and create a system that represents the human rights of all people in the region.“

“The bottom line for me is in the fact that regardless of where you fall on either side, we need to do what we can to protect the innocent people, the women and children,” Zollman said. “It is strongly about the innocent victims on both sides.”

You can reach Staff Writer Jeremy Hay at 707-387-2960 or jeremy.hay@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @jeremyhay