Santa Fe City Council calls for Israel-Hamas War cease-fire, return of hostages

May 8—The City Council has voted unanimously to throw its support behind calls for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas War.

"Let's go forward from this vote and this decision committed to peace around the world but first peace in Santa Fe," Mayor Alan Webber said at Wednesday's meeting.

The council rejected an amendment to the resolution, proposed by Councilor Michael Garcia, that would have called on Congress to reinstate funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. Only Garcia and Councilor Alma Castro voted in favor of the addition.

More than 100 people came to City Council chambers for the vote, leading to the rare situation of the room being standing-room-only for the first hour of the meeting. The overwhelming majority of them appeared to be in support of the resolution, with many holding Palestinian flags and posters calling for the end of U.S. aid to Israel or accusing Israel of genocide. A small group also came to show support for Israel, some holding small Israeli flags or posters of victims who were kidnapped during Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

Several councilors said they were happy to see so many people at a council meeting and urged them to continue to stay engaged.

"This is your government, so please continue to participate," Garcia said.

At the request of Webber, who asked for civility, the chamber was nearly silent during discussion but erupted into cheers following the vote.

With the resolution, the city joined more than 100 other municipalities across the nation that have passed a cease-fire resolution, including the Santa Fe Board of County Commissioners last week.

The city's resolution was sponsored by Webber and Councilors Castro, Pilar Faulkner and Jamie Cassutt. Councilor Carol Romero-Wirth joined on as a fifth sponsor by amendment.

The sponsors said they had carefully considered the language of the resolution and worked together to create a resolution they believed would be broadly representative of community feelings.

"You elected us to represent all of you and I hope you understand we did our level best to do that," said Faulkner.

Faulkner and Castro were the two initial sponsors of a cease-fire resolution submitted to the city in February. Both said Wednesday they were grateful for the partnership of the other councilors on the resolution which passed.

"I think we are a stronger and better council because of this resolution," Castro said.

Webber said some constituents had reached out to say the council is not qualified to vote on complicated matters of foreign policy. While he agrees with that, "this is about humanity," Webber said.

Cassutt voiced similar sentiments, saying that while "the actual decision is way above our pay grade," it was important for the council to respond to the many people in the community who have been calling on them to take a stand.

"Everybody [on the council] agrees that what is happening right now is a travesty," she said.

The resolution calls on New Mexico's congressional delegation to advocate for an "immediate cease-fire and an end to violence in Gaza and Israel" and for the "immediate return of all innocent hostages and unjustly held prisoners."

It also calls for an increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza; decries Islamophobic, antisemitic, anti-Palestinian and anti-Israeli bigotry; expresses sorrow over the loss of lives and suffering endured by civilians in Gaza and Israel; extends sympathy to Santa Feans who have been directly impacted by the conflict and encourages residents to "seek, invite, and practice civil discourse."

Garcia's amendment would have added language calling for the U.S. to immediately resume funding for the UNWRA, the U.N.'s main aid agency in Gaza. Funding to the agency was cut by Congress until March 2025 following an Israeli report stating some employees of the agency participated in the Oct. 7 attacks.

A number of countries subsequently pulled their funding to UNWRA but some have since reinstated it following an independent review commissioned by the U.N., which was released last month. The review did not address the allegations but said Israel had provided no evidence for its claims.

Some of the resolution's sponsors said they had carefully considered the language of the resolution and were not comfortable with adding additional components.

Faulkner said she was concerned entertaining amendments would put the council back at square one because there are so many other things that could be said about the conflict. While she said she saw the value in the amendment, she said she had made a commitment to not support any amendments and could not go back on her word.

"We cannot negotiate in bad faith with one another," she said.

Cassutt voiced similar concerns, and said even without the amendment, the original resolution still has "a very strong call" for humanitarian aid, whether than comes from UNWRA or somewhere else. A number of people in the audience made the thumbs-down sign while she spoke.

"I see you all putting your thumbs down at me and that's fine, I'm used to worse," she said.