The St. Louis Board of Aldermen has gone on record in support of a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war.
Aldermen approved the resolution on Friday with a unanimous vote. It calls on the federal government to demand an immediate bilateral cease-fire, saying such a negotiated pause in the violence is “the only way to release all the hostages, deliver aid, stop bombing and save lives.”
Alderman Rasheen Aldridge of the 14th Ward introduced the resolution on Oct. 20, less than two weeks after Hamas killed 1,200 people and kidnapped 240 more in a surprise attack on Israel. In response, Israel launched a military campaign in the Gaza Strip that's killed nearly 24,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
The original text included no condemnation of the Hamas attack, nor any reference to the rise in antisemitic and anti-Islamic rhetoric that followed.
“I will be the first to say the first resolution was a little ignorant,” Aldridge said. “I think this new board is very clear that we will stand up for life, we will stand up for what's right. And sometimes we move too quick.”
Aldridge spent the board’s winter break talking to the city’s Jewish and Palestinian communities. He said the experience taught him that the choice of words matter, especially in connection with an issue as complicated as this conflict.
“Even by just saying bilateral cease-fire, to be very clear that we're not just saying cease-fire on one side, we're asking for a cease-fire on both sides,” he said.
A group of about 100 protesters supporting the cease-fire briefly interrupted the meeting with applause and chants after the resolution passed. About 30 people went to the St. Louis County Council's meeting on Tuesday to demand it take a similar step.
Another resolution expressing solidarity with Israel, introduced by 2nd Ward Alderman Tom Oldenburg at the same time as Aldridge’s call for a cease-fire, will likely not make it out of committee. Oldenburg on Friday voted for the cease-fire resolution.
