Multiple speakers urge Raleigh council to pass ceasefire resolution on Gaza

Multiple speakers at the public-comment period urged the Raleigh City Council to adopt a ceasefire resolution related to the Israel-Gaza conflict, describing what they said were widespread humanitarian harms and calling for the city to publicly condemn the violence.

Hanadia Ali told the council she believes a ceasefire resolution is important at the local level and cited international reporting and displacement figures. "UN humanitarian rights chief says more than 42,000 Palestinians displaced..." she said, adding that she sees a local responsibility to act.

Asma Abu Dahab, a licensed clinical social worker, framed silence as complicity and cited cities including Durham and Carrboro that have passed similar resolutions. "Silence is not neutral. Silence is complicity," she said, urging the council to "choose courage over silence."

Maisa Sautari, who identified family origins in Nazareth and Gaza, described personal and familial displacement dating to 1948 and called the council to feel the urgency of the moment and "pass a resolution for an immediate ceasefire."

Alexis Kennedy and Joshua Bridal also urged council action; Bridal referenced a Democratic Party resolution and urged the council to place the item back on the agenda. One speaker cited a joint declaration of international courts and a statement from the International Association of Genocide Scholars that was provided to the council.

Speakers framed the request as a moral and humanitarian appeal and said municipal resolutions matter symbolically. No council vote or formal placement of a ceasefire resolution was recorded in the public-comment portion of the meeting transcript.