Multiple Grass Valley residents urge council to place ceasefire and arms‑embargo resolution on agenda

A string of public‑comment speakers at the Grass Valley City Council meeting called on the council to formally place a ceasefire and weapons‑embargo resolution on a future agenda.

Resident Don Fraser urged the council to consider a complete arms embargo for the region. Susan Pelican, who identified a family history linked to persecution under the Nazis, also asked the council to “tell the federal government to stop supplying Israel with weapons,” citing recent events in the region.

Liz (last name not recorded) and other speakers from a local Coalition for Palestine sought a resolution calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire and for U.S. officials to end arms transfers. Jeffrey Gottesman of the Peace and Justice Center of Nevada County and Jewish Voice for Peace asked the council to take up a ceasefire and embargo resolution and invoked International Holocaust Remembrance Day as context for urging local action. Noga (last name not recorded) described herself as a Jewish Israeli American resident and urged both a ceasefire and an arms embargo, saying local pressure can influence national policy.

Tara Marino and other speakers repeated similar requests and framed the issue as both moral and fiscal: Marino cited federal grant freezes and argued local officials should call for an end to weapons transfers. Several speakers urged the council to explicitly condemn what they described as collective punishment of civilians and to call for compliance with international law; others underscored that opposing specific government actions is not antisemitic and said the resolution could condemn all forms of racism.

The council listened to public comment but did not add a ceasefire or arms‑embargo item to the night’s agenda. No formal motion or vote on a resolution occurred during the meeting.

Why it matters: Residents repeatedly requested the council use its platform to urge federal policy changes. Although city councils cannot directly change foreign policy, local resolutions are often used to signal community sentiment and to ask state or federal officials to act.

What’s next: Community members said they will continue to request the item and seek placement on a future agenda; the council did not set a date to consider a resolution during the meeting.