Protesters Faiza Nguyen, a Muslim, and Corrie Rosen, who is Jewish, light a menorah while others build a shrine at Summerfield Estate’s guard house to honor the 18,000 Palestinians who have died in the conflict since Oct. 7. Credit: Michael Karlis

Editor’s note: This story was updated to add comments from the Party for Socialism and Liberation as well as the Jewish Federation of San Antonio.

After weeks of protests and tense public comment sessions, San Antonio City Council will hold a Jan. 11 special meeting to discuss whether to sign a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

District 5 Councilwoman Terri Castillo, who has expressed support on social media for a ceasefire proclamation, made the announcement Wednesday afternoon on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

“Today we filed a memo calling for a special meeting to discuss and take action on a resolution ‘calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire and return of all hostages immediately,'” Castillo wrote. “This discussion is long overdue as we have witnessed months of devastation in Israel and Palestine – especially Gaza.”

The memo was signed by Castillo and District 2’s Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, who’s also been a vocal supporter of a ceasefire resolution. District 8’s Manny Pelaez, a possible 2024 mayoral candidate, also signed on.

Pelaez’s support of the meeting surprised some on social media, considering just last month he published an Express-News op-ed arguing for the importance of San Antonio’s friendship city status with Tel Aviv, Israel — something pro-Palestinian protesters have been calling on the city to terminate.

“I am shocked Manny signed up. Wow. Ron Nirenberg looks even more like a clown,” X user @JenniferKFalcon commented on Castillo’s tweet.

If the resolution passes, San Antonio would join cities including Atlanta; Detroit; Akron, Ohio; Oakland, California; Providence, Rhode Island; and Wilmington, Delaware, in calling for a ceasefire.

“It’s shameful that the 7th largest city in the United States has not yet passed a resolution calling for a permanent ceasefire and end to Israel’s U.S-back genocide against Palestinians,” the San Antonio chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, a key organizer in local protests, said in an emailed statement. “Calling for a permanent ceasefire is the bare minimum, and not controversial.”

In an emailed statement, Jewish Federation of San Antonio CEO Nammie Ichilov said a council resolution on the matter is likely to worsen local tensions about the conflict.

“During these incredibly difficult and emotional times, the Jewish community feels the pain and anguish for the loss of all innocent lives,” Ichilov said. “Unfortunately, taking a local position on an ancient struggle on the other side of the world is more likely to fan the flames of local pain and suffering, and raise the associated dangers for acts of hate and prejudice. It is for these reasons that we encourage our council members to reconsider this vote and take a more active approach to promote peace, patience, and levelheadedness across our San Antonio community.”

Subscribe to SA Current newsletters.

Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter| Or sign up for our RSS Feed

Related Stories

This article appears in Dec 13-26, 2023.

Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...