Mayor, others walk out of San Antonio council meeting on Middle East conflict

Editor's note: This story was corrected to reflect that Councilwoman Marina Alderete Gavito attended the meeting but left toward the end of the public comment session. It also corrects the spelling of speaker Nadia Mavrakis' name.

Tensions over the escalating Middle East conflict appear to be spilling over onto San Antonio City Council. More than half of its members either left during — or didn't show up for — an uneasy public comment session Wednesday on violence in the region.

At least 30 people signed up to speak at the session — all decrying Israel's reprisal in Gaza over terrorist group Hamas' brutal Oct. 7 attack on Israeli civilians.

Many demanded that San Antonio end its friendship-city status with Tel Aviv, Israel, arguing that the relationship equates to supporting "genocide" of Palestinian people as the Israeli military appears poised to launch a punishing ground war in Gaza. Some of those offering comments directly targeted Mayor Ron Nirenberg.

Rage among the speakers grew after Nirenberg left the dais without explanation and never returned.

"Mayor Ron is a coward," Palestinian-rights activist Maureen Kaki told the Current following the public comment session. "For a man who touts to be the mayor of a compassionate city and a city of immigrants and a minority-majority city, he's letting fear make his political decisions for him."

Nirenberg's sudden departure came roughly 20 minutes into the hour-and-a-half-long session. District 10's Marc Whyte, council's most conservative member, followed soon after. District 9's John Courage stepped out toward the end of the session, as did District 7's Marina Alderete Gavito.

Their exits didn't go unnoticed by one of council's most progressive members.

Later that night, District 5's Jalen McKee-Rodriguez aired his frustration with the walkouts on X, the online platform formerly known as Twitter. He also took aim at the members who didn't show up.

"We had more people there this evening than we have during many of our regular sessions," McKee-Rodriguez tweeted. "By the end of the public comment, there were four members of our council left to listen."

We had more people there this evening than we have during many of our regular sessions. By the end of public comment, there were four members of our Council left to listen. https://t.co/HckrrLGJAI pic.twitter.com/jQ6FUd2pHQ

— Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez (@theloserteacher) October 19, 2023

Indeed, only Mckee-Rodriguez, District 1's Sukh Kaur, District 4's Adriana Rocha Garcia and District 5's Teri Castillo remained to hear all of the constituents' comments.


Nirenberg's communication director, Bruce Davidson, didn't respond to the Current's request for comment about the mayor's departure.

Tel Aviv

During the meeting, Judith Norman — a member of San Antonio's Jewish community and a philosophy professor at Trinity University — urged council to end the city's friendship status with Tel Aviv and denounce the Israeli government for what she said were war crimes. Others echoed the sentiment.

A friendship city is a stepping stone to a full-fledged sister city relationship, and it allows municipalities to explore partnerships with entities in foreign countries. Other than Tel Aviv, San Antonio has friendship status with Mexico City; Suzhou, China; and Baguio, Philippines, according to the city's website.

"As a Jew, I'm deeply ashamed of the inaction that the City Council has taken," Norman said. "I'm deeply grateful to the two City Council representatives who have spoken out against this. As a citizen of the United States, I'm deeply appalled by the fact that my tax money is being spent to conduct this genocide. As a San Antonio resident, I ask that you call for an end of San Antonio's friendship status with Tel Aviv."

The two members to whom Norman referred are McKee-Rodriguez and Castillo. Both issued pro-Palestinian statements on X after Israel began bombarding Gaza following Hamas' Oct. 7 attack.

Indeed, at least half of those who spoke during the session thanked McKee-Rodriguez and Castillo for their statements calling for a ceasefire. During the time that Nirenberg was on the dias, he shot glares at McKee-Rodriguez and Castillo, who largely kept their heads down while speakers criticized the mayor.

"We can simultaneously recognize Hamas as an unaccountable group in the broad political spectrum of Palestinian politics, separate from Palestinians at large," McKee-Rodriguez said in a video shared Oct.14. "We can recognize the current pain and suffering of the Jewish community. And we can also acknowledge the trauma that has been inflicted on Palestinians for decades and their right to sovereignty and the right to protest nonviolently without being criminalized. And that should not mean pain for anyone, Jewish or Palestinian."

My heart is with all experiencing pain. I join the collective call for an immediate ceasefire and an end to the occupation of Palestine. pic.twitter.com/BCBX2FgOQu

— Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez (@theloserteacher) October 14, 2023

In a statement posted Oct. 12 on X, Castillo said she mourned for the Israeli civilians killed in the terror attack. At the same time, she called for a ceasefire and an end to what she called Israel's "apartheid governance."

I mourn for the Palestinian and Israeli civilian lives that were cut short by the violence that occurred around and within Israel and Gaza this past weekend. As events escalate and continue, my thoughts are with everyone who has family members in harm's way pic.twitter.com/mpTnuEt9it

— Councilwoman Teri Castillo (@TeriCastilloD5) October 12, 2023

Opposing views

The online statements made by council's progressive wing appear to be at odds with recent tweets by Nirenberg and conservative Whyte.

"As the world condemns the monstrous, coordinated assaults against civilians by Hamas terrorists in Israel, we pray for those who are lost, missing, or killed while we support American and international efforts to bring the full weight of justice down on those responsible," Nirenberg said Oct. 8 on X.

On Oct. 12, Whyte used the online platform to share video of comments he made during a session that day defending Israel's use of force.

"We want to state that we stand side by side with our ally Israel," Whyte said in the video. "And let it be known and very, very clear that we should reaffirm our belief that Israel has the absolute right to defend itself moving forward."

My heart goes out to our Israeli brothers and sisters.
We stand in solidarity.

Below are my comments from today's A-session: pic.twitter.com/gahrSmOdQX

— Councilman Marc Whyte (@cosa_cd10) October 13, 2023

During that same meeting, District 9 Councilman John Courage proposed hanging a banner outside City Hall supporting Israel — an idea Nirenberg said he would discuss with Courage at a later time.

At Wednesday's comment session, speaker Nadia Mavrakis warned that warlike rhetoric could incite violence against people who look like her.

Maurakis compared current attitudes towards Arab Americans to those in post-9/11 America. She recalled an incident from that era when a man flipped her off at a gas station — a gesture she thought was directed at her for no other reason than the headscarf she wore.

"Arab and other [Middle Eastern, North African and South Asian] Americans are again increasingly becoming the subject of hateful dehumanizing rhetoric, or the victims of targeted violence, hate crimes or discrimination," she told the council members still in attendance. "Our community is mourning and suffering from the twisted narrative spreading in the media that has dehumanized and even demonized Palestinians and other Minahasan individuals."

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