OPINION: Why the Pullman City Council couldn’t vote at meeting for peace

Late into the evening on Dec. 17 at Pullman’s city council meeting, council member Eric Fejeran began discussion to advance a contentious resolution. It was a ceasefire resolution for the war in Gaza. As each council member spoke; however, it soon became clear that the entire council, excluding the two who brought the resolution, was wholly against it.

The first council member in opposition argued that the resolution lay outside the city government’s purview — a position which others reiterated throughout the proceeding. He listed the government entities responsible for foreign policy — the White House, State Department and so on. This has the same energy as the famous rebuke of LeBron James by Fox News host Laura Ingram: “Shut up and dribble.” The intended effect is to keep folks in their lane and not to rock the boat. Consider this reasoning in light of the American Revolution: Would this council have allowed King George to intimidate them and pipe down, or would they have stood up for their beliefs and rights, regardless of their station?

The contention that was probably shared most between the council members was the argument that issuing a ceasefire resolution would set a bad precedent. They hammered on this point incessantly, with one member even declaring that if they supported a ceasefire, then they’d have to do the same for crises like the Ukraine War, the fires in Hawaii and the murder of George Floyd.

These issues are tragedies worthy of our attention, but they are different to Gaza. The Ukraine War isn’t comparable to the dynamics and situation in Gaza, where one side controls the other’s every basic need: power, water, food, etc. Palestinians also have nowhere to flee. At the outset of the Ukraine War, there was an outpouring of support for Ukrainian refugees. In contrast, the refugees in Gaza are stuck, forced to move only between “safe zones,” which are constantly bombed despite their names. The demographics are also startlingly different in Gaza; nearly half of the 2 million residents are children. When the council asked themselves, “Where would we draw the line?”, I had to restrain myself from screaming out, “Maybe at a million starving and dying children?!”

Unlike the fires in Hawaii, Gaza is not a natural disaster. It’s a human creation, considerably exacerbated by the United States and its military aid. Israel is only able to continue killing because of our nation’s tax-funded support. Since this is a man-made disaster, only humans can fix it. That’s a massive reason why as many organizations as possible need to support a ceasefire and pressure those in control to stop fanning the flames.

As for Black Lives Matter, Black young men are 21 times more likely to be killed by police than their white counterparts, and this has resulted in the highest rate of police killings of any developed country in the world (around 1,000 people killed each year). This epidemic of police violence is abhorrent and deserves attention and a solution. I would like to see our city council also issue a resolution against police violence because they manage the budget of the Pullman police force. Additionally, a critical piece of the puzzle is that thousands of law enforcement personnel around the U.S. go to Israel for training and use the same repressive methods used against Palestinians under occupation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem on U.S. citizens. Thus, promoting peace and human rights in Gaza would indirectly suppress the culture of violence that is shipped back to our country in the form of these militarized police.

Impartiality was another concern that the council members cited in their objections to the resolution. They mentioned that their oath of office included a nonpartisan clause. For the record, both major political parties in this country have signaled an unwillingness to take effective measures to curb the bloodshed. It is anything but a partisan issue. What’s more, simply desiring peace shouldn’t be an impartial stance, but if it is, then remaining indifferent is equally damning. The truth is that once your fellow council members and constituents bring a resolution like this, it’s impossible to remain impartial. You either support it, or you bury it because you’re against it.

Lastly, the hypocrisy of the resolution’s indictments should also be noted. In their statements, most of the opposing council members declared that they weren’t personally against the resolution; they just couldn’t vote for it because of the aforementioned logically unsound, ancillary reasons. “Our hearts bleed,” they said. Yet, when faced with a vote to condemn actual children’s bleeding hearts, they hemmed and hawed, and ultimately decided that it was inappropriate to vote their conscience.

As I said, it’s only us — American citizens and our government — that can change the course of this ongoing travesty. Every organization, every person, every city council needs to make their voices heard to demand that this bloodshed end. It’s our right and responsibility to loudly voice our desire for peace. Our city could join the 100-plus other cities across the country that have passed ceasefire resolutions, adding our voices to this desperate and urgent movement. Until such a resolution is up for discussion again, we have to find some way to reconcile ourselves to the ugly truth that our Pullman City Council voted against peace that Tuesday night.

Kelson is an alumnus from the University of Idaho. He lives in Pullman, but has traveled extensively. You might see him hiking on Moscow Mountain, supporting the Vandals or perusing the farmers' markets.