Statement by Supervisor Joel Engardio
UPDATE: January 10, 2024

Ceasefire Resolution Israel-Hamas War

I believe that a city council should focus on the local issues it has jurisdiction over and not spend time making statements about international matters it cannot control. Yet under current board rules, individual supervisors can introduce anything they want. When the resolution was put on the board agenda, we were required to contend with it.

I wrote a blog post on December 11 (below) explaining why the San Francisco Board of Supervisors ultimately had to pass a resolution about the Israel-Hamas war and its humanitarian crisis: the issue was inflaming residents and was not going away. Prolonging the process would only create more division and distract us from focusing on the city issues we were elected to fix.

The debate over the resolution was tearing our city apart. My heart broke when I heard from residents of my district mourning the loss of family and friends among the civilians killed in Gaza. And my stomach churned when I heard public commenters in the board chamber use the platform to deny the atrocities against women and children by Hamas terrorists on October 7 — the most brutal attack against Jewish people since World War II and the Holocaust. I never imagined that in 2024 I would hear Jewish residents describe the antisemitism they see every day in San Francisco and tell me they don’t feel safe coming to City Hall to participate in public comment.

The longer this resolution was on the agenda and debated at City Hall, the more it was going to traumatize people. Every meeting requires a public comment session and they were devolving into sessions of vitriol, divisiveness, and hatred. It had to stop. There was not a board majority to vote the resolution down in its entirety. It was imperative to craft amendments that a majority would agree on so it would be off our agenda and we could get back to working on issues we have control over.

The resolution I voted for on January 9 was a compromise version that included key points not mentioned in the original draft. The new version condemned Hamas’s attack on October 7 and called for new leadership that is willing and committed to negotiating for peace in good faith. It also included a reference to the violence against women. Read the compromise resolution here.

After the vote, the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Bay Area issued a statement saying the compromise resolution addressed “core concerns,” but the “changes do not take away from the pain this process has spawned for the Jewish community and others who have been traumatized by the Israel-Hamas War.” Read the full JCRC statement here. The aggression, disdain, and denialism of numerous demonstrators were inexcusable. I do not condone this and my vote does not reflect support for these extreme behaviors and views. I am deeply sorry for the pain inflicted upon members of the community throughout this process, including my colleagues on the board and staff members.

Original Statement
December 11, 2023

Many residents have asked the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to pass a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. As city supervisors, our primary job is to focus on city issues like street cleaning, public safety, and housing. We can pass resolutions on issues beyond our jurisdiction, but they are non-binding.

To have an influence on U.S. policy in the Israel-Hamas war, I believe it is more effective for residents to petition their congressional representatives and the president who have control over our nation's spending and diplomacy.

I also realize that city supervisors are much more accessible to people than a state or federal office. This matters when people are in distress and need to be heard. While city supervisors can only act on local issues, residents may want us to represent their views to higher levels of government.

That’s why the Board of Supervisors spent eight hours on December 5 listening to hundreds of people give impassioned public comments about the plight of Palestinians being killed in Gaza. Before the same meeting, a crowd held a vigil outside City Hall for Israeli hostages and spoke out against a rise in antisemitism. Thousands of people sent emails.

Here is a sample of the messages I received:

• "The San Francisco Board of Supervisors must call for an immediate ceasefire to stop the mounting death toll. This will also allow life-saving aid, fuel, hospital equipment, medical supplies, and water into Gaza to address the tremendous amount of human suffering brought on by Israel’s relentless attacks on the Palestinian people."

• "If the Board of Supervisors truly wants to support peace between Israelis and Palestinians, it must condemn the October 7 massacre, call for the immediate release of all hostages in Gaza, acknowledge that Hamas is an impediment to any sustained ceasefire, and support on-the-ground efforts that bring Israelis and Palestinians closer to a shared future of coexistence and prosperity."

• "San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors has important local issues to deal with, but if it chooses to inject itself into international affairs, it should strive to be balanced and factual."

It has become apparent to me that the Board of Supervisors cannot avoid commenting on this international conflict. The issue has inflamed residents and isn’t going away. We can’t let a prolonged debate distract us from addressing our local problems.

Solutions for public safety, housing, transportation, and our local economy require building consensus among neighbors. We can’t let debate over a resolution on an international matter polarize residents who need to work together to create our best San Francisco.

I’ve received several thousand emails on the issue and I believe our resolution must follow the advice of the following message:

"San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors has important local issues to deal with, but if it chooses to inject itself into international affairs, it should strive to be balanced and factual."

I believe most people can agree on the following:

Human life is precious, war and killing is abhorrent, antisemitism and islamophobia must never be tolerated, the brutal attacks committed by Hamas must be condemned, Hamas cannot remain in control of Gaza, all hostages must be released, innocent Palestinian civilians should not be victims, there is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and a ceasefire and peace between two states is what Israelis and Palestinians must work toward.

I will support a ceasefire resolution that makes these points because the humanitarian crisis of this war is too painful to ignore.