Sacramento’s reputation will be defined by how it handles ceasefire resolution Tuesday | Opinion

Sacramento is about to have a national moment: Mayor Darrell Steinberg, who is Jewish, is advancing a diplomatic approach contrary to that of the Israeli government, calling for an immediate and bilateral ceasefire in Gaza.

What’s unclear in the hours before the Sacramento City Council’s scheduled Tuesday vote on the Steinberg resolution is whether the city will send a constructive message about a historic international conflict, or one of worsening local civic incivility.

The killing of civilians in both Israel and Gaza during the past six months has created this moment. A thoughtful expression about constructive next steps in Israel from this diverse community by this council would be inherently meaningful. The subject is relevant in Sacramento because it is an issue that Sacramentans care about. All any community can do is to stand up for what it believes is right. That’s what this council should do by passing this resolution.

Opinion

To that end, Steinberg’s head and heart seem to be in the right place. A savvy and veteran leader, Steinberg would not place a ceasefire resolution on a council agenda if he didn’t think the proposal stood a chance of passage.

The mayor said he has been working for many weeks with local leaders of both faiths to find words both groups can agree upon to advocate for a mutual approach toward peace. This is squarely within the functions of the mayor’s job. This seemingly distant crisis — more than any in recent memory — has challenged interfaith approaches to local challenges of mutual concern.

It appears that the mayor has received a degree of support from local Muslim institutions such as the Sacramento Valley Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, as well as some notable Jewish citizens, according to a report by The Bee.

Steinberg struck a fair balance in a resolution that articulates the pain and the vulnerabilities of both sides’ positions, doing so with parallel language.

The resolution recognizes how “many in the Jewish community are experiencing the terrible rise in antisemitism” and how “the Muslim and Arab-American communities are experiencing the terrible rise in Islamophobia and anti-Arab rhetoric.”

It also recognizes the hurt that certain rhetoric has caused both parties: “Many in the Jewish community are rightfully offended by the spoken views of some…,” and “the implicit and sometimes explicit justification is wrong and stokes the community’s central fear that Palestinian lives are easily expendable.”

The resolution calls for “an immediate and permanent bilateral ceasefire to urgently end the current violence.” Hamas is called upon to immediately and unconditionally release all Israeli hostages, and Israel is called upon to immediately release all Palestinians held in prison without charge. There is also a demand for “new leadership on both sides.”

At best, the outside world will hear a few sound bites about what happens to this resolution Tuesday at City Hall. While the nuances of Steinberg’s resolution may be lost elsewhere, the words matter. A resolution that equally embraces the perspectives of both communities has important, durable value that will remain long after this council meeting is over, and it will help heal the broken bonds that have splintered us

Steinberg’s earnest intentions, however, come with considerable risk. Sacramento City Council meetings have abruptly ended or been suspended when audience members have yelled and screamed at elected officials. One council member, Caity Maple, recently said on social media that she fears for her own safety.

Another Jewish council member who has been an outspoken supporter of Israel on social media, Lisa Kaplan of Natomas, recently faced a late-night mini protest of sorts at her home. She worried about holding a council meeting with an actual resolution on the agenda.

“You put my life and my family’s life in danger,” she said at the time. And she sincerely meant it.

The stakes for the mayor and for Sacramento will be high Tuesday night. All that careful wordsmithing by the mayor could quickly get lost if he once again loses control of the meeting. Our uncivil war is what may get national attention. Sacramento’s interested public can share its heartfelt perspective Tuesday night without crossing that line into berating the council or interrupting its business.

If Steinberg’s effort challenges our interfaith community to work in fellowship and with mutual respect toward finding common ground, something good — at least on a local level — could come of this.

Externally, California’s capital city will add its voice to a growing chorus.