Led by former mayoral candidate Kate West, a motivated group of activists attended the Concord City Council meeting Monday night seeking a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Middle East. 

Since this issue wasn’t scheduled for discussion – a decision made by Mayor Byron Champlin – members of the group weren’t allowed to address the council on the topic directly. 

They got around this parliamentary maneuver by speaking at each of the public hearings for other city business and then turning their comments back to the war between Israel and Palestine. The activists held signs behind those giving testimony that called for a “ceasefire now” and asserted that “human rights = municipal issue,” filling the backdrop of the meeting’s live stream. 

“I live in a city that talks about diversity equity and inclusion,” resident Donelle Thomas said outside the meeting. “I’m here to make sure they follow through.”

For the last several weeks, the group has tried to persuade city councilors to take a stand on a ceasefire in Gaza. Champlin, as the head of the body and responsible for setting its agenda, has declined to bring their request before the council. About 15 people, many of whom wore keffiyehs — scarves that have become a Palestinian national symbol — and shirts calling for a ceasefire, attended the meeting to continue their push. While the council did not take up their request, two of its newest members, one Jewish and one Muslim, shared a joint statement at the meeting’s conclusion “to stand for long-lasting peace for Palestinians and Israelis.”

Similar pushes statewide for local leaders to pass ceasefire resolutions have had mixed results, with passage in Lebanon and Durham and rejection in Portsmouth and Manchester. Those who have endorsed the declarations have cited a responsibility to amplify the voices of their residents, while opponents like Champlin have questioned whether it is appropriate for local bodies to make statements on foreign affairs. 

“I very much respect their concern and their passion about the humanitarian crisis and the conflict in the Middle East. But a foreign policy issue, which is what this is, does not really fall under the purview of a municipal City Council,” Champlin said in an interview. “I think that to take up these types of international issues as they arise would really sap the energy of volunteer legislative body.”

Passing a resolution on behalf of constituents means opening a citywide dialogue to gauge where the entire community stands, Champlin said. That would mean time and energy away from the group’s primary purpose, “to make sure that our government is running efficiently and effectively and to ensure certain fundamental services,” Champlin said.

West disagreed. 

“The concerns of his constituents are a municipal issue,” the former Concord School Board member and mayoral candidate asserted. West first reached out to the council about a resolution several weeks ago. While individuals can reach out to state and federal leaders on their own, she continued, a collective stand by the council would have more sway.

West also felt that the council and mayor had placed unnecessary barriers before residents wishing to share their concerns. 

Concord does not typically allow time for the public to comment outside of public hearings on council proposals. But that time can be added, and, given that councilors knew a group of people would be attending to speak about the requested resolution, it should’ve been, West said. 

“Even if city council does not want to address the issue directly themselves, it is still responsible governance and responsible as representatives to allow their constituents to bring issues that are important to them to the meetings,” they said. 

In almost every public hearing of the evening, a pro-ceasefire attendee rose to testify and, bound by council rules that testimony be related to the issue under consideration, attempted to relate those subjects to the war in Gaza. 

“I'm pleased to see that the City of Concord champions resources for childcare, escaping violence, ending homelessness and providing access to educational materials,” said Caroline Schiavoni, a Maine resident and former New Hampshire educator, speaking during the hearing about pandemic relief funds sent to local organizations. “But I would like to bring to your attention the fact that, while our community's children access care through the Penacook Boys and Girls Club, according to a BBC News report, Palestinians have had to create a new acronym to describe hundreds of children in their community, which is WCNSF or ‘wounded child, no surviving family.’”

After requests from Champlin that they confine remarks to the specific agenda item, each speaker was eventually gaveled out of order. As the council took up funding for the new airport terminal, joining the Community Power Coalition and the establishment of an economic development advisory committee, it was a cycle that continued throughout the evening.

“I appreciate the city's willingness to take immediate action when faced with an emergency. While faulty traffic signals are dangerous and could result in death, the bombardment of Gaza has killed more than 29,000 Palestinians since October 7,” Thomas said in testimony about a city project to replace traffic light infrastructure downtown.

“That was very clever of them,” Champlin said of the effort to weave resolution arguments into public hearings. “I don’t know how productive it was for them.”

Champlin decided against adding time on the agenda for public comment to the meeting, he said, because it would be redundant to a dialogue those wanting a resolution had already had with city councilors in writing. 

“If it wasn't germane to a piece of business that was on our agenda, all that does is give them time on ConcordTV to advocate their position — and there are many, many vehicles for doing that,” Champlin said.

While the council did not address the request to make a formal resolution for ceasefire at the meeting, at-large Councilor Judith Kurtz, who is Jewish, and Ward 8 Councilor Ali Sekou, who is Muslim used their time for councilor comments to share a related statement. 

“We are writing this to join millions of people around the United States and the world to stand for long-lasting peace for Palestinians and Israelis,” Kurtz read from a joint statement with Sekou. “In the face of great tragedies internationally, we hold firm to our desire to foster relationships and conversations within Concord that help all residents thrive with a sense of safety and belonging.” 

Editor’s note: this story has been changed to reflect the correct spelling of Donelle Thomas’ s name.