Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has officially joined the call for a cease-fire in Gaza.
“I condemn the actions of Hamas, but at this point now I believe we’re looking at 25,000 Palestinians that have been killed during this war and the killing has to stop. So yes, we need a cease-fire,” Johnson said at a news conference.
The Oct. 7 Hamas attack from Gaza into southern Israel killed 1,200 people. In Gaza, more than 20 times that amount — or 25,000 people, mostly women and children — have been killed since, according to Palestinian authorities. Nearly 2 million people have been displaced.
Johnson appears to be the biggest city mayor now calling for a cease-fire. He does so as Chicago prepares to host the Democratic National Convention, and as many party leaders, including President Joe Biden, have withstood increasing public pressure to support a cease-fire.
Johnson did not say Wednesday what effect he hopes his call has on the DNC or Democratic leaders at the federal level who could have a far greater impact on forcing a cease-fire.
“I wish I could give you maybe an answer to what impact it will have on other people who make decisions, but I can say from a very personal note: I know that for Black liberation we had to make statements that maybe not in the immediate it had an impact,” Johnson said.
“But I’m not mayor of the city of Chicago if people weren’t pushing the government to recognize people’s humanity and understand the value of what liberation — what it means for people, groups and nations. And in this instance, people should be liberated.”
Johnson made the call as the Chicago City Council is set to consider a controversial resolution also calling for a cease-fire, from Alds. Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez, 33rd Ward, and Daniel LaSpata, 1st Ward. It calls, too, for humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza and the unconditional release of all hostages.
The resolution would be sent to Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Illinois’ congressional delegation.
The resolution faces opposition from the council’s only Jewish member, Ald. Debra Silverstein, 50th Ward, who garnered the support of 27 other aldermen in requesting a vote on the resolution be delayed. It was set to come up for a vote on Wednesday, but is now expected to be heard next week.
Silverstein said she believes the current resolution is “one-sided” and should include more details of the “atrocities” of the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. The attack killed 1,200 people and saw roughly 250 people taken hostage, which the cease-fire resolution notes. But an original version of the resolution did not call for the unconditional release of all hostages. An updated version obtained by WBEZ, but not yet posted publicly, does.
Israel’s war on Gaza has become a recurring topic for Chicago City Council. Cook County, which includes Chicago, has the most Palestinians of any other county in the U.S.
On Wednesday, pro-Palestinian organizers filled the council chambers to speak in support of the cease-fire resolution, despite the fact that it would be postponed by a week.
Groups who oppose the cease-fire resolution, including the Anti-Defamation League and the Jewish United Fund, spoke out against it virtually.
At a heated City Council meeting in October, alderpersons passed a resolution, nearly unanimously, condemning the Hamas attack.
Rodriguez Sanchez voted against it because it did not include “the history of oppression, occupation and violence that Palestinians have endured.”
The meeting became so chaotic with impassioned protesters that Johnson had to clear members of the public from council chambers.
Mariah Woelfel covers Chicago government and politics for WBEZ.
