Following a successful effort in Minneapolis, dozens of advocates calling for a ceasefire in Gaza filled St. Paul City Council chambers on Wednesday, holding up signs urging members to pass a resolution against Israeli military strikes that have killed upwards of 28,000 Palestinians.

With a light agenda, the St. Paul council meeting adjourned after 12 minutes, but individual council members stuck around to speak with advocates from Women Against Military Madness, American Muslims for Palestine, the Anti-War Committee, Jewish Voice for Peace and the Council on American Islamic Relations.

“We’re Palestinian, and I have cousins in Gaza,” explained Menal Aqqel, of Shoreview, who has lived in the Twin Cities for 20 years. “One died, some are injured. Others are displaced. No food — nothing.” Sitting next to her, sister-in-law Zahira Aqqel held up a sign she made of the Palestinian flag fashioned into a heart shape for Valentine’s Day.

Council President Mitra Jalali, who was interviewed Monday, days after a previous advocacy effort, said the council was not preparing a group resolution calling for a ceasefire, though she had used the occasion of the council’s swearing in ceremony in early January to make a personal appeal for a ceasefire at that time.

It did not appear that support for a resolution would be unanimous.

“At this time, council members are listening to their constituents,” said Jalali this week. “They’re trying to understand how this impacts their wards. … We want to be sure we aren’t silent. We want to amplify our constituents’ voices.”

“I’ve been actively talking about avenues for advocacy with my constituents, but a council resolution is not one of them,” she added.

Jalali opened Wednesday’s meeting by thanking the attendees for their presence and explaining that some council members and staff would be available to talk afterward.

“I’d like to make a personal appeal,” said Jalali, addressing the audience. “We are receiving a high volume (of email) from people who are not constituents. We appreciate that, but we are elected by the people of St. Paul. We can’t prioritize emails, meetings, requests, things like that from non-wards. I hope you’ll find that reasonable. I’m sure that the people that you voted for need to prioritize you.”

The Minneapolis City Council recently adopted a resolution calling for a ceasefire and then overturned Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey’s veto of the language, which Frey had called one-sided. The Hastings City Council unanimously approved a ceasefire resolution in January and the Columbia Heights City Council also is scheduled to take up the question.

Israel began military operaions in Gaza after the Oct. 7 attack by the militant Palestinian organization Hamas, which killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250 more.

The U.S. State Department has long defined Hamas as a terrorist organization, but the continued bombardment of Palestinian territory has taken a heavy toll on non-combatants in Gaza, inspiring a growing number of calls for ceasefire from advocacy groups, individual countries and the United Nations General Assembly.

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