TO: Mayor and City Council
THROUGH: Keith Stahley, City Manager
FROM: Scott Archer, Deputy City Manager
SUBJECT:
title
A City of Salem resolution related to the crisis in Gaza.
Ward(s): All Wards
Councilor(s): All Councilors
Neighborhood(s): All Neighborhoods
Result Area(s): Safe and Healthy Community; Welcoming and Livable Community.
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SUMMARY:
summary
The City of Salem considers joining more than one hundred cities across the country in calling for a ceasefire and expressing urgent concern for the humanitarian crisis arising from the conflicts in Gaza. The Mayor of Salem asked the Human Rights Commission (HRC) to offer advice on crafting language for a possible City of Salem statement.
In addition to the resolution drafted by the Human Rights Commission, the City Manager has prepared a resolution that blends the HRC's work and the work of other cities here in Oregon should City Council want to consider alternate language. The City Manager has also drafted a transmittal letter to cover whatever resolution City Council chooses to adopt.
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ISSUE:
Shall City Council consider recommended language from the Human Rights Commission?
RECOMMENDATION:
recommendation
City Council shall consider recommended language from the Human Rights Commission.
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FACTS AND FINDINGS:
Salem residents have approached Mayor and Council and called on their elected leaders to address a crisis that has continued to unfold on the world stage for more than half a year: the siege in the Gaza Strip. The City of Salem Human Rights Commission, at the request of the Mayor, met three times over three weeks and held some six hours of public discussion on the question. During the Commission’s public engagement, the Commission performed outreach to faith communities, received more than fifty pages of public input, 107 members of the public attended meetings, and forty-four provided spoken testimony. One commenter shared she had a petition signed by over 200 people in support of a resolution.
Salem residents provided diverse perspectives. Most community members, regardless of perspective, centered on a concern for decency. Some residents communicated that they lived in fear, and asked Salem not to move forward out of concern for what they perceived to be the safety of the Jewish community in Salem.
The Commission shared that a resolution process on issues of foreign affairs may, at first, appear extraordinary. However, Salem taxpayers collectively subsidize (to the tune of $2 million) the actions of a foreign government that in the judgment of the Human Rights Commission, the United Nations, and majority of the international community, is committing egregious violations to the rules of war, including genocide, against the Palestinian people.
Salem would be joining more than one hundred cities across the country, among them the City of Eugene, in calling for a ceasefire and expressing their urgent concern for the humanitarian crisis arising from the collective punishment and destruction that the Israeli government is visiting upon civilians in the Gaza Strip.
These issues profoundly and directly affect members of the Salem community. A necessary precondition to harmony, locally or otherwise, is the recognition of the situation's dire reality, and the centering of human life and dignity. The language presented for Council’s consideration represents a serious effort on the part of the Human Rights Commission to telegraph Salem’s core value of compassion: promoting peace, standing against bigotry, and celebrating cultural diversity.
Moving forward, and partly born out of this process, the Commission seeks to support a coalition of community partners and leverage existing City infrastructure that will continue to facilitate necessary and difficult conversations that mitigate social injury, promote harmonious relations, and stand for peace and justice for all our communities.
As City Manager, I heard the people who spoke about the issue so passionately at the May 7, 2024 city council meeting and understand that they want the City Council to adopt a ceasefire resolution. I think adding our voice to the chorus from across the country and around the world is the right thing to do. As City Manager, I respect, support and appreciate the work of the HRC on this issue and offer an alternative to provide council with a range of options. I believe that the attached documents do that and hopefully they do it in a way that City Council and the broader community can support.
BACKGROUND:
In early April, the Mayor requested advice from the Human Rights Commission on a possible statement. The Commission is a group of residents, empowered by mayoral appointment, that leverage their experience and expertise to advise Council on human rights issues and assist residents by “hearing and resolving discrimination complaints and promoting harmony.”
The Commission’s mandate is found in Chapter 8 of Salem Revised Code (SRC) and includes:
● Recommending to the Council, action, policies, and legislation to be considered by state and local governments;
● Promoting harmonious intergroup relations within the City;
● Examining sources of tension, practices of discrimination and acts of prejudice in the City
Keith Stahley
City Manager
Attachments:
1. HRC Gaza Resolution Proposal
2. City Manager’s Resolution
3. Transmittal Letter