SAN ANTONIO — A group of protesters expressing support for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestine prompted a recess of Thursday's San Antonio City Council meeting.
The protesters can be heard in a livestream of the meeting chanting "cease fire now" right after the city council members and meeting attendees recited the pledge of allegiance.
In the video, Mayor Ron Nirenberg starts to speak after the pledge, but is quickly drowned out by the protesters.
"Alright folks, at 9:19 a.m., I am recessing the meeting," Nirenberg said.
Last month, District 5 City Councilwoman Teri Castillo said the protesters have been coming to council meetings for months to call for the City of San Antonio to issue a proclamation in support of a ceasefire.
"We filed a memo calling for a special meeting to discuss and take action on a resolution 'calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire and return of all hostages immediately.'" Castillo said in a Dec. 20 Facebook post. In the post, she thanked fellow council members Jalen McKee-Rodriguez of District 2 and Manny Pelaez of District 8 for their support. Tuesday, Pelaez announced he was removing his signature from the memo after he said he spoke with residents and stakeholders in his district.
See the video of Mayor Nirenberg recessing the meeting below:
It is unclear if the protesters were representing any particular organization.
Earlier in the meeting, District 1 City Councilwoman Dr. Sukh Kaur introduced two guests to give the invocation. One of them was Rabbi Mara Nathan of Temple Beth-el. In her remarks, Rabbi Nathan called on the council members to listen to all perspectives with sensitivity and compassion.
“As you begin your session this morning, I offer a prayer of hope, of compassion and of patience. May you find the strength to listen to many perspectives, the love to care deeply for the well-being of all San Antonians and may you find the wisdom to work together to find solutions to challenging problems that affect all who live here,” Rabbi Nathan said.
The second guest giving the invocation for Waheeda Kara of Ismaili Jamatkhana
“Help us to honor our universal values of compassion and pluralism and to help those less fortunate. Give us the wisdom to govern even in challenging times,” Kara said.