Protesters demand that Rochester City Council endorse a petition for a cease-fire in Gaza

Rochester, New York – At the Tuesday night meeting of the Rochester City Council, tensions were growing as demonstrators tried to get council members to back a motion that demanded an end to hostilities in Gaza.

Members were under pressure to put a stop to the carnage occurring in the Middle East, thus the chambers were crowded.

Willie Lightfoot, Kim Smith, Mary Lupien, and Stanley Martin, the four council members, signed the resolution on Tuesday.

“The petition calls on Rochester City Council to support the cease-fire resolution recognizing that 2 million Palestinians have been displaced,” Martin said.

Every council member is being urged to follow suit by the demonstrators.

“So many cities throughout the county have voted for a cease-fire, and I think it’s really important to build this mass of collective awareness of people standing against this genocide,” said Carly Paris, who supports the cease-fire and attended Tuesday’s meeting.

Paris claims that although the resolution is merely symbolic, Rochester is also experiencing some of the major problems that they are advocating for, such as food, shelter, and economic security.

“All of these struggles tie into what we’re standing up for in Palestine,” Paris said. “Because again, there’s starvation happening, and there’s a mass loss of housing.”

After the meeting, protestors stayed put until they were informed that city hall had closed.

“We’re really hoping that they pass the cease-fire if they don’t then we’re going to come and rally again,” said Paris.

Councilmembers were given until midnight Tuesday to sign the resolution.