San Jose, CA – On Tuesday, December 5, hundreds of Palestine supporters attended the San Jose City Council meeting in person and online to demand that the council pass a resolution in support of Palestine.

Community members waved Palestinian flags, wore keffiyehs, and brought signs with messages such as “End the genocide.” City staff intentionally blocked off half of the available public seats in the council chambers and diverted community members to overflow rooms. Many attendees were taken aback by this blatant restriction on their right to civic engagement.

Despite this hostile move by the city, Palestine supporters waited patiently for the council to finish its regular agenda items before proceeding to the open comment section at the end of the meeting. Hundreds of people used this open comment section to demand that the city council pass a resolution in support of Palestine.