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Denver City Council rejects Gaza cease-fire proclamation in tense meeting

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Denver City Council rejects Gaza cease-fire proclamation in tense meeting


The Denver City Council on Monday rejected a proclamation that would have added Denver to the growing list of American cities that have called for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

That final vote — 8-4 — came via a hastily launched virtual meeting after council members vacated the council chamber at the Denver City and County Building following repeated disruptions of the meeting by pro-Palestinian demonstrators. Councilman Chris Hinds was unable to cast a vote due to issues logging into the online meeting.

Abdullah Elagha stands behind Emily Ingraham after he wasn’t allowed to speak due to the time being slated for Ingraham, who wanted to give Elagha her space during the public comment session at a Denver City Council meeting at the City and County Building on Monday, Feb. 12, 2024. Elaha ultimately spoke standing behind Ingraham as she repeated his words. (AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post)

Once the final vote was tallied and the results were shown on screens inside the room, the protesters — who numbered in the hundreds between the main chamber and overflow room — rallied in the building’s fourth-floor corridor. Chants included “Cease-fire now.” “Free, free Palestine” and “Vote them out.”

“We’re super disappointed but I don’t think it’s a surprise,” Emily Ingraham, one of the protesters who spoke in favor of the proclamation on Monday night, said after the final vote. “But there is always hope and we are going to keep fighting.”

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The proclamation would have been a symbolic measure that would have been stamped with the city seal and forwarded to President Joe Biden and members of Colorado’s congressional delegation if approved.

The version the council voted on Monday was significantly pared down compared to a longer original draft that co-sponsors Sarah Parady and Shontel Lewis, two of the council’s most progressive members, discussed with colleagues at a committee hearing last month.

It outlined action steps already released by the United Nations Children’s Fund, or UNICEF. Those included calls for “an immediate and long-lasting humanitarian ceasefire” in Palestine and Israel and “[s]afe and unrestricted humanitarian access to and within the Gaza Strip to reach affected populations wherever they are.”

The cease-fire is the floor. We are asking for liberation,” Lewis said in comments that drew cheers from the chamber. “None of us are free unless all of us are free.” 

Despite the narrowed language, opponents on the council noted they have received extensive comments from constituents who support Israel that were not reflected in that draft.

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“I think that our communities deserve better from us as elected officials,” said District 5 Councilwoman Amanda Sawyer, who revealed during a committee meeting last month that she has a neighbor serving in the Israeli military. “We are divided up in a way that I haven’t seen us be divided in a very, very long time.”

One council member — District 7 representative Flor Alvidrez — indicated that her no vote was motivated in part by the behavior of the pro-Palestinian attendees at the meeting who regularly interrupted speakers they disagreed with.

During the public comment session, several speakers called out rising incidences of antisemitism in Denver and around the country.

One speaker, Elliot Fladen, said the proclamation “doesn’t call for peace, it calls for cessation that will allow Hamas to re-arm.”

Elliot Falden shouts pro-Israel sentiment during a Denver City Council meeting at the City and County Building on Monday, Feb. 12, 2024. A heated debate took place within and outside of council chambers as a proclamation calling for a ceasefire in Israel and Palestine was debated amongst council members and the public. The debate resulted in council members leaving the room, while voting remotely. The proclamation failed 8-4. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
Elliot Fladen shouts pro-Israel sentiment during a Denver City Council meeting at the City and County Building on Monday, Feb. 12, 2024. (AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post)

Parady addressed antisemitism directly as she laid the case for calling for a cease-fire.

“I am here today to say that the killing in Gaza must stop, and I will be here tomorrow to say that we have to grapple with resurgent antisemitism and the fomentation of bigotry in our politics,” she said.

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Parady, Lewis, and Councilmembers Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez and Jamie Torres voted in favor. Other politicians in the room Monday included progressive state Reps. Elisabeth Epps and Tim Hernandez.

The proclamation language included estimated death tolls from the conflict to date. They largely follow the latest reporting from The Associated Press, which counts the Palestinian losses from the war at more than 28,000 people, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza. Of those, more than 12,000 are children.

The war was ignited by Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7. Hamas killed about 1,200 people, a majority of them civilians, and took 250 hostages. According to Israeli authorities, about 100 hostages are still being held by Hamas, The AP reports.

Elise Mordos expresses pro-Israel sentiment as council member Kevin Flynn listens during a Denver City Council meeting at the City and County Building on Monday, Feb. 12, 2024. A heated debate took place within and outside of council chambers as a proclamation calling for a ceasefire in Israel and Palestine was debated amongst council members and the public. The debate resulted in council members leaving the room, while voting remotely. The proportion failed 8-4. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
Elise Mordos expresses pro-Israel sentiment as council member Kevin Flynn listens during a Denver City Council meeting at the City and County Building on Monday, Feb. 12, 2024. (AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post)

Monday’s meeting was tense even before the cease-fire proclamation was called up. Earlier in the afternoon, the council tried and failed to override Mayor Mike Johnston’s veto of a measure that would have banned sweeps of homeless encampments when temperatures are below freezing. One supporter of that measure, Jerry Burton, got up and shouted at the council members after that vote and was flanked by a Denver sheriff deputy as he walked into the hall. Many protesters Monday were there to support both measures.

Monday was the second time in four months that pro-Palestinian demonstrators have altered the direction of a Denver City Council meeting. In late November, the council walked out of its chambers and postponed the rest of its agenda after protesters refused to stop speaking out against Denver hosting the Global Conference for Israel at the Colorado Convention Center later that week.

Council member Shontel Lewis puts her hands on her head after president Jamie Torres called a recess due to growing outburst by community members during a Denver City Council meeting at the City and County Building on Monday, Feb. 12, 2024. A heated debate took place within and outside of council chambers as a proclamation calling for a ceasefire in Israel and Palestine was debated amongst council members and the public. The debate resulted in council members leaving the room, while voting remotely. The proportion failed 8-4. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
Council member Shontel Lewis puts her hands on her head after president Jamie Torres called a recess due to growing outburst by community members during a Denver City Council meeting at the City and County Building on Monday, Feb. 12, 2024. (AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post)

Other major American cities have recently passed measures calling for a cease-fire in Gaza including Chicago, San Francisco and Atlanta. In Minneapolis, the City Council overrode a veto by Mayor Jacob Frey, who is Jewish, last week to reinstate a cease-fire resolution.

That measure goes much further than the proclamation that was rejected in Denver on Monday. It called for the U.S. to stop funding the Israeli military.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Khaled Alali prays alongside fellow members of the Muslim community during a Denver City Council meeting at the City and County Building on Monday, Feb. 12, 2024. A heated debate took place within and outside of council chambers as a proclamation calling for a ceasefire in Israel and Palestine was debated amongst council members and the public. The debate resulted in council members leaving the room, while voting remotely. The proportion failed 8-4. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
Khaled Alali prays alongside fellow members of the Muslim community during a Denver City Council meeting at the City and County Building on Monday, Feb. 12, 2024. (AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post)

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Several chances for snow in the Denver metro with three storms impacting Colorado this week

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Community food pantry in Denver’s Globeville neighborhood urgently needs donations

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Community food pantry in Denver’s Globeville neighborhood urgently needs donations


A community food pantry in Denver’s Globeville neighborhood is in dire need of monetary and fresh food donations.

For the last 10 years, Birdseed Collective nonprofit has been serving residents with a box of fresh groceries every Monday.

The food pantry is located inside the Globeville Center.

Recently, they have been serving about 70 families weekly, but are struggling to keep up with the need. Many factors have led to this, including losing out on a key donor for a brief period, which then led to a food shortage of about 1,000 pounds weekly.

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Other factors include rising grocery costs, and a denied $50,000 city grant. The stress the nonprofit is experiencing is mounting.

Still, even when they are struggling, the nonprofit finds a way, according to director Kristina Garcia.

“A lot of our residents are elderly and homebound, living off Social Security. They’re living month to month on a fixed income,” said Garcia. 

Globeville is considered a food desert due to limited access to grocery stores, economic challenges and transportation barriers.  

“I would say the closest grocery store is over 5 miles away, and that would be going downtown,” added Garcia. 

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This makes the program vital for residents like Angela Garcia.

“Well, I retired and I didn’t have enough money to buy groceries. One day I was walking by and saw they were giving away food. I asked if I could get some, signed up and have been coming ever since,” said Angela Garcia.

Kristina Garcia says they refuse to close their community food pantry, regardless of the situation they are currently in.

“We’ve never closed in all of these years — 10 years of running the food program — because, as we say, hunger doesn’t take a holiday,” said Garcia.

The nonprofit is looking for monetary and direct food donations such as meat, produce and spices.

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“We run out of food in 6 minutes. We start at 3 p.m. and by 3:06 p.m. we’re out of food. So that’s how quickly our 70 boxes go,” said Kristina Garcia. “And our families that we serve usually are between three and 10 per household, so our boxes probably last them only a day or two in the household.”

Residents like Angela Garcia believe the nonprofit will bounce back and continue to serve people like her.

“What we lack in sidewalks, lighting, crosswalks and food, we make up with our heart, and I have full strength and trust in Birdseed that they will continue to feed the community,” she said.

For more on how to help, visit birdseedcollective.org.

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PHOTOS: Denver Broncos run over by Baltimore Ravens 41-10 in NFL Week 9

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PHOTOS: Denver Broncos run over by Baltimore Ravens 41-10 in NFL Week 9




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