SPOKANE — Pro-Palestinian protesters shut down a Spokane City Council meeting Monday over an October resolution in support of Israel and council rules they argue infringe on their First Amendment rights to petition their government.
Even after council members cleared the chambers, with around a half-dozen uniformed officers standing between them and the public, dozens of protesters led by local activist Justice Forral continued to walk up to the dais to speak one by one as if the meeting had continued unabated, interspersed with chants of “free, free Palestine” and “City Council, listen to us.”
Council President Lori Kinnear in recent weeks has begun enforcing an interpretation of meeting rules that bans any members of the public from naming other council members during their testimony. Members of the public in recent weeks seeking to speak out against the Oct. 9 Israel resolution sponsored by Councilman Jonathan Bingle have attempted to criticize comments by Bingle and Councilman Michael Cathcart, but have been shut down frequently by Kinnear.
That October resolution, which passed unanimously, condemned the recent attacks in Israel by Hamas and supported Israel’s “right to defend itself.” Pro-Palestinian activists have protested this decision as “racist” and “historically illiterate,” arguing that the City Council had not considered Israel’s role in the tensions in that region or consulted Palestinian-Americans living in Spokane before voting on the resolution, which was introduced with little public notice on the same day it was approved.
