Screengrab via YouTube
Protestors started shouting at members of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen toward the end of the meeting on Friday.
At the disruption's peak, people in the gallery of the meeting room stood up and started shouting at the aldermen. "Shame on you!" one women yelled. "In bags! They bury their kids in bag," shouted another.
Board of Aldermen President Megan Green recessed the meeting, and the board reconvened about 10 minutes later.
The outburst can be seen in the city's livestream of the meeting. It starts around the 2:45:00 mark.
Protestors filled about 40 chairs. Some held up signs. One said, "Palestine kids deserve to live" and another, "Israel = War Criminal."
Shouts from the gallery began after the introduction of a resolution sponsored by Ward 3 Alderman Shane Cohn of Dutchtown. The resolution, if approved by vote of the board, would serve as a show of broad support for both the people of Israel and the people of Palestine.
A resolution sponsored by Alderman Tom Oldenburg of St. Louis Hills had a more one-sided take. Oldenburg's measure called on the board to stand in solidarity with Israel as the country "defends itself against the barbaric war launched by Hamas, and that the Board of Aldermen mourns the tragic loss of life and civilian casualties in Israel and Gaza."
Oldenburg's resolution also recognized Israel as a "a major strategic partner of the United States" in addition to the number of Israelis that have been killed or injured by Hamas. Oldenburg requested the resolution to be read out loud as shouts started popping out from the crowd. That's when tensions reached a peak, and Green had to stop the meeting.
Oldenburg did not answer a phone call from Riverfront Times after Friday's meeting, but in a statement to KSDK's Mark Maxwell, Oldenburg said his resolution mirrored one from the U.S. House of Representatives and was drafted on October 10 — three days after Hamas' surprise attack that led to widespread civilian casualties.
"I apologize that introducing Resolution #136 caused so much pain at the Board of Aldermen today," Oldenburg told Maxwell. He later added, "Everyone condemns the human suffering of civilians. I regret the tension this caused."
Just spoke with Alderman Oldenburg. He told me his resolution was drafted on October 10th, three days after the Hamas attack, and before new reports of widespread civilian casualties. He said it mirrors a Congressional resolution that has hundreds of co-signers.
— Mark Maxwell (@MarkMaxwellTV) October 20, 2023
Today was just the latest instance of divide over who the Board of Aldermen should support in the Israel-Hamas war. Last week, neither Cohn nor Oldenburg's resolutions received enough votes to pass, the Post-Dispatch reported.
Ward 14 Alderman Rasheen Aldridge also introduced a resolution related to a the Israel-Hamas war on Friday. It didn't call for any side taking, but instead for President Joe Biden to work toward a cease-fire.
On Friday, all three resolutions were assigned to committee, meaning aldermen will consider the wording at separate meetings where the public would have a chance to weigh in.
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