Charlotte street blocked when Israel-Hamas war protesters pour out of council meeting

A group of protesters calling on the Charlotte City Council to pass a resolution in support of a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war briefly blocked an uptown street Monday night.

The group of about 30 people chanted messages including “free Palestine” and “from the river to the sea” on the steps of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center after leaving Monday’s council meeting, following its public forum period.

Shortly after 8 p.m., after the council’s meeting had ended, the remaining protesters briefly blocked E. Fourth Street, according to video shared by Observer news partner WSOC-TV. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers asked the group to leave, and some were pushed out of the road by officers after a protester appeared to grab an officer’s bicycle, video showed.

The group then walked about the block and chanted again from the Government Center steps, and the crowd had dispersed by about 8:30 p.m., WSOC-TV reported.

Before moving outside, Palestine supporters had gathered once again in the council’s chambers to speak during the public forum period of the meeting, when residents can sign up to speak for two minutes on issues they’d like the council to consider.

Pro-Palestine speakers have participated for months, highlighting the loss of life in Gaza and asking the City Council to pass a resolution in support of a ceasefire. But Mayor Vi Lyles has said repeatedly that the council does not pass resolutions on such political issues.

Things got especially heated at the Dec. 11 council meeting, when Lyles had CMPD officers clear the chambers after a woman in the crowd refused to stop yelling over others who had signed up to speak about the war. Individuals have been removed from other meetings since for the same reason, but those meetings have moved forward.

On Monday, Lyles once again asked the crowd to be respectful of all speakers during the public forum. Things proceeded peacefully in the chamber, with multiple people speaking on Israel-Hamas and other topics. Some who spoke said they have family in Gaza impacted by the conflict, while others said they were members of Charlotte’s Jewish community and also support a ceasefire.

After the meeting, the Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte released a statement saying some of the speakers were “using the City Council public forums to spread misinformation” in “an egregious misuse of our governing body.”

“While we understand the impact the Israel-Hamas war has on communities of all faiths and backgrounds and recognize the importance of free speech, efforts to demonize the other side are unacceptable. Such rhetoric only legitimizes anti-Israel hatred, and puts the Jewish community at risk,” the statement said.

Although the Charlotte City Council has said repeatedly they won’t pass a resolution on the conflict, other governing bodies in the Charlotte area and North Carolina have taken action.

The Mecklenburg County Commission passed a resolution condemning the Hamas attack in Israel that sparked the latest war in October.

“The intent of this resolution is obviously to condemn acts of terrorism,” Commissioner Mark Jerrell, who introduced that resolution, said at the time. “It’s also to support peace and stand in solidarity with our residents and colleagues, with all people that have been impacted by violence.”

And this month, the Durham City Council passed a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, becoming the second and largest municipality in North Carolina to do so, the Raleigh News & Observer reported.

A temporary ceasefire agreement could take effect by early next week, President Joe Biden said late Monday, pausing hostilities and allowing the remaining hostages taken by Hamas during their October attack in Israel to be released, The Associated Press reported.

Other Charlotte protest

It’s not the first time in recent weeks a protest over an international incident has blocked a Charlotte street.

Monroe Road became the site of an international political clash in mid-February when a reported crowd of 200 people protested an Eritrean cultural event. The street was blocked, and eight arrests were made by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police. Those jailed were charged with impeding traffic, inciting a riot and assaulting a police officer.

Some protesters were treated at the scene for injuries related to pepper spray used to disperse the crowd, and CMPD reported that a tractor-trailer was set on fire.

That protest was rooted in concerns by some in Charlotte’s Eritrean community that the government of the African nation is a repressive, dictatorial regime, an activist told the Observer.