Las Cruces council pulls ceasefire resolution after hours of heated public comment

Mayor Eric Henriques opened the meeting and the council voted to accept the agenda with the explicit removal of item 8.5, a resolution calling for a permanent ceasefire in Palestine; the mayor said "it will not be heard today."

The removal set off a robust public-comment period that lasted more than an hour, with speakers from across the community sharply divided. Frances F. Williams told the council she came to "ask your support for Israel and deny the request from Palestinian supporters to condemn Israel," adding that "Israel has a right to defend itself, and we would have not if it had happened on our soil, we would have done the same." State Sen. Jeff Steinborn, speaking in his personal capacity, described family losses in the Holocaust and urged the council to seek peace, saying he "stand[s] for all the peace loving people in this community ... in Israel and in Palestine who want peace."

Other speakers criticized the proposed resolution as "incendiary" and outside the council's jurisdiction. Several urged the body to focus on local priorities such as crime, infrastructure and homelessness rather than foreign policy. Rabbi Yvette Lutman and Peter Schwartzbein of the Anti-Defamation League said the timing — the meeting coincided with Holocaust Remembrance Day — and the resolution's language were deeply troubling; Schwartzbein said the council's decision to remove the item took a "step back" by not explicitly naming Hamas or addressing atrocities cited by some speakers.

Councilor Curran acknowledged in a later council report that she had brought the resolution forward, stating, "it was me, as I mentioned at a prior city council meeting." Mayor Henriques and other members emphasized that removing the item did not foreclose future discussion; the mayor explained that items are often presented for possible amendment and that staff and council can work to frame proposals differently if reintroduced.

The public-comment period included recurring calls for a balanced, community-led committee to draft any future language, along with repeated appeals for the council to denounce antisemitism and Islamophobia. Amid the debate, several speakers urged de-escalation and local focus: "We need better streets. We need infrastructure. We need jobs," one longtime resident said, while others said a ceasefire was the only option to return hostages and end civilian suffering.

The meeting moved on to other agenda items after public participation concluded; councilors will decide whether and how to revisit the subject in a future meeting.