Campaigners calling for a ceasefire in Gaza were shocked when they were refused the chance to ask for support from councillors at a town hall meeting.
A multi-faith group of Muslims, Jews and Christians from Palestinian, Israeli, and British backgrounds planned a deputation to Brighton and Hove City Council.
They said that they applied in time to speak at the meeting of the full council today (Thursday 14 December) at Hove Town Hall.
But their application was refused because, the council said, it had received seven applications for the 15-minute slot and chose three.
The council has suggested that they speak at the meeting scheduled for Thursday 1 February but Clara Usiskin, from Brighton and Hove Jews Against Occupation, said that was too late as it was a time-sensitive issue.
She said: “Apparently, it’s very irregular to deal with it in this way. Normally, people who make a valid application … will be invited to attend.
“The mayor can decide on the day to allot more time or to refer it to another committee meeting, etc, so we are being denied that opportunity.
“Our deputation is effectively dead in the water if it’s not heard at this session because we are asking the council to vote for a ceasefire.”
Green councillor Sue Shanks said that the petitions and deputations about proposed school closures could be brought together in one debate.
The deputy Green convenor said: “The Gaza deputation is obviously time-critical and residents rightly feel they should be allowed to bring this deputation which I understand is multi-faith.
“We surely want to be seen as listening to residents. It is in the mayor’s gift to extend the time or we could propose an extension from the floor but our request is to allow this.”
The Greens also plan to propose a motion, headed “Solidarity with our communities against hate”, asking councillors to condemn anti-semitism and islamophobia in Brighton and Hove.
They want the chief executive to write to the Foreign Secretary asking for a refugee scheme that would provide safe routes for all those fleeing violence in Israel and Palestine and calling for a permanent ceasefire.
The council said: “Our procedure rules allow 15 minutes in total for consideration of deputations. We had seven deputations submitted. Each one would take a minimum of eight minutes.
“The mayor has responsibility for chairing today’s meeting and managing the agenda. After seeking advice she determined that it would be appropriate to take the first three deputations received – and for the other four deputations to be referred to their choice of either the next relevant committee or the next full council meeting.
“The alternative would have led to members of the public from four deputations attending full council but having to leave again without their deputations being heard.”
The council added that the subject of the deputation was due to feature in the motion planned by the Greens.
The meeting is due to start at 4.30pm today and is scheduled to be webcast on the council’s website.
What on Earth would the Council “voting for a ceasefire” do? While it’s admirable that this is clearly a cross-faith deputation with a purpose, there is very little that any local Council can do on this issue that is not performative only and effectively a waste of limited Council time.
This exactly. To debate it would be sheer tokenism. Perhaps this Labour administration understood the backlash after the Green led debate on Nuclear Weapons a couple of years back. This is for MP’s and Parliament, the council should be sorting the city.
The Nuclear question was raised by a Labour Councillor, Nick Childs. This deputation was called for by members of the public in Brighton and Hove who just want clarity that the leader of the council is against the indiscriminate bombing of people in Gaza, it is entirely reasonable for members of the public, who are desperately concerned, to seek clarity from the leader of their council.
I agree with you John, whilst the call for peace should always be praised, in reality, the council has very little influence on this topic. Giving a speech several minutes along that amounts to “tell them to stop” and the answer likely to be an affirmative one word with no action…it’s like you say, inadvertent filibustering.
” Brighton & Hove Jews against the occupation”, do NOT represent the mainstream Jewish Community.
They represent a very small % of extreme left wing Jews, who seek to ingratiate themselves with the Socialist Workers Party. They walk round carrying Palestinian flags, screaming hate towards Israel, & provide excuses for Hamas terrorists slaughtering 1,200 civilians on 7th October, carrying out extreme sexual violence, & kidnaping as hostages 240, which included 30 babies.
A ceasefire might stop the IDF killing even more women and children, but you don’t want that to happen as you’re a keen supporter of genocide, right? As long as it’s a genocide of the “right” kind of people.
Disgusting comment to make. Are these comments factual or just your assumptions about someone who you do not know?
A ceasefire might well stop ALL bloodshed, but a vote in the Chambers of Brighton and Hove Council isn’t going to make a bit of difference. You do know councils have little or no impact on the international scene.
Council meetings are for local issues, not International problems.
“Green councillor Sue Shanks said that the petitions and deputations about proposed school closures could be brought together in one debate.”
Although both deputations share the same subject they involve different schools with different issues for each school.
And both deserve to be heard as the school closures is also a time critical issue.
Absolute waste of the council’s time.
Discuss school closures that the council is responsible for and stop pretending to be the UN.”
Meanwhile a bunch of thugs have occupied the rubbish collection service, extorting money from employees in the for of membership and deciding when they must strike or work, meting out punishment to anyone that doesn’t do what they say and discriminating against anyone not complying with their ideology and wishes. Oh and they were armed.
Oh the irony
They must have the brains the size of amoeba if they think wasting council time with deputations like this is what these meetings are for.
I thought there was a vote to extend public involvement times. But limit those who have asked previously to the back of queues, to give new people / campaigns more of a voice or have I missed something?
We need councillors not make-believe politicians, and we need them now. We should have a deputation calling for the resignation of local politicians, asking for councillors to be elected
One of their better decisions.
Nothing to do with Brighton and Hove City Council.
They have zero say in or jurisdiction over this war.
Any posturing they did to pretend otherwise would just make them look ridiculous.
It’s a political ploy.
The poster ‘ M’ says it’s to ‘seek clarity’.
What they mean is that if the leader
of the council didn’t condemn it publically it would be seen as an opportunity for the left in the LP to accuse them as supporting genocide , getting them deselected & to begin the process of ushering in their own people .
I’ve done it myself when I was a ‘ campaigner at college.
Very smart of the council to reject it