Protesters in support of the people of Gaza repeatedly interrupted a meeting of the full council at Camden Town Hall last month.
Mayor of Camden Nazma Rahman had just started the proceedings at 7pm on Monday 29 January when protesters shouted from the public gallery.
They called for a “ceasefire now”, saying 11,000 children have been killed in Gaza and that councillors should “all be ashamed”.
Council leader Georgia Gould spoke amid chanting from the gallery, saying it was “important to respond to the huge pain caused in our communities”.
“The humanitarian situation in Gaza is heartbreaking and we all hope for a ceasefire,” said the Labour councillor.
“I am proud to be a Jewish leader in Camden standing alongside Muslim councillors, and councillors of all faiths and none,” she said.
After urging members of the public to stay quiet, Cllr Rahman adjourned the meeting for 15 minutes.
Cllr Gould continued after business resumed: “I didn’t get to say everything, but what is happening in Israel and Gaza is causing pain for all of us in our community.
“Everyone who is a human being is feeling that pain, but the events are not here.”
She said the borough is seeing a “huge rise” in hate crime in “both communities”.
“We have a responsibility to work against hate crime,” she said.
Cllr Gould described the situation as a “fast-moving, complex, and tragic conflict”.
Camden’s only Green councillor Lorna Russell had proposed a motion calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and for the release of hostages but could not find any other councillors to second it, which meant the motion could not be put to the meeting.
The Camden New Journal reported on 25 January that one Labour councillor had agreed to back the motion — “only to withdraw after being threatened with the loss of the whip”.
Agenda for Council – Monday, 29 January 2024. Webcast.
Additional reporting by Linus Rees.
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