protesters in the U.S. calling for a# cease-fire have disrupted everything## from commutes in New York City# to a parade in Los Angeles.

And in cities across the country, groups# have now taken their fight to city halls,# where in some cases the topic# is overtaking other priorities.

Stephanie Sy reports.

STEPHANIE SY: With the Israeli counteroffensive# to the October 7 Hamas ter the plight of Palestinians in Gaza and in the# occupied West Bank has taken on new urgency to## activists like Shereen Nasser, a Cleveland# resident with strong ties to Palestine.

SHEREEN NASSER, Palestinian Activist:# We are struggling every day.

I wake up## every morning and think of my dad,# who is currently in the West Bank,## and call him and be like, hey, just want to# check on you, make sure yo We're watching these horrific stories# unfolding of our families back home.

STEPHANIE SY: She's channeled her# grief into protest, and, lately,## those protests have found their way to# an unlikely venue, Cleveland's City Hall.

SHEREEN NASSER: If you see my humanity, then# maybe the genocide of people that look like me,## the family members of 25,000 Palestinians in the## greater Cleveland area will be# worthy of this city's empathy.

STEPHANIE SY: Since October, the Cleveland# City Council's weekly public commen usually a forum to vent about local# issues, has been dominated by talk of## a war on the other side of the world,# says Council President Blaine Griffin.

BLAINE GRIFFIN, President, Cleveland# City Council: I would say approximately## nine out of ten commentators the last four to six weeks have been# people that sp STEPHANIE SY: These citizens are# almost all calling for the same thing.

MAN: Cleveland City Council can, should and# must pass a resolution c WOMAN: Join with other brave# leaders and calls for a cease-fire.

MAN: Call for a cease-fire.

STEPHANIE SY: Over a dozen City cease-fire resolutions, which# range from condemnation of both## sides of the war to calling for an# end to U.S. military aid to Israel.

Daniel Hopkins, a political scientist# at the University of Pennsylvania,## says it's all part of a growing trend.

DANIEL HOPKINS, University of Pennsylvania:# We're seeing what the nationalization of American politics,# so school board members and other local# officials, whose training and whose## experience is very much focused on their# local communities, being f to weigh in on hot-button national issues on# which they don't have a lot of experience.

BLAINE GRIFFIN: The topic is cease-fire and Gaza.

I can't speak for all of my colleagues, bu STEPHANIE SY: Griffin says the protests# are interfering with other city priorities.

BLAINE GRIFFIN: Just keep reading -- first# reading emergency resolutions.

Let's keep moving.

I have a bank that is possibly going to be# leaving the communit members that want to come down and petition# the government for that.

There's people that## want to talk about very critical issues.# And I think the unfortunate pe ople have been drowned out and# don't feel welcome in City Hall.

STEPHANIE SY: One of those who hasn't# felt welcomed lately is Marc Ashed of## the Jewish Federation of Cleveland.

Watch as# he speaks.

Two rows of activists walk out.

MARC ASHED, Jewish Federation of Cleveland:# Twenty hundred and twenty woke up not knowing## that they would be kidnapped, snatched f The feeling of hostility in# that room was very palpable.

For 16 days, there's no... (CROSSTALK) MAN: Please shut the doors, please.

MAN: One second.

MARC ASHED: We not just language about the# state of Israel or Israelis.

STEPHANIE SY: Because of the tenor of the crowd,## Ashed says he no longer encourages his# comm meetings.

But his organization wrote a letter to# the council against the cease-fire resolution.

MARC ASHED: We all want to see a cease-fire, but# we want to see a cease-fire that leads to peace,## and any cease-fire that does not# release the hostages and does not## remove Hamas from power will only bring# us back to this point in the future.

STEPHANIE SY: Ashed's opinion aligns# with the Biden administration's policy.

WOMAN: The murder of 23,000 Palestinians still# hasn't illuminated you all so-c MAN: OK.

So you refuse to speak to the... STEPHANIE SY: Powerless to change that,# activists callin its bombing campaign have interrupted City# Council meetings in cities across the country MAN: You are now disrupting this meeting.

You## are disrupting the meeting.

You are# ordered removed from t STEPHANIE SY: In some cases, like at# this meeting in Oakland, Californ spreading misinformation# and baseless conspiracies.

WOMAN: Israel murdered their# own people on October 7.

STEPHANIE SY: Dean Preston, a# San Francisco city supervisor,## says what he's seen at City Hall has been orderly.

DEAN PRESTON, San Francisco City Supervisor:# We have thousands of people co hall.

I have been in office four years,# never seen anything the number of people coming These# were entirely peaceful gatherings.

These folks are coming to their local# legislative bodies.

They can't go meet## with Joe Biden.

They can't get two minutes# in front of the Congress.

They can come to## their local City Council, and# that's why they're doing it.

STEPHANIE SY: Preston introduced a resolution## calling for a cease-fire in Gaza a But San Francisco's Democratic mayor, London# Breed, returned the resolution without a signature## and issued a harsh statement, saying it made# the city angrier, more divided and less safe.

Supervisor Preston, also a Democrat# and the son of a Holocaust survivor,## says the war is directly# impacting San Franciscans.

DEAN PRESTON: Just this morning, I heard from a# Palestinian-American friend here in San Francisco## who informed me -- and I quote -- "Seven more# members of my family have been killed overnight."

This is not just something happening thousands of# miles away.

And, frankly, when elected officials## don't speak to this trauma, folks feel ignored# and that their pain is not being recognized.

STEPHANIE SY: But the resolutions# have no legal authority.

DEAN PRESTON: It's not the case that any of our# allies look to San Francisco or Cl what U.S. foreign policy is going to be, but I do# think that they potentially can have an impact,## say, within the Democratic Party, in that they# can signal the extent of discontent and the## sources of discontent around U.S. foreign# policy set by the Biden administration.

STEPHANIE SY: Whether or not President Biden# or even the Cleveland City Council responds,## Shereen Nasser has no plans to stop speaking out.

SHEREEN NASSER: Going through this# grief, I felt such an urgency to be## in my community and do this work alongside# my community, calling for a cease-fire,## because I think about the kind of# world I want to leave for my kids.

And so we're going to keep showing# up.

We're going to, until the City## Council says, we are engaging back with you.

BLAINE GRIFFIN: Khalia (ph) wants# to talk about the cease-fire.

STEPHANIE SY: An impasse with no clear end in# Fo r the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Stephanie Sy.