International politics became local after the Bend City Council approved a letter addressed to the city’s federal representatives Wednesday, urging nonviolence in the latest Israel-Hamas war.

A number of Bend residents weighed in, too, at a Wednesday City Council meeting, which drew a standing-room-only crowd.

Some were supportive of the letter as written. Some didn’t think the letter was enough, as it omitted the term cease-fire. Some criticized the council for spending time on geopolitical affairs, for allegedly sowing division and for taking what they said was the wrong stance.

The letter, drafted by Bend Mayor Melanie Kebler, was addressed to Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer and President Joe Biden. It requested the leaders “act urgently to end the violence.”

Events overseas have had local impacts, Kebler said at Wednesday’s meeting. Her letter cited a rise in bias-related crimes locally.

“All people — Israeli, Palestinian, and others — are entitled to live in safety, free from violence,” the letter read.

“The Bend City Council urges you to use all avenues within your power to help negotiate an end to the war and a stop to the violence.”

Councilor Anthony Broadman, the only dissenting vote, attempted to delay sending the letter to give it more thought and defer council approval to a future meeting, but no other councilors were supportive.

Bend joins at least one other Oregon city, Eugene, which also recently urged peace in the Israel-Hamas war.

The most recent war began Oct. 7, when Hamas militants stormed from the blockaded Gaza Strip into nearby Israeli towns, killing hundreds of civilians. Israel immediately launched airstrikes on Gaza, destroying entire neighborhoods and killing hundreds of Palestinian civilians in the days that followed. The war has become the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides.