The Dunedin City Council is to consider a notice of motion this week — brought by Cr Marie Laufiso and supported by Cr Steve Walker — calling for the Palestinian flag to be flown from city buildings on Wednesday.
This will line up with the United Nations’ international day of solidarity with the Palestinian people.
Holocaust Centre chairwoman Deborah Hart urged the council to consider what Hamas did in Israel on October 7.
"If the Dunedin City Council wishes to support its local Palestinian community, it should of course also wish to support its local Jewish and Israeli community," she said.
"It should be showing its solidarity with the innocent Israeli men, women and children brutally raped, murdered and taken hostage."
Cr Walker said if an application was made to fly the Israeli flag on a particular day, he would support it.
He also condemned the actions of Hamas on October 7 and called for release of all the remaining hostages.
Hamas unleashed a deadly attack from Gaza on Israel on October 7, killing about 1200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 240 hostages.
Israel then launched intense air and ground assaults in Gaza and the health ministry there said on Friday the death toll had exceeded 13,300.
Cr Walker took little comfort late last week from a four-day truce getting under way, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had declared hostilities would resume after it.
"After a trickle of aid trucks are let in — and thankfully some hostages on one side and prisoners on the other can rightfully go home — food, water and electricity will remain a scarcity and many, many more innocent children, mothers, fathers, and civilians are still yet to die," Cr Walker said.
Cr Laufiso said the least Dunedin could do was support local grieving Palestinian whanau.
The Israeli Defence Force had harassed and murdered Palestinians, as had Israeli settlers, she said.
Dunedin Abrahamic Interfaith Group chairman Rev Ken Baker said the group would be quite supportive of the Palestinian flag being flown.
He believed most people in local Palestinian groups favoured peaceful co-existence.
Mr Baker highlighted inequalities Palestinians had to cope with in Gaza.
He also condemned the violence from Hamas.
