My name is Ash Avila and I’m from Oakland District 1.
I support this resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza as an active member of Oaklands community.
There’s nothing short of violence against civilians happening during this occupation. Ceasefire is only the the beginning to a larger resolution and should be initiated immediately.
I encourage all councilmembers, representatives, and voices of the people to be courageous and stand on the right side of history. Demand a ceasefire now, send aid to the people of Palestine, and start the work to end occupation of the Palestinian people. Furthermore, hold those accountable for the senseless destruction of human life without consequence.
My name is Micah Bazant and I’m a Bay Area resident who has worked in Oakland for 22 years. As a Jewish anti-racist, I strongly support this resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. My father is a Holocaust survivor and almost all my extended family died in concentration camps. Our Jewish ancestors and traditions call on us to oppose killing, genocide, and apartheid. By voting to support ceasefire, you support a world that is safer for Palestinians, Jews, and all people!
Adding my unwavering support to this resolution. It may feel like we are hopelessly thousands of miles away, but we have to use every avenue of power we have to speak out and stand in solidarity with the people of Gaza. Local politics are PEOPLE POWER, and this is far and away the will of the people in Oakland! I am writing this as a resident of Oakland District 4. This occupation is violence. Displacing people, blockading food, water and humanitarian aid is are war crimes and the people of Oakland say NO! Not on our dollar, not for anyone, anywhere, ever. Not now, and not for the past decades. Anyone who is interested in peace knows that this violence is making the region more unsafe - more unsafe for Palestinians, Jews, Israelis, and folks in their diasporas. The people of Gaza deserve life and dignity. They are not pawns in a military revenge plot, or a settler dream, or regional geopolitical positioning. Thank you to my District Councilmember for their support of this resolution.
I demand a ceasefire!!! My name is Nora Demarcky I am a Bay Area Native with a deep love for the city of Oakland and its people - my people - and I ask that you please follow along the footsteps of Richmond and Alameda and pass a resolution that calls for an immediate Ceasefire and an end to the Occupation of Palestine. We cannot continue to stand by idly and support the annihilation of an entire people. One too many lives have been taken (numbers have surpassed 10,000) so brutally and mercilessly already and it is time we put an end to it. Is is dire. It is vital for the sustainability of our humanity as the horrific events we're all collectively witnessing take place in Gaza are sure to impact you and me and us for generations to come. Oakland, I ask that you stand on the right side of history and voice your support the liberation of a people that have been kept inprisioned in their own home for decades and deserve to be free. I ask that you think of the children and their mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers and their friends and neighbors whose lives have been cut short. I urge you to please speak up. The people of Palestine are living through an almost incomprehensible reality as they are without food and water and without the necessary medical equipment to aid those that have been wounded and those that are still stuck under the rubble. Please. SAY NO TO GENOCIDE. Save Palestine. Free Palestine. Demand a CEASEFIRE NOW.
Thank you for such a beautiful ceremony of honoring Indigenous people for their work. We are indeed on colonized stolen land, and it took us 500 years too long to recognize and begin to try to fix that - which is a long road ahead.
I am a first-generation Indian American and know what it is when your land is colonized and your people dehumanized. Furthermore, I live and am honored to work as a pediatrician in Oakland. Whenever a child dies in our hospital despite providing the best possible care, our hearts break. Whenever a child gets killed by gunshots in the streets of Oakland, our hearts break. And now as thousands upon thousands of Palestinian children are being blown to bits, crushed by rubble, and starved, our hearts are shattered beyond what you can imagine. Please call an emergency meeting to pass the strongest possible resolution to stand against Israeli occupation, genocide, apartheid, and war crimes against Palestinian people and call for a ceasefire now, call for an end to US military aid to Israel and allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.
I did not go through decades of school and training to become a pediatrician so that my tax dollars could go to funding this massacre of children whom I cannot save. Please do your jobs, represent us. Palestine will be free, do your part to make that happen by standing on the right side of history as representatives of this amazing activist city of Oakland where the Blank Panther liberation revolution was founded. Thank you.
My name is Michael Gomez and I live in district 1 of Oakland. I am a teacher and face the challenges that come with the need for more funding for education. As such I have a deep struggle that comes with knowing that funds in Oakland have been moved towards murdering children instead of improving their lives. I am adding my voice to urge you to vote tomorrow, for an emergency meeting no later than next week, and draft a resolution, demonstrating that Oakland demands a ceasefire, the opening of proportionate humanitarian aid to Gaza NOW, condemning the genocide and ethnic cleansing and expulsion of Palestinians from their native land, and to end US funding of Israel’s crimes. Thank you.
My name is Elaine Tannous and I am a resident of district 1 in oakland. I’m also a Palestinian American. My grandparents were expelled from Yaffa Palestine in 1948 with the establishment of the settler colonial state of Israel. Had my grandparents chosen to flee to the south, instead of to the east towards Jordan, we could easily be one of the families in Gaza at risk of being murdered right now. But I’m here, in Oakland, and am adding my voice to urge you to vote tomorrow, for an emergency meeting no later than next week, and draft a resolution, demonstrating that Oakland demands a ceasefire, the opening of proportionate humanitarian aid to Gaza immediately, condemning the genocide, ethnic cleansing and expulsion of Palestinians from their native land, and to end US funding of Israel’s crimes. Thank you and thank you for your time and support.
As a pediatrician in her second year of training in District 2 and the daughter of two Vietnamese refugees, the genocide in Gaza hits close to home. I think about the many adverse childhood experiences the children of Palestine have now endured, how that will inform their emotional, mental, and physical development, and the precious life that almost 5000 children will never get to experience.
Any time a child or other human dies in Oakland due to gun violence etc: is it not a horrific tragedy? Our government is complicit in murdering THOUSANDS (10,000+) of children and other civilians over the past month. Very few are doing the right thing and calling for an immediate ceasefire. We expect nothing less than City Council to be among these brave few. As a city, Oakland is known to be a progressive city that stands for injustice especially with the history of the Black Panther party - whose activism stills ripples throughout the city and the country to this day.
We urge our Council members to work with community leaders who are in touch with you to draft the strongest possible resolution, and to get it on the Rules Committee agenda as soon as possible (including through setting up an emergency Special Meeting to get the resolution to the finish line as soon as possible and demonstrate that Oakland demands a ceasefire and opening of humanitarian aid to Gaza. Thank you for your time.
My name is Kai Lynch and I am a resident of Oakland living in District 5. I urge the Oakland City Council to hold an emergency meeting to draft a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Palestine, to condemn the genocide of Palestinians, and to end financial and military support to Israel. The SF Bay Area has continuously paved the way for policies that have fought for & protected oppressed groups, and I urge the city of Oakland to continue to do so by calling for an end to the genocide of the Palestinian people. I urge council members to move with courage & bravery, and to do so with urgency because with every day that passes, thousands of Palestinian lives are martyr'd in this genocide.
Hi, my name is Lourdes Bernal. I am a Bay Area Native with a deep love for the city of Oakland and its people - my people - and I ask that you please follow along the footsteps of Richmond and Alameda and pass a resolution that calls for an immediate Ceasefire and an end to the Occupation of Palestine. We cannot continue to stand by idly and support the annihilation of an entire people. One too many lives have been taken (numbers have surpassed 10,000) so brutally and mercilessly already and it is time we put an end to it. Is is dire. It is vital for the sustainability of our humanity as the horrific events we're all collectively witnessing take place in Gaza are sure to impact you and me and us for generations to come. Oakland, I ask that you stand on the right side of history and voice your support the liberation of a people that have been kept inprisioned in their own home for decades and deserve to be free. I ask that you think of the children and their mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers and their friends and neighbors whose lives have been cut short. I urge you to please speak up. The people of Palestine are living through an almost incomprehensible reality as they are without food and water and without the necessary medical equipment to aid those that have been wounded and those that are still stuck under the rubble. Please. SAY NO TO GENOCIDE. Save Palestine. Free Palestine. Demand a CEASEFIRE NOW.
My name is Sam Richardson and I live in Oakland. As others have stated I urge the council to vote tomorrow to meet next week at the latest to adopt a strong resolution addressing the genocide currently occurring in Palestine. I also ask what will it take for one of the council members to directly condemn the active ethnic cleansing during tonight’s meeting.
My name is Lujain Al-Saleh and I am an Oakland resident living in District 1. As a city that aims to eliminate racial disparities and achieve racial equity, we must pass a resolution to call for an immediate ceasefire, end on the 16-year siege on Gaza, and end to US funding for the apartheid state of Israel. We cannot continue “businesses as usual” as tens of thousands of Palestinians are killed and displaced from their homelands. We must stand on the right side of history and do all that we can to be a part of the global movement to Free Palestine and ensure that our Palestinian brothers, sisters, and loved ones can live in peace, dignity, and liberation.
Other commenters in support of the resolution who identify themselves as ‘Jewish’ in no way speak for Oakland’s Jewish community, who have experienced a significant rise in antisemitism along with Jewish people across the country since Hamas ’ massacre on October 7.
My name is Amber Kury, I live in District 1 and I am a nurse serving alameda county residents. Today I am here to let you know that what is being done to Palestinians in Gaza is beyond a nightmare for any person who cares about human life.
This is not a political issue or a war, this is a human rights emergency- a genocide that our tax dollars are funding. I am urging the city of Oakland to follow the lead of the City of Richmond and draft a strong resolution that calls for a ceasefire and an end to the genocide of the Palestinian people.
Israel is bombing hospitals, schools, churches; they are releasing white phosphorus on Gazan civilians- a population that consists of 50% children. Palestinians in Gaza live in an open air prison with no way to escape or seek refuge from this daily terror.
As a nurse I am horrified with the response of those in power. On November 4th, 50k marched the streets begging to be heard in San Francisco, mirroring the 300k who were screaming for a ceasefire outside of the white house.
I am urging you to use your power and voice to stand with us against this genocide. Thank you for your time.
My name is Brandon Vesely and I am a Jewish resident of District 1. I join my neighbors to demand the immediate passage of a ceasefire resolution that condemns the Israeli apartheid regime’s genocide of the Palestinian people and calls for an end to U.S. aid for Israel. Change starts locally and we must join communities worldwide in their calls for an end to Israel’s human rights abuses. Anything else makes us complicit. As a Jew, such a resolution does not make me feel unsafe. Antizionism is not antisemitism. I am a descendent of holocaust survivors and when we say never again we mean never again for EVERYONE.
Good Evening, My name is Arcelia Ortega-Torres and I am located in district 2, I am writing to join the voices who are calling for a resolution acknowledging Palestinian suffering and the 10,000 Palestinian lives lost at the hands of the IDF. We are demanding that you speak out against these horrors to protect and stand in solidarity with our Palestinian brothers abroad and those here in Oakland who both have family abroad, and those who feel the pain of those abroad. There are many comments who have suggested here that this is not a "city issue", I disagree, I think our small city can move mountains, and I think we should reach larger than just "staying in our place". This past Wednesday the city of Richmond passed a resolution to acknowledging the ethnic cleansing in Gaza. Together we can reach higher, we can call for a ceasefire. The bay can reach this goal together, leading California into the right steps in supporting a ceasefire, and hopefully leading the United States in totality to ceasefire and to stop the aid to Israel in this one-sided war. This resolution is not anti-Semitic as many comments have below have suggested. it is pro-humanitarian. Likewise we must protect both our muslim and jewish brothers alike. CEASEFIRE NOW. WE CANNOT STAY SILENT. Thank you madam Chairwoman, I hope you continue to work with the organizers of today to pass this resolution.
Hello, I am a resident of Oakland and I am urging for a resolution to be passed for an immediate Cease Fire in Palestine. Please sponsor and pass this resolution just as Alameda county has and Richmond has. Oakland does not support ethnic cleansing. Please represent us and the people during this time!
I'm a long time resident of Oakland, residing in District 6, and am a Jewish American and attorney strongly opposed to the proposed resolution. The Oakland City Council has absolutely no business taking a position on a very complicated and historically complex international matter. The Council should be focused on the job at hand for which they were elected. Namely, to adopt policies and implement laws to make Oakland a safe, livable, desirable City people choose to move to and reside in and in which business can flourish.
My name is Suzie Cochran and I’m a resident of unceded Ohlone land, aka Oakland District 2.
I’m writing to urge the City of Oakland to conduct a special emergency meeting and develop a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, an end to U.S. military aid to Israel and condemning Israel’s apartheid regime. The genocide occurring in Gaza is a human rights issue and an environmental justice issue. The City of Oakland should be on the right side of history and join the precedent set by the City of Richmond and Alameda County Democratic Central Committee. As these and many more cities and jurisdictions develop similar resolutions this will pressure our administration to do the ethical thing and stop the ethic cleansing of Palestinians and stop funding the murder of innocent civilians.
Good evening everyone. My name is Tierra Allen, and I’m a resident of district 2. I want to urge the City of Oakland to follow the precedent set by the City of Richmond and draft a strong and clear resolution to call for a ceasefire and an end to the genocide of Palestinian people. We need elected officials such as you all to act and send a clear message to the federal government that they are not representing us when they support the continuation of violence in Gaza. It is our tax dollars that have funded the Israeli military’s attacks on Palestinians, that have funded the bombing of hospitals and schools and refugee camps and ended the lives of 10,000 people, 4,000 of them children, and I cannot stomach being complicit in these atrocities. Please send a loud and clear message that Oakland says NO to genocide with a strong resolution, get it on the Rules Committee agenda as soon as possible, if you need to, set up an emergency Special Meeting because the people of Gaza need us to act NOW. How many more people will die, how many more families will be wiped out, before we do what is right? Be on the right side of history, Oakland, don’t allow our government to fund atrocities in our name. I am trusting you to act. Please. Thank you.
My name is Ash Avila and I’m from Oakland District 1.
I support this resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza as an active member of Oaklands community.
There’s nothing short of violence against civilians happening during this occupation. Ceasefire is only the the beginning to a larger resolution and should be initiated immediately.
I encourage all councilmembers, representatives, and voices of the people to be courageous and stand on the right side of history. Demand a ceasefire now, send aid to the people of Palestine, and start the work to end occupation of the Palestinian people. Furthermore, hold those accountable for the senseless destruction of human life without consequence.
My name is Micah Bazant and I’m a Bay Area resident who has worked in Oakland for 22 years. As a Jewish anti-racist, I strongly support this resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. My father is a Holocaust survivor and almost all my extended family died in concentration camps. Our Jewish ancestors and traditions call on us to oppose killing, genocide, and apartheid. By voting to support ceasefire, you support a world that is safer for Palestinians, Jews, and all people!
Adding my unwavering support to this resolution. It may feel like we are hopelessly thousands of miles away, but we have to use every avenue of power we have to speak out and stand in solidarity with the people of Gaza. Local politics are PEOPLE POWER, and this is far and away the will of the people in Oakland! I am writing this as a resident of Oakland District 4. This occupation is violence. Displacing people, blockading food, water and humanitarian aid is are war crimes and the people of Oakland say NO! Not on our dollar, not for anyone, anywhere, ever. Not now, and not for the past decades. Anyone who is interested in peace knows that this violence is making the region more unsafe - more unsafe for Palestinians, Jews, Israelis, and folks in their diasporas. The people of Gaza deserve life and dignity. They are not pawns in a military revenge plot, or a settler dream, or regional geopolitical positioning. Thank you to my District Councilmember for their support of this resolution.
I demand a ceasefire!!! My name is Nora Demarcky I am a Bay Area Native with a deep love for the city of Oakland and its people - my people - and I ask that you please follow along the footsteps of Richmond and Alameda and pass a resolution that calls for an immediate Ceasefire and an end to the Occupation of Palestine. We cannot continue to stand by idly and support the annihilation of an entire people. One too many lives have been taken (numbers have surpassed 10,000) so brutally and mercilessly already and it is time we put an end to it. Is is dire. It is vital for the sustainability of our humanity as the horrific events we're all collectively witnessing take place in Gaza are sure to impact you and me and us for generations to come. Oakland, I ask that you stand on the right side of history and voice your support the liberation of a people that have been kept inprisioned in their own home for decades and deserve to be free. I ask that you think of the children and their mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers and their friends and neighbors whose lives have been cut short. I urge you to please speak up. The people of Palestine are living through an almost incomprehensible reality as they are without food and water and without the necessary medical equipment to aid those that have been wounded and those that are still stuck under the rubble. Please. SAY NO TO GENOCIDE. Save Palestine. Free Palestine. Demand a CEASEFIRE NOW.
Thank you for such a beautiful ceremony of honoring Indigenous people for their work. We are indeed on colonized stolen land, and it took us 500 years too long to recognize and begin to try to fix that - which is a long road ahead.
I am a first-generation Indian American and know what it is when your land is colonized and your people dehumanized. Furthermore, I live and am honored to work as a pediatrician in Oakland. Whenever a child dies in our hospital despite providing the best possible care, our hearts break. Whenever a child gets killed by gunshots in the streets of Oakland, our hearts break. And now as thousands upon thousands of Palestinian children are being blown to bits, crushed by rubble, and starved, our hearts are shattered beyond what you can imagine. Please call an emergency meeting to pass the strongest possible resolution to stand against Israeli occupation, genocide, apartheid, and war crimes against Palestinian people and call for a ceasefire now, call for an end to US military aid to Israel and allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.
I did not go through decades of school and training to become a pediatrician so that my tax dollars could go to funding this massacre of children whom I cannot save. Please do your jobs, represent us. Palestine will be free, do your part to make that happen by standing on the right side of history as representatives of this amazing activist city of Oakland where the Blank Panther liberation revolution was founded. Thank you.
My name is Michael Gomez and I live in district 1 of Oakland. I am a teacher and face the challenges that come with the need for more funding for education. As such I have a deep struggle that comes with knowing that funds in Oakland have been moved towards murdering children instead of improving their lives. I am adding my voice to urge you to vote tomorrow, for an emergency meeting no later than next week, and draft a resolution, demonstrating that Oakland demands a ceasefire, the opening of proportionate humanitarian aid to Gaza NOW, condemning the genocide and ethnic cleansing and expulsion of Palestinians from their native land, and to end US funding of Israel’s crimes. Thank you.
My name is Elaine Tannous and I am a resident of district 1 in oakland. I’m also a Palestinian American. My grandparents were expelled from Yaffa Palestine in 1948 with the establishment of the settler colonial state of Israel. Had my grandparents chosen to flee to the south, instead of to the east towards Jordan, we could easily be one of the families in Gaza at risk of being murdered right now. But I’m here, in Oakland, and am adding my voice to urge you to vote tomorrow, for an emergency meeting no later than next week, and draft a resolution, demonstrating that Oakland demands a ceasefire, the opening of proportionate humanitarian aid to Gaza immediately, condemning the genocide, ethnic cleansing and expulsion of Palestinians from their native land, and to end US funding of Israel’s crimes. Thank you and thank you for your time and support.
As a pediatrician in her second year of training in District 2 and the daughter of two Vietnamese refugees, the genocide in Gaza hits close to home. I think about the many adverse childhood experiences the children of Palestine have now endured, how that will inform their emotional, mental, and physical development, and the precious life that almost 5000 children will never get to experience.
Any time a child or other human dies in Oakland due to gun violence etc: is it not a horrific tragedy? Our government is complicit in murdering THOUSANDS (10,000+) of children and other civilians over the past month. Very few are doing the right thing and calling for an immediate ceasefire. We expect nothing less than City Council to be among these brave few. As a city, Oakland is known to be a progressive city that stands for injustice especially with the history of the Black Panther party - whose activism stills ripples throughout the city and the country to this day.
We urge our Council members to work with community leaders who are in touch with you to draft the strongest possible resolution, and to get it on the Rules Committee agenda as soon as possible (including through setting up an emergency Special Meeting to get the resolution to the finish line as soon as possible and demonstrate that Oakland demands a ceasefire and opening of humanitarian aid to Gaza. Thank you for your time.
To the Oakland City Council,
My name is Kai Lynch and I am a resident of Oakland living in District 5. I urge the Oakland City Council to hold an emergency meeting to draft a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Palestine, to condemn the genocide of Palestinians, and to end financial and military support to Israel. The SF Bay Area has continuously paved the way for policies that have fought for & protected oppressed groups, and I urge the city of Oakland to continue to do so by calling for an end to the genocide of the Palestinian people. I urge council members to move with courage & bravery, and to do so with urgency because with every day that passes, thousands of Palestinian lives are martyr'd in this genocide.
I appreciate all of your time,
Kai Lynch
Hi, my name is Lourdes Bernal. I am a Bay Area Native with a deep love for the city of Oakland and its people - my people - and I ask that you please follow along the footsteps of Richmond and Alameda and pass a resolution that calls for an immediate Ceasefire and an end to the Occupation of Palestine. We cannot continue to stand by idly and support the annihilation of an entire people. One too many lives have been taken (numbers have surpassed 10,000) so brutally and mercilessly already and it is time we put an end to it. Is is dire. It is vital for the sustainability of our humanity as the horrific events we're all collectively witnessing take place in Gaza are sure to impact you and me and us for generations to come. Oakland, I ask that you stand on the right side of history and voice your support the liberation of a people that have been kept inprisioned in their own home for decades and deserve to be free. I ask that you think of the children and their mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers and their friends and neighbors whose lives have been cut short. I urge you to please speak up. The people of Palestine are living through an almost incomprehensible reality as they are without food and water and without the necessary medical equipment to aid those that have been wounded and those that are still stuck under the rubble. Please. SAY NO TO GENOCIDE. Save Palestine. Free Palestine. Demand a CEASEFIRE NOW.
My name is Sam Richardson and I live in Oakland. As others have stated I urge the council to vote tomorrow to meet next week at the latest to adopt a strong resolution addressing the genocide currently occurring in Palestine. I also ask what will it take for one of the council members to directly condemn the active ethnic cleansing during tonight’s meeting.
Dear Oakland City Council,
My name is Lujain Al-Saleh and I am an Oakland resident living in District 1. As a city that aims to eliminate racial disparities and achieve racial equity, we must pass a resolution to call for an immediate ceasefire, end on the 16-year siege on Gaza, and end to US funding for the apartheid state of Israel. We cannot continue “businesses as usual” as tens of thousands of Palestinians are killed and displaced from their homelands. We must stand on the right side of history and do all that we can to be a part of the global movement to Free Palestine and ensure that our Palestinian brothers, sisters, and loved ones can live in peace, dignity, and liberation.
Other commenters in support of the resolution who identify themselves as ‘Jewish’ in no way speak for Oakland’s Jewish community, who have experienced a significant rise in antisemitism along with Jewish people across the country since Hamas ’ massacre on October 7.
My name is Amber Kury, I live in District 1 and I am a nurse serving alameda county residents. Today I am here to let you know that what is being done to Palestinians in Gaza is beyond a nightmare for any person who cares about human life.
This is not a political issue or a war, this is a human rights emergency- a genocide that our tax dollars are funding. I am urging the city of Oakland to follow the lead of the City of Richmond and draft a strong resolution that calls for a ceasefire and an end to the genocide of the Palestinian people.
Israel is bombing hospitals, schools, churches; they are releasing white phosphorus on Gazan civilians- a population that consists of 50% children. Palestinians in Gaza live in an open air prison with no way to escape or seek refuge from this daily terror.
As a nurse I am horrified with the response of those in power. On November 4th, 50k marched the streets begging to be heard in San Francisco, mirroring the 300k who were screaming for a ceasefire outside of the white house.
I am urging you to use your power and voice to stand with us against this genocide. Thank you for your time.
My name is Brandon Vesely and I am a Jewish resident of District 1. I join my neighbors to demand the immediate passage of a ceasefire resolution that condemns the Israeli apartheid regime’s genocide of the Palestinian people and calls for an end to U.S. aid for Israel. Change starts locally and we must join communities worldwide in their calls for an end to Israel’s human rights abuses. Anything else makes us complicit. As a Jew, such a resolution does not make me feel unsafe. Antizionism is not antisemitism. I am a descendent of holocaust survivors and when we say never again we mean never again for EVERYONE.
Good Evening, My name is Arcelia Ortega-Torres and I am located in district 2, I am writing to join the voices who are calling for a resolution acknowledging Palestinian suffering and the 10,000 Palestinian lives lost at the hands of the IDF. We are demanding that you speak out against these horrors to protect and stand in solidarity with our Palestinian brothers abroad and those here in Oakland who both have family abroad, and those who feel the pain of those abroad. There are many comments who have suggested here that this is not a "city issue", I disagree, I think our small city can move mountains, and I think we should reach larger than just "staying in our place". This past Wednesday the city of Richmond passed a resolution to acknowledging the ethnic cleansing in Gaza. Together we can reach higher, we can call for a ceasefire. The bay can reach this goal together, leading California into the right steps in supporting a ceasefire, and hopefully leading the United States in totality to ceasefire and to stop the aid to Israel in this one-sided war. This resolution is not anti-Semitic as many comments have below have suggested. it is pro-humanitarian. Likewise we must protect both our muslim and jewish brothers alike. CEASEFIRE NOW. WE CANNOT STAY SILENT. Thank you madam Chairwoman, I hope you continue to work with the organizers of today to pass this resolution.
Hello, I am a resident of Oakland and I am urging for a resolution to be passed for an immediate Cease Fire in Palestine. Please sponsor and pass this resolution just as Alameda county has and Richmond has. Oakland does not support ethnic cleansing. Please represent us and the people during this time!
I'm a long time resident of Oakland, residing in District 6, and am a Jewish American and attorney strongly opposed to the proposed resolution. The Oakland City Council has absolutely no business taking a position on a very complicated and historically complex international matter. The Council should be focused on the job at hand for which they were elected. Namely, to adopt policies and implement laws to make Oakland a safe, livable, desirable City people choose to move to and reside in and in which business can flourish.
My name is Suzie Cochran and I’m a resident of unceded Ohlone land, aka Oakland District 2.
I’m writing to urge the City of Oakland to conduct a special emergency meeting and develop a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, an end to U.S. military aid to Israel and condemning Israel’s apartheid regime. The genocide occurring in Gaza is a human rights issue and an environmental justice issue. The City of Oakland should be on the right side of history and join the precedent set by the City of Richmond and Alameda County Democratic Central Committee. As these and many more cities and jurisdictions develop similar resolutions this will pressure our administration to do the ethical thing and stop the ethic cleansing of Palestinians and stop funding the murder of innocent civilians.
Good evening everyone. My name is Tierra Allen, and I’m a resident of district 2. I want to urge the City of Oakland to follow the precedent set by the City of Richmond and draft a strong and clear resolution to call for a ceasefire and an end to the genocide of Palestinian people. We need elected officials such as you all to act and send a clear message to the federal government that they are not representing us when they support the continuation of violence in Gaza. It is our tax dollars that have funded the Israeli military’s attacks on Palestinians, that have funded the bombing of hospitals and schools and refugee camps and ended the lives of 10,000 people, 4,000 of them children, and I cannot stomach being complicit in these atrocities. Please send a loud and clear message that Oakland says NO to genocide with a strong resolution, get it on the Rules Committee agenda as soon as possible, if you need to, set up an emergency Special Meeting because the people of Gaza need us to act NOW. How many more people will die, how many more families will be wiped out, before we do what is right? Be on the right side of history, Oakland, don’t allow our government to fund atrocities in our name. I am trusting you to act. Please. Thank you.