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Yes, I want to support your work!<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Local activists\u2014including Palestinians, Jews, and others\u2014have marched, boarded a military supply ship, and occupied the federal building to put pressure on U.S. leaders to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. Now they want the Oakland City Council to take a stand against the war, which started after Hamas soldiers attacked Israeli civilians and military installations on Oct. 7. Hamas said<\/a> it carried out the attack because of Israel\u2019s treatment of Palestinian prisoners<\/a>, Israeli policy around Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, and the expansion of settlements<\/a> in the West Bank, which is part of the Palestinian territory the international community says Israel has illegally occupied<\/a> for decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Monday, the council will consider a resolution<\/a> drafted by District 3 Councilmember Carroll Fife that urges members of Congress to demand an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, unrestricted entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, the restoration of critical supplies and infrastructure in Gaza, and the respect for international law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The resolution condemns the \u201crecent rise of Antisemitic, Islamophobic, racist, homophobic, and xenophobic attacks\u201d in Oakland and the country. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a civil rights group, recently reported<\/a> an \u201cunprecedented\u201d spike in requests for help from people experiencing Islamophobia and anti-Arab incidents. Numerous media reports have documented a significant uptick<\/a> in antisemitic incidents in several U.S. cities since the conflict started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oakland\u2019s resolution differs from legislation passed last month<\/a> by the Richmond City Council that affirmed the city\u2019s solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and condemned \u201ccollective punishment\u201d and \u201cethnic cleansing.\u201d A resolution approved by the Alameda County Democratic Central Committee on Nov. 1 accused Israel of committing acts of genocide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fife told The Oaklandside she received input from Jewish and Palestinian community members and crafted a resolution that mostly focuses on calling for an end to the violence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur goal is to find something that everybody can agree on,\u201d Fife said. \u201cEverybody is saying they want peace.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n She noted that members of congress have far more power than a local city council to force a ceasefire. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is what we can do as elected officials, but I honestly don\u2019t think a local resolution will be terribly impactful in the larger scope of what needs to happen,\u201d Fife said. \u201cIt\u2019s a piece, it\u2019s what we have capacity to do, but I really think it\u2019s going to be the grassroots organizing that\u2019s happening.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this month, dozens of protesters showed up at an Oakland City Council meeting to demand a ceasefire resolution. Meanwhile, demonstrators attempted to board a ship<\/a> at the Port of Oakland that was reportedly going to carry military equipment to Israel. Last week, hundreds of Jewish protesters and supporters<\/a> engaged in civil disobedience at the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building in downtown Oakland for several hours until many were arrested. Days later, hundreds of protesters shut down traffic on the Bay Bridge<\/a> while President Biden and other world leaders were in San Francisco for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hamas killed approximately 1,200 people and took at least 240 hostages during its Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Israel responded by bombing the Gaza Strip, home to over 2 million Palestinians, and launching a ground invasion that has killed over 13,000 people<\/a>, according to recent estimates from Palestinian health authorities. UNICEF recently reported that more than 5,350 of those fatalities are children<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Oakland Unified School District was expected to introduce a ceasefire resolution<\/a> earlier this month, but the board adjourned after some attendees disrupted the meeting to object to the limited public comment period. The Oakland Education Association issued a statement and voted on a resolution on Oct. 27 that supported Palestinian liberation and criticized Israel, calling the government\u2019s policies genocidal. The OEA later deleted its statement on Instagram and approved a resolution on Nov. 6 that encouraged its members to speak up and support teachers in providing education about Palestinian liberation in classrooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Several Oakland councilmembers have already weighed in on the war. On Nov. 13, Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas issued a statement<\/a> urging President Joe Biden to demand a ceasefire. She noted that families in Oakland are grieving the loss of loved ones in both Palestine and Israel and condemned the killing of civilians. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs Americans, we must learn from past genocides and not allow our government to be complicit in the displacement and killing of the Palestinian people,\u201d Bas said in her statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bas also called it \u201cunconscionable\u201d that the U.S. government would consider giving an additional $14.3 billion in military aid to Israel when cities like Oakland are struggling with crises of homelessness, gun violence, and inadequate healthcare services. Israel has received about $3 billion annually from the U.S. over the past 50 years and is the largest recipient of American military aid, according to Axios<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Councilmember Janani Ramachandran told The Oaklandside she has been clear about her support for a ceasefire since signing a petition on Oct. 16, and that she\u2019s been meeting with Jewish and Muslim constituents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Councilmember Kevin Jenkins shared a temporary message on Instagram in early November that said, \u201cIt\u2019s beyond time for a ceasefire in Palestine. Innocent people are senselessly being killed. I am horrified by the videos of children being killed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Councilmember Dan Kalb has been critical of how some other local leaders and organizations have talked about the war. He spoke at a press conference at Montclair Elementary School on Nov. 10 along with residents and the Jewish Community Relations Council Bay Area<\/a> to protest language in OEA\u2019s statement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Kalb told the J. Weekly<\/a> that he understood why some people want a ceasefire in Gaza, but that it\u2019s unacceptable to use language that delegitimizes Israel. Kalb, who said he wasn\u2019t making any comment on Fife\u2019s resolution, told The Oaklandside that any language that delegitimizes the existence of Israel or makes \u201cfalse accusations\u201d would be unacceptable. He added that this kind of language was used in resolutions crafted by the OEA, the city of Richmond, and the Alameda County Democratic Central Committee. Kalb told J. Weekly he will vote against any resolution that, like Richmond\u2019s, would condemn Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The JCRC, which has sought over several decades to build support for Israel<\/a> among Bay Area political leaders through educational trips and programming, is demanding that Oakland councilmembers amend Fife\u2019s resolution<\/a> to condemn Hamas and call for its removal from power. The group is urging residents to send a form letter<\/a> to the council, which states that Fife\u2019s draft resolution says nothing about atrocities perpetrated by Hamas. The letter says, \u201c[Hamas\u2019] removal from power in Gaza is a necessary condition for a long-term ceasefire to result in peace.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been meeting with most members of the Oakland City Council,\u201d said Tye Gregory, CEO of JCRC Bay Area. \u201cWe don\u2019t think that the proponents of this resolution are bad people, we just don\u2019t think the resolution represents the Jewish community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gregory told The Oaklandside that the JCRC wants a ceasefire as soon as possible. But it would have to be accompanied by the release of Israeli hostages and the removal of Hamas from power.Other local government bodies have considered issuing statements about the humanitarian crisis<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Activists are urging their supporters to attend Monday\u2019s council meeting<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Gregory added that the JCRC is generally against foreign policy resolutions by local councils, saying they tend to make local divisions worse. After the Richmond City Council approved its ceasefire resolution, JCRC launched a campaign<\/a> to stop the spread of \u201cinflammatory\u201d resolutions in other cities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n