From: Rhea Varley
To: Beth Redfern
Subject: FW: Tonight"s CC meeting
Date: Monday, September 15, 2025 9:32:32 AM
From: Deborah Kallick
Sent: Monday, September 15, 2025 9:31 AM
To: Alex Stillman <[email protected]>; Meredith Matthews <[email protected]>; Sarah Schaefer <[email protected]>; Stacy Atkins-Salazar <[email protected]>; Kimberley White <[email protected]>; Rhea Varley <[email protected]>
Subject: Tonight's CC meeting
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To the Mayor and the City Council,
Tonight you will be considering actions that — whether by urging CalPERS to divest from Israel or by passing a one-sided “humanitarian” resolution — single out the world’s only Jewish state. These symbolic acts may seem distant or abstract, or in step with other city councils, but they send a painful message to Jewish residents here in Arcata: that our grief and our safety do not matter.
CalPERS invests across the globe — in Japan, the U.K., Canada, Germany, Australia, and in emerging markets like China, India, Brazil, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. Singling out Israel while ignoring every other foreign holding is not consistency, it’s a double standard.
And resolutions that speak only of Gaza while erasing Israeli suffering are not acts of compassion — they are acts of erasure. Civilians in Gaza are suffering, yes. But so are civilians in Israel: families shattered by terrorism, hostages still in captivity, thousands living with life-threatening injuries. True empathy means acknowledging all human suffering.
When this Council takes one-sided actions, it fuels division here at home. At a time when antisemitism is already rising, Jewish residents should not feel further alienated by their own city government.
I urge you: rise above political theater and one-sided rhetoric. Show empathy for all human beings, and focus this Council’s energy where it belongs — on building unity and addressing the needs of Arcata and surroundings.
Best regards,
Deborah Kallick
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Deborah A Kallick, PhD
Create the Future