From: Dianne Monroe <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, January 8, 2024 10:44 AM
To: Kevin Patterson <[email protected]>
Subject: Ceasefire in Gaza Resolution
CAUTION:EXTERNAL SENDER
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Dear Cotati City Council Members,
I am writing to implore you to pass a resolution in support of an immediate and permanent ceasefire and lifting of the siege on Gaza.
I write as a Sonoma County resident and an anti-Zionist Jew whose mother and grandparents were fortunate to flee the Holocaust. My family’s story of their escape from a genocide called the Holocaust gives me the clarity to recognize the war against Gaza as another genocide and to speak out on behalf of the people of Gaza.
Israel’s war against the people in Gaza and the West Bank is a local issue – as well as a national and international issue – because it impacts residents of Cotati, Sonoma County and California.
It’s a local issue because tax money from residents of Cotati, Sonoma County and California is being spent to support the onslaught against Gaza when the money could be much better spent on things like education, housing, food security and more.
Many local leaders, including the Richmond and Oakland City Councils, have called for a ceasefire already.
People in Sonoma County (up to 300) have been showing up every week in Santa Rosa’s Old Courthouse Square to demand a ceasefire.
An immediate and permanent ceasefire is supported by over 66% of the American people.
There are many Palestinian, Muslim, Arab and Jewish residents in Sonoma County. With this genocidal war in Gaza continuing, we are also seeing an increase in hate crimes targeting these communities in Sonoma County.
Not passing a resolution is like normalizing genocide and condoning the death of thousands more civilians.
I call on the city of Cotati to lead with moral clarity, and to join with the wider community in calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire.
Thank you for reading and considering my words.
Dianne Monroe