From:
To: City Council
Subject: Item #4 about a Middle East Ceasefire
Date: Monday, February 19, 2024 3:18:45 AM
I write to you as both a citizen of Sebastopol, and as a dual citizen of both the US and Israel.
I return there frequently and have an appreciation for the depth and complexity of the Israeli/ Palestinian tragedy, and the yearning for peace from all sides.
Who would not support a permanent ceasefire and mutual recognition of each other by both parties?!? Who doesn’t want the immediate release of all hostages?!? Who wouldn’t want to see a free and peaceful Palestinian state living side by side next to a free and peaceful Israel?!?
If that is what this resolution calls for, then of course it should be endorsed.
The spirit of the current resolution before you is well intentioned, though far from complete.
It is lacking in some critical ways. It does not mention Hamas outright by name, or Hezbollah, or demand that they both
halt their hostile launching of rockets toward Israel. It does not call out Hamas fighters for their mass rape and sexual abuse
of women on Oct. 7th, or demand that perpetrators be prosecuted. It does not call out Israel for its brutal collective punishment of the Gazan population or the constriction of aid and relief for the desperate Palestinian population.
It does not address Israeli settler violence or the degree to which Israel quietly allows for the harassment of Palestinians
in the West Bank. ….. The list of crimes on both sides is endless.
Your vote for an immediate and permanent ceasefire and a return of all hostages would be nice, for whatever it’s worth,
no matter how imperfect this resolution may be. How it will advance the cause of peace I’m not sure, but it can’t hurt.
At least our city council will have spoken out.
There has been a peace vigil being held here in Sebastopol every Wednesday evening at 6:00pm, in front of the Living
Peace Wall. We have stood silently, mourning the loss of all lives lost in this tragic war, and have called for a ceasefire from the very first week of this miserable conflict.
Come join us to demonstrate your commitment to an immediate and just end of this war.
Shalom/Salam/Peace.
Steve Einstein
Sebastopol