From:
To: City Council
Subject: Public Comment on Agenda Item 4
Date: Tuesday, February 20, 2024 4:52:56 PM
My name is Linda Block and I have been a resident of Sebastopol for 12 years. I work as a psychotherapist for families. I’ve been a racial and social justice activist, educating for the rights of African Americans, Indigenous Americans, and the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
Now I speak up for my own community. Did you know that most Jewish people in Sebastopol know someone who has been murdered or kidnapped by Hamas?
A branch of my family lives in Israel. A 24 year old family member, Gili Adar (’say her name’) was murdered at the massacre by Hamas at the music festival in Israel on October 7th, the deadliest single day for Jewish people since the Holocaust. My family in Israel is still needing to go into their bomb shelters at their residences and work places every day because Hamas has been continuously shooting rockets at Israel.
Since this resolution will not do anything to benefit our community, will not have an impact on the war in the middle east, and will cause my family and all Jewish families in Sebastopol to be targeted and not feel safe at school or work, I believe it is out of the scope of Sebastopol City Council’s charge.
As San Francisco Mayor Breed said about the resolution that their Board of Supervisors passed: “City Supervisors are neither elected nor qualified to undertake complex foreign policy. We should be creating opportunities for conversation, for people to rally around common values, advocate for peace, and support human life. . . . No one should feel unsafe in our communities. And no one should think that while advocating for peace abroad it’s okay to stoke division and hate at home.” While I desperately want to see a future in which Palestinians and Israelis can live side by side in peace, this can’t be achieved until Hamas is removed from power.
Hamas is a jihadist terrorist organization that has vowed not only to repeat the October 7 massacre and to eliminate the State of Israel, but to kill Jews worldwide.
Their fight is not about creating a Palestinian state; their fight is about establishing a caliphate. I fear that resolutions such as this one embolden Hamas’ extremist murderous cause, and embolden their supporters.
Since the October 7 massacre, antisemitism has exploded around the Bay area, including acts of vandalism, assaults on peaceful protestors, attacks on Jewishowned businesses, and threats to students in schools and on college campuses (including my teenage student at Sonoma State University). I’ve personally witnessed this impact the mental well being of my clients, my community, and my professional colleagues.
I fear this resolution will ignite more antisemitism. Considering the ongoing trauma our residents are experiencing, efforts of our Sebastopol City Council elected officials should be directed towards bringing people together rather than creating further divisions.
Let’s let the hostage negotiators and experts in the middle east work out a safe hostage return and a true peace treaty. And remember, there was a ceasefire in place on October 6 before Hamas broke it to murder innocent people. Some, like my young cousin, were enjoying a music festival with a theme of Peace and had their life brutally taken from them - along with the devastation and horror for all who loved them.