listen to this note
By Pamela Cruz with information from Raúl Ayrala.
On the night of Monday, February 26, at least a dozen young residents of Redwood City They demonstrated at the regular meeting of the City Council in order to pressure the councilors to sign a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, where the war between Israel and Hamas has left 29,878 Palestinians dead, many of them children and women.
The protesters, mostly young people pursuing tertiary education, belonged to a group supporting a ceasefire in Gaza, which presented itself simply as “a coalition of citizens”, and expressed their views to the city’s mayor, Jeff Gee, and city councillors.
Following this demonstration, the City Council will consider on Monday, March 11, signing a resolution demanding an end to fighting in the Palestinian enclave.
Brandon H., a member of the group, said the group is largely made up of students from Cañada College, and he thought providing his comments in front of the full Council would be an effective way to support passage of the resolution.
“Our tactic is to speak from the heart, because we have this opportunity where the public can speak to any issue. The ceasefire is not on the agenda today, but we take the opportunity to explain why we support it. We are of different faiths, we have Muslims, Jews, Christians, secular people, immigrants and native-born Americans, young people and the elderly, we all want the atrocities to end,” Brandon told the Council.
So far, according to Reuters, some 70 cities in the country have passed resolutions regarding Israel's bombing of Gaza. These include San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle and Atlanta. Some of these resolutions call for the release of hostages and humanitarian aid for the Palestinian people.
Brandon told Peninsula 360 Press that while such actions may be symbolic, the growing number of resolutions calling for an immediate ceasefire is putting pressure on President Joseph Biden's administration ahead of the November general election.
“It is 100 percent symbolic, but this is what we need, because Biden does not listen to us and neither does Congress. We know that Congress and the state representatives do not listen to us. But perhaps they will listen to the mayors, the vice-mayors, the councilors,” Brandon stressed.
There are those who criticise these local resolutions, believing that they do not actually have a practical and tangible effect on national politics and that they distract people from domestic problems.
Others say young people and communities of color in particular are frustrated and want the White House and Democratic leaders to listen to them on issues like this.
However, the government has warned that it will not call for a ceasefire, because (it argues) that would only make Hamas stronger.
Another citizen who was present at the Council was Marselene Luna, who defined herself as a friend of the young people who made up the group and told Peninsula 360 Press that “what happens in Gaza affects us all as human beings, not just the Palestinians.”
On March 11, the Redwood City Council is expected to consider signing a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza conflict zone, joining other cities in calling for an end to what many view as genocide.
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