The San Francisco Bay Area Office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SFBA) confirmed this week that the recently approved ceasefire resolution in Gaza has been officially processed in San Francisco, after confirming that San Francisco Mayor London Breed has not vetoed the resolution.
In a statement, Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC) Executive Director Lara Kiswani thanked elected representatives for supporting the resolution and standing firm for the values of San Francisco voters.
?Despite Mayor Breed's unfortunate misrepresentation of the democratic process and her troubling echo of dangerous, racist and trite anti-Arab expressions, we look forward to working with all elected representatives to shape a city that reflects dignity and humanity of all our communities, especially those affected by violence, war and displacement," he said in a statement.
He added that "as long as the US-backed war on Gaza continues, we will continue to join millions of people around the world in demanding an immediate and permanent ceasefire."
The resolution attracted what Board of Supervisors members described as “unprecedented” public support, with more than 65,000 emails sent to the Board in support of the resolution, thousands of residents coming to town hall and more than 12 hours of public comments in support of it.
“JVP Bay Area is one of many grassroots community organizations that urged Mayor Breed not to veto the San Francisco Board of Supervisors resolution. The majority of San Franciscans, including the majority of the Jewish community, support an immediate ceasefire as the only way to end the genocidal violence Israel is inflicting on the Palestinians. It is also the only way to guarantee the safety and return of Israeli civilian hostages. “This resolution reflects the progressive values of San Francisco,” said Elliot Helmon, Jewish Voice for Peace, Bay Area.
“This resolution makes all our communities safer, including Arabs, Palestinians and Jews. “We are proud that San Francisco stands on the right side of history right now, despite attempts by right-wing and pro-Israel advocacy organizations to circumvent the democratic process,” he stressed.
The CAIR organization stated that around 30,000 Palestinians, including more than 9,000 children, have died due to Israel's bombing campaigns in Gaza, and hunger and disease have taken hold in Gaza.
Palestinians living in San Francisco have lost thousands of family members in Gaza and the West Bank in the last 100 days. The latest polls indicate that Americans are overwhelmingly in favor of a ceasefire in the ongoing Israeli war against Gaza.
“To say that we are extremely disappointed by Mayor Breed's January 19 letter to members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, in which she repeats Israel's propaganda justifying genocide, is an understatement, and her omission of Israeli war crimes and growing Islamophobia is blatant,” acknowledged CAIR San Francisco Bay Area (CAIR-SFBA) Executive Director Zahra Billoo.
However, he congratulated the thousands of people who advocated for the city of San Francisco to demonstrate moral leadership and join the global call for a ceasefire in Gaza. "As long as the genocide continues in Palestine, we too must continue to speak out," he said.
This publication was supported in whole or part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the CaliFornia State Library.
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