*** MEDIA ALERT ***
For press inquiries, please contact
Wassim Hage, (832) 704-7660, wassim@
BREAKING: Oakland City Council Unanimously PASSES Critical Resolution Calling for Ceasefire in Gaza
View the resolution here
Click here for visuals of the meeting.
All visuals are available for use by the press and can be attributed to the Arab Resource and Organizing Center
Oakland, CA- Today, Oakland’s City Council passed in a special session a resolution calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. The resolution passed unanimously with overwhelming public comment in support of the resolution. Over 1200 public comments were submitted online with 86% in support. Public comment started at around 4:30pm and went until after 9pm, with virtually all comments in favor of the resolution; several overflow rooms were needed for supporters of the resolution. The resolution empowers the City Council to transmit Oakland's support for a permanent ceasefire to California legislators and United States Congressional Offices.
“The Bay Area has been turning out for weeks, demanding a ceasefire and an end to genocide in Gaza. With this resolution, we are proud that our Oakland city council is reflecting the voices of the diverse communities it represents, and is standing firmly on the side of peace and justice.” says Lara Kiswani, Executive Director of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center. "We are proud to see our city honor its radical legacy of social and racial justice. We will continue to fight for a ceasefire and an end to the genocide in Gaza."
The Oakland City Council resolution passes during a pause in the ongoing violence. The Israeli military has killed upwards of 16,000 Palestinians in the past month, 1 in every 200 people in Gaza, including at least 5,500 children. The Israeli war on Gaza has been described as “a textbook case of genocide.”
"We support life. And in order for a lasting peace to occur the shooting, the bombings and all of these things have to stop. People need food and access to water. That was the goal of this resolution," said D3 City Councilmember Carroll Fife, who authored the resolution, in her closing comments. "The world is watching... I reject the notion that Oakland is divided. We stand united when it counts. That is now"
Recent polling suggests that 66% of all Americans and over 80% of Democrats support an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. There is also growing pressure from elected officials, including city councils and members of Congress who are supporting an immediate and permanent ceasefire. Civil rights organizations in the US are reporting a massive increase in Islamophobic and anti-Arab hate incidents in the last month; 3 Palestinians were shot over the weekend in a suspected hate crime in Vermont.
This resolution passes after months of protest, advocacy, and civil disobedience calling for ceasefire around the United States