Oakland City Council members. (Photo: oaklandca.gov)
Oakland City Council Council Should Have Called for a Ceasefire – in Oakland
Council fiddles while the city burns – votes for permanent ceasefire in Gaza
By Katy Grimes, November 29, 2023 7:56 am
The Oakland City Council voted this week, after a four-hour public debate/discussion/commentary passed a unanimous resolution (8-0) calling for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza, but only after refusing to acknowledge that Hamas attacked Israel.
Yes, that Oakland, California…
Any attempt to condemn Hamas was voted down. “The council voted 6-2 to reject proposed amendments by member Dan Kalb that specifically condemned killings and hostage-taking by Hamas, whose Oct. 7 attacks in Israel prompted the war that has devastated Gaza,” the AP reported.
Some residents showed up to defended Hamas, claiming that calling them a terrorist organization is racist. Others just denied the Oct 7 attack ever happened.
More than 500 people signed up to speak at the council meeting – “There have not been beheadings and rapings – Israel murdered their own people on October 7th,” one woman claimed. She was cheered. “The massacre of Jews is a fabricated narrative,” another claimed. “Many of those killed on October 7th, including children, were killed by the IDF.”
“Did anyone notice that those who oppose this resolution are old white supremacists?”
“There’s been a lot of atrocity propaganda ranging from claims of beheading babies to mass rape.”
This went on for four hours.
As a former elected official who has cast thousands of votes, I can't imagine why any Oakland City Council Member sided with these Jew haters. https://t.co/jFrCbj3vak
— Marc Levine 🟦 (@MarcLevine) November 29, 2023
State Senator Scott Wiener Tweeted, “The public comment praising Hamas & defending the October 7 massacre of 1,200 mostly Jews is despicable & unconscionable. What’s even worse is that the Oakland City Council majority rejected an amendment condemning Hamas. It’s a truly jarring decision by a public body.”
The public comment praising Hamas & defending the October 7 massacre of 1,200 mostly Jews is despicable & unconscionable. What’s even worse is that the Oakland City Council majority rejected an amendment condemning Hamas. It’s a truly jarring decision by a public body. https://t.co/bJoOeiQKaR
— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) November 29, 2023
The Daily Caller reported:
Amendments to condemn Hamas for taking hostages during the deadly Oct. 7 terrorist attack on multiple locations in southern Israel that killed over 1,400 people were defeated by 6-2 votes, according to the AP.
“The notion that this was a massacre of Jews is a fabricated narrative,” another resident said. “Many of those killed on October 7th, including children, were killed by the IDF [Israeli Defense Forces].”
“Calling Hamas a terrorist organization is ridiculous, racist and plays into genocidal propaganda that is flooding our media and that we should be doing everything possible to combat,” another resident claimed.
Oakland is in visible decline. Its leaders are either simple or in very serious denial about the condition of their city with horrific homicides, robberies, assaults, rampant crime, rampant violent crime, gang violence, failing schools, car break-ins, retail theft… Passing resolutions to call for ceasefire in Gaza, over 7,000 miles away, is nothing more than fiddling while Rome burns – occupying oneself with unimportant matters and neglecting important ones during a crisis.
Oakland continues to have a very serious violence problem. Oakland’s crime rates have been higher than the state average, steadily. In August, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on a new study showing that Oakland crime is up in every category compared to crime rates before the pandemic.
The Council should have called for a ceasefire in Oakland.
Our @susieneilson looks at Oakland’s worrying crime rates:
"As of early July, homicides were up 80% compared to 2019 & assaults & robberies were up by 40% & 20%, respectively. Car break-ins were up by nearly 90%, while vehicle thefts more than doubled." https://t.co/Fxu0VgxRkN
— Demian Bulwa (@demianbulwa) August 4, 2023
Aggravated assault is up by 20% compared to this point in 2019, while robberies have increased by 40% over that same period. Homicides are up by 80% compared to this time in 2019, while car-break-ins are up by 90%, and car thefts have completely doubled compared to the same period in 2019, SFist reported.
In 2021, after previously voting to defund the Oakland Police Department, the Oakland City Council voted to add more police academies and officers, reversing a course of police defunding and hiring freezes from the last year and a half. At the same time, crime in nearby San Francisco, exploded. Carjackings in Oakland have gone up by 100%, with a 50% rise in other crimes like shootings being reported by the Oakland Police. Oakland’s homicide rate is the highest it has been in decades, with its 100th homicide happening in September, the Globe reported.
Every city which voted to “defund police” are suffering with much higher crime, eventually begging for more police.
Yes, that Oakland.
I reported yesterday on Oakland voting unanimously for a ceasefire in Gaza (they can't even enforce a ceasefire on the streets of Oakland) and rejecting criticism of Hamas. https://t.co/Jy99f8gtNH Here's the video, making the rounds, of these laughably ignorant and hateful people https://t.co/nTe1R5T1RY
— Joel Pollak (@joelpollak) November 29, 2023
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November 11, 2019
All of this stems from a “Hate America First” perspective that has been propagated behind the scenes for decades, America has consistently supported Israel since 1948. Consequently, those in the Hate America First movement are obligated to support Israel’s enemies regardless of their inherent evil.
Shouldn’t the Oakland City Council be worried about Oakland? Crime is out of control; they lost the Raiders and now the A’s to Vegas. The school district is rated at 50%, that not even a D but an F. They are rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic with their silly woke games.
Their next item on the agenda is to repeal the law of gravity cuz – racist.
If nothing else perhaps this ugly and delusional city council event, populated by these delusional hate-filled speakers, will fully wake up all Californians once and for all as to exactly WHY Oakland is the #1 stinking pit of crime, violence, and insanity and why anyone who has half a clue about the present state of this hellscape of a city avoids it at all costs if at all possible.
Come on man they are doin’ the peoples work!
Priorities!
Why fix crime in your own backyard when you can condemn a nation defending it’s people from savages?
Come on man!
A per capita homicide rate over 20% higher than Chicago’s.
Driving around, it almost seems like a west coast potemkin village at this point.
It is a hellish place!
Long time well known liberal businesses have shut their doors because they have been robbed one too many times.
Oakland looks like a war torn country. They have turned on their own.
Metal Leo has featured the urban worn torn city.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Hf36qNx_wm4&pp=ygUJbWV0YWwgbGVv
Democrats are the most bizarre people on planet earth. They live in an alternate reality.
Here’s a great idea, let move and occupy the entire Bay Area, this vote proves that Richmond and San Francisco will not be alone in welcoming millions upon millions of Jew hating Hamas supporting people. If they make this migration they will immediately find like minded individuals and organizations like BLM and ANTIFA. On a comedic note ( and yes there is a little comedy here ) I’ll bet the city council of Berkeley are kicking themselves being upstaged by the aforementioned cities .
Ha, yes Oakland beat Berkeley at its own delusional game!
Sadly they probably will follow Oakland’s lead. A lot of crazy to spread around in the bay area! Meanwhile, humanity is nearly extinct in these urban hellholes!
I hate autocorrect, I typed in “ let all the Palestinians “ move to the Bay Area. Stupid AI.
The bigger question is “Why have people stopped caring?” Or more to the point, “Why have ballot harvesters stopped caring?”
Shocking and wildly inaccurate comments made by the general public should not have persuaded rational elected officials (all Democrats) to vote for this outrage, especially knowing that the City of Oakland would receive national and international scrutiny after the vote. But it shows the divisions within the Democrat party and the dismal state of education among both the elite and working class.
Was this done to attract badly needed Chinese investment money garnered on Governor Newsom’s latest trip?
Wow, for Scott Wiener to say something is awful…it must be really bad.
The Oakland City Council is an example of our failed education system.
Talk about privileged people. For this council to sit there and talk about something that really doesn’t effect most of the residents in Oakland and waste tax payer money is crazy. What’s on the agenda for the next meeting? Denying the holocaust?
Wasting everyone’s time with silly proclamations on situations outside of their governance with things like this and cities declaring themselves nuclear free zones needs to stop. Reduce their salaries and they may concentrate more on their own jurisdiction’s problems.
It s easy for these Palestinian and Hamas/Hezbollah/ supporters to stand from afar, run off at the mouth, and deny the facts. If they really had the courage of their convictions, they’d hop on a plane to Gaza, pick up a weapon, and stand a post. Of course, that could be dangerous since the Israelis have nukes and show no intention of detouring from their mission to destroy Hamas. Shame on Oaktown politicins for feeding in to this nonsense though.