The most disgusting part of this story is that, in Richmond, it was a Jewish politician who sponsored the resolutions. His Dhimmitude is complete!
Do these people not understand that Israel has been under attack? Do they not understand that the "Gaza Flotilla" was a terrorist infiltration under the guise of a "humanitarian mission"?
Do they understand that terrorists are trying to infiltrate Israel to kill our citizens on a DAILY basis and that Iran is working hard to establish a base of operations there?
Do they not understand that, according to International Law, Israel was well within its rights to board the ship, that there was NO humanitarian aid aboard the ship, and that IDF members weren't even properly armed?
If the IDF hadn't been attacked, the IDF would never have fired their weapons.
I think they are aware. It is just that their hate of Israel has overcome the need to actually find out the facts before making a resolution to condemn Israel.
I would think that the international peace movement people would be the most upset with the "Gaza Flotilla" participants--by working under the cover that this was a humanitarian mission, by including known terrorists in among the participants, by singing and shouting anti-Semitic songs and chants--the members of the "Gaza Flotilla" have put legitimate human-rights workers in danger.
Now it is not easier for legitimately needy people to get aid--it is harder. Now instead of operating under international protection, humanitarian organizations will need to prove their intentions--not just in Israel, but everywhere!
Why don't we see such "progressive" cities as San Francisco, Richmond, and Berkeley looking at the facts and condemning the actions of the violent "humanitarians" in the Gaza Flotilla???
Right now anyone who can see that Israel was in the right needs to bombard the city halls in Richmond, San Francisco, and Berkeley with e-mail, phone calls, and protest marches.
Here are some phone numbers and e-mail addresses you can use right now:
SAN FRANCISCO, CA
Here is her contact information:
City Hall
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 244
San Francisco, Ca 94102-4689
(415) 554-7670 - voice
(415) 554-7674 - fax
Sophie.Maxwell@sfgov.org
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 244
San Francisco, Ca 94102-4689
(415) 554-7670 - voice
(415) 554-7674 - fax
Sophie.Maxwell@sfgov.org
Aides: Jon Lau & Alice Guidry
RICHMOND, CA
He is Vice Mayor, so here is the contact information for the Mayor's office:
Mayor's Office
450 Civic Center PlazaRichmond, CA 94804
Phone: 510-620-6503
Fax: 510-412-2070
BERKELEY PEACE AND JUSTICE COMMISSION
All communication is through the secretary of the committee. If you include your name and address, it will become public information. Here is the secretary's contact information:
Secretary:Eric Brenman
Department of Health Services
(510) 981-5114
E-mail: EBrenman@CityofBerkeley.info
-
Department of Health Services
(510) 981-5114
E-mail: EBrenman@CityofBerkeley.info
-
Mailing Address:Peace and Justice Commission
Eric Brenman, Secretary
Civic Center Building, 2nd Floor
2180 Milvia Street
Berkeley CA 94704
Eric Brenman, Secretary
Civic Center Building, 2nd Floor
2180 Milvia Street
Berkeley CA 94704
M
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San Francisco, Richmond to consider resolutions condemning Israel
by stacey palevsky
http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/58384/richmond-s.f.-to-consider-resolutions-condemning-israel/
At their next meetings, the Richmond City Council and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors will consider resolutions condemning Israel for attacking the Gaza-bound flotilla.
Both bodies are scheduled to discuss the issue Tuesday, June 15.
Berkeley’s Peace and Justice Commission considered a similar measure at its meeting June 7.
Supervisor John Avalos sponsored the San Francisco resolution, and Supervisor Sophie Maxwell signed on to the eight-page document.
“This is the first time I can remember in my 10 years at JCRC that a city supervisor has authored and another has signed on to a statement that is so blatantly one-sided and lacking in any depth of understanding of the issues at play in the Middle East,” said Abby Porth, associate director at the S.F.-based Jewish Community Relations Council.
“It is outrageous that the city government in San Francisco, Richmond and possibly Berkeley … would even consider becoming embroiled in foreign affairs,” Porth said. “What these city governments should be involved in is dealing with the most significant and pressing local issues in a way that brings the community together rather than divides it.”
The San Francisco resolution condemns the flotilla interception and Israel’s blockade of Gaza because it “collectively deprives the entire population of Gaza of adequate provisions” and because though the blockade is intended to target Hamas, it mainly affects vulnerable Palestinians, such as children and the elderly.
The resolution notes that Israel “maintains the need to protect its southern region against rocket attacks from Gaza.”
Avalos did not return phone calls from j. seeking comment. Maxwell could not be reached, either.
Across the bay, Richmond Vice Mayor Jeff Ritterman, who is Jewish, sponsored the city council resolution. [Here is a link to the PDF document. It is item J-2 on page 10]
“We have to say when our own people step out of line,” Ritterman said. “We have to be the ones to say, ‘No, we can do better, we can be more moral, we can find a peace’ … and I don’t think this is the way to do it.”
The Richmond resolution supports the United Nations Security Council condemnation of the flotilla raid. It criticizes Israel for boarding the ship in international waters and charges that Israel violates human rights with its blockade of Gaza. The measure calls for an independent, thorough, credible and transparent investigation into the incident.
This is the second time in recent months the council has considered a non-local issue. In May, the council passed a resolution condemning Arizona’s immigration law and boycotting the state until it is repealed.
“There are local ramifications for international policy, and understanding those and drawing those connections have some importance,” Ritterman said.
Ritterman is the chief of cardiology at Kaiser Richmond Medical Center and has served on the Richmond City Council since January 2009. He has been interested in Israel since he was a child in Brooklyn and Long Island, N.Y.
At 62, he is the same age as Israel and has watched as the country grew up, even living and working on a kibbutz at one point.
“I love Israel. I very much care what happens to Israel and to the Jewish people,” Ritterman said. “But this, I think, is a dead end.”
Ritterman drafted the flotilla resolution before he learned that two people on board the Mavi Marmara were from Richmond. He later added language to reflect that.
It was written “in the context of human rights,” Ritterman said. Neither Hamas nor its steady stream of rockets into Israel are mentioned.
“The international laws that deal with this make it totally clear that that’s irrelevant,” Ritterman said. “You cannot attack a vessel in international waters and you cannot collectively punish a people by denying humanitarian aid.”
Meanwhile, the Berkeley Peace and Justice Commission considered a similar resolution at its meeting June 7, but tabled any decision until its next meeting July 12 at the North Berkeley Senior Center.
Wendy Kenin, who is Orthodox, chairs the commission and led the meeting. An estimated 80 people attended, the largest turnout Kenin has seen for a commission meeting.
She said the session was for the most part civil and respectful.
The 15-member Peace and Justice Commission makes recommendations to the Berkeley City Council. At its earliest, the city council would consider the measure in September.
“It’s more important than ever that those in our Jewish community stand up and speak out,” Porth said. “We need the community to come out en masse — today — to call, e-mail and send letters to our local public officials and let them know that we oppose these attempts to isolate Israel on moral grounds … and because we expect our local officials to focus on local issues.”
For more information and to view the S.F. resolution, go to http://propeacesf.blogspot.com.
by stacey palevsky
http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/58384/richmond-s.f.-to-consider-resolutions-condemning-israel/
At their next meetings, the Richmond City Council and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors will consider resolutions condemning Israel for attacking the Gaza-bound flotilla.
Both bodies are scheduled to discuss the issue Tuesday, June 15.
Berkeley’s Peace and Justice Commission considered a similar measure at its meeting June 7.
Supervisor John Avalos sponsored the San Francisco resolution, and Supervisor Sophie Maxwell signed on to the eight-page document.
“This is the first time I can remember in my 10 years at JCRC that a city supervisor has authored and another has signed on to a statement that is so blatantly one-sided and lacking in any depth of understanding of the issues at play in the Middle East,” said Abby Porth, associate director at the S.F.-based Jewish Community Relations Council.
“It is outrageous that the city government in San Francisco, Richmond and possibly Berkeley … would even consider becoming embroiled in foreign affairs,” Porth said. “What these city governments should be involved in is dealing with the most significant and pressing local issues in a way that brings the community together rather than divides it.”
The San Francisco resolution condemns the flotilla interception and Israel’s blockade of Gaza because it “collectively deprives the entire population of Gaza of adequate provisions” and because though the blockade is intended to target Hamas, it mainly affects vulnerable Palestinians, such as children and the elderly.
The resolution notes that Israel “maintains the need to protect its southern region against rocket attacks from Gaza.”
Avalos did not return phone calls from j. seeking comment. Maxwell could not be reached, either.
Across the bay, Richmond Vice Mayor Jeff Ritterman, who is Jewish, sponsored the city council resolution. [Here is a link to the PDF document. It is item J-2 on page 10]
“We have to say when our own people step out of line,” Ritterman said. “We have to be the ones to say, ‘No, we can do better, we can be more moral, we can find a peace’ … and I don’t think this is the way to do it.”
The Richmond resolution supports the United Nations Security Council condemnation of the flotilla raid. It criticizes Israel for boarding the ship in international waters and charges that Israel violates human rights with its blockade of Gaza. The measure calls for an independent, thorough, credible and transparent investigation into the incident.
This is the second time in recent months the council has considered a non-local issue. In May, the council passed a resolution condemning Arizona’s immigration law and boycotting the state until it is repealed.
“There are local ramifications for international policy, and understanding those and drawing those connections have some importance,” Ritterman said.
Ritterman is the chief of cardiology at Kaiser Richmond Medical Center and has served on the Richmond City Council since January 2009. He has been interested in Israel since he was a child in Brooklyn and Long Island, N.Y.
At 62, he is the same age as Israel and has watched as the country grew up, even living and working on a kibbutz at one point.
“I love Israel. I very much care what happens to Israel and to the Jewish people,” Ritterman said. “But this, I think, is a dead end.”
Ritterman drafted the flotilla resolution before he learned that two people on board the Mavi Marmara were from Richmond. He later added language to reflect that.
It was written “in the context of human rights,” Ritterman said. Neither Hamas nor its steady stream of rockets into Israel are mentioned.
“The international laws that deal with this make it totally clear that that’s irrelevant,” Ritterman said. “You cannot attack a vessel in international waters and you cannot collectively punish a people by denying humanitarian aid.”
Meanwhile, the Berkeley Peace and Justice Commission considered a similar resolution at its meeting June 7, but tabled any decision until its next meeting July 12 at the North Berkeley Senior Center.
Wendy Kenin, who is Orthodox, chairs the commission and led the meeting. An estimated 80 people attended, the largest turnout Kenin has seen for a commission meeting.
She said the session was for the most part civil and respectful.
The 15-member Peace and Justice Commission makes recommendations to the Berkeley City Council. At its earliest, the city council would consider the measure in September.
“It’s more important than ever that those in our Jewish community stand up and speak out,” Porth said. “We need the community to come out en masse — today — to call, e-mail and send letters to our local public officials and let them know that we oppose these attempts to isolate Israel on moral grounds … and because we expect our local officials to focus on local issues.”
For more information and to view the S.F. resolution, go to http://propeacesf.blogspot.com.
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