A California city has become the first in the US to pass a resolution condemning Israel — accusing the Jewish nation of committing “ethnic cleansing and collective punishment.”
The resolution passed by the Richmond City Council at around 1 a.m. Wednesday states, in part, that Palestinians in Gaza “are currently facing a campaign of ethnic cleansing and collective punishment by the state of Israel.”
That “is considered a war crime under international law,” the resolution stated.
It also calls for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire and the safe passage of substantial humanitarian aid to Gaza,” as well as an “end to Israeli apartheid and the occupation and blockade of Palestinian land by Israeli military forces.”
“The city of Richmond opposes all existing and future military aid to Israel,” it concludes, while attempting to express support for Jewish members of its community.
Council members overwhelmingly supported the resolution, passing it 5 -1 after a contentious hours-long meeting that finally ended around 1 a.m. — to chants of “Free, free Palestine!”
The meeting started with Mayor Eduardo Martinez accused of being a Nazi, prompting a shouting match that briefly delayed the hearing, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
“If my words pain you, I’m sorry,” the mayor said after re-adjourning the meeting. “But they are words that have to be said.”
He denied that the resolution was antisemitic, saying: “There has not been a single word that says we are against the Jewish people.
“If it sounds one-sided, it’s because it voices a narrative that has been ignored,” the mayor said, according to Fox News.
“I reject the notion that speaking out against Israeli military and right-wing government is antisemitic,” Martinez added.
“We should never stay silent when it comes to any group.”
The mayor argued that “the people of [the] United States, whose government and tax dollars directly support Israel’s military have an immediate moral obligation to condemn Israel’s acts of collective punishment and apartheid state,” according to the Los Angeles Times.
Vice Mayor Gayle McLaughlin also told the Chronicle she and the mayor felt they needed to take action based on what they were seeing on the news.
Follow along with The Post’s live blog for the latest on Hamas’ attack on Israel
“The situation in Gaza is really dire,” she said, citing a lack of electricity, food, water and aid. “The urgency is now for us to do something.
“History will hold us accountable.”
McLaughlin added that both she and the mayor felt there was not enough attention given to Palestinian voices in the mainstream media.
“We felt it was essential that we not put our heads in the sand,” she said, describing the resolution as a “breakthrough of that mainstream media blackout.
“This is a longtime struggle that has now reached a [new] height,” McLaughlin said. “Until the rights of Palestinians are addressed in this conflict, we will see more hostilities.”
Only Councilmember Cesar Zepeda voted against the resolution, saying he wanted the city to “bring everyone together in a community for peace.”
“Let’s call out the atrocities that Hamas has done on the Israel communities and the atrocities the Israeli government has done on the Palestinian people,” he suggested.
Prior to the meeting, Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia also asked the council to table the resolution and work with both the Muslim and Jewish communities to develop a “resolution that validates the voices of both.”
“The passage of any resolution, regardless of attempts to amend it, will only contribute to the divisiveness,” he warned in the letter, which spurred the City Council to add language expressing its support of the Jewish community and condemning Hamas’ attack.
Still, the divisiveness was on display at the meeting Tuesday night.
“To see the Richmond City Council propose this is an abandonment of the Jewish community,” one woman said at the meeting. “You hate Jews, you are the Nazis.”
Another said they “feel very unsafe in the community,” while a third claimed the resolution “supports the goals of the Palestinian dictatorships to kill all Jews and destroy Israelis.
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“I totally oppose this resolution because it is full of lies that will only incentivize the Hamas and Nazi terrorists and their supporters, and add to the suffering of the poor Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank for decades,” the unidentified resident said, according to Fox News.
The Jewish Community Relations Council in San Francisco also condemned the city council and said the resolution was “inflammatory and biased.”
“Hamas had a great night in Richmond,” its CEO, Tyler Gregory, claimed.
“The council demonstrated profound ignorance and incompetence,” he told the Chronicle.
“Richmond could not bring itself to condemn mass murder against Jewish civilians and is not a safe place for Jews.
“There will be consequences for this taxpayer-funded circus.”