 Santa Cruz City Council has completed its work in closed litigation session and personnel session. We are back in open session Let me move through this This would be the opportunity under oral communication for anyone to Excuse me Let's do a roll call Council member is new some present Brown here Watkins here winner present Calentary Johnson as it by smear golder here and Mary Keeley here Quorum having been established We are under oral communication. This is the opportunity for anyone to address us on a matter Under our jurisdiction, but not on today's agenda, sir Right here. There we go Welcome Hi, my name is Tom Nelson. I work downtown on Locust Street and my office Last there's been a few things in the recent weeks. They've just caused me to come up here and speak today because it's Discerning but last week Somebody living in a van across from my office first out of his van screaming yelling demons in his head and shouting at people telling them they'd get the f out of here Counting on one woman's car where she was so scared that she left I came outside told me need to leave and he threatened me I called the police department police said they would take care of it and follow up with me Came back to my office the next day the guy's in his van again. I followed up with the police department Told him and they said yeah, we spoke to him and we'll try to get him out of there I go. Well, he threatened me. Well, our hands are tied I was at Whole Foods last week see some people go in there load up their food at the salad bar and walk out without paying Until go to the employee and go that person just stole some food. So yeah, well, there's nothing we could do the police don't do anything I was in a restaurant downtown Person came in with a cup filled up their soda drink it left the cup and walked out I asked the employee did he pay for that? No Well, what do you do? Well, there's nothing that we could do So just as somebody that works downtown and trip tries to promote to the city of Santa Cruz I just feel that all these things are very harmful for business I think it affects getting people to want to work downtown and finally just Decide to come up and say something. Hopefully the council acknowledges this and works with the police department to take care of this All this petty crime that seems to go on Taking care of I'm a citizen if I do anything wrong. I know I'm gonna get a ticket. I'm gonna get fine. But why do People get distinguished. I think everybody Thank you, sir Anyone else under all communication? Good afternoon, Mr. Thompson. Good afternoon. Thank you for that The reason I'm here today is that I care I care about our what you're going through and what you will go through as council members I want to thank you for the taking the time and energy to do what you think is right for our community You have a very difficult job You understand the issues and you have to work through them when our jobs get difficult It's easy to do the right thing. It's easy to quit. It's easy to give up The easy thing to do is react emotionally The hard thing to do is think logically about an issue. I Think I ask you to think critically about all issues I understand that as council members you are going to have to make a political decision today that will alienate One group or the other? That's why we have polarization. We need to change So let me ask you a question. I'm speaking on the issue of polarization. Okay, so I am saying that the system the problem that the duel in the game that we need to change is Polarization we need to think about polarization differently. We need to we need to come together Take time to understand each other and really think Am I doing the right thing? So I'm here asking you to recommit to the grinds. I'm asking you to recommit to building consensus among our community I'm asking you to take the time and do your jobs for the betterment of our community and not yourselves This can take the form of educating yourself with experts on the issues This can mean taking more time to navigate difficult issues But most importantly it means recognizing the humanity and every single person in this meeting I hope you will lean on the support of your community members in these difficult times and that you will find a Way to articulate your reasoning and guiding philosophy on these complex issues The role of an elected official is to listen first Seconds. Thank you Miss Bush. Do we have someone online on oral communication person online? Good afternoon Good afternoon The community mayor council members. This is Robert homeless United to friendship and freedom Robert Norris Where is the walk-in winter shelter that we need with the coming rains coming up in the next two weeks? We have some pop-up shelter for flooding and severe cold but nothing to do with the rain It's coming up before you meet again on the 23rd now until there's adequate indoor housing and shelter Those outside must be at the very least now left alone because they have to provide their own shelter It would be nice to assist them restore basic decency with porta bodies or bathroom access warming centers, but at least direct The hounds of the police department to lay off the ticketing the seizing of property the destruction of survival gear The majority of homeless folks in Santa Cruz City and County live outdoors That's the way it's going to be through year-round. We just do not have their shelter I know you're trying to get some shelter. That's commendable. I think it's being done Or a false pretense of pathway to housing that isn't happening really Nonetheless little shelter is for those who get it better than none But for the majority it doesn't help that much if police are destroying the shelter they make Now you the city council I should say and I'm really addressing the community because I don't think the council is going to act on this The council doesn't mind voting three hundred thousand dollars for city mangler Matt Huffaker That's a professional indoors man Matt Huffaker the most powerful man in the city government You know Matt the bulldozer of the bench land under his humanitarian hands Survival gear and shelter of hundreds Where it was crushed compacted and dumpstered 15 months ago This is the same Huffaker who removed but did not replace the portable toilets Leaving scores of refugees in the Pogonep without dignity or safety. Of course, we can also mention Santa Cruz police chief Thank you very much Good afternoon. Good afternoon. I've been here before some of you may recognize That I don't live under the bridge My roots. I'm here to say thank you for those of you who have taken the time to listen. I have But I think it's the best idea vice-president My quarterback is doing his homework to create a business like Paul Newman I want Sunday to see this come to our county and particularly to Santa Cruz and That is a business like Paul Newman Where a hundred percent of profit comes back to the community? Well, I'm here to ask you all of you to see what it would be like if we At a senior center in Watsonville step one And then we bring it to loud Nelson a senior center and we change but one block in one neighborhood And you are involved in putting it on an agenda of what it would look like as we did for a long time We did some planning in beach flats If it was centered there You have our local police department salvation army and more important a boys and girls club if you take on a block and a neighborhood so I don't ask For someone or all of you in a closed session to take on what it would be to bring youth voice and student empowerment That could Create what it is at Cabrillo and you see to build on your good ideas Well, those of you who know me. I am that I am a community organizer and When we can sit down and have that cup of coffee It's what my quarterback. I'll call him I'm not Nicholas Whitehead You have a name I'm Richard Lewis. Thank you. Thank you. Let's do look forward to next steps. Thank you, sir someone next person online Good afternoon Yeah, hi Yeah, this is good. Hey, one of the top stories of 2020 can be summed up with a question Why is our government allowing a national invasion of our southern border and why do you still support this invasion with sanctuary? City status three million illegal aliens showed up last year and they sure look like military age men And we have no idea who they are what they want what they believe in or what they will do In those years 85,000 unaccompanied minors have gone missing probably to sexual predators Who knows looking under the covers of the last jobs report It was kind of clear that there has been zero job growth to citizen workers in the United States since 2018 all new jobs went to foreigners many working two jobs a recent survey from a Harvard Harris poll found 80 percent of voters say local authorities should be reporting to federal agents the illegal immigrants They come into contact with 77% say there should be immigration law reform such as Trump's statement at least one parent should have a citizen or a legal resident to qualify their children for citizenship In reference to changing the erroneous reading of the 14th amendment birthright citizenship Which was never intended that children born or foreign visitors to the US be granted citizenship let alone those entering criminally According to data from the Federation for American immigration reform the total number of US born children of illegal aliens in United States as of June stood at 5.7 8 million a population more than two times that of Chicago They estimate that illegal aliens and their US born children impose a net annual cost of 150.6 billion on American taxpayers as of the beginning of 2023 and over the past five years the annual cost has risen 35 billion a year Center for Immigration Studies says at least 59.4% of illegal immigrant homes use one or more welfare programs Compared with 39 percent of households headed by a citizen according to last month's that December 19th report It's past time for you Welcome hi hi I get three minutes or two to I'm John Golder and I When Greg Larson who was our planning director for While I'm quite a good one. I was working in planning For years in building inspection When he retired he gave a speech There was a luncheon party and the focus of that speak Talk was you can't manage what you can't measure wonderful talk so It's the it's the key to getting problems out you can't you got to get the data first you got to understand So I'm going to give you some examples here, you know How many youth linger on waiting to listen never get to play because we don't have enough ball fields and you know over over many years What's the response time for City and personnel to get back to people on emails or phone calls What's What's I'm sorry Here's a simple one to sell that you already got the date all you got to do is catch it the parking structures How many what's a vacancy rate on a given? Hour and day and season they already automatically collect that information it's posted right there and And it and I asked him I said did you Collect that data do you actually know can you actually make a map of What available parking is and when it is available? They don't know You can also the other thing people are scared to go up in the top because the cars can be broken into easily and there's a good argument to say the parking structure is a what they call a A criminal and not a criminal nuisance, but a nuisance and So you could have the cameras up there cameras Take a picture, you know your once an hour. Thank you motion. Okay. Thank you anyone else online Let's hear the next person online. Good afternoon Good afternoon council Bradley Snyder I wanted to I know this is my I know this might seem a little obtuse, but I'm gonna talk a little bit about Oakland, California and East Palo Alto Because you know what happens in the greater barrier it does funnel into Santa Cruz because we're you know a destination entertainment hospitality, you know Tourism destination for these areas But so in the recent debate between Gavin Newsom and and DeSantis hosted by Sean Hannity of Fox News They there was this this kind of interesting exchange between the two governors about the city of San Francisco and all of the You know all of the Human feces it's found on the streets. And so there was this like this complete denial By Gavin Newsom that this is a this is a reality. Well, actually people Absolutely visually confirm this when they go there and there's all kinds of reasons why San Francisco is just in such terrible shape. Well, you look at Oakland and you look at the crime rate in Oakland and you look at the The socioeconomic segregation that happens You know in the Bay Area where Oakland is you know has this high violent crime rate and high petty victimization to you know like car break-ins and Over an EEP a each pal allowed to I guess they had a zero Homicide rate last year. Well, Oakland had 120 which is one every three days To put it in perspective if per capita if that were happening in Santa Cruz, that would be one homicide every 20 days and You know, it's just outrageous. It's no note. There's no question Thank you for your testimony anyone else online miss Bush one more. Good afternoon person online Hello, this is Jasmine and I Want to express concerns about lack of public transparency with SCPD or police department I did a records request for an incident That was, you know, highly publicized. It was on November If where an RV that was deemed stolen was surrounded by police with it seemed like assault rifles And I'm just very disturbed that at just sort of the channels that we have to get Transparency and how they're dealt with because what I got back was literally like cover sheet that just said You know report of an RV theft and locating the stolen vehicle There's even an area that's supposed to have description of weapons used and there's just a license plate number So that is not a public record, you know That's like a summary of what literally happened when I asked for the records like of why, you know What which weapons were used and why and what the standard protocol is another issue? I've been having is similarly and trying to figure out my rights with the police I called our Santa Cruz County's loyal lawyer referral service and was told by them that this would be a civil matter And they could not give me any referrals if it had to do with my rights regarding police So my husband lodged a complaint with the state bar who then just called the lawyer referral service Who lied to them about what they told me and then the case just got closed So this is just I just want people to know that even the channels we have are not working I mean, there's no public transparency. I can't figure out anything that's going on with SCPD I can't get my questions answered. I can't even figure out and ascertain my rights I've had to talk to ACLU and they have some good resources on their website But I just think this is really just this is very disturbing that like there's no transparency for SCPD I really want you guys to look at that and figure out why they're not responding to our records request properly or why the lawyer Referral service is not giving referrals. So thank you Well, thank you. Ms. Bush anyone else online? Nobody else with our last call on oral communication We are on item five. This is a mayoral proclamation declaring January 9th, 2024 as drumroll autumn haze day The vice mayor is recognized Welcome autumn and I'm so glad some of your fans came down to celebrate with you today And I just say I'm so pleased to read this proclamation on behalf of the mayor and the city council So autumn haze as we know grew up in Santa Cruz and learned to surf At the Mission Hill Middle School surf club and she's gone on to achieve great things and she's currently a professional surfer and finishing her bachelor's degree and She's ranked number 25 on the North America North American qualifying series She's competed all around the world including chili Tahiti Barbados Australia France and Spain, but loves local waves and on October 19th 2023 autumn was the first local surfer since 2008 to win the title of Champion at the Cold Water Classic so We do proclaim that on January 9th 2024 autumn haze day in the city of Santa Cruz and Encourage all citizens to join me in congratulating her for making a name for herself in the surfing world and her victory in the O'Neill Cold Water Classic. I just want to thank everyone for coming out today and supporting me and all my friends and family For being here and for the proclamation. I mean so much and I can't believe January 9th is autumn haze day We are on item 6 is a proclamation declaring January 11th 2024 as Doug Engford day and Councilmember Brown has presentation Thank You mayor So we do have a proclamation prepared for someone who has a long Committed and an illustrious Relationship long time work with the city and just so thrilled that you're here today so we can recognize you So I'll I'll go ahead and read the whereas Doug Eng for a long time Santa Cruz resident with a history of investing in our community through volunteer activities focused on Arts culture and natural resources was an active member of the city council appointed Water supply advisory committee that met between April 2014 and October 2015 again for this is your life Whereas Doug was appointed to the Santa Cruz water commission in January of 2016 and has served with distinction as a commissioner Including multiple years in the role of chair and vice chair Doug has consistently demonstrated interest and active engagement throughout his association with the water department on Diverse topics such as water supply augmentation planning climate change vulnerability analysis Financial planning management reporting water rates and charges infrastructure rehabilitation and replacement watershed health and strategy and communications and In recognition of Doug Engford's investment and engagement in his work as a city volunteer He was approved by multiple Santa Cruz mayors to serve on the Santa Margarita groundwater agencies board of directors and alternate for the Santa Cruz mid-county groundwater agency And there's so many more things here. I want to just to get to the I'll let you read it And I imagine that Rosemary Menard will have something to say as well I want to highlight Doug Engford's famous attention to detail in preparing for meetings Resonating yes by reviewing materials identifying communicating doing all the things that are required of someone who? You know takes the job seriously Doug Engford's wisdom willingness and willingness to listen and learn and openness to sharing his clear-headed perspective And long history of executive leadership to provide an informal sounding board for staff And Get an outsider's perspective that's been highly valued Respected by staff through our long period of association now therefore. I councilmember Brown on behalf of mayor Fred Keely Do hereby proclaim January 11th as Doug Engford day in the city of Santa Cruz an Acknowledgement of his long service to our community and urge all citizens to join me in recognizing and honoring his exemplary citizenship For many many contributions listed also in this resolution or proclamation Miss Menard good morning. Excuse me. Good afternoon. Thank you so much for that recognition for my friend and colleague Doug Engford I just do want to say that in my long history of Local government. This has been a really wonderful partnership with the citizen that I think is exemplary of the kind of Engagement we have in Santa Cruz that makes it really a great place to work So I really appreciate it Doug and I appreciate you're appreciating him Mr. Engford Thank you, sir. Thank you all I Received this recognition with humility and gratitude on behalf of myself and my family who have patiently Long endured and will no doubt continue to endure my interest in water policy once you get into water You can't get out To the mayor and council. Thank you for the opportunity to serve to learn and to grow I appreciate the investment the city's made in me during my tenure And I pledge to apply what I've learned about governance process and respectful discourse to my continuing public policy work The rosemary and the and the water department. It's been an honor and a privilege to work with you over the past decade My goals always to strengthen the teams I joined in this case I can only hope I didn't in any way diminish the amazingly strong functional and focused group at the department and To my fellow Santa Cruz and governments not a spectator sport as we see daily It's easier and more convenient than ever to critique and criticize society and governmental actions But we are the government and I urge you especially those younger than me Which is the majority of folks in town If you see a situation that you can improve or a problem you can help to solve please engage We're better together In closing My goal in life is simple to leave things better than I found them This ethic was instilled in me at a young age by my dad Always return tools cleaner and in some way improved after you borrow them. I Sincerely hope I've managed to leave our water plans and policies better than I found them if if only in a small way and once again Thank you so much. Thank you, sir So those of you may be sitting there uncomfortably saying when can I leave? Right after the next item. There we go. I'm gonna recognize council member Calentari Johnson for one more resolution Thank you. Thank you mayor It's my honor to present the mayoral proclamation for the O'Neill cold water classic So I'm gonna read portions of this Whereas since 1987 the O'Neill cold water classic held at steamer Lane has been northern California's premier professional surfing event and steamer Lane's natural arena like setting provides the perfect backdrop for northern California's Preeminent surf competition with its steep vertical cliffs overlooking the fabled right-point peak and has become known as one of the world's greatest spectator venues for a surf contest the cold water and rugged conditions of steamer Lane have become a rite of passage for aspiring surfers as they set their skills against the elements and a Field of world-class surf stars, which we have one in our chambers today And Whereas the cold water classic is an association of surfing professional professionals world qualifying series Top local surfers have the opportunity to compete in trials round with hopes of securing a birth in the O'Neill Coldwater classic where a field of 16 will compete for one of four coveted slots and the WQ WQ's Men's round of 160 showcasing the incredible surfing talent and passionate fans in the community Now therefore I shepherd Calentari Johnson on behalf of our mayor Fred Keeley Do hereby proclaim Tuesday, January 9th as O'Neill cold water classic day in the city of Santa Cruz and encourage all Citizens to join me and join us in expressing gratitude for its contribution to the surfing culture the promotion of local talent and The spirit of sportsmanship and to participate in the festivities and support this prestigious surfing event each year And I believe I'm presenting this to mr. Burns I have a whole lot to say I didn't wasn't expecting this I think we're all here because Yeah, we see what the O'Neill cold water classic surf contest can do having one of our You know lady winners autumn taking it out this year is a Shows how special the contest is you know the last person to win it since 2008 wasn't that young? I think we all know who that is Coming out of Santa Cruz and so there's a lot of good surfers in Santa Cruz. I think Having this contest is just I don't know It's like the one time a year that all the locals can kind of like come together showcase their talent on a world tour stage And so hopefully just want to keep making it come back every year That's our goal here at O'Neill ever since 1987 one of the longest contest in North America. So Thank you very much City Council mayor Fred Keely. Thank you very much for the proclamation. Thank you all very well. Thank you very much this is Water proclamation day apparently So this is you you can please this don't feel compelled to stay around for the next eight and a half hours of our council And we thank you for your presence here and congratulate you for everything you've done Good stuff Okay, we are on presiding officer announcements What I would ask We just hold for a second we are on presiding Officer announcements there are none we are on statements of disqualification This would be the opportunity for a member who has a disqualifying circumstance to make that announcement Seen here none additions or deletions to the agenda as I indicated earlier on item 29 there is an additional Item that has been submitted and is now online as well City Attorney report from closed session. Mr. Kandadi Good afternoon mayor Keely members of the city council this afternoon or this morning at 1045 or 1015 rather the city council met in closed session to Consider the following items first was a conference with legal counsel concerning liability claims Those are the claims of Jonathan Ordonez and David W. Turner. Those are also listed on your open session agenda Consent calendar as item 15 this afternoon Second was a conference with legal counsel concerning existing litigation case entitled don't morph the wharf Versus the city of Santa Cruz an item related to that is also on your afternoon agenda as agenda item number 27 Item 3 was a conference with legal counsel concerning significant exposure to litigation prior to the Council convening in closed session council member bruner recused herself on the basis of a potential conflict of interest on that case Council received a report from legal counsel on that matter Item 4 was removed from the agenda prior to going into closed session and there was no reportable action taken Thank you today. Thank you We're on item 7. Let me ask miss bush. Do you have any items you would like to bring to our attention on? I don't with regard to calendar. Thank you so much. We're on The consent agenda how this works is that we will be taking up items 8 through 23 on one motion however Council members will have the opportunity to pull an item comment on an item or ray or have questions on an item Members of the public will have an opportunity to comment one time on any and all of those items for a period of time Not to exceed two minutes Let me start with council members. I will start with council member bruner. Do you have items on consent? Comment on 14. Please go forward with it This is an award contract for purchase of a type 6 fire engine And I just wanted to thank staff and thank the USDA for a service The grant that was awarded is four hundred thousand dollars and as we know our fire engines are critical in emergency response and so Thank you for for bringing that and I'm very pleased to see that I know that it will benefit the community Thank you. Ms. Contar Johnson. No items madam vice mayor just two brief comments 14 I was had the same 14 I had the same comment on 14. I'm really thrilled to see that on there I know it's much needed and for 12 I was also super excited to see that on there as looking at the feasibility of doing a living shoreline and the sand Management idea so I just am super excited to see that in the in the context of what's been happening And it seems like a really exciting thing. So I wanted to thank staff for bringing that forward as well Thank you Council member council member Brown One on item five. I guess I'll echo my support for those other two items and and also think the coastal conservancy for supporting that Effort so I wanted to just make quick excuse me not item five item eight Five in my head. This is the city manager evaluation and merit increase. I wanted to just make a quick comment about this I am supporting it today And there were some folks who had had reached out to me and said they didn't have any they didn't see any information in the packet to Justify an increase or to warrant an increase and they were Concerned that there wasn't a process. There was a process That was that was conducted through an evaluation and but I it occurred to me be just because we've gone through that process It doesn't necessarily mean the public is aware and so I have asked I asked the assistant city manager Since we didn't meet this week that in the future when we do this that there'd be some That we asked the consultant or somebody to write up something that can be provided as part of the packet so People are aware that this was not just something that was done without some serious Conversation and some great work on the part of our city manager So I just wanted to put that out there. I won't be here for the next one But hopefully there can be more info for folks. Thank you Mr. Newsome no items on item 13 With regard to the appointments to external bodies and so on Council member Newsome has agreed to be the alternate to myself with regard to the community choice aggregation policy board The other council member that I had indicated on there has requested not to be on there And so without objection mr. Newsome will be Slotted in as the alternate Further Questions and comments by council members on the consent agenda We will go to the public with regard to the consent agenda Ms. Bush, please come forward sir miss bush. Do we have folks online? We will good afternoon, sir Exciting year 2024 is going to be so I wanted to pull off the minutes and Make comments about the awards number 20 and Number 13 and unfortunately I missed public comments Darn it Okay, so You know let me let me ask you to make your comments on both items All three with the however many items on consent you want to comment on you have two minutes Well, you have two minutes minutes, please proceed. What happened with three minutes for each one? Let's proceed right. Thank you. Okay, so the As far as the minutes number 10 The clerks actually have the most important job in this room because they're the historians You know one of the things that 2024 is promising to give us is a great deal of censorship now It's not my phone Rowan Atchison presented a short speech about ten years ago where he thought Only next to food and water the next most precious thing to life with free speech It was more important than a roof over their heads So I'm actually questioning a lot of stuff. I guess many things are going to change in 2024 I Am glad that there was some kind of Break-free area with an item that's going to come up at five from what I read and I am just questioning jurors prudence in this room I don't have a timer a Lot of time well As far as the consent agenda item number 20 Which has to do with some Electric vehicle upgrades, you know, it's not totally clear and I'm wrong all the time But maybe this is an expenditure of about nine hundred and sixty thousand dollars with possibly reallocation of funds of 650,000 dollars What I see going around and what happened in 2021 with the cold snaps Electric vehicles just didn't work and It's not really an answer to anything But what are the processes that totalitarian Dictatorships want which is a population decrease of 90% They're well on their way particularly in this county So I will go switching to number 13 I'm just gonna have to read more into Is actually being appointed there So that's enough. I wish I would have been here for public comments. I had some interesting things to say. Thanks Thank you, sir We'll take the person online Good afternoon That's a low. This is good. Hey number 12 I suppose if somebody else is paying some people might think oh Why not do studies of nature-based solutions as long as the state is throwing money around the word solution though? Implies a problem to be solved and exactly what problem is going to be solved isn't defined here Other than the vague phrase protect the shorelines promote ecosystem health yield co-benefits. I see you later While protecting the cities and private property Which seem not to figure into it It would be nice to know which specific locations have been defined to do this study And if it is more than a study, perhaps more of an engineered experiment if that's the goal It should be clearer as to what develop 30 percent designs that accomplishes I don't know what a 30 percent design is good for do you as I mentioned in my letter the council has a habit of Approving funding that encumbers future commitments that then require additional future funding of which you frequently Have no idea where that additional future money is coming from even the amounts of such And I suspect that sort of appropriating style is one reason the city is always running out of money and keeps raising fees And taxes and coming back for more Then more and more monies a lot prop L as if the citizens don't know best what to do with their own money and government spending shouldn't have a tax-raised limit is This one of those items similar to the beach flats redevelopment grant involves future unfunded commitments If so I see a pattern developing along these lines coming from the climate change fear mongers on staff Don't get me wrong quiet adaptation is exactly where your focus should be and not making people buy a lot of stuff and regulate their Freedom out of existence using on proven fear-based speculations about see rise for as far as extreme weather and the causes of climate change a Standard question that should arise a how much grant unfunded staff time will be Contributed what level of proof of design concept where you'd be willing to accept before making all these future Monetary commitments in the August 8th meeting approving the application for this grant as with nearly all grant application approval agenda items The actual grant application is never provided Which is where the actual meat of what will be done and the commitments and the deliverables are all described The public would like to see those and I would kind of think you would like to see those So you're not just voting blind. We're on summaries of you know, use of flowery words and so forth I am God smacked is that the phrase Environmental equity and justice somehow didn't worm its way into this item summary today But I see priority green solutions did whatever that means Of course, this item is buried in the consent agenda. So nobody has to answer any of these questions I predict the usual suspects will move the consent agenda without any questions Good afternoon, sir Thank You mayor council. I'm Robert Acosta recreation supervisor here with the department the city um I'm Speaking on item number eight, but not for the reason that everyone's gonna think automatically because I'm up here I support I support this and one thing that Matt has in common with every city manager in every city I've worked for is I don't want their job ever So props to Matt. I I think the deserve is the raise is deserved. The reason I'm up today is to speak about The rest of us, you know, it got contentious for a while. There was a strike, which I supported even though it wasn't my group Striking and we're at a calm place now things aren't crazy Yeah, Matt Matt and all the city employees deserve to get paid more. There is a Podcast I listen to that's a comedy podcast and one of the characters is a fake law enforcement and he goes out and Helps out when there's emergencies like storms and but what this character does is When the storms hit he instructs all of his People to go home and have a warm cup of soup to see if you're really ready to to get into this and he's a crazy character But I will say that when the storms hit our parks and rat guys still go out They still make sure the things that need to happen happen Our wharf crew as everybody here knows has worked hard these past couple weeks because of what's going on at the wharf with with mother nature doing what she does and So I just wanted to say to remember When things come up again, you know, we would like to be Compensated fairly our public works department. I don't work for public works, but I know they're not slowing down They're not going to have a warm cup of soup first. I know all of our people that work here our public safety our parks and rec Whatever happens out there doesn't slow them down and I think Now that I took advantage of this item being on the agenda so that I could come and say that on one hand I do support Matt's increase and on the other hand I just want us to keep remembering that there are other people out there, too there are other people that are not being paid enough and You know, I know a lot of football fans always think that they know what the coaches need to do for their teams to win and So I know the public doesn't know what we all have to do in order to get a raise And they know it's a lot of work and as Sandy mentioned When I saw that Matt was getting an increase, I didn't think it was just going to be give the guy an increase I know the process. I know what happens. So I just wanted to Remind you about the other staff full-time or temp and just keep them in mind when things come up later in in The future and then the last thing I want to say which is very profound and this will I Guarantee you when you hear this this will change your life for the rest of your life Nicely played sir Do you have anyone else online mrs. Bush? Oh the war plan thing That's that's on the this agenda here, and I can talk to you a little bit It is on the regular agenda, and yes, you will be able to do that when we get to that item We'll be on it in just a few minutes. All right. Thank you, sir anyone else Wish comment on the consent agenda matters back before the council motion would be in order. So moved Madam vice mayor may I make one comment in response under discussion under discussion I'd just like to say it looks like Robert has stepped out But that really was the second part of the comment. I wanted to make Today, and I changed my notes page So and in one time Robert Acosta was inspired by something I said and said that he felt like it was he could step up and make some comments about the workforce and the need for living wages the need for equity in In compensation, and so I did want to make that comment that Part of the reason that I feel good about doing this today is that we have made some progress I believe that we have a lot more work to do and I am concerned about the potential for a Growing wage gap between the highest and lowest paid workers in our city so I do think that it's important to remember that in light of You know Comments made and the fact that there's so many workers out there who are really watching what we do. Thank you For the debate or discussion clerk will call the roll Can I just confirm who the second was with that by smear vice mayor? Councilmember of Newson. Hi Brown. I want to say hi Brunner. Hi Valentine Johnson. Hi, I smear golder. Hi, Mariculia. Hi Mushing carries and so ordered We are on item 24. These are items 24 and 25 are Consent public hearing items members Let me ask if council members have questions comments on either item 24 25 Seen hearing none anyone with us today wish to comment on items 24 25 Anyone online wishing to comment on 24 25 Councilmember Watkins is recognized. I'll move items 24 and 25 There's a motion to prove items 24 and 25 as presented. Is there a second second by Councilmember Callentary Johnson debate or discussion seeing and hearing none the clerk will call the roll member Newsome. Hi, Brown. Hi Watkins. Hi Brunner. Hi ice Callentary Johnson. Hi ice mayor golder. Hi and Mariculia. Hi Mushing passes and so ordered We are on item 26 This is collective of results evidence-based update. There will be a staff presentation by Mitch Schmidt And there will be Let me see If we have that presentation Mitch Schmidt there she is. Good afternoon Thank you Laura Schmidt assistant city manager Sorry, I got behind on something and didn't make it over to the chambers. I will head over there shortly I would very much like to acknowledge our partners from the county Kimberly Peterson and Amanda guy If you could please introduce yourselves, that would be great Good afternoon Hi, I'm Kimberly Peterson and with the county of Santa Cruz human services department Good afternoon. My name is Amanda guy and I'm the director of planning and evaluation with the Santa Cruz county human services department Thank you very much for being here Mitch Schmidt Thank you, mayor Kimberly and Amanda are going to walk us through and present our core item We are coming to you with an update that was supposed to be at council in our first meeting in December Our only meeting in December, but we had to postpone it. So this is a conversation that the core team has had already with the County board and we are doing a little bit of catch-up with you all as well as including additional direction from the county board of supervisors that The team received there and we will Walk you through that and I will get the slideshow Set up for our county partners and then I'll hand it over to Kimberly and Amanda We do have an available Laura to share that word Oh, it looks like is somebody else sharing screen right now. Can you try now Kimberly? Yep, it works now. Thank you Bonnie and Amanda All right, you should be able to see the PowerPoint on your screen now You guys are muted just as a heads up. We cannot hear you Got it. Can you hear me now? Yes Thank you Okay, so Good afternoon mayor and city council Visit and Kimberly Peterson. I'm the deputy director with the human services department And I'm heard Amanda bite. She is the director for planning and evaluation within the department Amanda's played a lead role with the core administration over the last year and a half Including the annual report and community engagement that you'll hear about today Randy Moore is the director of the department. I will just know what I'm able to do with that today Before we delve in I want to take a quick moment to set the frame for the topic for The collective of results and evidence-based practice It's a framework for a movement Have to be building collective impact for common goals measured by data and also a funding model framework You may recall we were here in April and shared lessons learned from the prior request for proposals profit And a timeline for the next funding cycle Today is one of the report out points on that timeline Information and materials in your packet. I'll just check. Can you hear me? Okay? Yes, I believe we can. Okay. Thank you The information and materials in your packet were developed with the lessons learned feedback We heard from the community and elected officials And the commitment to continuous improvement, which has been a key component of core sense inception We did give a similar presentation to the board of supervisors in december The results of which I will share with you a little later today And at that time we also highlighted that while there's a lot of attention given to core funding It represents about 1% of funding provided for services to the most vulnerable in our community When compared to the approximate 600 million dollars through county health and human services and our contracts Each dollar does matter greatly for the cbo's Maybe based organizations And I only mentioned this because um for the broad perspective that there's also other funding going into the community So today we will provide an update on the results of the first year of activities under the last core funding cycle As well as the community feedback received on what the next are we should look like We can go to the next slide Thank you So to a brief review of recommended actions We'll look at the annual report This full year 2223 was the first full year contracted services under the current RFP cycle And we want to share some highlights, which is attachment one in your packets We will summarize the feedback from the community engagement process we conducted to inform the next RFP cycle And that is summarized in attachment two of your packets And then finally we'll look at prioritization, which is attachment three in your packets A consistent message we heard During the last four boards Was that the was the importance of prioritizing how the core RFP funds should be used So we will share the methodology we've identified to help set policy priorities for the next RFP process And then finally not explicitly listed here, but an important point Is I'll update you on the action taken by the board of supervisors on this issue on December 12 Next slide please And so looking at recommended actions, um, we will be asking that you please accept and file the materials Approve or provide direction on staff recommendations And direct, um, staff to return by April 30th With the draft RFP Next slide and I will turn it over to Amanda Guy Thank you Good afternoon Continuous improvement and applying lessons learned has been integral to core from inception to the present Annually HSD has provided a report on the core funded programs This year's report builds on prior feedback And lessons learned and moves us closer to being able to see the collective impact and results across the core programs With a multi-faceted equity lens this year There's more detailed data collection including the on the number of unduplicated people served Disaggregated by race ethnicity Age language and location as previously requested by the board and elected officials And the overall structure allows for easier measurement and reporting across programs And results based accountability framework was utilized for all core programs Which tracks how much was accomplished? How well were the services carried out and is anyone better off? This year's report also includes a description of how each organization internally practices equity There were challenges and successes most programs encountered some type of challenge in this first year Some common challenges were with staffing Data collection for some of the client demographics and working through the impact of the local disasters Despite these challenges. There were also notable progress where programs served 100 600,935 participants 5,970 more than the contracted goals Some level of demographics data was reported across these programs allowing us to see who was served And 94 percent of surveyed participants reported they were very satisfied or satisfied with program services Collectively 81 percent of the better off goals were met across the core programs Lastly, thanks to the creation of an online reporting program portal core programs submitted their annual reports and data electronically which streamline the collection process And reporting process and enable us to include a two page snapshot report of each program as part of the annual report for transparency As kimberley mentioned though, this is one percent of the funding that goes through critical services The ability for us to begin to see this level of data across various programs Will allow us to better gauge the impact of core funding and further analyze potential gaps and needs next slide While we are just off of the first year and into the second year of the current core contracts We are moving quickly to prepare for the next rfp Continuing to apply what we learned through experience Formal and informal feedback during the last rfp and the lessons learned process that we presented to you last April we conducted nine community engagement sessions and provided access to an online survey The intent of the community engagement was to discuss opportunities for improvement Receive general feedback and explore ways the county could prioritize core funding building off of the pain points that emerged during the last process Throughout the engagement sessions one common areas of alignment emerged data and transparency One of the things that we'd heard from the last rfp was that people wanted to know what the priorities for funding were During the community engagement. There was alignment that data should continue to be the driver in the core process Equity the last rfp was targeted at addressing inequity And the collective impact received through community engagement pointed towards support continuing to center equity in this process We also asked a handful of more technical questions on the structure of the rfp following up on those areas of more intense feedback We heard this last time So during the last rfp there is a limit to how much any single organization could apply for and we heard this should be continued Last round the ability to leverage funds was not weighted in the scoring process And we heard feedback that leveraging should not be prioritized the next round either People felt both of these parameters created more opportunity for the smaller and mid-sized organizations With less infrastructure to compete and allowed for more distribution of funds During the last rfp any agency could apply for any size grants small medium large or targeted impact There was alignment and feedback that during the next rfp Large agencies should be restricted from applying for small grants Small grants should be an opportunity for small less resourced organizations to receive limited funding Past contract performance was not a factor in the last rfp And the feedback was that should not be included as a factor in scoring future applications either Some felt it may give an advantage to organizations that were previously funded versus providing a clean slate for each rfp Other saw it could be a disadvantage if the program was not as successful as anticipated But changes had since occurred There are also a few areas without alignment We heard interest in having the purpose of core funding be clarified And whether it was for new and innovative programs or traditional safety net services But there was no alignment on what that should be and the definition of safety net can be seen as evolving over time No alignment emerged regarding how to prioritize the funding such as by geography specific population or core condition And there was no alignment in whether a portion of the funds should be held for distribution by the elected officials Following the recommended awards We'll not note it on the slide We also heard general feedback that people want to see the scoring rubric in advance And that there be increased diversity in the review panels and that the application process be simpler Next slide, please Considering the collective feedback regarding prioritization and the support for continuing to center equity and use data We tried to identify a data driven approach To how limited funds could be prioritized We landed on an approach that uses the core conditions of well-being as a foundation And then considers a representation of available data reports that connect to these eight core conditions Combined with a high level analysis of the county budget to determine where the current county general funds are directed relative to the core conditions The data reports on their own does not lead to a clear funding priority The hsd can recommend because there are needs everywhere However, the combination of available data plus high level funding analysis Completed thanks to hsd's data team in partnership with our cao and budget liaison Allows us to use a data driven approach to prioritization Which will incrementally get us closer to greater collective impact and results with very limited funds Next slide This table represents the high level funding analysis completed by county staff And as detailed in attachment c Based on the percentage of general fund contribution in each of the core conditions Staff recommend narrowing from eight core conditions to three core conditions Lifelong learning and education Thriving families and stable affordable housing and shelter with these core conditions approved It will support programming such as child care emergency shelter Family services like thrive by five immigrant supports master plan on aging and job readiness Over half of current core contracts currently fund in these three core conditions Importantly narrowing the focus does not prohibit cbo's from applying in the prioritized conditions recommended Because the core conditions are interconnected by the nature of the framework For example, approximately a quarter of the current core contracts are in health and wellness Health providers do support education They do assist families in their well-being to thrive and shelters a key component to wellness HSD discussed this narrowing of the core conditions with our partners in health And they support the shift and will work with hsd on the rfp language There are also emerging opportunities through calein for cbo's that will support the services being provided to the community Turn it back over to king rookie. Thank you, Amanda So what you see here is the same timeline that we showed you in april With the decision-point opportunities called out represented by the numbers one through four Today is the first of four opportunities for input We're asking you to decide on and improve the recommended priorities to help us focus for core funding We will use the identified priorities and other feedback To return in april with the draft rfp at which time there will be another opportunity for input in additional direction Applications would then be due in the summer of 2024 and we anticipate in the fall Following receipt of all applications We would then return again with a report summarizing the proposals received And provide elected officials another opportunity to weigh in prior to final awards being recommended Then in the winter of 2024 we would return with recommended awards And use the city council and separately the board of supervisors would have an opportunity to approve the recommendations Or provide other direction I do want to share a reminder that this timeline Has recommended awards being determined six months prior to the start of any new contracts Which may allow organizations for currently receiving funding To adjust to any budget or program changes as a result Of the future core funding decisions So if somebody who's currently getting funding applies and does not get funded for the next round They would have time to adjust that I also want to note That we did not include specific recommendations on the other items discussed during the engagement sessions As reported out by amanda, but we will address them when we return in april with the draft rfp Next slide please And then finally As I mentioned, we did present this information to the board of supervisors on december 12th And at that time they approved prioritizing the three recommended core conditions With the added direction to also prioritize healthy environments The board also provided general feedback on things that they would like to see in the next rfp such as the ability to leverage funds And having some portion of set aside funding to provide flexibility for the elected officials during the award process Based upon the board of supervisors voted upon direction from that december 12th meeting HSD would build the request for proposals around those four core conditions lifelong learning writing families stable affordable housing shelter and healthy environments As a city council if you support the three priorities initially recommended You may also consider adding healthy environments for more alignment and a more streamlined process for the local cbo's applying for funding One of the benefits of our city county coordination that i hadn't mentioned previously As that we're able to combine our administrative efforts Provide a single more streamlined process for cbo's requesting funding and also support common goals towards the collective impact part of the board Next slide please And with that I will turn it back to you Mr. Schmidt Is that the extent of the presentation? Yes mayor it is councilmember questions Vice mayors recognize I'm sorry that I didn't ask this before but it just came to me. So where does the core funding come from? In terms of our contribution as a city For our contribution it comes from our general fund and the budget sits in the community programs activity within the city manager's office And the other cities from the county that contribute. This is to the county folks aside from us the Mayor city the city of Santa Cruz is the only other city that participates in our funding process. I understand Other cities may have their own programs that they do separately I know that this might not be a popular I know that this might not be a popular Thing that I'm gonna say it and I know that some of these programs provide valuable Resources to people in our greater community But I guess I have a little bit of a concern About contributions in general coming from the general fund of our residents Of the city of Santa Cruz, especially when budgets are tight that Other cities watsonville scott's valley capitol aren't Also contributing and some of the programs our residents might not even be eligible to participate in and So i'm just wondering what is there been a past amount or like Is You know Is this something when we're looking at budgets in may Where you know if we have to look at something that we can know it's it's you know In my from my perspective, although they're important kind of charitable contributions what we have to do is pay our employees We have to keep the water going we have to keep The roads paved, you know, we have to there's things we have to pay and this is like a nice to do But if it's some if when we're looking at budgets if we have to cut something this is something where You know anyway, I don't I don't have a question for that But is there a set percentage or a set dollar amount that we're expected to contribute or we've contributed in the past Or that's going to be asked of us to contribute again I see so our our current contract with the awarded recipients for this round of core is It's a three-year commitment. I understand that I was just thinking about moving forward so Above and beyond that I think we would need to signal to the county as much ahead of time as possible if we were not going to contribute In the next rfp cycle And kimberley Um, I I was realizing during part of our presentation. I can't understand a freaking word these people are saying I'm sorry, but yeah, no, let me just say that this is an audio problem Um, it is almost impossible. Maybe it's because I'm so damn old, but it is almost impossible to understand what you're saying And this is not helpful to a public discussion and deliberation. This system is terrible Uh, this is a very important issue and I can barely understand what you're saying So I need to take a recess here for five minutes while we figure out what to do I can try Go ahead kimberley. I can hear you now. We had you muted. Can you please um, Run a couple tests I can really say a few sentences again. Can can you hear me better? That's much better Okay, thanks Miss Schmidt when you're ready Thank you very much for for coming into chambers. We're back. We're back in session Thank you, mayor vice mayor and council. Um, I believe we were in process of answering uh, vice mayor golders question I had given my answer and kimberley From the county was about to give hers and we believe she's on a different audio feed and hopefully will be able to be heard Thank you. Just to confirm. Can you hear me better? Order of magnitude better. Thank you very much Great. Thanks. Thanks for your patience and I apologize for that So I just wanted to say that I Probably should have clarified during the process that um, like this is, you know, this is a partnership the funding that the city provides towards core um, goes directly to um residents that to city services basically, um City of santa cruz funding is not going Towards um towards services outside of the city. That was part of the arrangement when we did this the last round Um, I also just for context Part of what you saw us describe in terms of the comparison of funding In the examples of general fund versus Other funds it was it was a little bit more county-centric I've just acknowledged That county contributes about five million dollars in the city. I know it's just just close to a million So it's the partnership, but we you know, we go about it Together and then we decide we agree that um of how the funds are distributed. Um, so just to note city of santa cruz services Funds aren't going towards other services outside the city You see if there are other questions comments by members. Ms. Contari johnson is recognized Thank you Maybe just more comments um, I saw that one of the feedback from the community Listing sessions was that To not ask for performance measures from prior years And i'm a little confused by that because you know with any grant and with any organization or any agency There are accountability measures, and I know that the county and the city collect Reporting um regularly. I think annually on these funds, but I would encourage us to not completely do away with that I think it's important to see that if organizations were funded that they are meeting the goals and objectives and outcomes that were outlined before That I think that should be part of the scoring scoring criteria. That's a best practice that's used in the Grant world and in the philanthropy field. Um, and the other thing I wanted to note is um I Actually, I read this before the holidays So we're gonna hear it at the at a previous meeting, but I noted that uh only 77 percent of what was anticipated To be served for the city of santa cruz was actually met And and now I can't find it in this packet, but I'm wondering if anyone could speak to The thinking behind that or what we could do to make sure that that's increased and that's that we meet 100 percent Of serving the city of santa cruz residents with the funds that were allocated I can start with that and then I'll turn it to amanda for any additional comment uh for all of the So what you're looking at was was probably exactly that the goal of how many people were to be served So it doesn't mean that the programs weren't happening But for some programs there was ramp up time So they didn't quite meet their targets And one way that they're we are approaching core all of the core contracts Is through this um through the progress report and through our um Working with them is to help them be successful to meet their goals All of their goals. And so somewhat just as this core, you know, the rp process in general's iterative We're working with the cbo's to help them You know iterate to get to be able to be successful. I see any addition Yeah, go ahead Yeah, we have we're receiving mid-year reporting is happening now during the month of january So one of our Goals with the analysts at the county that supports core is to look at programs that aren't meeting their goals And as Kimberly just said to Understand what those barriers or challenges are it could have been that some of those We're experiencing the staffing shortages or ramp ups that were identified as some of the problem spaces this first year So but we are definitely working to figure out how we can better support and meeting those contracted goals I see. Thank you. Um, I actually did have one other Um, maybe two other things to know. Um, I noticed that 60 percent during these community sessions 60 percent said that they didn't need ta with data collection But that data collection was also one of the top challenges as you named in the presentation It was in the report So that's just something to note that maybe they they said they don't need ta and data collection, but um Maybe we can simplify during this process, but um It there's that's contradictory. Um, and then just I just wanted to respond to vice mayor golders comments around Expending of funds of our general funds. I hear vice mayor golders I hear your concerns and I would say that the Role and purpose of the cbo's is to really provide some of these services that are essential for our community members That are outside the scope In capacity of the city to provide but it ultimately does help us with what we're doing and keeping the city going No, that's kind of a broad Comment, but I think they serve a really important role and and they fit in our role as a city council And and they do a lot of hard work for us, so Councilmember Watkins is recognized and then councilmember brown Councilmember brunner. Do you have questions on this item? Will you be? Okay, so we'll go here here here good councilmember walking great Thank you for the presentation and the improved audio. It sounds much better Um, I appreciate you you calling that out I will ask councilmember brown to add anything But I thought I would just briefly cover a little bit about my experience with core When we were first elected it was definitely a transition time But giving and having community giving dollars that are investments into community programs has always been something the city has done As far as I've been aware of the process is what's different So in terms of these investments there has always been that but now moving forward since 2015 or so the process changed to partner with the county um, and the the hope is essentially to move from What was sort of shared with me historical kind of contributions to certain programs towards a more collective Results-based process and that's when all of these kind of metrics and applications and I think it's fair to say growing pains and Challenges along the way have kind of occurred because it's shifting what was historically in place to a different method so all that to say It has definitely improved over my time on council in terms of how we're thinking about it In terms of equity for folks to apply for the funding And hopefully in partnership with the county and I think it'd be fair to say ideally with other jurisdictions Although they have their own processes for giving most of them do Really just a bigger bang for the buck for the impact. So To count some recalentary Johnson's point about kind of collecting those data points I think that's really critical to measure those bigger shifts We hope to see that this collective results-based process is designed to shift so So all that to say It has it has been rocky and challenging along the way But I think the partnership and the attention and the continuous improvement mindset is something to note and to Continue as we move forward with these investments and and certainly has been not only challenging for us at the city those folks at the county and Mostly for our community providers who were sort of used to one way of doing things And now have had to shift and it was hard and and some people, you know, I think Came out with more funding and others had a shift in their traditional funding. So I I think it's in terms of the bigger Goal of core. I really agree with that. I think it's really important to think about holistically where we're trying to go And what we're trying to shift If there's things that we can do to encourage our other jurisdictions to join us wonderful If not, however, we can continue to improve our Partnership with the county to ensure our dollars here are invested at the local level in a way that feels Clear to our priorities and our residents priorities. I think we can fine tune that um So I'm happy to answer any questions in terms of my experience for the other years of the core because it was hard And it's been hard in the past the community programs Committee was the committee that I served on I think councilmember brown served on that for a while. I'm really trying to get through this It's still something we're all trying to continue to get through and um, I know this is another milestone as we continue our journey together um, so that's a summary and and short and again if you have any more questions, let me know No, thank you. That that is helpful. Okay good. Okay good. And then um, I do have just one question if I may I um, I apologize if I missed this in the gender report I don't think I saw it But I think what I heard from the presentation was that healthy environments were added at the last board meeting and I'm wondering how that impacts or potentially Provides opportunity for synergy if if the city was looking at doing something similar or what does that mean? I guess in terms of next steps So What that would mean is if uh, if you chose to also add healthy environments And we continue with a joined rfp as we've done in the past then it would it would be seamless in a sense um, if you opted not if you supported the other three priorities, but opted not to add healthy environments then of course, I feel like We would coordinate with the with the city administrators, but I would envision that then when it came to core ward time that Basically, no funding from the city would go towards any of the healthy environments Core related applications Okay, and it's the request to have us make that decision this afternoon Yeah, okay Um, I mean based on what my understanding would be is that makes a lot of sense And I think there's probably certainly a lot of need and potential folks who would apply under that category So I'm inclined to to include it. Um, but I'm happy to you know have that discussion with my colleagues Um as well. So anyways, okay. Thank you. Thank you councilmember brown. Thank you mayor. Thank you Uh Kimberly and laura and your and amanda amanda for the presentations Um, I I'll just add a little bit more on the context and I'll since we're making comments I'll make a couple of comments. It's my uh cliff note version So quick, um historically prior to the implementation of core and the changed approach Uh, the city at least in the time that I've been paying attention since about 1995 or six Um, and I believe this started in the 80s had made a pretty significant contribution to community programs for all of the reasons that our colleagues have suggested and That had and it hovered around two million for a very long time Um, it was up to three million. I think in like around 2000 So, um, it's been reduced over time in large part because of so so also I'm saying this to suggest that When the city is in dire financial circumstances, um, those Those funds do get cut. Um, they have and they haven't returned to pre You know, uh housing financial crisis levels So, um, so there is it's not like we are entirely locked in but we make that commitment and partner with the county In terms of the transition to this new approach, um, I think you all know I've been a critic of some of the particulars of this. Um, I I agree with um council member Watkins assessment of kind of the holistic the the need for in the goals I mean, I totally agree and I have seen this play out in a way that um We could call it growing pains and we could also call it a reduction of critical services in our community and what I see is that You know, one the movement away from elected officials having involvement in the decision making And ultimately we're the ones who answer to the public. So I think we actually should have more of a role I'll just make that point Then, you know, what I so what I have seen is really a shift towards, you know, the way that foundations seed grant You know seed money For for programs and so it this from now on what is I believe will happen is this will not be a stable source of funding For programs for critical community services So we should no longer call it that this is really about seed grant innovation Um programs cannot rely on getting this funding again So we may see lots of progress or performance And they just won't get funded. I agree that that should be a factor in considering future proposals I mean the whole point is we're developing metrics and for evaluation. Why would we not use that? um, I also have some real issues with the um Some of the other statements and so i'm going to wrap up and with a question about this, uh, the Your presentation and the the packet suggested that there were Quite a few Opportunities for engagement which there absolutely were so surveys Focus group kind of meetings with different sectors. We've been involved others have been involved and But by see comments that are kind of universally Or creating a universal narrative that most believe the rfp should not prioritize Applicants that have the ability to leverage funds most believe the rfp should not score past performance And most believe large agencies should be limited from applying for smaller grant amounts Um, and so and I I I'd like to better understand that what does that mean? Because I was never in a conversation where that actually was said that that belief was expressed And so I I could understand that we I may have been in minority conversations, but that feels very, um Like like we are kind of accepting some some statements as um, you know The way that we should move forward without really understanding who that is And how many? I agree with the county board of supervisors Contention that that that actually should be included in the future And so I'll I'll support the move forward given what the county did But I'd like to know Who is this most people said made these statements Survey respondents focus groups Etc I'm happy to answer that question. So this was explicitly the community engagement sessions with The the focus groups that occurred there were six Sessions and then three specific focus groups with Councils that was offered to all as well as surveys. So this was this was a report back just on that community engagement Um in terms of how it was presented. So I it wasn't inclusive of elected feedbacks and all of it. It was specific to Um The community engagement process and what we heard from those experiences from those specific Events just can I if I could clarify my the question then it can you give me an estimate? I can't recall if that was in the material What are we talking 30 40 people and those are mostly service providers? or new grantees um civil service How many I just would like to have some understanding of this most this universe Sure, um, I don't I will locate the exact numbers for you. I do have those There was approximately. Oh, thank you 59 attended in total. Okay. Thank you. Thank you councilmember brunner Thank you Thank you for the information and the report was very interesting to read through Um, I guess my question is just to kind of gain clarity on the three recommended core conditions and how those Were landed as the recommended core conditions Because my understanding is we can opt to change that at the city level and have our own recommended In core conditions, is that correct? So If we can bring the slide that back up bonnie, we can get to the formula. So the county did data analysis of investment areas and life life long learning and education thriving families stable affordable housing and shelter were The three lowest percentages So those got because they were the lowest Got translated into the potential next core rfp top priorities And then the county board of supervisors added And that's up for conversation with you all healthy environment If the city chooses to change priorities on These and not go with the same ones that the county would do We would then have to work with the county partners to adjust the rfp process And that would make the rfp process and the rubric associated with it much more Challenging and complex to do the evaluation if we are working against different priorities for county versus city funding versus all of core And kimberley and amanda, I don't know if you had anything to add to that I could add a little bit The one additional piece of information I would share is that Behind those we really did try to see based on available Reports based on you know community level data and from the county cities And other partners whether there was some Need that we could clearly point to as a High priority need that then we could make the priority or priorities in core but but There's there was no data that demonstrated one clear priority because we know that there's there's needs everywhere And so that's when we fell back to looking at okay How does the budget fall and where are there gaps there? So that was our reasoning behind that and I I agree with what laura said regarding The complication that would Arise if we went in different directions Thank you for that helps clarify how we landed on the three recommended and So then just one more clarity healthy environments was a fourth Priority that the board has So they have four total versus three Yes, they added That fourth one at their december meeting in that conversation And so if we were to add a let's say we go with the three recommended priorities and we add A fourth one. Let's say health and wellness What does that do It it would it would impact similarly if we whether we choose three out of four different One out of four different it impacts the rfp evaluation process and the complexity of the Panelists and how we do the evaluation Because we would have to have different criteria for different funds Great that helps clarify my question and um when I had initially looked at All of the core conditions which we in a perfect world would fund And prioritize all because they're all necessary You know health and wellness really stands out For city of santa cruz uh residents And even in our oral communications. We had someone speak to very distinct health and wellness topics And economic security and social mobility is another category that all bring Very important Conditions that you know, hopefully we can fund but if we're narrowed down to Three In this cycle That helps provide clarity as to why these three are recommended. So thank you May I add a little bit? Yes Thanks, I just wanted to um also Reinforce that while we were identifying three or four priorities health and wellness in particular Organizations that provide health and wellness related services would still have an opportunity to apply for core funding Because most of what they do Also supports thriving families that also supports that people need help to be Housed as to be healthy. So there's still avenues for those organizations to apply social mobility that also there's There's services that within that category that also fall into the lifelong learning and education category So I think there would still be opportunities for people who are interested to apply They would just want to tailor their applications Within the prioritized conditions Yeah, thank you. There is a lot of intersection and and I appreciate you calling that out Thank you council member for the questions A couple questions mish mit first of all, thank you And thanks to the folks from the county online Council member brown talked about the early 90s I was elected to the county board of supervisors in 1988 and In that year The brand new CAO at that time susan mariello Made a determination that rather than having a parade of non-profit organizations coming in front of the board each year Saying here's all the good things we can do that it would be better to create a system Which led to the human care alliance, which was you all go figure it out Amongst yourselves and bring us a package that you believe serves the needs of our community that went on for many years That was also compound and complex now. There's another yet another way to do this. I think however it is done. It is Complicated by the fact that the needs are great and varied The money is limited, of course and how to try to match up the highest priority needs in the community with the available funds from Either the county's general fund or pulling down state and federal money or individual cities contributing It's always going to be Imperfect and and very compound and complex The reason I say that Is that this is not a new issue To city and county government it's been around for decades how it is we deal with that So I do have a couple of questions in that regard One is the total county contribution to the core Programmatic efforts Is it that two hundred fifteen million? Two hundred and fifteen million dollars that's listed On their general fund contribution The county general fund contribution to core is just under five million just about five million Uh, this chart is showing other county expenditures separate from core Okay, so the core expenditures on this chart are where They are not listed on this chart. This is They are not listed on this chart Okay, let me ask the general question then the county contributes how much from its general fund to core programs About five million dollars five million dollars The city of santa cruz Contributes how much from its general fund to these a little bit over one million dollars over one million City of scott's valley contributes how much? None directly the city of Capitola contributes how much none city of watsonville contributes how much none. Okay So With regard to the city's contribution of a million dollars, which If we had five million dollars, I'd spend five million dollars on it because I there's not a question in my mind About the need issue So if my question becomes When we commit a million dollars to these programs We're trying to do that presumably unspoken The the spoken issue is we're trying to take a million dollars from our general fund Improve the lives of people in the city of santa cruz through contributing to these various cbo programs, which are wonderful right, so When we make a dollar contribution into that Is that service going to santa cruz residents? Yes, what we did when we Combined in the rfp in the last go around we combined the dollars and the overall administration with the county But for our contribution within the evaluation of the respondents We specifically stated that the Benefited recipients of the services for the applicant needed to be in the city of santa cruz So we are aligning the recipients of the services that get funded to be santa cruz community members city of santa cruz not the overall county So I'm sorry, please. I just wanted to make sure if the county partners had any edits to my response County. Yes. No, you're I yeah the funding goes to city residents so when I would look at And we can pick any one of these organizations, but Pick out the boys and girls club or something and and that's not to criticize them. I think they're wonderful And they operate inside the city of santa cruz. And so some of our money of a million dollars is going to them And then as somebody comes in to the boys and girls club or Whatever the organization happens to be operated in the city of santa cruz Somebody from scott's valley comes in or capitol or whatever and they want to Get the services from the boys and girls club We say what? The program that we would have funded with city money With the boys and girls club would have been for a program that benefits santa cruz residents If the boys and girls club applied for another Grant from core that was county based That money would go to the a different boys and girls club not in the city of santa cruz are serviced directly for the city Okay, I don't want to go where i'm going to describe next but understanding So Little sally comes in and lives on market street and she goes to the boys and girls club That's great. She's and then a little joey from scott's valley shows up at the boys and girls club What do they say to him? If it is a program that we funded What were their names selly and Joey joey's from scott's valley joey's from scott's valley So joey from scott's valley goes into our boys and girls club down the street. Yes, and he participates in a program But that doesn't have money from the city core funding Or he participates in one that has Funding from a city core funding I don't know the details of what we funded at the boys and girls club But theoretically the program that we funded through our money at the santa cruz boys and girls club would have been for city residents Okay, so I'm not sure that's exactly what these individual programmatic reports say I'm not sure it says it it indicates in here. There's a This is very helpful information by the way and really well formatted But when we look at location, there's a location chart in for each one of the organizations and It indicates How many recipients from each jurisdiction during the previous year and so in almost all of these there are Folks who have come from One of the three cities or more than the three cities who Appeared to be available and I have no issue with that. That's fine I want little joey to get to play basketball at the boys and girls club. That's how my issue My issue is what scott's valley doing about that Or do we tilt port little joey? When he wants to go out on the basketball court and we're supporting the boys and girls basketball operation I'm sorry joey, but your city hasn't given us any money I don't know the Policies of the boys and girls club But a for instance would be for a parks and rec program When I tried to register my daughter for junior lifeguards in capitolah I was deprioritized because I did not live in capitolah So I don't know if the boys and girls club does that and joey might get to play basketball But he could be on the wait list because there are other Kids in Santa Cruz and the classes are full I don't know enough about the specific programs to be able to answer that but I would also Conjecture that whether or not the money flowed through Our shared core partnership with the county or if we were to have directly funded the boys and girls club We would have the same conundrum about if joey got to play basketball and if he was from scott's valley Exactly my point. That's exactly my point. That's what I thought it was and that that that's very helpful Do we have any reason to understand in either your conversations with your counterparts in capitolah scott's valley in watsonville Why they choose not to expend general funds in this way? I have not had Those conversations directly with my counterparts, but I see council member brown with her hand up council member brown I can't speak to the Management staff of those cities, but I can say in my conversations with elected representatives from those bodies Each of the jurisdictions does give some limited funding to What we would used to call community programs. It's very limited in scott's valley and capitolah watsonville Um does uh, I think it's almost half a million dollars. They do make contributions. They have Not opted in none of those jurisdictions have opted into participating in core They do support community programs. Um, there's a whole story there. I'd be happy to share another time Let me ask on on I want to I want to go back to this issue about Uh, that is mentioned at least in our packet on 26.3 Which uh at the top of the page Is 2023 core rfp community engagement listening sessions about halfway down. There's a series of bullet points I want to go to where A couple of my colleagues have gone In the third bullet down it says most Believe the rfp should not prioritize programs ability to leverage state and federal funds um, that seems counterintuitive to me it would seem if the city of santa cruz is Contributing a million dollars of discretionary general fund money. We would want to fund programs which in fact do Leverage state and federal money So that our dollar goes further more services provided That would occur to me. What is the argument? Aside from well That continues to fund Established organizations that can pull down state and federal funding Uh, what is the argument for and and is that part of the policy you're asking us to adopt? I I'll hand that over to kimberley. I it is not that is just a report back of opinions. So I'll hand that over to kimberley Thank you Uh, yes That was feedback that we heard from the community engagement sessions And the reasoning that some people gave behind that perspective Was they felt that it um, it favored a larger more established organizations And did not provide as much of an opportunity for smaller organizations with smaller with less administrative infrastructure um I feel like it I may also note that core funding often is just a portion of funding For programs. Um, we very rarely is core the only source of funding for Any of the programs or organizations if that helps for the moment or your earlier conversation Thank you. Let me follow up on that because Because I want to understand is there anything we're doing today which would Ratify that which is to say is there anything the city of Santa Cruz is doing today? Which would align us with the idea that the rfp should not prioritize programs ability to leverage state and federal funds Are we agreeing with that in any way you can perform? so for If from hsd, we are today just asking For you to vote on priorities And if there if you do have a sense like we've noted the feedback that you're hearing from you that It you would like to have Uh performance measures or the ability to leverage Be a part of the request for proposals Some of the board of supervisors said that same thing though today the one thing that we're asking is for You to make a decision on the priorities That are listed on the screen. Um in front of you And to the thank you. Do those priorities reflect Agreement that the rfp should not prioritize those programs The priorities just reflect the jet these broad policy priorities They when we come back in april with the draft rfp, that's where we would include feedback around the performance measures and Leveraging of funding being weighted in the applications Am I answering your question? We'll get there. I'm pretty sure because I think we're pretty close. Um, so Let's say that we're looking at the rfps That are to be funded right the decisions haven't been made now now we're looking forward We take an action today Here's a million dollars. We adopt these priorities As folks are then Being pushed through the various screens in an application process Is one of the screens Going to be that the rfp does not Give you any additional points if you will for being able to leverage state and federal funds How is the state and federal fund leverage question Going to go into the evaluation if we take the action you're asking us to take today I I believe the action that we're asking you today is whether or not you want to Go in line with the four Priority areas I believe that action is silent on your question on the state and federal side And that I believe what Kimberly answered in my interpretation is the state and federal criteria Is not a part of the decision making and would be part of the draft rfp that you would then see in april Okay, so miss bush. Let's put that is that accurate back up Okay Okay, not a problem not a problem So I make sure that I've got this because because my feeling is Which now starting to align with my thought about it Is that I understand from the point of view of established organizations new organizations If you're some new organization don't have a lot of track record Maybe you've been around a year or two You haven't been able to pull down state and federal money and so on But you're doing something in that list that we really like we adopt the list You're asking us to adopt and let's say we do that And then within those categories there's going to be applications right to operationalize those And be able to provide services in those general general areas So Along comes an rfp to do that. I'm sorry along comes an application to do that and I'm interested in knowing How you would treat how how the evaluation process would treat Two applications one come in says I'd like a hundred thousand dollars to do x good thing in the community The other one says I would like to get a hundred thousand dollars to do that in the community But what we bring is the ability to pull down a half a million dollars in state and federal money Whereas the other one can't So from my point of view I'm interested in outcomes, which is the recipients of the programs If we could get somebody we give them a hundred thousand dollars that then Leverages a million dollars in now. We got one point one to spend on this rather than point one My what what what would be then if if we move forward? In some kind of evaluation process, which one of those is Rated or evaluated or ranked higher than the other I'm going to take a little bit of a circuitous route to answer your question But hopefully it will be brief. Thank you between now and april. We need to work with um, the city council and our community partners to Fair it out the details of the rfp and within the rfp some of the Detailed criteria that you're describing would be in there Historically what we have done is as we've had the community outreach meetings and the conversations around different aspects Leading up to the rfp the training and so on We have used a subset of the council in the form of the community programs committee to help Bounce ideas off of and get feedback essentially on behalf of the larger council before we take something to the larger council This type of conversation I think is appropriate for what we would have done with the community programs committee So we have two groups within the city council that might help with that We could either go at it from a function perspective and have the health and all policies Group be that replacement for that conversation that used to happen at this cpc Or we can also look at it from a funding perspective and go to the council budget and revenue ad hoc committee those would be my suggestions of give us a Pinging point a subset of you to work with on some of these questions as we lead up to the april conversation Thank you for that because I I have this sense and the reason I mentioned Haven't been involved in this since 1988 Is that there's an echo coming around for me on this? which is That If the community organizations Who compete for this funding? Are the folks with whom we're asking that question and and They then get to Provide advice. I'm imagining those that are able to leverage think that that's a good thing Those that can't think it's not a good thing because it prevents a barrier to entry if you will for their organization to be able to move forward That's an interesting conversation for them to have Organizationally, but for us. I think the issue is how many residents are being served? When we put a dollar in what does that get us? By way of whether it's food service or help for little kids or whatever the program may be What is the best outcome for our community? It seems like more is better and so I'm interested in knowing when it is we're going to get For us to get to weigh in on whether programs Should be prioritized should get extra credit if you will if they leverage state and federal funds or not When will we get to weigh in on that question? So It would be offline of this conversation and kimberley unmuted herself between now and April I don't know if they have a specific timeline on that rfp conversation set of conversations I uh can say that we We The approach that we've been taking We took it with the board and we can do it here too You know if you like is that we take this general feedback again, we heard some similar feedback from the board and Take it incorporate it into the draft request for proposals And then when you look at that draft in april As a city council you will have the opportunity to say yes I like you how you captured my feedback or no I don't like that and here's I want you to do something different um, so we're We we're trying to we intend to try and incorporate the feedback that we're hearing Well, thank you so much for that I appreciate that so in sometime in april we'll get to visit this question if we want to make a policy choice Or not make a policy choice that's a time and place to do it Yes, with the send Councilmember brown if I could just because the so the way that we've traditionally done this is as um, uh, mish mit mentioned the community programs committee has made a recommendation And so we don't really open it up and do a lot of conversing about it The whole council does approve that but we don't study it and discuss it in the same way We since the health and all policies committee was established We um, kind of had a conversation amongst the four of us who were represented Those two committees combined that the community programs committee would sunset So I am now Not and I said I'll step out because we have council members who are on that High-up committee and that's a great place. Um in terms of giving additional feedback prior to like so staff doesn't need to make a lot of changes before the whole council gets the um The proposal the rfp and is asked to approve it We could ask that it come also to the budget and revenue committee. I think that was that was an idea or just kind of Share you've shared your concerns I think I've shared mine and and we could ask the high-up committee to take those into account when they're really Digging into it. So it could be a recommendation or any comments also coming from our committee Or we could just kind of hope that there, you know, folks will hear and I I see head shaking so Um, either way. Um, so we wouldn't necessarily want to be make like Big changes at that point if there are concerns it feels like it would be good to resolve those prior to the final vote Sorry, I interrupted Laura. Maybe I wasn't actually Helping that that was great. I just wanted to clarify that it would probably be good for The council to direct either health and all policies or the budget and revenue ad hoc committee to be the go-to sanding board for core rfp questions and You know design guidance Because with that direction if something should come up and there's an opportunity to have these conversations between now and april Hopefully that makes the april conversation easier And I think that is what council member brown was also saying So I'll leave on on that point. I will leave it to others about Which committee it goes to and when it comes up if it's budget and Revenue then I'm on that and if not, it'll come to us somehow, but I'll register my Initial thought which is we ought to give extra credit Organizations that can leverage state and federal funding because from my point of view, that's more services to the community I understand the other argument, but that's my view let me ask about The next bullet point which talks about that the rp should not score past performance and programs that just is antithetical to Everything I've experienced in government for 50 years now To say no, we're really not going to look at your past performance to me. That's that's a critically important component part Because that helps us evaluate the efficiency of the use of our general fund dollars help me understand Two things one That comment and number two Whether that's another thing another element that is likely to be included in the rfp Whether or not past performance gets given any kind of more less points I do not recall and perhaps kimberley or amanda Can recall in the last rfp if that was part of the rubric and they can also help clarify my Instinct of why that would have shown up in the feedback is If an agency is relatively new or the program being Proposed is new or innovative. It would have no past performance and I'll hand that over to kimberley That that response is exactly correct regarding Part of the reasoning for why some people expressed that viewpoint during the community engagement sessions And in terms of whether that was a factor during the last rfp It was not For the same reason So basically if someone had risk if some organization had not received core funding in the past They wouldn't have past performance to rely upon And with regard to your development of the rfp In this cycle You are Going to or not going to Look at past performance We we heard We we were trying we heard some of that that same statement from the board of supervisors And we haven't developed the new rf the next rfp yet So we've said we would try to incorporate the feedback That heard heard from the board and in you And If there was some reason we couldn't we would statewide and then of course again in april with whatever is presented to you whether that is Whether someone would get extra points for high performance or not or however that would be operationalized You could choose to support it or choose to Ask that it be done differently Thank you. And let me conclude by thanking mitch mit and the two county folks If this was easy, there'd be this uniform way to do it's been done for a hundred years and that isn't how we do it Things are always changing For a wide variety of reasons. I know this is terribly difficult work to do and Thank you for your deep engagement and thoughtful and professional approach to all this very much appreciate it Let me ask if there's anyone who's with us in the public today who wishes to provide any comment on this item And miss bush do we have anyone online we do how many Currently one. Thank you very much. Good. Good afternoon Good afternoon Nice to see everyone. Thank you so much for your time and service and attention to this really important matter My name is tracy weiss and the executive director with the ony lc odyssey and have been a long time partner with the city And has served the residents here as a community-based partner for many years I'm going to keep my comments really brief, but we all know that concern from the environment is at an all-time high A healthy resilient environment is an important indicator for the reflection of our health of our community and for the inhabitants within I appreciate the allocation of funding from the city to the core process And for all your work to navigate this. I know it is not easy But i'm here to ask that you really consider Reflecting the county's guideline and adding healthy environments as a fourth priority While nonprofits and community-based organizations could apply and continue, you know, kind of finagle ourselves under a different heading I think it's important that we honor and acknowledge that A healthy environment serves not only our mental and physical well-being, but it serves the residents within Um when we invest in the natural world, we're investing in ourselves and our environment today Is crying out for it? So I really ask that you reflect what the county has done and include healthy environments So thank you so much. Thank you for being here. Thank you for your fine work Ms. Bush, let's take the person online person online. Good afternoon Hello, it's jasmine me again As a licensed manager family therapist here based here in santa cruz I want to emphasize the need for health and wellness to be a top priority and to get more funding Health and wellness was shown to be proposed to get 10 of the general fund contributions To core versus the safe and just community getting 30 65 percent of the general fund contributions to core And most of us have heard the saying that you know an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure Policing which I presume falls under safe and just community is no cure even And if we fund social services that increase survivability, we will see a reduction in the need for police response Many what are called crimes are acts of desperation and poverty Funding more of health and wellness will create a more safe and just community Also last year chief escalante said that the majority of police time has been on houselessness and mental health and addiction issues And that these calls will be better handled by those by services That signals to me that the majority of funding needs to be on social services I also empower you to increase funding from our general fund for stable affordable housing and shelter Which I agree should remain a top priority right now. It's only getting three percent of the contributions It's one of the most basic needs ever I'd like us to look more holistically when we fund things while we're talking about 1 million from city's general fund and contributions to core funding scpd is slated to get 33 million of our general fund in the fiscal year 2024 I don't really see why that is as a mental health provider I think we need to be spending most of our general fund on social services that increase survivability To me it makes no sense again that police are going to get 33 million and we're talking about 1 million being distributed to all these core priorities. Thank you Thank you Good afternoon, sir My name is still james ealing Whitman. I'll be brief You know, I too had some questions or a very similar question that you brought up mr. Keeley As far as what was what was that 5 million or 1 million? But actually what it seemed like was 215 million so i'm glad that you uh clarified that Besides that, I don't want to confuse the situation anymore. It's just fascinating to know that you were Board of Supervisors when gary patin was a board of supervisor and you've been doing this for 50 years So Hopefully all of us will be around for another 50 years. Oh, there's nothing sad. It's true. Thank you That's very kind of you. Thank you for saying that Matters back before the council motion would be in order I'm going to go to miss brown them. Yeah, miss brown. I was I was actually going to Mayor you could you could I do you have somebody else on mine? Well, I'm sorry. I thank you for bringing that to my attention miss push the other person online. Please proceed uh mayor keely uh council Uh, it's brad snider again. I just uh, uh, what do I think about all the spending, uh, you know, like Uh, even though it's uh, it sounds like it's 1 30th of the police uh budget I feel like I feel like the idea that you can uh, squelch crime by uh, uh treating mental mental illness kind of like Assuming that the only thing that causes crime is mental illness It's kind of like Sutton's law. Okay, you know what we're you know, you uh, you rob banks because that's where the money is, but um Yeah, actually, I don't know. You know, it's it doesn't doesn't seem like terribly, um incidental that the uh, the guy who uh, first uh formulated fentanyl You know, which everybody's so so alarmed about was is the guy who also uh, who the company that all these uh, uh Anti-psychotic drugs that they prescribe and cost about seven thousand dollars every injection Uh, it's nant jansen pharmaceutical same guy invented Fentanyl that they're giving these anti-psychotic drugs to everybody and just paying tons and tons of money To inject people with drugs um now if you go on to You know the internet or uh wikipedia, uh, you know a good great resource for information Uh, you look at political abuses of psychiatry. You're gonna see that. Yes psychiatry is something that is used as a tool Um, I'm not going to go overboard. Uh, you know wasting everybody's uh moments here, but that's my five dollars worth. Thank you Well, thank you very much anyone else online. Let's push Very good matters back before the council Councilmember Watkins is recognized Thank you and thanks to um our staff and the and our colleagues for the questions and the Further clarification and refinement. I'm happy to move the recommendation. I'd like to add the fourth element similar to the county's which is healthy environments With additional direction to have the health and all policies subcommittee be the first council committee to review The rfp prior to it coming to the full council. There is a motion. Is there a second second? Brown Please open on your motion. I just have a brief um suggestion for for future consideration Um, I having been a part of this for a long time. I I also know that every time there's often more questions that come up And so thinking about transitions of councils in the future At least two of us will be off. Um, next next cycle that there's four thought in how you're Preparing our colleagues and future colleagues for understanding of what this is and the history as well as how to potentially proceed further because I think frequently we have these discussions and I think that sort of history and um background could be helpful In the future. So that's just a suggestion for uh, senior from a senior council member The other senior council member Believe it, uh, so I would um, I Thank you council member Watkins for making the motion that was um, I wanted to just clarify that we the intention would be for the high up committee to be the The moving kind of responsible subcommittee given the amount of work involved in Moving through this. I don't it's not really in the wheelhouse of the budget and revenue committee um, and I just it wanted to make sure that um, I associate myself with your comments about the, uh, which I kind of already said But just really be clear that it for the committee members as you look at this I really want to see um those elements included the ability to leverage funds and um performance metrics for past work Whether through core or organizational work Funded elsewhere. So I just want to make sure that's really clear. Um, does not only need to be in the motion, but um wanted to You know, hopefully we don't have to have a real long conversation about that when it comes back If please I'll just add that I yeah, I'll just add that I'm very much on the same page is what I've heard from my Colleagues here around those components. Um, I'm one of the members of the um health and all policies committee and I'm aligned with that and um In my role, I'll I'll make sure that we have that discussion and we recommend that that's in there Thank you. Let me ask the maker of the motion and the second uh with regard to this additional If I understood it correctly this additional category that the board of supervisors is interested in Is this the time and place for us to weigh in on whether we agree with that My and is that in your motion? That is in my motion to add that in your motion. Okay, very good. Ms. Bush, we're clear on that Okay for the debate or discussion Seeing and hearing none the clerk will call the roll Council member is nuisance. I brown. I runner I Calentary johnson. I vice mayor golder. I miraculously. All right motion passes and so ordered We are on item 27 and Here's what we're going to do. Uh, I know you've been waiting patiently 10 more minutes of patience is what I would request We're going to take a very brief 10 minute recess. We'll be back in at Let's call it 225. So it'll be about eight minute recess. We'll be back then When you're ready, okay, thank you Santa Cruz City Council is back in session following our afternoon recess and thank you for your forbearance those of you who've been Waiting For your items to come up. We're on item 27. This is a revised Santa Cruz wharf master plan and environmental determination We will be receiving a staff report from mr. McCormick from the economic development department And mr. Lipscomb Who heads that department? Good afternoon Good afternoon, and thank you for having us today My name is david mccormick. I'm the the project manager for the wharf master plan with economic development and housing I just get this presentation up and running. Let's see. Ah There we go. All right. Thank you again, and I'm joined today by sabrina teller our outside sequa council Good afternoon. Welcome All right So today I'm just going to give a quick overview of the of the presentation We'll have a little slide on context for it. What the wharf master plan is why it's needed um more on the a brief summary of the the top lines from the the revised er analysis and then we'll follow in recommendations in next steps I'm going to try and keep it brief. I apologize for council members who who haven't had the benefit of the very many presentations on this, but We'll go ahead today. Uh, so just a quick glimpse at the wharf today It's generally we estimated to attract around 2 million visitors or more each year. It's the top three regional destination It's got over 20 local business partners And is home to over five or nearly 500 employees or about 10 of the city city's restaurant workforce Annually we we receive about there's about 30 million dollars in sales generated by the wharf And the city receives about almost 3 million dollars in revenue to sustain the wharf from that In 2018 the the wharf was assessed for insurance purposes at just under 120 million dollars likely more today So what is the wharf master plan? first and foremost as a result of public engagement And the engineering reports and analysis. It's a framework. It's not a prescription for what comes next It's a 20 to 30 year plan and a financing tool that is essential to getting outside resources to help sustain and improve our wharf And it sets goals rules and guidelines For expanding public access and public space on the Monterey Bay Most importantly the wharf master plan will not immediately authorize any development There's still a long road before we can deliver on any of the visions in it It won't bring ocean liners or cruise ships to Santa Cruz It won't remove the sea lionholes and it won't mandate that we build buildings tall It does provide an outside envelope, but it does not say that any of them have to be that size Uh, and more significantly it won't impact bird or marine life in a negative way and that cannot be mitigated as shown in the ir and typically associated with construction in that regard And then going forward it will not reduce fishing or sightseeing opportunities And it won't close the door on community engagement. Each project will have uh opportunities for that To date the wharf master plan has included this will be the fifth council meeting on it 10 commission hearings eight focus groups 15 stakeholder meetings 10 interagency mailer meetings over 4 000 mailers and notices There was a open house showcase and milestone meetings held during the drafting of the plan and broad news coverage throughout So to say that it uh, it was not a public process Does not really hold up A glimpse at all of the stakeholders who are involved. These are the ones that easily I could find logos for there are more Particularly among the businesses so the over 20 wharf businesses that were engaged in the process But we had representatives from all of the types of groups and industries there that provided input into drafting the plan So and through the process it's been heard and advised upon by numerous commissions The green lines show prior discretionary approvals with the one red rejection Most recently by the historic preservation commission Who did you know disagreed with the west walkway and a design language that was proposed by staff The need for the wharf master plan really boils down to the outside the outstanding infrastructure backlog so, you know to say that the The The wharf crew does an excellent job keeping up and maintain the wharf We're one of the few wharves in california that has a dedicated staff working full time to repair it But the life of living on the with 110 year old wharf on the open ocean is that they just don't have the resources to keep up with The you know the degradation and wear that occurs there so that's resulted in What the engineering report estimated was about 11.6 million dollars If we adjust an outside infrastructure needs just to repair what we have today If we adjust for inflation, that's over 14 million today. However, if we look at recent Bids that we received for the miramar site restoration. It's quite likely that this work would be quite a bit more expensive The report also did and you're likely here today that it reported that the wharf is in generally good repair And with a little over 200 around 200 pilings needing replacement or about 5 percent of the wharf And to say that that's a small number is is miscaracterization that's Around two-thirds of the the entirety of the capitol of wharf if you wanted to compare So you can imagine driving Recreating all of that while you have an operating wharf tearing up all the infrastructure needed there. It's it's no small task We most recently replaced 26 of them on the miramar site and the wharf crew has been able to replace a few year But they struggle with outdated equipment our wharf Crane that they use for pile driving is over 50 years old And you know has issues with that so It's not an easy task to catch up on this and we don't have the resources to get there Along those lines the the wharf financials have proven to be insustainable As you can see there we're sort of on a downward trend over the past seven eight years And in the last few years Needing to be subsidized to the tune of about a million and a half a year To keep up with the wharf operations including parking Wharf maintenance and marine safety So part of the master plan's goal is to balance the the natural Sorry the the social Environmental and economic considerations the wharf to create a sustainable wharf going forward and to help write this ship So we have the resources we need So within the wharf master plan there are a number of new features Proposed there's the life station the lifeguard station upgrade. There's the the relocation of the entrance gates There's an east promenade which is a multimodal Trail or a path along the east side of the wharf that extends farther than shown there as well as a small boat landing and a south landing for larger vessels New overlook and lateral strengthening at the end of the wharf As well as the the proposed landmark building Which would be a multi-use large public-facing facility a westward extension at the end of the wharf to again Strengthen the lateral resilience at that. It's narrowest point or not narrowest point, but it was most vulnerable point Um An all-season events pavilion over the existing stage to improve seasonality and and encourage more events out at the wharf at the west walkway, which is a multi-benefit facility providing recreational access as well as emergency response and Access a sort of a defensive barrier on the west side of the wharf against marine debris and wave action To protect the the buildings atop and the pilings underneath them that can't be repaired While the building is standing And then finally a welcome center near the entrance to help orient people and serve community sort of You know provide information services as well as a potential open water swim facility with saunas and showers and things like that The the wharf master plan was a last approved by council in november 2020 However, um, we were quickly challenged by a group called don't morph the wharf We have a number of representatives there today Who held objections to several facilities, particularly the the west side walkway and the landmark building that were highlighted on the last image um And they raised More arguments than this, but the court ultimately ruled in their favor on inadequate recreational analysis similarly to land use policies related to recreation and disagreed with our That are rationale for rejecting alternative to Which would have removed the west walkway the the court felt that it wasn't adequately supported by the evidence And so as a result, uh, we were ordered the city was ordered to rescind approvals of the master plan in the ar Which has been done in october of 2022 and we have spent the last year conducting the additional environmental analysis and Revisiting our findings and things to address the court's concerns I would quickly go through what was studied So for the recreational analysis, uh, the team used the most expansive definition of recreation and california law To ensure that we covered every base of what could potentially be What is and what could potentially be recreation at the wharf through these improvements? there's a You know a comprehensive write-up in the staff report on it as well as Links to the the parks and recreation commission staff report, which really gets into detail And then of course the the revised er has all the details going over 100 pages worth of analysis For the purposes of this meeting to keep it brief. We'll just talk on the the the two most High-profile elements the first the concern was that the the city's prior commitment to preserve or relocate the sea line viewing holes Also fishing holes Was not adequately analyzed or supported in our record and it couldn't be shown Through that commitment that we could feasibly do so So in the revised er the the attached exhibit was was entered showing that with modifications to either the holes Or the layout at the end of the wharf Including potentially the landmark building the sea lion holes Could be relocated could be modified to create new opportunities at the end of the wharf or even along the length of the wharf and would also Have additional opportunities through the west side walkway or the the stepped overlook To see sea lion viewing in other locations and in different ways and experiences The study also Or in the process we also identified that none of the the near-term projects such as the east promenade Shown here in the progress plans Would not impact the existing viewing holes as they are So those projects Really it would come down to how things are modified regarding structures in the landmark building things like that Recreational fishing was the other hot topic There was concerns that with these new improvements, there would be less fishing opportunities Through the analysis based in gis modeling and actual measurements of what was there This the team looked at not just the presence of fishing and the allowability along the wharf perimeter But looked at different styles of fishing and different catch Opportunities that exist in different zones along the wharf And with the full project builds out this would result in a 21 increase in overall allowable fishing Particularly for reef style fishing which is sort of in and around the pilings Which today can only feasibly or really be achieved From those sea lion viewing holes where you conflict with the sea lions But with the east the west side walkway that could expand dramatically There'd be all sorts of new opportunities to get in there and and try your your skills The most notable actual negative impact while those are positive impacts the negative impact would be the that tailgate fishing Would be reduced by about 1705 feet That's a significant reduction in the availability of tailgate fishing Which is driving up the back of your car to the edge of the wharf and you know setting up shop And the main reason for that is to reduce conflicts So in the recommendation here in the analysis It would tailgate fishing would not be allowed in any space less than 10 feet wide where there's a path less than 10 feet wide Because that conflicts with ADA access So it's still preserved in a number of places As shown in the next exhibit it would be down by the sort of by the Lifeguard station in the east parking lot and a little section past Stagnaro's So all the allowable fishing zones that it exists in would be maintained There would also be an estimate of between 80 and 100 spaces preserved for tailgate fishing So there's still plenty of opportunity for it. It's just more restricted to areas where it's not conflicting with other uses And not taking up, you know, unnecessary unnecessary parking potentially In addition along the east promenade, there will be dedicated seating areas for fishing separated from multimodal pathway uses All of which again reduces those opportunities and then there's the expanded boat and west side fishing That would be engaged to confirm that this would be It would be, you know, a realistic That we realistically would preserve that opportunity We reached out to the department of fishing game who goes out there regularly to monitor fishing activities and check catch for their data purposes And they returned the this average of daily fishers counted By their staff so they're not out there every day But throughout the the past year what they found is a peak of about 58 fishermen at any given time In the month of july down to a low of about four in january So we feel pretty confident that that fishing opportunities will still be there for anyone who wants to And again, here's that detailed analysis shows you exactly where we we think that fishing is most feasible Some of the red areas could modify a little bit here and there Based on the final design of of project elements like the boat landings For instance the the small boat or the south landing. We actually think we have some alternative designs that are a little smaller It might free up some fishing area but Overall we we expect to see a net increase in fishing Throughout the war particularly if the entire project is built We also analyzed the land use policies for recreation based in um Approved existing documents so the general plan the low coastal plan coastal act everything there To make sure that we were consistent with recreational policies per the court's mandate And we found that the master plan is consistent with each of these approved documents It would protect and enhance public access and coastal recreation It wouldn't intrude on beaches And it would expand economic Everything there so really is consistent with all of the plans that we have in place guiding our work And then the the final aspect of meeting the court's order was You know strengthening up our Alternatives analysis And the the blue project objectives are the ones that we feel are most aligned with the west walkway There's actually two additional ones there Related to economic activity that I didn't make it on this list, but they should be That aren't strictly really related to the west walkway though But we feel that in the analysis the the west walkway If you were to remove it per alternative to We would not receive the additional lateral stability or that defensive barrier to protect the buildings And the jobs and businesses that lie above them So while we think about you know potential impacts to views and things like that Of course, none of which were found to be valid in the eir But nonetheless are perceived by by some people in the community The the reality Is much more tangible for the people that work and have their livelihoods attached to the build businesses on the wharf that this need is there To protect those businesses those buildings And the the experiences that we get through them We would also not receive the the new pedestrian access along the west side a topic that was encouraged by the coastal commission We'd see a reduction in fishing opportunities Although nominal about about a hundred feet compared to current existing conditions Which is about I believe it was less than five percent Compared, but nonetheless it would be a reduction in fishing without the west walkway Depending upon final design of other elements And then we would not have new accessible water access on the west side of the wharf on the cowl beach side There'd be no new wildlife viewing or sightseeing from the west side of the wharf And there would be a loss of emergency response access on the last side of the wharf So there's a lot of downsides to adopting alternative to and that's thus Staff's recommendation is is to maintain the west walkway for these reasons. We know the climate is changing We know there's increased risk the engineers have suggested that the west walkway will provide wave force mitigation And will protect against pilings or sorry marine debris damaging pilings Particularly under those buildings where they can't be repaired But nonetheless in conversations and through the the public comment that we've heard We feel it important to To offer the opportunity, you know to put it forward the opportunity for counsel to decide from a policy standpoint Is now the time to consider that is it really the right thing for the wharf? There's certainly no money attached to it at this point And so the the staff recommendation has been revised to include a third option Which would be to remove both the landmark building and adopt alternative to removing the west walkway And then providing a staff direction to make conforming changes to the master plan and look into alternative Alternative options to achieve those same defensive functions Without the You know perceived impacts and negative connotations of the the west walkway So that is before counsel Um, and what that means is that with the alternative chapter should you choose to adopt it the landmark building would be removed Although the the plan still anticipates that future development will be needed at the end of the wharf Whatever that may look like in the future In order to provide the resources and the the functions to sustain that end of the wharf However, it calls for a new public process to determine what that looks like how it is It doesn't point us towards a large building As the end goal and it ties that need to that development to the wharf needs not a speculative building based Without a use And most importantly it focuses on the human experience at the end of the wharf. It says that's what we need to prioritize Those functions needs and experience And then the second would be if you were to adopt the alternative to We would not receive the the protection as we mentioned from marine debris Or the dissipative, uh function against wave action Which which continues to or will continue to present risks to the buildings and the pilings beneath them As you can see here at the capitol of wharf, uh, the outer function or the outer stretch of of decking there provides such Disappation and protects the building From those waves although the angle of attack is a bit different on the west side of wharf admittedly at the time being but Nonetheless the function is a sort of a trident true marine engineering approach And we also won't get the sort of that defensive barrier to absorb over topping which ends up with the Sort of the lateral and downward force of wave action Against buildings and things so we did see that in action in january when the the wharf hq was hit And it damaged the the sliding door and flooded their break room. So it does happen And the west walkway was intended to protect against those But we've heard very loudly people's concerns and questions and we offer You know council the policy decision today And just a quick example. This is uh, when we consider the west walkway the the views Study in the in the ar at the bottom there The white railings that are shown are really there for contrast to help you understand Where it would be But the master plan actually proposed minimalist railings Sort of things to try and make it less visible And then you can see up the top the just sort of the line a little close-up of where it might be and And what that implication might be for views in and underneath those pilings in between Looking forward In any path should you adopt the wharf master plan today in any fashion whether it's modified or not The next steps will be to prepare a public works plan with the coastal commission And then we expect to come back in february with news on a Grant we've been working with the coastal conservancy on To provide resilience funding that would repair the east parking lot Or at least the outer section of the east parking lot Would fund the wharf interpretive plan Would lead to the outreach permitting and engineering for the east promenade the small boat landing south landing in the entrance gate relocation And would fund Together with the city match the entrance gates relocation to reduce those traffic impacts So the coastal conservancy is very excited about this opportunity But we need a master plan in place for particularly for the planning elements The east parking lot and things were you know some of this work The the immediate repair falls within our maintenance permits So we should be able to move quickly apace with that And then the the other elements are are planning in design and would follow up with the coastal And then throughout all of it there will be many opportunities ahead going for additional community engagement and design input on any of these elements Having resources to actually do the design and engineering and bring them off the from the vision page to reality Means we'll be able to engage the community and really get the pieces and the details of what they want And what will make it a great place for all of us Um, so here's just a list of many of those opportunities that we expect to see And then i'll leave it on the uh the staff recommendation or the revised recommendation for for council consideration Mr. McCormick, thank you very much. Thank you to the entire team over economic development public works All the other agencies have been involved or departments as city government quite well done long time in the process and Uh, very much appreciate that matter. Let me ask if council members have questions or comments on this item Miss brown I do. Thank you. Um, I have some comments as well reserve. Um, the The image you showed of the capitol awarf was a jarring one and I the question of overtopping is is obviously a concern um How tall is the cap how high are the pilings on the capitol awarf? My understanding is the deck level of the capitol awarf is about 19 feet 19 feet And relative to the city of sanikers just for the public. Yeah, and ours is I believe 23 At the bottom of the deck. Okay um, thank you I think I'll leave it there for now. I have other questions may arise. Thanks for the questions to comment at this point Before we go to public comment This would be the opportunity for anyone to comment on this item Uh, we'll alternate my guess is please come up. My guess is we're going to have people online. Is that correct miss bush? Miss green site. Good afternoon. Good afternoon, ma'akiri before You'd start my time. Uh, I had to ask for extra time. Could you let me let me announce how that works? Typically under our rules of procedure Uh, a request for additional time needs to be in by a certain time on sunday prior to a tuesday meeting However, that was not done in this case However, miss greenside has been so deeply involved with this for so long It would seem inappropriate not to grant your request for some additional time. So please proceed Five minutes, uh, a reasonable time. Thank you. I have timed it and hopefully it will Uh, so could I oh does the time? Oh, it's already started. I haven't started. Don't worry about it. Just Thank you very much Well, ma'akiri and uh, vice mayor golder and council members My name is jillian greenside and i'm speaking on behalf of the community group don't morph the wharf The overwhelming majority of the community is opposed to specific parts of the wharf master plan as reflected in the emails you receive for this hearing The lowered west side walkway is a major focus of community opposition Including that of the sierra club the santa cruz bird club your historic preservation commission As well as a central issue for the courts The last minute letter you secured from a bird biologist Said the assessment of the west side walkway impact on the migratory Pigeon geelamots is speculative In this case, it seems a correct speculation The three biologists who studied these birds on site for the environmental impact report stated and I quote It was noted repeatedly during nesting season Observations that pigeon geelamots often require multiple attempts at landing in the confined Cavity spaces under the wharf before successfully reaching their destination end of quote To put in their way a fixed below deck barrier with people and activity may well be the tipping point The letter from the fire chief written on november 6 after all public hearings were over Explains that the fire boat an important fire fighting resource for the wharf was liquidated due to age That its replacement is a priority The chief writes if the west side walkway is excluded from the plan Then the acquisition of a new fire boat becomes a must Since there has never been a west side walkway And if kept in the plan construction of such walkway is years away shouldn't this must Be immediately addressed As a reassuring counterpoint the engineering report concluded that Existing fire suppression and alarm system are in overall good condition and tested regularly Recommendations include limiting boat mooring near the wharf that's on the west side to reduce risk of ignition There was no mention of the west side walkway in terms of fire safety This leaves the questionable issue of the west side walkway acting as protection for the current wharf piling The recent damage to the pilings next to the dolphin restaurant and perhaps underneath it has nothing to do with global warming For the engineering report Divers examined each of the four and a half thousand wharf pilings They found 95 in good or excellent condition The five percent needing replacement were pin pointed on a map with red dots and some have since been replaced The rest have not Including the ones earmarked for replacement that failed near the dolphin restaurant at the end of the wharf The conclusion is clear and has nothing to do with climate change Or the other 95 percent of wharf pilings in good condition And it should not be misrepresented to promote the wharf master plan In 1913 Master engineer Henry J. Brunier It was said spent a year on beach hill observing the waves and ocean conditions Before designing the wharf He positioned the thousands of Douglas fir pilings at 23 feet above mean low lower water level That was not arbitrary It allowed even large waves to pass between beneath. This is a critical point. I'm sorry. I'll start that again This was not arbitrary. It allowed even large waves to pass beneath the deck of the wharf So that their force would largely be Unobstructed although some of the force would be absorbed by the pilings. I'm almost finished His design has stood the test of time In fact 110 years of time this year Don't assume that today's storm waves are bigger than in the past Big boy stagnaro would regale me with stories of the massive waves at the wharf in the 1940s A lowered walkway Acting as a barrier in the face of big waves Staff claims will absorb the wave energy and protect the wharf pilings under the restaurants That conclusion neglects the reality of how energy is dissipated Once wave energy meets a barrier that force must go somewhere If it cannot pass under the wharf It will be absorbed by the west side walkway demolishing it as fast as you can repair it Since the west side walkway is attached to the wharf Some of that Let me just point out. So you were granted five minutes. You're about five minutes and 30 seconds into your five minutes So if you could wrap it up, that'd be great. We'll wrap up. I'm right near the conclusion. Thank you Since the west side walkway is attached to the wharf some of that energy Will also dissipate onto the wharf rather than passing under it. Mr. Brunier must be turning his grave At this unwise alteration to his design that has stood the test of time in conclusion The ball is in your court We have made it clear that we will not pursue further legal challenge If you drop the west side walkway from the plan This offer is made in the spirit of compromise Protecting our historic wharf and reflects widespread community support. Thank you for your consideration Thank you, miss greenside We'll take the person online person online Good afternoon excuse me Excuse me. We're having a council meeting here if you want to have a conversation take it outside Next person online It's Bradley Snyder again. The wharf truly is a unique part of Santa Cruz. It's an engineering marvel It's It was a very strange working at the dolphin restaurant at the end during January of 2016 when Pokemon go It was a big craze so I'd get off work at 11 p.m. And And walk past a million People looking at their phones and not looking at others is kind of a weird libertarian anarchy where You know, the jump bikes were another thing that people would throw them off the end of the wharf, you know, so that's Opportunity for say self-driving taxis to people could hack them and then drive them off the end, right? But in all seriousness It's one of I think eight or nine different wharf or pier structures. It's the longest pier on the west coast of Of the united states to my knowledge It's um It's the sixth pier at that location It's bent at the end because uh, that used to be Dock for steamships in 1914 So it's a pretty unique, uh, you know a heritage. It's also, you know, 120 million dollar A piece of real estate and you're the landlords counsel. I mean you yourself you you are the landlords I you know one thing I think would be cool or fun is, uh, you know that to have a charity swim from the The jetty at the uh, uh, the harbor to the to the wharf, uh, the landing on the wharf You know, uh, it's only about two miles in the wharf itself. So only, you know, uh, half mile long But, um, you know, if you got a lot of, uh, um Students involved, I think it'd be a lot of fun. You could you could do a lot there. Um, I don't know for a long time There were many many vacant, um Restaurant locations on the wharf. They had all all kinds of problems. So Um, the wharf really does need renovation I personally would like to see uh pedestrian access between seabright beach and main beach If you connect the two beaches I think that just as an engineering, uh, you know, uh, I mean a trivial compared to building the wharf, but, um, as an engineering suggestion, um, you know, allowing people to go from main beach over to seabright beach beach and vice versa at now the, uh The walkway onto the promontory. That's something I've spoken many times in front of council I see I have 17 seconds left But I really do feel pedestrian should have access If limited access because obviously, um, you know, the old, uh walkway was taken out for a reason But I do feel there should be walk, uh walkway access out there onto the promontory. Thank you Thank you very much Good afternoon Well, my name is still James Ewing Whitman. Sorry for any disruptions. Somebody put some tape over where I was sitting Where to begin everybody likes stories I think some of my earliest memories of being in california were on that wharf and that's 50 years ago I think my next earliest memory was accidentally sitting on a red ant hill when I was still in diapers Yeah, we have memories So I think it's great the previous speaker who spoke for, uh More than five minutes. She talked about some storms in the 40s You know, that's one of the reasons nasa was created And I think it's amazing that this thing is in the condition that it's in and it's Was I think built in 1913? There's 4500 Pilings only five percent are damaged Um, you know, I'll get to A suggestion about there should be some really Good fire protection on that wharf at all times Um What else? You know, it seems like some further protection to the wharf would quite would be quite useful and since 95% of those pilings are in good shape um There are reasons why the weather is the way it is Just like there's reasons why the weather was the way it was in the 40s A lot of people are talking about different sun cycles now where we're going to have weather that we really haven't seen in 2000 years So if uh 2024 has Some really wild weather 2025 will be even more So back to uh, the you know the fire protection. I mean, I actually own and have in my possession to military marine hail portable fire pumps They're rated to pump 150 psi 250 gallons a minute They weigh less than I do Individually, so um, maybe I'll try to get a hold of them because they're just sitting in storage and they're really quite beautiful tools A little hours on them. So I appreciate the the information and uh Preventive maintenance is pretty important, but I'm blown away that that's lasted as long as that's amazing Thank you, sir Another person online. We'll take that person then we'll be right with you person online. Good afternoon three two one Come forward Good afternoon. Good afternoon mayor vice mayor of household members. Thank you for listening to me My name is peter drawback and my family owns and I operate two restaurants out on the wharf Riva fish house and mackay island kitchen My father martin drawback started riva fish house in 1981 with janet and katara stagnero We've been operating continuously for more than 42 years there mackay opened in 2020 in may in the dark days of the pandemic, but we're about to hit our four year in may So we're very proud of serving both the locals and the visitors to santa cruz I've been coming to santa the santa cruz wharf since 1973 when my family moved us here and so For most of us who've been coming for that long who've seen it seen that it has changed over the years not all of it's for the better But it has changed and that's the natural process for public institutions and landmarks It is a cherished landmark. It is an important historical It's an important historical landmark and I actually think that it is an important commercial center as well So that's why i'm here to urge that the council approve and the wharf master plan Having worked on the wharf for the last 10 years one of the things that's become A new experience for me is seeing how important the wharf is as a commercial hub We all know about the recreational opportunities The historical significance the sentimental value of the wharf, but it's actually a really important commercial center and you know, David mentioned Some of the figures, but you know my two small restaurants alone employ more than 115 people at any given time And our payroll just last year was more than three million dollars All of that goes back into the community We spend several hundred thousand dollars a year in rent to the city And we're happy to be in partnership with the city and in fact, I would like to thank David and his team For being such good stewards of the wharf. I enjoy working with him and we consider the city to be partners with us in this But while it's an important commercial center, it's an important recreational center to be blunt It is a decaying and underutilized asset right now It has the potential to be so much more than what it is And it needs the investment and the strategic plan to make it what it could be The wharf could be so much more It could be a destination for shopping, sightseeing Dining And in many other things And all these things are harmonious with each other and they interact to create a really vibrant community resource And I think that um I'm hoping that with the adoption of the wharf master plan that it not only increases the activity on the wharf But it also ends up increasing the activity on the wharf on a year round basis And that's the most important thing for those of us who do business on the wharf The wharf does not generate enough traffic in the off season currently To make it economically feasible for some of us to be out there And I would just like to conclude that um If if if this is approved the wharf master plan specifically addresses that and provides an opportunity for a year round Environment community and for that reason I request that the council approve the plan Mr. Joe back. Thank you and thank you for your to your family for the investments You made and all the good works that the families have done over the years. Thank you so much for that We're very glad to partner up with you Ms. Bush, do we have anyone else online? We'll do the next person online. Good afternoon three He needs unmute Good afternoon. Hello Hello, we can hear you Hi, my name is Charles Meyer and I am a business owner in the wharf as well and A person that's growing up in in Santa Cruz my whole life and I just want to say that I support um the wharf of development and making it a safer place and Making it nicer and upgrades. Um, there's a lot of people I think that I've kind of stopped going to the wharf over time because it has kind of gotten a little dated and um And older and I think there's plenty of people that visit Santa Cruz that also have um Kind of gone away from the wharf because of it's been needing updating so I think that I mean I support moving forward with the the master plan and in one of the aspects that you choose is back at you guys today, but um, also I want to um Also Bring up the point that I think that if you do develop the wharf a little bit more that in the off season Which is really challenging for businesses out on the wharf that um, it will become more of an environment where it's a year around business for people and more viable um, it's very challenging for Half of the time of the year on the wharf for I think all businesses out there. So I would like to to just say that I support the plan. So thank you very much Well, thank you very much. Good afternoon Welcome Mayor counsel My name is john bombachi. I'm the most recently retired wharf supervisor Uh, I just like to say there's so much that I could say about the wharf master plan I've poured so much of my life into it um Total agreement with the the speakers that In support before You've read my letter. I presume and you've seen my my editorial in the sentinel this morning um, I want to get right to the west walkway and I want to I want to make you aware of something If you ever know if you've ever been to stag narrows restaurant and you look to the west side Okay, that is the wisdom of the two supervisors prior to me And the public works department and jim fene the wharf engineer at that time okay That's essentially the west walkway that section of it that was always Imagine to be continued and there's a good reason for it if you look at the damage to the dolphin today How would we proceed to fix that without a path to that construction site? And without a staging area for it Okay, that that is just a huge reason to put that west walkway there in addition The west walkway what is needed on the wharf right now Is a way to contain lateral movement in what I believe is going to be much more frequent and severe winter storms It's something I think the wharf can weather quite well if if we take the precautions that have been outlined in the wharf master plan essentially In circling the wharf in new construction using the advanced materials that we have today to Tie into the shear panel that is I mean We can talk pilings But what the wharf is in more danger from is from having it losing its shear Because then you don't just lose you'll start to lose sections of the wharf You won't just lose a pile here or there You'll have entire sections starting to come loose basically the deck is what holds that wharf together Now that deck is in really bad shape through a lot of the wharf right now because Of the fasteners that were used during the time it was constructed They're corroded because we haven't had proper protection of the decking It hasn't been sealed off from weather. So there's a lot of dry rot there. So basically what you're having is you're having a Corrosion of of the wharf shear panel The city doesn't have The money take take a few Please continue. Okay. The city doesn't have the money To address that as rapidly as it needs to be fixed Surrounding that wharf In new construction will go a long way to dampening The lateral motion that's tearing at it right now. It buys you time Not only does it buy you time It gives you additional public access area and staging area for construction But mostly public access which can't you then can Apply for grant funding for Grants don't They don't fund maintenance. I know this after being out on the wharf for 40 years. I know this I've tried Okay, but what they will fund is new public access. They'll they'll They want to hang their name, you know granting agencies want to hang their name on something like that And it's a win-win You need more space out there for not just for the audience that exists not to mention, you know a future visitors coming from A regional area a regional area that burgeoned I built Or was I won't say I built I was part of the construction crew That made the additions to The wharf in the 1980s and I can't tell you how much time that has bought already in terms of The wharf stability I just urge you to to approve this plan as it is And and i'm not going to threaten litigation if you don't Okay John thank you for all the years the wisdom the experience the heart and soul. Thank you very much for doing all that john Someone online nobody online Good afternoon Hello, thank you for your consideration of this important decision regarding changes To a beloved a beloved historical landmark in our community I'm Andrea Rosenfeld and I've written all of you previously with my views So I don't need to reiterate all of my points again I'd just like to urge you to accept the proposed option c as an alternative that was presented today for the current Wharf master plan I believe the necessity and function of the western walkway despite with this gentleman spoke of and despite the fact that he's an expert Um have been misrepresented and they're they deserve further study And there are alternatives to protecting the wharf That should be Studied and we need time for that I'm appreciative of the city's proposal that was made today to eliminate the western walkway And for sure the landmark building Which I believe finally Addresses many of the concerns that the community members have expressed throughout the process. I know that the process Solicited opinions of the community, but I do not feel that the community's Opinions have actually been taken into account In the process in a way that it we it should have been so I am appreciative that that Option was presented today because I do Feel that is it reflects the community's opinion I just want to urge you in a way that does reflect the concerns that the community has put forth And I look forward to opportunities that we can have as a community to discuss Options in a new plan, which I know will go forward which can be discussed along the way So I do agree the wharf needs to be updated But we can do it in a mindful way that doesn't hurt wildlife that doesn't eliminate Fishing spots for people that won't necessarily have access on the walkway And we can do things that's a better fit for this community. Thank you Well, thank you very much anyone else online Good afternoon. Welcome Afternoon Mark Gilbert. I'm the owner of the dolphin and firefish And I'm going to keep this really short because it's very nerve-wracking for me I'm in support of the master plan and I think everybody's in agreement to Fix this this wharf up as we go along. So That's my two sets Mark, thank you very much for your constant investment And that beef in the wharf. I've been there since 1980. Yeah, thank you very much. I started as a dishwasher There we go. And uh I still am a dishwasher now that I think about it Okay, guys. Thank you mark. Thank you, sir Good afternoon and welcome Thank you My name is david johnston I own the kayak shack out on the wharf. I've been out there for 30 years Uh caught my first fish on the wharf and I'm from Santa Cruz and you know Top three destination in Santa Cruz over three million visitors. I see it every day people are thrilled to be out there Last year we lost our landing The year before we lost the landing and the stairs to large waves and I see the frequency of these Large storms increasing and I think, um Well, I was concerned at first about the west, um walkway I I was concerned about the roundabout in front of the wharf. I thought that was going to be Armageddon, but it turned out to be great But uh, I come to believe I think that the west walkway will improve the structure of the wharf I was encouraged to see some of those pictures today that the west walkway has not The whole length of the wharf and the proportion of The length there is not as big as I thought Perhaps it could be even smaller. I don't know to affect the pigeon guillomots in some way, but um I'm encouraged by by what I saw today and I encourage you to Go ahead and pass the What we have before you Whether the west walkway is included um in some modified farm I think that's Could also be at a later date Thank you for being such a good partner. Thank you for your investment Mr. Myberg, good afternoon Good afternoon, mr. Mayor city council. Um, thank you for allowing me this opportunity to speak on this I am gratified that the landmark building has been removed from consideration That seemed quite inordinate Um, I feel that the west side walkway That more work should be done at the very least on that Maybe an abbreviated version Maybe an elimination for the reasons that more of the wharf people have said Um, I'd like to bring A perspective though to the wharf for someone who at some time in life Couldn't afford to even the parking or the entry that is required today This was a place where we would save so we could go with our two kids and have fish and chips And it was great and I think that whatever we do In terms of planning on the wharf has to be seen also through the issue of social justice There are people that have used that wharf as we did and love it and entitled to the recreational abilities fishing and The problem with upgrade although very necessary in terms of stability structural It sometimes interferes with access So it really encourages the city council to bear that in mind We are a community that supports social justice one word of caution In terms of building landings to accommodate more boats or whatever it is In moss landing where the sea harvest is They invested a lot of money into a smaller landing that would accommodate kayakers small boats That landing in a very short time was occupied by seals And I mean really occupied three deep The people who built it put in a gate to try and stop that The seals overwhelmed the gate That expensive landing has been dismantled And so the one change that we need to bear in mind as we look at the historical concept and I looked at all the diagrams They're not showing the seals So anything we build out there will be an invitation to seal habitat There are rules governing what we can do once that's established So please bear that in mind as we go forward. Thank you very much for the opportunity to talk to you Thank you Mr. Erd welcome. Good afternoon, sir. My name is john erd. I've been involved in this Pretty much from the beginning, you know, we've been at this for uh, I think 10 years And I've watched uh, mr. McCormick. He is a spell-binding by Spell-binding speaker But that doesn't change the facts here number one In the objectives for this plan There is nothing about The the need the absolute requirement for structural safety That's pretty striking There's also nothing in the objectives. Now. These are the staff created objectives There's nothing in the objectives about preserving and protecting Uh, the this iconic landmark So it's not too surprising that you'd have a plan that is economically driven Even though they don't have anything in it about other than the whole thing will cost 27 million dollars There's nothing in which in it which shows a return on investment. That's pretty surprising The bottom line is this It's a plan that this community does not support The western walkway has received Uh, a massive amount of pushback for the reasons that uh, that you're well aware of um The sequel lawsuit that the city is facing said specifically that Alternative two was preferable And that the staff that the city had to prove its infeasibility That has not been proven There's an off ramp here The off ramp is the option that has been presented In the slide. I can't remember which slide it is which is to Uh drop the western walkway Take that off ramp If you take that off ramp as has been said before The the we will pull back On the the lawsuit We will go to the hearing before the sequo officer with the city And show tell them that we no longer oppose this and it will support it You know one of the united states' greatest Philosophers yogi bearer said When you come to a fork in the road take it I would take it Thank you, mr. Eric. Good afternoon, sir welcome Good afternoon, uh, honorable mayor and council members. My name is mark traving. I grew up here I had a career in local government southern california, so I applaud all the Efforts that's gone into this by staff and council yet. I have some concerns about the future of the wharf Um cities with more resources than santa cruz redevelop their waterfronts and in my view failed And I'm referring to san francisco's pier 39 in monterey's cannery row and They've turned into retail and and commercial and intern entertainment centers And i'm not sure that's what the community of santa cruz wants I'm not sure if they have a share a goal of increasing The number of uh foot traffic out there to two three four five million I'm not sure if they Wanted the wharf to be a commercial hub Um, you know to an economic development department. I can understand that You know, we would like to you know increase the revenue to the city and so forth But I think the trade-off for the intangible benefits Of historical aesthetics were lost in san francisco in monterey um So I I would agree with option c at this point that seems to be where they're there where we're at I would uh, I would like to see as least development as possible, but it's too late for that On the way here, I grabbed a painting that's been in my family for a long time of the wharf And I can imagine that with a stainless steel, uh walkway on the on it right now but I think that's the kind of wharf that the community and and Myself have uh value and so forth so um, the region the region has lost so much in the in the past uh year or two, you know, the big basin and the smith ship and urbanization of downtown and so forth and Work from an emotional point of view. Um, I give us something to hang on to Um So I think the wharf is a key part of the waterfront connecting the west cliff drive and the and the boardwalk and So I'd like to preserve that one aspect of Santa Cruz that we all love. Thank you very much Thank you, sir. Thank you for being here Miss bush anybody else online? Last call for anyone who would like to provide testimony on this item Seeing and hearing none the matter is back before the council. I'll recognize the council member for a motion the council member Newsome is Thank you, mayor keely. I'd like to make a motion uh to adopt the resolution adopting the Santa Cruz wharf master plan and certifying the final environmental impact report adopt the resolution approving findings of facts and mitigation monitoring and reporting program for the santa cruz wharf master plan under, uh, california environmental quality act and three adopt the Santa Cruz wharf master plan subject to one of the following packages modifications proposed by the staff and I would like to make a motion for The package c or option c and Direct staff to prepare a public works plan with the coastal With the california coastal commission for implementation of the wharf master plan. Is there a second? There's a second by miss calntar johnson under debate and discussion mr. Newsome you may open on your motion. Thank you, mayor keely I want to first thank director libscomb and asset and development manager McCormick for their work on this project I think this plan is a really great work. It provides for a 20 to 30 year vision for an improvement to our wharf That I think sets up the wharf to thrive and to remain a vital iconic asset for our community to enjoy and take pride in Uh, as we heard there's a community concern with certain aspects of this plan and I appreciate those who showed up today And and express those concerns I think this direction addresses those concerns while allowing for much needed work that is needed on the wharf to begin And for exploration exploration into alternatives that could improve the lateral stability of the wharf But I really think this is a great plan overall and I think it will expand access to Recreation on and the economic vitality of the wharf and we'll preserve this iconic community asset for future generations to enjoy and take pride in And I support it. Thank you, sir further debate or discussion Miss bruner than the vice mayors recognize Thank you. I just have a comment as well. Thank you for everyone who reached out and provided input and feedback And thank you for the um updates. I think um, I'm Going to support the approval of the wharf master plan with this alternative and option c I think it's really important that um we provide uh integrity and structural support to our wharf and that we start investing in the backlog of needed love and um looking regards to the west west way walkway Um, you know, alternative structural support. I think um is the direction that we should be looking at. So, thank you Madam vice mayor Thank you. I associate myself with the comments that were previously made by my colleagues I would also like to just thank all of the business owners that came out And all of the investment you you do in into our community. I worked at the Miramar I worked at Riva and I do think uh, and I ate at macai of this last weekend. And so I just have to say we we um It is an asset to to us and um, also to visitors to Santa Cruz and so While I like the western walkway, I'm also going to support this because I think it's time that we move on We just need to protect the infrastructure and um, you know Um Move forward with the deferred maintenance and I acknowledge that you did make this motion several years back And I did not agree with you then but I agree with you council member brown. It's time. We move on. Let's do this Council member cal entire johnson is recognized. Thank you ditto ditto ditto. Um I do want to thank staff for all of your work and community members for the last decade of um, Your attention to this your patience with this and I think the thing that I really heard over the last Several weeks that I've been talking to community members and reading through letters and talking to folks and hearing folks today Is that we want to move forward? It's been too long. There's a lot of work that needs to be done And we owe it to the businesses on the wharf. We owe it to ourselves as a community and we owe it to our visitors to um Do the best that we can and move forward and I think this motion that my colleague a council member nusa made Is a good way to move forward. I appreciate staff working with us to bring something that I'm hoping we will all have consensus around Thank you for the debate or discussion miss walkins I'll just add because I want to offer my comments as well. I just want to thank everybody I want to thank our staff for the work. I know it's been an ongoing procedure and process and different iterations and ultimately I feel supportive of the direction we're going to be heading and I think it's a compromise one thing I hear loud and clear is just the love for the wharf Similar to council member vice mayor golder I grew up going to the wharf and as was mentioned it changes over the years I remember going to revist as a kid with my grandmother and she would sit and smoke at the bar the whole time That's very remember the whole time because that's when you could sit and smoke at the bar, right? And that and that has changed and that's how How how it goes and I think it's really important to Make these investments now I get to spend time on the wharf with my kids and junior lifeguards and jumping off and enjoying it and wanting to see it improved for the next generations of Santa cruises as well as visitors is a priority for us as a city But also as our community and so I hope that this moves forward and I hope to see these improvements happening Quickly and I appreciate the work that went into getting us to this place today. So I'll conclude my comments there. Thank you councilmember brown has recognized Thank you mayor. Um, thank you to our To dave mccormick and Sabrina teller our Staff and consultant here or legal council here today to walk us through this I I want to say I am I am so thrilled To be here at this point. Um, it you know four years later Are almost three three and a half years later to be at this place And I'm I'm fully supportive of this recommendation. I'm also thrilled that I'm just get to close my Copious notes of arguments about why I believe this is the right approach because you're convinced now and I appreciate staff for You know kind of finally getting with the the flexibility of this this political question that we have And the you know the the input we've received from our community I love the wharf it has changed and in many ways it hasn't and there are things about it that I think people love that you know, they want to see continue. It doesn't mean we can't make improvements Um that will benefit our whole community tourism, etc But um, it it will mean a lot for the people who Love the wharf and there are many. Thank you I just want to clarify for the record that the motion does include adopting the revised resolutions that were prepared To make it consistent with the direction given by the council with this revised motion. That is correct, sir Thank you for the debate or discussion Clerk will call the roll Councilmembers Newsom. Hi Brown. Hi Watch it Rinner. Hi Eulentary Johnson. Hi vice mayor Golder. Hi, Mara Keeley. Hi We're on item 28 Item 28 is an ordinance many chapter 5.11 Delivery driver tipping at section 5 point 1 1.030. Excuse me I I I I I Excuse me. We are still having a council meeting here. Yeah, I think we just have Thank you. Mr. Kandadi on the ordinance Yes, thank you. Um, this is a follow-up from action taken by the council at its December 12th meeting at which time After several months of work put in by an ad hoc committee composed of council members Watkins Calentary Johnson and Brunner the council finally adopted an ordinance adding chapter 5 point 1 1 to your municipal code the ordinance Is a novel ordinance as far as we can tell in the united states and it requires delivery companies to provide An option to their residential customers to enable the customers to tip their drivers for residential deliveries So the action that was taken by the council at the December 12th meeting was a culmination of In addition to several months of research and and work by the committee Outreach to the delivery driver Industry that was made That unfortunately did not generate a lot of input, but we did receive input from federal express or fedex I'll note that mickey aiden from fedex sacramento office is here this evening again In which and so During the course of this process We've met several times with representatives of fedex and they provided some valuable input That at the December 12th meeting resulted in the council directing that we bring back this ordinance that would amend chapter 5 point 11 as previously adopted essentially the amendment would Exclude from the ordinance delivery companies that do not both process orders and arrange for transportation or shipment of products As part of a single transaction. So companies like fedex and dhs would be Exempted from the ordinance, but companies like amazon zappos ebay would still fall within its its ambit and perhaps other Retailers that engage in both order and delivery service so we're here to Respond to the council's direction with a recommendation that you introduce this ordinance At this time and we would bring it back for final adoption at your January 23rd meeting happy to answer any questions or respond any comments Thank you. Mr. Kandadi are the questions of the city attorney on this item Seen here none this would be the opportunity if anyone wishes to testify on this ordinance This would be your opportunity to do so Do we have anyone online miss bush? Nobody with their hand raised no we do the matter is back before the council a motion would be in order I'll move the recommendation And thank you tony Motion by council member walken second by council member bruner under debate and discussion miss walkens You may open on your motion No, I just I don't think we've had many discussions at this time Or to this point on this item and i'm happy to Incorporate the input and appreciate the work of our city attorney and the office of the city attorney To make some of these Changes so that we can move forward and hopefully have Ordinance in place that will put more Money in the pockets of our delivery drivers who are often traveling from far distances and Could really use that and so Hopefully this will lead to Our residents feeling that they want to one be exposed to the option But hopefully being able and if able to contribute to supporting our drivers getting our packages So i'll leave it there and thank you to the council for all the discussion in the past to get us to this point Thank you so much for the debate or discussion Uh, I will say This is so you This is so you Uh Good work excellent work excellent work No further debate and discussion clerk call roll Council member newson i ground I I bruner i Calentary johnson i Face mayor golder. No And mayor keely. All right motion passes us awarded So let me Explain to folks how we are going to proceed this evening So we have two items left on our agendas today One I suspect is the resolution or the item that many of you are here on Following that item we have an item which is an appeal of a of a tree removal And that will be taken up after the resolution so on item 29, which is what I suspect you're here for We set that because Folks had asked us to do so We set it for a specific time and that time is five o'clock So what we can't do what we won't do is start early Because folks who wanted to come if we started early. Gee, I might have missed something So what we'll do is we are going to go into recess the council will recess Until five o'clock. We will all come back at five o'clock I'll explain to you the process We will go through at that time. We will hear Everyone whether you are here in person or you're Joining us online Everyone will have two minutes to make their presentations The council will then consider action I will explain all of that in some detail at five o'clock Uh, so what we are going to do now is recess until five p.m We will come back at that time and take up item 29 The hour of five o'clock having arrived the santa cruz city council We'll come to order and the clerk will call the roll Thank you mayor councilmember newson present brown. It's currently absent Watkins here Runner present elentary johnson present vice mayor golder here and mayor keely president quorum having been established We will proceed to item 29. This is a resolution affirming santa cruz commitment and support for a ceasefire and peace We have items submitted in writing by council members on this item What i'm going to do now is take a couple of minutes and explain for those of you Maybe who have not attended the city council meeting before how we proceed on such matters So what we'll be doing is we will first hear from council members Brown and bruner who have brought an item forward Once they have made their presentation. That is not a motion. That is not an action item They will simply explain what it is. They have done in the In the month or so since we were here last on this item Then what we will do is we will take public comment On this topic and that will take place in two ways one Those of you who are here who wish to provide testimony will take you one at a time for two minutes at a time We will alternate between that folks who are here and folks who are online We will alternate someone in person someone online someone in person someone online And we will stay here until everyone who wants to speak Who is present or online until everyone has had an opportunity to do that Two minutes at a time Then what will happen is the matter will be back before the city council When all the public testimony has been completed that will be the time I will acknowledge a council member for a motion Making a motion to do something this evening If that motion receives a second Then the maker of the motion has time to open on that motion There then can be motions to amend Substitute motions all kinds of procedural actions are available to the council at that point We will go through that until the council has taken Whatever action if any they wish to take on this matter So again, we'll open with the council members who were charged with bringing something forward We'll hear from all of you however long that takes Matter will then be back before the council. We will debate and discuss actions But I want to be really clear on a couple of of Items that would be helpful and I'm going to ask for your cooperation We're going to model for you The behavior we would expect back the other way and what I mean by that is we will give you our undivided attention Without interruption Every single person for two minutes All we would ask back is when the matter is back before the council that we get that same respect Which is to say that without Other interference with our work That we are able in your presence in public to have our debate and discussion on this topic So with that I will recognize council members bruner and brown to open on item 29. Thank you, mayor Thank you to community members and the public joining us here today. I'm actually pleased To see so many People here to express And give input on this very important topic So since our last meeting in december council member brown and I Set upon a task a monumental task of meeting with many many many people leaders community members in santa cruz to Craft what is before you today in the agenda packet And that is an expression of all the input that was received and that we heard We spoke to community members Who's shared we we heard so many stories We've also I know other council members as well have received many Hundreds of emails and Just sharing experiences of connections with family with loved ones with friends Who are directly impacted and so We heard many stories as well here in santa cruz Regarding Students who had incidents At school anti-semitism We heard of other people who had some discrimination experiences here in santa cruz We listened to people and their fear and their anxiety And People who Were muslim who were jewish We talked to many different folks Who really wanted their voices heard and so The listening that was done. I feel really Good about I feel that we heard from many of you We Were able to take pieces from Things people sent us via email things. They shared in person And we're able to take all of those pieces and create a A draft and from that draft We sent it out to a lot of the people that we Had met with and talked with some I see here in this room today and they provided further edits and input and And from that another draft was created and so on it was working draft until we submitted the Resolution that's in the packet today and Along the way, and I'll I'll keep it Quick But I think it's important that You know since I've been on council Uh I've really worked and strived to Create policies and to further support Equity and diversity here in santa cruz and what that means to everybody here Looks differently But we've taken significant steps I feel in recognizing Um We've officially declared racism as a public health crisis We've adopted a racial equity resolution support for black lives We stopping asian heat supporting our lgbtq plus community members in many ways, especially when there were national bands and I stand very firm in My dedication To the people of this city I am a council member because of the community and We received input from folks who really felt that us Creating this resolution Was not necessary to to voice anything with foreign policy or affairs And I just want to say on that point that the people of santa cruz are affected and that is our business Our business is with the people of santa cruz and we have to acknowledge all of the varied views and feelings and experiences and create safe spaces in our city and support All of the voices that that we've heard from With that being said We have received further input since the Draft resolution that we submitted Was posted the agenda report was posted. I believe thursday to the public And we've continued to receive further comments and suggestions for amendments and edits and I think for me today the most difficult thing is to word smith a A document on the dais In a formal process rather than a working dialogue and so I look at my my colleagues today and I know this has been a very Very hard process for for everyone and for all of you and I know that we can work through this and support the people of santa cruz in this and I appreciate I just want to say I appreciate everybody's input Into what created this voice of Peace really and I know a lot of the additional input that has come in has come from people that fear more divisiveness or or More polarization in our community and that is exactly not what we hope and we are not Demanding foreign policy to listen to santa cruz california, but we are sharing All of the voices that we heard from in this document and so I hope that context Is clear for everybody and I'd like to pass it on to councilmember brown if you'd like to add anything Councilmember brown is recognized. Thank you. I'll just say a couple of things. I think that councilmember brunner really laid out the The commitment that we made and our approach to Doing this work over the course of the last month or so over the break and the conversations we had I was certainly enriched by those conversations. I learned things I coming from a place of you know, I'm a academic and you know analysts and so I have You know a way of thinking about issues that we that come before us and Sonia really brought her heart in a way that was Just really like profoundly affected me and I want to just appreciate that it It was tough to have some of the conversations and to hear the the real pain and trauma and intergenerational trauma that people are experiencing And we want to continue to move this dialogue forward in a positive way But I I just couldn't I'd be remiss if I didn't Say this, you know, I mean Sonia you really councilmember brunner You stepped up you thought about, you know who we Should talk to at people who wanted to come and talk with us you You know found like techniques for Kind of parsing what you know what we could include or what should be included and and really trying to make it responsive to all of the concerns we heard and so I I really salute you for that And I'm glad that we were able to bring this forward and I I hope we can have a Meaningful and productive conversation about next steps Thank you councilmember for the questions comments at this point seen here none We will begin first person in line come forward. You have two minutes welcome Mayor killie and city council members. I'm ross shornstein. I practice medicine in the city for 40 years I thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak against resolution 29 It is october 6 2023. There is a ceasefire between gaza and israel The next day october 7 thousands of sadistic genocidal anti-semitic Hamas terrorists invade israel and rape mutilate burn murder Over 1200 people and kidnap many others The worst program against jews since the holocaust If you want to go back to a ceasefire, there will be more massacres Promised by hamas a ceasefire without surrender by hamas guarantees There will be no peace So why are mobs of people pressuring city councils like like yours to support a ceasefire? What do many of them? Have in common anti-zionism. They defend hamas atrocities They slander israel with blood libels and false narratives about genocide Anti-zionism is the current mutation of anti-semitism the vicious virus Honed by soviet propagandists to invigorate marxist agenda After their arab allies lost the war against israel in 1967 In 1920 my grandparents escaped pogroms in russia By both the white and the red Russian armies My grandparents would have easily recognized these anti-zionists who dehumanize and negate jewish identity As a step towards fracturing civil society and gaining power rhetoric like free palestine from the river to the sea and globalizing intifada Just incite crime hate crimes against jews, which have been up 400 percent since october 7th City council and mayor, please use your goodwill and power wisely To unite the community for the common local good Build bridges do not dig trenches Put down the shovel so we can work together Reject the divisive and futile ceasefire resolution. Thank you for your thoughtful consideration Thank you Ms. Bush, who is the first person we have online? We will go to that person Good evening person online welcome Person online welcome Hi, am I on? Yes, you are Oh, hi. Oh, my name is joe. I'm a citizen of stanley cruise And when I was a kid we learned about the golden rule that we should always do into others that we have them do unto us So I was disturbed as many here were By the horrors of october 7th and given the history of the conflict I could empathize then and now with much of the rage that I heard from both sides then in the aftermath of that day But since that day I've watched with growing sadness and despair as israel backed by funding and weaponry From the united states of america has slaughtered over 20 000 people Including 9600 children Almost 10 000 kids in retaliation for the 1300 that were killed on october 7th So I ask is this justice? Is this defense? Is it making israel or ultimately our world any safer? I would suggest that it's none of those things. It's savage. It's asymmetrical. It's unjust It's absolutely counterproductive to finding a lasting peace I would ask that you sign the ceasefire resolution out of basic human decency and respect for human rights in our troubled world And I thank you for your time and your consideration to this matter. Thanks. Thank you Hello santa cruz council members i'm ilam and palestinian musim american born and raised here After 96 days in counting to say that i'm traumatized does not come close to a good enough description To explain what I and many of us here today feel after watching the civilian blood of my beloved palestinians Standing the streets of gaza I am saddened to see that community members of my own are against the ceasefire because they don't see us as human Or an equal I can begin to To explain the horrors i've seen but the support of the people here today Shows you that this isn't us problem and I don't need to remind my folks here of the pain But I urge you to do some research of your own tonight and seek the realities for yourself In terms of numbers there are over 30 000 palestinian civilians killed in terms of humanity That's more than 30 000 lives dreams and goals brutally murdered while billions of us are watching horrified i'm also here representing palestine solidarity central coast or pscc a coalition of individuals and groups committed to the liberation of palestine PSCC is as diverse as it is unified. We are young people and elders. We are brown black and white folks We are muslims jews and christians and atheists We are here today calling on you the santa christ city council to pass a ceasefire resolution on today's agenda We strongly oppose amendments to this resolution or substitute resolutions Has set out to remove the word ceasefire condition or limit aid or denounce hamas attacks on october 7th Without denouncing what is at the root of all the all the violence Over 75 years of occupation Dispossession ethnic cleansing and state of violence by israel against palestinian We support the resolution as it stands in today's agenda because it calls for a permanent ceasefire and immediate ceasefire The release of all hostages the immediate entry of humanitarian aid into reza the respect for international law and protection of all civilians We support this resolution because it makes all of us safer and brings our community together to stand for the sanctity of human life If you support the ceasefire resolution as it stands on today's agenda, please raise your hand Next person online Next person online. Good evening and welcome Hi I can't see myself, but um, I'm assuming that you all can see me Uh, we we can't but we can hear you. So you're doing fine Um, well, my name is albergan and I'm a registered voter in district two of the city of santa cruz And i'm also the parent of a nine-month-old who is currently sitting on my lap and joining me um, and i'm here today To add my voice to the united and resounding call from our community that you pass item 29 The ceasefire resolution on today's agenda as is and reject harmful amendments or substitute resolutions There is no sufficient alternative to the demands laid out in this ceasefire resolution Anything less legitimizes the continuation of israel's staggering and unconscionable violence towards the palestinian people over the last three months Which is situated within israel's 75 year occupation whose consequences are innumerable palestinian deaths injuries imprisonments and displacement I cannot fully convey the depth of grief that I feel for the people of palestine For the martyrs the injured the sick the starved the refugees the parents the orphans the babies I hold my baby in the comfort of my home And I weep for the thousands of parents who no longer have homes or their own babies to hold This resolution pursues justice and it communicates to the world including people in higher positions of power But the city of santa cruz is committed to representing its majority The diverse and unified community members calling for a permanent ceasefire And an end to the genocide that we all as an american taxpayers are implicated in Thank you for your time. Well, thank you You you go right here to that microphone. You're good. Good evening and welcome Thank you. Thank you for hearing our voices this evening My name is rabbi paula marcus. I'm the senior rabbi of temple betel and thank you to sonia and to sanny for working on this But I have to say I appreciate the efforts of all of you and the city council and know how hard it is to hold a community together And judy is a minute of itself really honors debate and different ideas and different opinions As the senior rabbi of the largest synagogue in the county that is what I care about and what I urge you to consider How best to protect our community from all forms of anti semitism anti arab racism and islamophobia And redirect these ideologies is wrong. They must be opposed by all who struggle for a just and fair resolution of the conflict We see I see the suffering of jewish israelis arab israelis Those in gaza and the west bank and affirm the rights of all those living in the holy land to live in safety Dignity and equality and a mutually agreed upon political resolution of the conflict that all parties can sustain I support grassroots efforts that are joint efforts on the ground that promotes peace and justice Such as standing together combatants for peace and other important efforts that are happening on the ground And that's where I think you should be putting your energy as well I'd like to read this poem that was written by rabbi urwin keller Today i'm taking sides. I'm taking the side of peace Peace which I will not abandon even when its voice is drowned out by hurt and hatred bitterness of loss cries of right and wrong I'm taking the side of peace whose name has barely been spoken in this winterless war I will hold peace in my arms and share my body's breathless peace be added to the body count I will call for de-escalation even when I want nothing more than to get even I will do it in the service of peace I will make a clearing in the overgrown thicket of cause and effect so peace can breathe for a minute and reach for the sky I will do what I must to save the life of peace. Please vote against this resolution I hear from the next person online. Good evening. Welcome Hello, can you hear me? Yes, we can Hi, my name is shinny. I am a registered voter in santa cruz county and I would like to call for immediately to pass item 29 the ceasefire resolution. I am The grandchild of Holocaust survivors. I'm the child of an Israeli Hebrew was my first language I was raised to believe in Zionism and to believe that to be a Jew you must also support the state of Israel and I no longer believe that I know From my heart that to be Jewish does not mean to support the nation state and so I urge everyone to On the council to pass item 29 ceasefire resolution. Thank you very much Thank you very much Next person Good evening and welcome. Thank you Thank you council members brunner and brown for your hard work and city council for hearing us My name is sylvie stein and I stand unconditionally with my palestinian community members You should not have to watch your people Slaughtered or hear people today justify that slaughter. We will fight alongside you until ceasefire and until palestine is free We love you Speaking from many anti-zionist jews here today and around the world We are horrified to see our people go from surviving one genocide to perpetrating another There is nothing less Jewish than what israel is doing to palestinians right now and we disagree We disagree with rabbi paul that it is jewish holy land palestine belongs to palestinians Some say this resolution is too divisive. This resolution is not causing or deepening divisions It is just laying them bare for us all to see today. What's divisive is the mass murder of palestinian babies For over 100 years as long as people have supported the ethnic cleansing of palestine Palestinians have resisted it anti-zionist jews have resisted it That is the division and until ethnic cleansing stops that division will remain Today we just decide whether the city of santa cruz approves of mass murder or stands up to it So much of santa cruz stands up to it We are unified and brave and loving look outside Look at the over a thousand emails you've received. We learn from and take care of each other We stand together across race ethnicity age class in the palestinian led movement for liberation And together we reject alternative resolutions that hijack the language of peace and social justice to cover up inaction and implicitly endorse mass murder We reject amendments that limit lifesaving aid to people where responsible for caging starving and bombing I grieve israeli death as i do all death But you don't get to center that while erasing that israel has murdered 30 000 palestinians in three months and the average palestinian killed is five years old For 75 years israel has been terrorizing and attempting to annihilate palestinians You either do something to stop the killing or you don't you either value palestinian lives or you don't pass the ceasefire religious resolution on today's agenda Next person online. Good evening. Welcome Person online. Good evening and welcome Hello, my name is teddy and i'm a proud anti-zionist practicing jew who has lived in santa cruz for 14 years I'm urging the city council to stand on the right side of history And show the country that we will not stand idly by while the federal government sends our tax dollars to fund the genocide Myself and tens of thousands of other american jews across the country and world say not in our name My heart breaks more and more every day as a child in gaza is murdered by israel every 10 minutes That's 10 000 children so far 30 000 gazans And 1.9 million people are eternally displaced and being denied food water and shelter by the israeli government I urge you to connect with your humanity And vote to show that santa cruz demands a ceasefire and pass item 29 as it is currently written santa cruz jews urgent and your constituents urgent. Thank you Thank you Good evening and welcome Good evening My name is tam welch and a voting citizen of district two And a parent who has lived and worked in santa cruz for over 20 years I organize and advocate for asian-american pacific islanders We are in trans folks and many other communities here in santa cruz In 2021. I had the honor to work with both councilmember shabra And councilmember brunner um on the resolution 29 for this Denouncement of hate crimes and bigotry are targeted to asian-americans and pacific islanders This resolution in my mind set a president for the city of santa cruz to respond to the international crisis Which dramatically increased violence against a racially targeted group both abroad but also Incidents here in santa cruz We we passed a resolution 29 because the leaders are Committed in making a statement to ensure the safety for all community members by uplifting the most vulnerable here in santa cruz And unfortunately in america without an explicit statement valuing and protecting a vulnerable groups humanity there are some folks in Who think it's the license to express violence towards those groups or find them disposable? But with resolution 29 city of santa cruz did better Violence against palestinian arab communities is not just a distant issue within the last few months Two women right here in abit square wearing kafias were aggressively harassed by two men And in vermont three young palestinians were shot the families of these youth had traveled from palestine to the us The game was safer This is a moment for you all as our elected government officials to stand by your words and commitments to pass resolutions to Support our vulnerable communities here in santa cruz and beyond to make sure that muslims jews palestinians Arabs asian americans blacks citizens alike here in santa cruz can ultimately feel safer in this resolution to cease the fire On the gather religion and to stop profiling the palestinian people as an enemy. We are in this together I stand for The resolution as it is without amendments. Thank you Good evening and welcome Hello, can you hear me? Yes, we can Hello, my name is sadia and i'm a palestinian and i am here demanding a permanent ceasefire and an end to the siege on palestine once and for all All my life and now more than ever over the span of the last 95 days I've been watching the brutal murder of approximately 30 000 of my people by the israeli occupation forces Including 11,422 children 5,822 women 481 health personnel and 101 journalists Our tax dollars are being used to wipe out bloodlines and the united states is complicit in the displacement of 1.9 million palestinians Leaving them without any basic humanitarian necessities for survival Over 50 of the people in reza are children and they are being bombarded relentlessly day and night palestinian families are having to drag their injured and dismembered loved ones on hospital beds and wheelchairs And while on this journey to the south they are being targeted by the masses Amputations and reconstructive procedures are performed with no anesthetic or pain medication Most hospitals have completely collapsed. They have collapsed internally and externally They can no longer provide adequate care and treatment because they have ran out of fuel medication sanitation equipment anything any hospital would need Along with most of them being targets for israeli bombing Thousands have been trapped or buried under the toxic rubble made by a bit american made bombs like the ones made in our backyards by companies like lockheed martin Palestinians are digging through the rubble with their bare hands to find those buried beneath it Babies are getting their death certificates before their birth certificates dead bodies are being stored in ice cream trucks I strongly urge you to do the right thing santa cruz city council and demand a permanent ceasefire and an end to the siege on palestine Now and forever. Thank you Well, thank you Good evening and welcome Good evening. My name is eric stats, and I live in the city of santa cruz and district 4 I would like to start by condemning the horrific actions taken by hamas on october 7 of last year Based with such an attack israel as with any nation has the right to defend itself However israel's response has gone too far It has become reckless and risks not only their own security, but also risks drawing the us into yet another war in the middle east We now witness daily images of dead women and children destroyed buildings and starving families Israel may blame hamas, but nonetheless these scenes spark widespread anger amongst israel's neighbors By their own admission israel has a long way to go to eliminate hamas from gaza and yet all the while threats are growing everywhere else This isn't working While the idf is more than capable of preventing the destruction of israel at the hands of hamas The wide-scale destruction in gaza risked the entry of hezbollah the hoothies iran and others that could seriously jeopardize israeli's security In such a scenario the us undoubtedly would come to israel's defense and commit troops to the middle east Including service members from santa cruz This would have a direct impact on our community Furthermore, the last war in the middle east cost us citizens over two thousand dollars each that works out to 120 million dollars for our community We don't need another war It's time for israel to step back from the brink before this gets worse I urge the santa cruz city council to add our collective voices to the growing international chorus Calling for a ceasefire in gaza the release of all hostages and the entry of humanitarian assistance. Thank you Next person online. Good evening and welcome Hey, can you hear me? Yes, we can My name is miranda. I'm a lifelong resident of santa cruz a dedicated trauma psychotherapist and a mother to a yearly three-year-old son I'm also eight months pregnant and due to give birth in just a couple of weeks I'm of jewish descent and personally connected with my heritage through a birthright trip to israel in my early 20s I'm also a member of the santa cruz mental health professionals for palestine and i'm pro ceasefire I stand before you deeply concerned about what's happening abroad I acknowledge that the roots of the conflict are complex, but I simply cannot condone the senseless killing of innocent people I hope that everybody here can at the very least agree on this As a mother the thought of children being harmed is especially devastating to me the images I've seen of thousands of children dying maternity wards under siege new burns being torn from their parents and young lives shattered by the loss of their own parents Are not just heartbreaking. They're traumatizing Many people including myself have experienced vicarious trauma after witnessing this and the continued violence is just unacceptable It's with a heavy heart that I must acknowledge our involvement in these tragedies The financial support our country provides to israel has caused the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent people And this realization compels me to urge this council In our community at large to recognize the role that we play the responsibility that we bear We're at a juncture where our collective voices can catalyze change and stop this violence It's imperative that we act now and we have the moral obligation to do so and we can actually save human lives Together we can make a meaningful difference and it's time for santa cruz to pass a resolution for a ceasefire Thank you for your time and for considering this urgent humanitarian issue Good evening and welcome Hi, my name is Sheila Correo 50 year resident of santa cruz county and a city resident currently I'm an ashkenazi jew whose greshin grandparents immigrated to new york to escape oppression I grew up proudly jewish celebrating the founding of israel In 2016 when our local rabbis vehemently opposed a conference on the boycott divest and sanction movement I was confused and disturbed I regarded bds as a nonviolent political strategy to oppose the kind of oppression My grandparents had been subjected to and felt compelled to go on a fact-finding delegation to palestine The u.s. Defends israel as a democracy, but what I witnessed in the west bank was anything but palestinians have different color license plates and can't drive on israeli roads in their own territory We drove past palestinian homes with black storage tanks on the roof to prepare for when israel shuts off their water I walked a children's eerie school route stopped at two military checkpoints with armed guards I visited an organic farm surrounded by a large illegal settlement The farm whose olive orchard had been bulldozed by the settlers I met an israeli palestinian couple who to mary had to leave the country And are not allowed to live together in israel They struggled to get permits to visit israeli relatives I visited a bedouin village repeatedly Do bulldoze to force the bedouins off ancestral land into designated areas for them akin to reservations I returned home a jew deeply committed to justice for palestine Today brokenhearted in view of the unconscionable massacre taking place and funded by the united states I'm grateful to be part of a large and growing diverse santa cruz movement demanding not in my name I implore you to go on record in our name calling for a permanent ceasefire Before we take the next person online, I'm going to ask you for a little bit of forbearance here in order for me to toggle back and forth efficiently I need to be able to recognize the next person online So maybe we could keep the feedback to a second or two Then I we can all get there much earlier tonight to our action item next person online. Good evening and welcome Hello, my name is julia, um, and I'm a registered voter in the city of santa cruz in district three Um, I'm calling on you to pass item 29 the ceasefire resolution as it is It is really important to me that the resolution include the word ceasefire because I believe that the very first step to building the world of peace Safety and abundance that we all deserve Is to stop the mass killing that's happening right now in gaza And calling for a ceasefire we are saying that every life is precious And I want everyone here In this meeting and everyone in our city to know that your life is precious And that what we stand together for as a community Is the sanctity of life The safety of the children of our world And a commitment to doing the deep healing work Of the legacies of oppression that we've inherited I'm asking you to pass the ceasefire resolution So that we can come together In respect for human life Thank you very much. Thank you very much Good evening and welcome Dagote shi ani Hello, my name is ani and we are here before you all again Urging to pass this item 29 the current ceasefire demand to stand in solidarity with palestine Using our words of truth advocacy and compassion I believe in the power of spoken word You have heard these people's voices in spanish English and likely in arabic for over 90 days And yet here we are still demanding a ceasefire that represents the people's wants So I will say it again in my people's language both ancient and native to hear of turtle island Listen and feel it Nugash the palestine Me nawalo me goni Me kenewi Men ashmi Through love palestine is strong resilient and shall remain and you will remember that Don't forget your position is to the people here We are the people and we have the power And we demand a ceasefire now as it is We are not governed by money in our pockets for this decision We are motivated by morality and justice and you need to show us That you are part of the people and not in the pocket of power You will pass this current ceasefire demand that supports humanitarian aid and motions towards peace I stand for palestine Respect their existence or expect our resistance We'll take the next person online. Good evening and welcome. Hello. Can you hear me? Yes. Good evening Hi, my name is maria walsh and I am a registered voter in the city of santa cruz And i'm not going to spend my time today appealing to your empathy because we are at almost 100 days into a live streaming genocide That is fully funded by our government of which you are part At this point if you were leading with empathy a ceasefire in gaza would not be a debatable topic And so instead I wonder If you are unable to take a stand on the undeniable wrongness of genocide If you are passive in the face of unprecedented horror How are we supposed to be able to trust you as public officials tasked with serving and protecting a community? How you respond to global situations illuminates how you respond to and care for your own community To pretend that the genocide in gaza is not relevant to santa cruz Is a grave misunderstanding of the interconnectedness of struggles that we and you have taken a stand on before It is a cowardly lack of belief in our city's potential to be a role model and to participate in the world at large Calling for a ceasefire is not a particularly courageous act Nor is it a divisive one as it should be the baseline This is precisely the moment for santa cruz to bravely live into its reputation as a progressive city that is on the humane side of history If standing against genocide is a hard choice for you to make I do wonder What moral authority do you have to be our leaders or leaders at all? Thank you Good evening and welcome Thank you, mayor My name is john jackson. My wife and I live in santa cruz First we'd like to thank you all for your service to our community's interests I also would like to thank you for this forum where we make express our feelings about the proposed resolution for a ceasefire in gaza Personally, we oppose resolution 29 Truly the council members must grapple constantly with many challenges and issues facing our city While operating within the constraints of a budget Thank you for your service and willingness to listen to the input of voters Our expectation that city officials will focus on local needs The proposed resolution seems a bit outside your bailiwick a distraction from main duties and Possibly senselessly feeding into already inflamed passions among the electorate Nevertheless, I can sympathize With any urging you may have experienced repose and pass this resolution concerning territory outside the county and the continent The reason I understand is as a medic patients sometimes have earnestly asked me to voice an opinion on matters outside my specialty area If pushed while deferring to the expertise of subspecialists say infectious disease oncology I try to draw from common sense and basic principles Probably known to you already Don't stop an antibiotic prescription before completing it as you may just breed for a resistant species And when it comes to a course of cancer treatment, don't stop midway and thus guarantee a relapse Sorry for the sidebar But feel free to recall my analogies if someone or something is pressuring you to throw The city of santa cruz is good name onto that fiery battlefield the other side of our planet It's still compelled to move forward. Please add to the ceasefire resolution. What was absent? Justice is blind for most things But not to all the facts of the case. Please name Who attacked first and those who are defending against the attackers my wife and I appreciate your good faith efforts to be Thank you I'm going to try this again about two seconds of that after each speaker will be just fine Next person online. Welcome and good evening Hello, can you hear me? Yes, we can police proceed My name is steven david engel. I am a jewish resident of santa cruz My ancestors fled europe because of pogroms I have family buried and mass graves at baba yar I worked with palestinian and israeli peace groups in the occupied west bank in 2008 I returned again in 2013 I have lectured on this issue at the carter school for peace and conflict resolution at george mason university and elsewhere I ask that you pass the ceasefire resolution as it is written and without delay There are competing understandings of history and reality in this room that cannot be bridged tonight When it comes to the many specifics of this issue, I disagree with certain people here and they disagree with me What we must agree to is that too much killing has happened and that the killing must stop The bombing of gazen's must stop the ground invasion of gaza must stop the ethnic cleansing and genocide of palestinians must stop An immediate ceasefire is the prerequisite for true peace and true justice and true liberation That is the spirit of this resolution and that is why I support it. Thank you Next person online Excuse me. I'm sorry the next human present. Thank you very much. Welcome and a good evening. Thank you Good afternoon council members. My name is kai and I'm here with the santa cruz mental health professionals for palestine First of all, I'd like to thank you for hearing our calls at the december 12th meeting and putting the ceasefire resolution on the agenda today Today we return to demand a passing of the ceasefire resolution We reject potential substitute motion language that waters down our clear unequivocal message for a permanent ceasefire immediate humanitarian aid and acknowledgement of 75 years of continued violence and occupation by israel I recently started a position at a hospital part of my work is with new parents on the first day of their child's life Listening to the news and seeing images of newborns rotting in a nikyu Being eaten by dogs After workers were forced to leave during due to indiscriminate bombing and shelling by the idf Newborns being martyred before even having a name orphaned at just one day old Then clocking into work to provide education and resources for newborns to thrive in santa cruz Is a level of dissonance. I will never be able to reconcile I believe in justice. I believe we will all be held accountable for our actions How we acted in the face of blatant genocide Remember the power you have Do the brave thing and act Pass the ceasefire resolution as is. Thank you Next person online welcome and uh good evening Hey there, um, my name is kala kumar I'm your phone city council to vote yes on item 29 the ceasefire resolution As it is currently written and oppose harmful amendments or substitute resolutions For those in the audience, it's possible a substitute resolution will be introduced today by other council members That does not specifically call for a ceasefire and attempts to justify mass murder of palestinians We must be clear that we do not support this action Passing this resolution acknowledges the cause for immediate end to the extreme violence toward the palestinian people Rejecting the resolution rejects the world this large part of our community and is akin to justifying the mass murder Palestinian civilians many of whom are children Israel is conducting an absolutely horrific genocidal occupation of palestine and that has never been justified I'm stepping into my obligation as a conscious global citizen to oppose this genocide by specifically calling for a ceasefire And ask that my representatives carry this mandate the higher levels of government to affect and end to its current complicity With this violence I will not be spending time today trying to convince anyone that genocide is wrong Instead, I would like to spend my time letting the palestinians arab and muslim people in the room know that their lives matter No matter how no matter how anybody votes today or what anybody says today I stand with you and your many allies and calling for an end to this genocidal madness and long for free palestine alongside you I also want to make sure everyone knows about the incredible unity that's formed amongst muslims anti zionist jews christians Atheists along with black latinay asian and white folks who have come together in support of the ceasefire resolution We're building community around the fact that lasting peace is achieved through collective liberation Not colonial violence and while council has control over whether the ceasefire resolution passes or not It's always the people that must rise up to effect real change We are the ones that we can count on most to do the right things So if you're here supporting a ceasefire, please connect to longer-term organizing efforts for free palestine. Thank y'all Next person online good, uh, excuse me next person President the council chambers. Good evening and welcome. Hi Um, my name is heart fey. I'm here with the sienna cruise mental health professionals for palestine group All right, um, I'm here Um Well, first I want to thank you for meeting last week and hearing last month and hearing everyone's comments and for tonight You know, this is a big group and it's going to go on and um In that time Right, this has been almost a month and we do not have anything set yet people have been dying every day Um, we are at over 30,000 palestinians who have died And it's been 96 days The level of trauma that people are Experiencing is not just Um, not just personal. It's a collective grief and trauma We need a ceasefire and we need this to pass with no other amendments There will be no peace when there is escalation and continued violence Gaza is asking for aid. We need immediate humanitarian aid to be sent there as a social worker, I came into this field because It is an area where I can impact other people and um Be in action around justice And so this is an obvious Way to do that. Um, this isn't some pie in the sky thing Um, even though we are here in Santa Cruz and this is happening on the other side of the world because It is we have a direct impact our money And lockheed martin is here locally. Thank you Next person online. Good evening and welcome Next person online. Good evening and welcome. Hello. Can you hear me? Yes, we can Hello, my name is Sandra Jamila shama a long-term resident and amft Hello to our respected city council members and to my fellow constituents Thank you for allowing me a moment to speak today as we enter into a critical and critical and crucial wave Of decisions that will no doubt impact our world on individual and global levels Santa Cruz I ask you today in what chapter what you prefer to be represented the chapter describing the tireless efforts But forth by the champions of humanity in order to ensure a just and safe world for all Or the chapter of those who wish to profit by any means necessary driven by greed and power under the guise of justice Santa Cruz, where do you prefer to stand? You know the numbers we have seen the footage There is no denying what is occurring here The only reason why i'm speaking before you in one piece is because my parents chose to run in another direction I am palestinian my family is from hara the nasada in drusen A christian neighborhood within the old city walls and despite my connection and knowledge of the land I have never seen it with my eyes or felt the earth with my hands something me and millions of displaced palestinians long to do But today I can't imagine being there. I would be paralyzed in fear because i'm scared here I'm scared to put my kaffee on and go to safeway. I'm scared to walk up pacific while peacefully demonstrating I'm scared to raise my voice at abbot square. I'm scared to stand for justice in a town That told me it was not just okay, but vital to do so I came here 17 years ago because I was told Santa Cruz is a place where peace is prioritized I was told this is a city that doesn't stand for injustice That doesn't stand for the gainful pursuits while others suffer that refuses to stay quiet in the face of repression As a displaced palestinian woman, I purposefully sought this land for those reasons And now I stand here before you today begging you to uphold the reputation this town has rightfully earned To state on brand and please do not waver despite the intimidation and threats you may receive from your supporters Know that you are saving innocent lives today by voting for an immediate ceasefire and joining a massive global community Of those who seek resolution and peace Not just for palestinians, but for our new expressors and sisters who are also suffering in this ongoing brutality We stand here united today jews and palestinians are hand in hand before you and we are pleading for you to allow nothing But we are moral compass to guide you nothing but your humanity should be making this decisions Nothing but the blood that you share with a palestinian child should be pumping through your heart as you choose Please cease fire. Thank you Good evening and welcome Good evening. My name is Mila Gillich. I'm a ucsc lecture founding member of the institute for the critical study of zionism An organizer with palestine solidarity central coast. I am proud to present these bona fides to you today I am also jewish which I resent having to tell you because this is not the factor that should give my voice more authority But some people today will try to convince you otherwise All four of my grandparents were refugees of war I myself an asylum seeker the fact that we are debating Whether or not to call for an immediate cease fire to stop an active genocide is an outrage Not only is israel bombing and starving people in the gaza strip It is also afflicting this unimaginable suffering on a captive population That has no option of hiding or leaving because israel controls gaza's air and maritime space Its borders and crossings its access to water electricity and other amenities An immediate and permanent cease fire and unrestricted access of humanitarian aid to gaza should be the first decisive step In stopping the genocide of palestinians that we are all witnessing and that the united states is complicit in Voting against the cease fire resolution means voting to support the ongoing genocide Is this what you want your legacy to be that you directly facilitated the genocide? I hope you will make the right choice today and support the cease fire resolution with no amendments and no substitutions Thank you. Thank you Next person online. Good evening. Welcome Yes, that would be you. Good evening My name is noemi romo, and I am a registered builder in the city of santa cruz and district one I am calling on you to pass item 29 the cease fire resolution on today's agenda as is And reject harmful amendments or substitute resolutions I would like to read to you all a poem written by sub commandante marcos in 1997 When he was accused of being gay by the mexican government Yes, marcos is gay marcos is gay in san francisco black in south africa and asian in europe a chicano in san isidro An anarchist in spain a palestinian in israel Am I an indian in the streets of san cristo van a jew in germany? egyptian poland a mohawk and quibbeck a pacifist in bosnia a single woman on the metro at 10 p.m A peasant without land a gang member in the slums an unemployed worker an unhappy student And of course a sapatista in the mountains Marcos is all that the exploited marginalized oppressed minorities resisting and saying enough He is every minority who is now beginning to speak and every majority that must shut up and listen He is every untolerated group searching for a way to speak Everything that makes power and the good consciousness of those in power uncomfortable This is marcos Council members i call on you to work through your discomfort Use your power and good conscious And pass item 29 as is Thank you. Thank you Good evening. Welcome My name is debora feldstein As a child i was confused when i heard my older relatives say if we don't take care of ourselves No one else will I now understand that they were speaking from a place of truth and fear Rooted in their own lived experience and as and the deep-seated multi-generational trauma that has shaped the history of our jewish family And so many others I'm a 20-plus year resident of santa cruz's west side and a parent of two teens who attend santa cruz high school My activism and racial justice human and civil rights and advocacy for palestinian self-determination Spans more than four decades. I've been an active objector to netanyahu's leadership of israel My grief and empathy extend all innocent victims of the war between israel and gaza whether they are palestinian or israeli muslim or jewish I as much as most people in this room want an end to this war to the violence and destruction And to seek peaceful resolution coexistence and safety for all in the reason region and beyond i'm a proud Peaceful zionist who believes in the jewish people's right to self-determination and statehood in their ancestral homeland israel I also support the right of palestinians to an independent state An offer that has been made and rejected five times by hamas's leadership This was true of vivian silver the 74 year old peace activist who was murdered during october 7th massacre on kibbutz bieri by hamas terrorists It is true for most members of the jewish community and our allies in this room today I want to address council members bruner and brown You said that you heard the voices of people in this room and in this community. You did not hear my voice You did not hear the voices of the 600 members of this community that signed a petition asking you to oppose this resolution You did not hear the voice of my children and you did not hear the voices of the jewish people in this room Who you are violating I oppose this resolution and any resolution that addresses the conflict between israel and gaza You're supporting the vitriolic violent and the anti-semitic rhetoric that this the supporters of this resolution has used to mobilize its base No, no everyone everyone everyone I don't want to have to repeat myself But I will We're gonna hear from everyone for two minutes as you can already see if you go past the two minutes and you're wrapping up Be glad to hear you do that People online. We're glad to hear from them Let's keep it to that Next person online. Good evening Good evening next person online welcome next person who's with us come forward Good evening and welcome Thank you for this forum. My name is make sandow. I stand in favor of this resolution As a jew a woman and a human being i'm horrified by the many sadistic brutalities of october 7th The written descriptions have brought me to my knees And I cannot imagine what it was like to actually experience that day As a jew a woman and a human being i'm also brought to my knees by the mass murder of more than 20 000 palestinians in gaza A majority of whom are women and children As directed by israel they have fled to so-called safe areas only to be bombed both there and non-route To have their homes businesses schools and hospitals destroyed To be literally starved and fatally sickened by a lack of clean water With generations of civilian palestinians blown to bits and buried under rubble Palestinians past and future are being savagely eradicated As a psychologist and well acquainted with the effects of trauma And I can tell you that both israelis and palestinians are deeply traumatized people There has been no time for grief on either side and israel's military response will only deepen the anger and despair The bombing of gaza the displacement of a majority of the population the privation the starvation The destruction of cities and infrastructure None of these things will make israeli's whole or safe If anything they will deepen any existing fear and hatred and will plant the seeds of future resentment And hatred Hamas will be fertilized not destroyed. This is human nature not rocket science As regards the claim that israel is entitled to defend itself Self-defense is when I grab a weapon to combat an aggressive intruder into my home or personal space Bombing the neighborhoods in which the intruder then hides out is no longer self-defense. It is murder I absolutely and fully support a resolution for permanent ceasefire as necessary for meaningful healing and peace humanitarian problem-solving I am ashamed and outraged that my tax dollars are being used for the punitive destruction of gaza and the palestinian people It would be better spent to aid the healing and well-being of palestinians and israelis Which is tikkun olam repair of the world. Thank you. Thank you Next person who is with us online. Good evening and welcome Next person online. Good evening and welcome Hi, my name is lue ursa. I'm a psychotherapist a registered voter And a member of santa Cruz mental health professionals for palestine I'm here to condemn the mass killings in gaza enacted by the israeli state and funded by us tax dollars And to urge for immediate action including this council passing the resolution For a permanent ceasefire as it is written I'd be proud to be a member of the community who can follow our moral obligation to take this life affirming stance for peace What is happening to the palestinian people is deeply traumatizing and also psychologically damaging to all who witness the violence As a trauma therapist, I know that even those who avoid or feel numb to what is occurring in gaza are still Psychologically impacted by this ongoing collective trauma I am here in solidarity with my jewish community members ancestors friends and clients Who have been horrified to see their identity being used as a justification for terror A descendant of ashkenazi jews and holocaust survivors. I'd like to finish by Uplifting voices of jewish elders speaking out against the genocide of the people in gaza Esther farmer says we as elder jews. We know what genocide looks like. We know what genocide feels like It's in our bodies in our bones. It's horrifying. It's devastating It's hard to get up in the morning to see this and it's being done in the name of jews So here we are as elderly jews to say not in our name Karen ackerman says don't let them tell you it's complicated Palestinians are being slaughtered not just by bombs also by starvation. It has never been more important that we act Rosalind pacheski says israel is murdering elders children's doctors journalists scholars and poets We demand an end to this cataclysmic nightmare. Please pass item 29. Thank you Good evening. Welcome Thank you. Thank you council My name is ziggie rendler bregman and i've lived and worked in santa cruz for more than 50 years Nice catholic girl from la meets nice jewish boy from new york Later we were married by a rabbi and jezuit priest interfaith work began at our kitchen table I've been working with jews muslims and christians for more than 20 years through the tent of abraham sarah and hagar To promote peace through conversation and shared spiritual practice In 2006 i went to israel with a delegation To learn firsthand what the challenges are for people living there One morning i walked through the yad vashem the holocaust museum in jerusalem and that afternoon Picked olives with palestinians in the west bank. I was in hebron Bethlehem in the galilee listening asking questions After the horrific attack on israel on october 7th the tent gather people in early november to witness The pain suffering outrage the fear and broken heartedness of our muslim and jewish sisters and brothers It was not easy It was hard Really hard 175 people showed up desperate to find a way to be heard Everyone wants the horror of war and suffering to end But we must do the hard work of peacemaking together This resolution divides My new definition of evil is that which divides us To me peace is what unifies us gathers us We need to do the work of reconciliation theology, which includes truth justice forgiveness With the increase in islamophobia and anti-semitism in this country and right here in santa cruz You must not pass resolutions like the one before you tonight which divide us I urge you to go back to the table Listen deeply speak carefully Listen some more until you come up with a more balanced resolution that cherishes all who are broken by the ravages of this war Making peace is hard work Love is hard work Next person online. Good evening and welcome I can hear me. Yes, we can Hi, I'm irakili. My name is faz voter in city santa cruz Really glad to see the city council listening to the constituents and putting this item on the agenda I'm in strong support of having the c-spire resolution Um, you know, it's been really difficult and I've really felt incredibly helpless watching the genocide unfold on my phone screen And really just being unable to reach out to the other side of it to help Um, I felt really enraged that our tax paying dollars are funding this massacre And that we have a congress and a president that are doubling down on their support Um, it makes me sick Innocent men women and children are being murdered at unprecedented rates Hospitals are being destroyed and basic medical aid can barely reach them Um, palestinians can't even take a breath of air without having to worry about having bombs dropped on them And what's happening honestly is an international war crime and there really should not really be even be a debate tonight Um a poll by the data for progress a polling organization shows that a ceasefire in palestine Is supported by 61 of voters and even amongst republicans more of them support a ceasefire resolution than the polls So for people here who are saying that passing this resolution is divisive Not passing it is actually You know, going to be more divisive in my opinion, right? And I hope that you all as city council members will recognize that level of support by the voters And remember that as your seats are for reelection So please do the right thing. Please be a part of the right side of history Make us palisthenics residents the council that passes the overall that backs the overwhelming majority And passes ceasefire resolution. Please do not water it down We must send a strong statement to our federal government to the terrorism committed by israel and to the rest of the world Cease fire now free palisthen. Thank you Good evening Okay Okay, good evening and welcome Thank you First and foremost, I want to thank each of you for your continued service to all members of the santa cruz community This is difficult and often thankless work and please know you are deeply appreciated I'm a 50 year resident of santa cruz and I've raised my family here We love this community. So this has been a very difficult time for all of us as we experience deepening divisiveness Our hearts ache as we read the news watch television coverage and scroll through social media Learning more about the hamas israel war For me, this hits a very sensitive and personal note as I have precious family members living in israel right now My nephews three children cannot attend school in tel Aviv in a classroom Because it takes too long to get to the bomb shelter and it won't hold enough students They hold classes in the next safest place the stairwells Can you imagine middle schoolers cramped in a stairwell trying to learn and study? The youngest is seven and he spends his time playing war games on the computer He never used to know the word war He probably never even heard of it The day-to-day uncertainty weighs heavily on each and every israeli living with threats and rocket fire constantly This is not how it should be for anyone and i'm not just talking about israelis or jews We have compassion for all of those affected in both israel and gaza And so I respectfully stand before you tonight urging you to vote no on the resolution as it stands While seeking peace is essential the current language of the proposed resolution will only deepen the divisiveness in our community Can't you already feel that happening? A better and more even-handed approach would be to reject this resolution and if you feel compelled to make one at all Devise one that promotes unity dialogue and peaceful resolution not one that divides and ignores history I've helped develop a draft of a peace-centered resolution currently circulating This would be much better than a resolution which will likely stimulate further conflict I can't imagine anyone who would oppose a desire for peace. Thank you. Thank you Fine person online. Good evening and a welcome Good evening. Good evening uh My heart is broken into my name is bb lang Uh, i'm a resident here in santa cruz I work and live on the west side of town and my heart is broken into 96 pieces for my arab and jewish neighbors suffering here in santa cruz And my brothers and sisters Suffering across the globe in another beautiful seaside town the palestinians and gaza and the less bank Anything but divisive this entire process has promoted interracial solidarity between many black brown and white residents here in santa cruz And interface solidarity between muslim jewish and christian communities As a body you're ignoring our overwhelming voice thus far is unconscionable You are our voice We call on you to pass resolution 29 as is Israel is escalating regional tensions and throwing our national security into jeopardy in the process The people do not support your silence. And if these calls are again ignored I'll be organizing to remove you from office that you serve It's all ready too late. Don't make it too little ceasefire Thank you Good evening. Welcome Good evening all and thank you My name is nancy shanfeld and i'm a long time resident of santa cruz This war is a nightmare if you watch the news you see loss and suffering everywhere Hamas a terrorist organization ignited this firestorm Did you read the new york times investigation? published december 28th witness accounts of october 7th still haunt me Grotesque sexual assault and mutilation of women and girls in their own homes and at a music festival A woman's corpse discovered in the rubble with dozens of nails driven into her thighs and groin Another shredded to pieces as one terrorist rapes her another pulls out a box cutter and slices off her breast Which becomes sport between them until it falls on the road Another body found naked Legs spread her vagina appears to have been sliced open as if someone tore her apart bodies found with underwear soaked in blood Bullets fired directly into their vaginas and one whose fingernails had been pulled out Severed heads carried like trophies This is why israel is at war with hamas Hamas hates jews And they hate women They're open about disseminating sharia law which allows husbands to rape and beat their wives into submission Punishments include a hundred lashes amputation death by stoning and decapitation Meanwhile How many americans and israelis are still held hostage? With all due respect Your actions won't affect foreign policy But this resolution Without even a mention of hamas a terrorist organization And their hideous attack that started this conflict on october 7th divides us further Thank you. Thank you This lady if you would be kind enough to step outside We have heard from you the woman holding up and speaking if you would step outside, please We have heard from you already. Thank you very much. I'm going to make this real clear for the last time We're going to respect each other here this evening. We don't interrupt you You're not going to interrupt us. You're not going to interrupt each other And you're not going to interrupt each other Next person online. Good evening person online. Good evening and welcome my check. Can you hear me? Yes, we can. Thank you Hey, my name is david antonio robles And i'm calling it in support of the ceasefire resolution as is um Yeah, wow Everything that was just said is exactly why you just ceasefire. It seems like um You know This level of violence There's war and then there's genocide and this is genocide This level of violence should never ever be allowed to happen anywhere in the world and I just want to encourage and empower our city council members to understand the impacts that they Can have by passing this resolution by saying ceasefire You're also saying that this level of violence should never happen in santa cruz That this level of violence would never be allowed to happen anywhere in the globe and we do have a responsibility We're paying for it Everybody here all of like our tax dollars are going to that All of the people here are actively paying for it So it makes sense to to take stand and and we have to realize that what we do here and What we say now will have an impact on what happens there so I do believe that ceasefire is a call for peace and If you want the opposite of a ceasefire if you want this level of violence to continue happening You don't want peace you want quiet That quiet that silence is something that can only be achieved through ethnic cleansing and we cannot allow that to happen Please pass the ceasefire resolution as is. Thank you Thank you. Mr. Mannheim. Good evening. Sure Good evening Thank you all for giving us this opportunity. I'm tom manheim a long time resident of santa cruz Let me start by saying I hate what is happening in Gaza and israel right now I can't stand the killing and the violence I wanted to stop as much as anybody I'm also opposed to israel's unfair policies towards the palestinian people And the settlements that encroach on their land Palestinians deserve a place a state of their own Where they can govern themselves And live peacefully with dignity But I am asking you not to approve the resolution before you this evening Despite my disagreement with the current government's policies. I can't accept any resolution that ignores hamasa's brutal attack on unarmed is israeli civilians And I can't accept a resolution that by what it doesn't say blames israel alone for the current situation Words matter and this resolution fails on that count It calls for an immediate ceasefire, but only urges without a timeline the return of the hostages And it fails to acknowledge that a ceasefire now would leave hamasa An organization committed to the disruption of israel in control of gaza In fact, this will have no impact on the situation in gaza, but it's already stoking anger fear and divisiveness here at home What you have in this room Are irreconcilable differences a resolution calling for a unilateral ceasefire ignores the pain and suffering imposed on the israeli people by amas And a resolution that conditions a ceasefire on other factors Will not satisfy those who blame israel and want the war to stop now A resolution that takes sides will only inflame antisemitic and islamophobic anger here in our community And that is not in the best interest of anyone Thank you Good evening to the person online and welcome Hi councilman My name is melissa So Sorry, can you hear me? Yes, now we can hear you Excuse me for just a moment if you would just hold for a second Oh So I am told that maybe you have two devices there if you would Turn off one of them and we'll just hear from you on one of your two devices there if that works for you That would work better for us We good, you know, we'll do we'll have you got them now miss bush. We got that person We we good Okay, let's hear from you. Good evening and welcome My name is elise thornhill. I'm a registered voter and a teacher here in santa cruz I'm also deeply ashamed and enraged that the city council is prioritizing comfort and silence over human life I beg you to listen I've worked at almost every school in this district with hundreds of kids some of which are probably your children your neighbors Most days are joyful. I watch a kid in kindergarten run back to her mom for five extra kisses before going to school I remind children to be gentle and kind the importance of standing up for your neighbor When I come home from school, I see the great and bloodied bodies of children in gaza Little boys running to get water and hours later lying lifeless in their father's arms Back home. I am armed with band-aids for a small recess scratch In gaza doctors my age are forced to sever children's limbs with no anesthesia No medication no hope of recovery We teachers parents we teach our children that there is right and wrong There is no gray area when it comes to the genocide in gaza There is nothing to be dated debated about bombed hospitals dismembered corpses death by starvation and shock This is not about giving in to hate or fear or prioritizing the comfort of a few over the murder of tens of thousands This is about using the power the city council has to stand for something right Look at all of us standing here and and cheering outside. Look at all of us flooding bridges and freeways and city halls Flooding your inboxes Stand with us not just for your children, but for the children of the world We demand a ceasefire. I urge you to pass item 29 and demand a ceasefire resolution immediately and Santa Cruz. Thank you Next person online Good evening and welcome Hi, good evening. Can you hear me? Yes, we can. Good evening There's zoom testifying isn't complicated, but I appreciate the accessibility with covet navigations and all I'm calling to offer testimony and affirmation. I'm a registered voter Santa Cruz live in district one Calling on y'all hoping you will pass item 29 tonight after we conclude our testimony Thanks for outlining the procedure a process and procedure and you know, san francisco just passed their resolution today and Would love to continue After the biggest city Process empire has done so for our Home to also be clearly on the right side of history. I'm not gonna Throw more uh trauma exposure on you if you wanted to look at what's facts and what's False facts and and conjured up. You are smart enough all to be able to do that and diligent enough to hopefully also do that so Again total affirmation of the resolution for item 29 specifically how it stands now I reject. I ask you to reject any harmful amendments or substitutions Please keep ceasefire as language Yeah, just keep it as it is it's on point. We've got your backs be be with us be with us together And thank you for everyone who turned out on the phones and in person Today as well. So I know it's gonna be a long time. You've heard my contribution There's more to say there's you know 75 years of Violent aggression, but I'll let you have your 15 seconds back. Thank you so much. Thank you very much Good evening Greetings of peace My name is Zion Davidson I am the descendant of ashkenazi jews I'm a practicing sufi I'm a santa cruz county resident and i'm currently working as a farmer A chef and a nutritionist Some are saying that there are no solutions besides war This is what the military industrialists and their political frontmen always say Of course, there are other solutions There are millions of jews including me who want the war to end And who do not support net and yahoo's genocidal campaign This war is the tipping point moment for our species We must transcend this cycle of warfare and domination The justification for the genocide is that there is no alternative, but to destroy hamas Yet net and yahoo has been funding hamas for decades This is well documented even the new york times reports it Why aren't more people talking about this? It's the same playbook as afghanistan fund your fund your enemy orchestrate an unspeakable tragedy Drum up international support for war and then begin writing blank checks to weapons manufacturers When they ask what is your alternative to war we can say why was net and yahoo funding hamas We can say there are millions of jews who want to ceasefire We can say there are israeli women and mothers of conscience Who want to join arms with palestinian mothers and create an entirely new story We can say that true peace comes from the grassroots level the human to human level We can say that the war criminals who profit from endless war must be held accountable We can say that one day even they can be forgiven if they Seek forgiveness for the wickedness and unconsciousness that they are behaving with Permanencies fire now Next person online good evening and welcome Good evening and welcome person online Hi there Thank you for hearing our voices This community this evening. My name is brian. I've been an educator in this community for over a decade I would like you to approve the ceasefire resolution without amendments In my classroom, we regularly discuss the importance of what it means to be an upstander versus being a bystander When our youth when our youth witness something that is harming an individual or groups of people They're raised to stand up and say something Excuse me our youth understand excuse excuse me. Will you have to will you ask the Excuse me officer. Would you ask the gentle lady to step outside? I understand that I'm not going to hear from her about it Thank you Please pause my time Please pause my time. Okay. Well, that's their problem Please pause my time Please pause my time Please go ahead In my classroom, we discuss what it means to be an upstander versus a bystander When our youth witness something that is harming individuals or groups The youth understand to stand up and say something Our youth understand that the harm being done to individuals or groups ultimately harms the greater community as a whole Our youth understand that choosing to do nothing when someone is being hurt is a vote to allow that harm to continue As the adults in this community let let's model for our youth What it means to be an upstander by standing up for those being harmed in Palestine by voting to approve the ceasefire without resolution without amendments For those in the audience this evening join me in saying ceasefire now Thank you Good evening Welcome Good evening. My name is Cassandra Borreco I'm grateful to be here again to plead with you to pass the ceasefire resolution without amendment or substitution This week Israel will be on trial for genocide at the Hague in a case brought forth by South Africa the birthplace of apartheid To the international court of justice I know the word genocide makes many of us uncomfortable Many of us myself included with it perpetrated against our ancestors We must get comfortable recognizing patterns and with being honest with our words I quote Raphael Lemkin who was like me a polis Jew He coined the term genocide stating More often genocide refers to a coordinated plan aimed at destruction of the essential foundations Of the life of national groups so that these groups wither and die Like plants that have suffered a blight The end may be accomplished by the first disintegration of political and social institutions Of the culture of the people it may be accomplished by wiping out all basis of personal security liberty health and dignity When these means fail the machine gun can always be utilized as a last resort We are witnessing the obliteration of culture and infrastructure of the fabric of dignified life for Palestinians Schools mosques churches aid organizations ambulances hospitals theaters historical archives archaeological sites cemeteries and orchards are intentional targets of bombing and destruction journalists doctors poets and artists The healers and keepers of truth are being intentionally decimated without mercy While Israeli soldiers post videos of themselves laughing and applauding Are you seeing this? Israeli heritage minister. I'm a high ally who recently said Israel must find ways more painful than death for the palestinians. It must inflict torture and pain first and then kill them Cease fire is the only path to deescalating the spread of conflict It is the only way to get the remaining Israeli hostages back As you may know three of them were gunned down by Israeli soldiers while waving white flags We cannot continue to allow the weaponization of past pains in order to justify current slaughter We cannot bomb our way to peace Please do your part in stopping this brutality and pass the item 29 ceasefire resolution as is Thank you. Thank you The next person online good evening and welcome Good evening and welcome We're going to take a pass on that. Good evening, sir. Who is with us and jamers Welcome We aren't here to decide the fate of this war in the Middle East We are here to decide how we come together or fall apart as a community I am a high school teacher. I passionately want peace. I can only hope every other person here does in their own way as well I can only hope there's not a person here Who hatefully celebrates the the death of any Palestinian or Israeli whether civilian or not No matter your angle this resolution demanding a ceasefire will not result in the halting of any missiles The release of any hostages the elimination of any terror tunnels or greater security for Palestinians or Israelis That's it. That's the truth. I'm sorry sucks for everyone Local resolutions impact those living locally and bringing it local Beyond anything going on in israel and Palestine beyond the rights and wrongs in the middle east I went to a pro-palestinian rally in our abbot square some weeks back There were signs calling for a global intifada and speakers screaming hatefully Uncrucibly calling for blood definitely not a peace rally to be clear I have been and will be continued to be Among the first people to stand with my muslim brothers and sisters upon an islamic islamophobic attack The first to join arms and protest of any hate crime against a person of any race But no matter what you think of israeli policy and I definitely disagree with a lot of israeli policy The palestinian rally I went to in abbot square was something akin to a kkk lynching mob MLK jr. Whose birthday is coming up would have found it abhorrent Their only message of violence and that was tolerated in santa cruz Such an approach to a conflict should be shut down instead of catered to with this counterproductive resolution I want a santa cruz that feels safe for all people whether they wear yamakas. He jobs or cowboy hats I've known wonderful palestinians and israelis in our community and they embody law better than the israeli government or hamas This resolution is a tricky way for geopolitical idiocy to poison our community with one sidedness and hatred Instead make a resolution condemning jew hatred and hatred of muslims. Thank you Okay, so now this is time number four that i've had to say this We're going to hear from each person For up to two minutes tonight. However long it takes We're then going to debate and discuss this issue We're going to extend to you as you have seen since five o'clock tonight Great respect for your opportunity to speak whatever it is you have to say Those of you who can't abide by that please step outside And join the other people who are outside if you are inside these chambers You're going to comport yourself The way that i have indicated you will Next person online. Good evening Hello, can you hear me? Yes, we can hear you Okay, uh, my name is alex and i'm a jew with a broken heart for what's being done in our name I urge not only city council, but my fellow jews everywhere who know how important speaking up when it's hard to is To ask yourself what would israel have to do in order for me to speak out against it Is it building concentration camps? Building ghettos where certain people certain groups of people can't come and go freely dehumanizing entire groups of people bombing hospitals killing children I urge all of my fellow jews and people everywhere who have not spoken out yet To know where that line is and to speak out bravely when it happens For me that line has been crossed and it is so important for me to say not in my name And not with the support of this government. So I urge city council to pass this resolution calling for a ceasefire Thank you. Thank you Please come forward. Good evening and welcome Good evening everyone and I want to thank sonia and sandy for proposing this resolution despite all the challenges and how absolutely insane it is in this moment At the heart of our mission at the resource center for non-violence Inspired by the enduring legacy of dr. Martin Luther king jr. Is a profound commitment to justice and peace and commitment That has been the cornerstone cornerstone of our endeavors for over four decades Our journey rooted in the values of beloved community has seen us stand as a beacon of hope And a voice for the voiceless particularly in the intricate and often tumultuous landscape of the middle east In the spirit of dr. King's vision and with a moral clarity reminiscent of calls for unity and understanding We affirm our shared humanity An unwavering dedication to justice and peace we recognize the deep suffering of both palestinian and jewish communities And we stand firmly against the global tide of anti-islamic and anti-semite Semitic violence it is it it is a stand that reflects not just our principles, but the very essence of our collective humanity We assert with clarity and conviction that critical discourse on the actions of any state including israel should not be misconstrued as anti-semitic Just as critique of organizations like hamas should not be seen as an indictment of the palestinian people These distinctions are crucial for honest and constructive dialogue a dialogue that is essential for the path to peace In echoing the call For a lasting and meaningful ceasefire We emphasize the urgent need for the release of all hostages and political prisoners and for immediate humanitarian aid to reach civilians in gaza It is a call that resonates our deepest values values that compel us to advocate for acceptance Empathy and understanding and when people evolve backgrounds and faiths. Thank you very much I'm good evening and welcome Hi, can you hear me? Yes? Yes, we can welcome Hi, thanks. My name is keena, and i'm a Loving member of this community. I reside in the city of sanakus I'm raising my children here, and i'm proudly jewish Myself many of my fellow jews are here today to urge you to vote for this ceasefire without any of the amendments or substitute motions That are being offered to water it down. I hear from others that this resolution is Is Sorry, my jewish heritage has taught me that open debate around difficult issues is important and necessary And is also profoundly part of our culture I also heard in comments in council council chambers last month that those supporting a ceasefire are Misinformed I can promise you that we are not My grandparents survived the holocaust and I have always known that never again means never again for anyone I cannot sit idly by with while tens of thousands of palestinians are killed It's important for me to continue teaching my children that we as jews will always stand up against genocide not in our name Earlier today at the san francisco board of supervisors passed a very similar resolution I'm asking what you join them and other cities to call for a ceasefire And send a message to other elected officials from assembly members up to the president I've been following city council meetings for years And have never seen turnout like I have in support of this resolution Please listen to your well informed constituents and vote for this ceasefire resolution today. Thank you for your time Thank you Welcome Hi, my name is ronnie. I'm a member of the santa cruz county I was born in israel and I grew up in santa cruz and I hold both those identities very close to my heart It was my family that was attacked on october 7th. Their houses were burned Their neighbors were forced to evacuate or killed Um, and now it is my family that lives in a country at war because of that. I want peace in israel I want that more than anyone And I want an end to the war but of all the posters here about freeing palestine There is not a one that it's about freeing the over the almost 200 people who are held hostage by chamas since october 7 Their release is the one thing that can bring a true ceasefire It has already brought a ceasefire and chamas broke it at the cost of its own civilians And my heart does break for all of the innocent palestinians who are suffering in this war But there is a blindness and a denial towards the suffering of the jewish people in this community and israeli at large I see it in this room and I see it in our community and it breaks me No resolution from santa cruz no matter how strongly worded is going to bring peace It to the middle east i from israel and I know this But it will have repercussions repercussions for our community And it will lead to more pain if it does not Acknowledge what the jews are going through now and here So, yeah, I just wanted to say my words and I'll see the rest of the time back to the chair Thank you Next person online Hi, can you hear me? Yeah, we can hear you. Good evening. Good evening. My name is there short scene I was born and raised here in santa cruz and i'm now raising my own family here I'm a proud jew and supporter of israel I've heard many many jews speak here tonight who do not support israel And I want to make it very clear that despite what it may seem this view represents a very small minority of the jewish american people I also would like to point out that the only people have been unruly and disrespectful tonight are the very people who are asking for a ceasefire resolution I urge you to vote against this resolution First and foremost, we do not elect you to make statements on foreign policy We desperately need you to focus your efforts on issues here in santa cruz Not to single out a specific geopolitical matter and certainly not to draft a resolution that only serves to divide our community further I think we can all agree that no one wants this war to be happening But peace is not achievable as long as the hamas terrorists are in power And don't you think it's interesting that nearly every person who has been asking for a ceasefire tonight hasn't even mentioned hamas The very group that is actually preventing a permanent ceasefire from happening hamas is broken countless ceasefires Including on october 7th when they started this war hamas has openly stated their intention To repeat october 7th again and again to wipe out israel and has proclaimed their desire to murder jews worldwide And yet shockingly so many people still do not condemn hamas Including the authors of this resolution. In fact, not once does the word hamas appear in this resolution How can you possibly quote acknowledge the mass suffering in israel and in palestine end quote and quote Stand united against violence end quote without mentioning hamas and the barbaric acts of terrorism They have committed you can wish for peace and call for a permanent ceasefire All you want the reality is that hamas does not share your desire for peace or permanent ceasefire Your resolution not only has zero impact on global policy It leaves out key facts and presents a distorted oversimplified bias view Please stop tearing our community further apart with this resolution or any future resolutions on this war Return your focus to local issues of importance. Thank you for your time Person line good evening and welcome Thank you all so much for listening to us. I know it's going to be arduous And has been already first of all though I'd like to begin with some breaths of silence both for the young israeli woman who is just speaking about what happened to her family And then also from the young Palestinian woman who is ejected from here because she reacted emotionally knowing that her family has been subject to Attacks from israel and she's no doubt also suffered loss. So Let's just take some breaths for them I live on the west side of center cruise I'm a jewish woman I'm a member of temple bethel And my great-grandparents founded a jewish temple also called bethel also reform congregation in aniston alabama a tiny little town And I am so glad that they are not alive to see today. What in the world? Our heritage is being used to support and I also want to make it very clear I'm totally for this ceasefire resolution And it has a lot to do with what is going on in santa cruz because as I delivered a letter to Representative, I'm sorry It was a stack of letters from children to representative panetta because he wouldn't listen to the voices Including voices of people who were telling him about their family members their close family members being killed in gaza So we thought maybe children will be listened to so we took a stack of letters to his office in santa cruz And then when I was coming back, I saw you know, like tent housing and those little wooden boxes and I thought my gosh if the us was sending money to Build more housing and provide more housing Instead of bombing and destroying housing in gaza It would be a whole different world. And so I hope that spirit of love and care and cooperation for veils for everyone I hope that y'all will you will unanimously vote to support this ceasefire resolution as it stands And lastly, I want y'all to know that a lot of people who are against this resolution I mean, I'm not talking about the people here. I want to be clear But a lot of people that are keeping our representatives in us And our president from supporting ceasefire are people who are directly donating the weapons manufacturers that are making money Hand over fist with our tax dollars and keeping it from our community. Thank you Thank you Next person online. Good evening and welcome Welcome We're gonna go to the next person in line. Good evening Welcome Thank you I am a jewish descendant of holocaust survivors A refugee from ukraine And a clinical psychologist Here in the santa cruz community and part of the santa cruz mental health professionals for palestine I grew up witnessing the traumatic impact of the horrific violence that was inflicted upon my ancestors As both a psychologist and someone who has had family members Burned alive during the holocaust I shudder at the terrible scale of the death Suffering and intergenerational trauma that's being created by the horrific war crimes That are being inflicted upon innocent palestinian people The majority of the people being murdered in gaza Are civilians and half of them are children This is why I cannot stay silent as a jew I feel that it's my responsibility To stand up and speak out in support in support of a ceasefire Asking for this violence against innocence to stop is not anti-semitic. It is an act of compassion toward fellow human beings Most people in gaza are starving According to the united nations more than 90 percent of palestinians and gaza say they have regularly gone without food for a whole day According to the world health organization about 160 palestinian children are brutally killed every day That's a child killed every 10 minutes According to unicef someone thousand palestinian children have had limbs amputated without anesthesia Due to lack of basic medical resources The united nations estimates that around 50 000 pregnant women are currently living in gaza without birth support My dear council members I hope that my words inspire you to advocate for immediate ceasefire unequivocally Please you have the opportunity to save countless innocent lives by voting. Yes on resolution 29 Thank you So it may be that some of you have come into the council chambers since we began this evening and I Explain to folks what How we were going to proceed this evening So for those of you who came in since we began We're going to hear from everybody tonight for up to two minutes each whether you are here in person or you're online And what the council is trying to do is model the behavior for you To show you that we are paying attention. We are serious about this We're going to listen to every word you have to say irrespective of your point of view What I said at the outset at five o'clock was that We would ask you to extend that courtesy not only to us but to each other So I understand your enthusiasm I've asked if what you would do is after the speakers if you are in support of that I understand your desire to support that About two seconds should be about enough of that after each speaker. I would appreciate your cooperation in that regard Goody, uh, good evening next person online Good evening person online We'll hear from you. Who is here? Good evening. Welcome Thank you, um My name is jasmine mia and i'm a licensed marriage and family therapist with a practice based here in santa cruse I stand here today as part of a group called santa cruse mental health professionals for palestine We have submitted a letter calling for a ceasefire with over 100 mental health provider signatures There are so many reasons to support calling for a ceasefire I will speak to how this ongoing genocide affects our community as I have witnessed through my client care Many young people are feeling disillusioned or even doomed and some don't even feel like there's a point to plan for the future Many of us clinicians included are feeling unsafe traumatized uncared for and dismissed What we do and what you decide today sets a model for our community, especially the youth I know that as a muslim born adoptee from bangladesh Uh, a twice decolonized country if you pass the ceasefire resolution I would feel much more like my community is invested in my safety and the safety of all palestinians Muslims Arabs and jews Since this ongoing genocide is actually ramping up anti-semitism I have been paying attention to the downstream effects of policies you set forth For example following discriminatory policies against the unhoused like tolo csso and ovio A couple of young changers assaulted and almost killed an unhoused member of our community We are modeling that we ignore or even actively allow hate and violence. I want better for santa cruse I would ask that you do not accept any amendments that water down this resolution In fact, one I would like you to add is to include support for us house resolution 7 86 as the oakland resolution called for We understand there may be some worry that a resolution supporting a ceasefire could be divisive for the community But also acknowledge that taking a stand on important issues has nearly always been divisive Issues such as abolishing slavery desegregation reproductive autonomy and trans and queer rights among many others have long histories being controversial Despite their clear moral standing and importance for the safety and well-being of the people they most impact Please reach into your sense of justice and compassion and pass this resolution Which many members of our community worked very hard to draft. Thank you. Thank you To take the next person online next person online. Good evening and welcome Oh, yay. Hey, uh in the last meeting of the year, I would note you allowed an historic non-stop quite repetitive emotional gushing of mostly the organized one-sided talking points For the adopted grievance mongering palestinian terrorist sympathizers to go on for four hours Deja vu That's quite some patience because I don't believe that the majority of psaers young socialist of america the usc far left Woke indoctrinated or their cultural marxist organizing instigator groomers Here uh, actually care about palestinians for any other other protest as your But engage in a purposed outrage only for what the issue can do for them Which is to achieve their aims which are those of destroying america to promote marxist cultural revolution ideologies While attempting to obtain the illusion of legitimacy We've seen the pro palestinian protesters chanting al-a-hu akbar and into fata revolution at the world trade center blocking streets and engaging in all manner of intimidating civil disobedience Hamas usually looks more like the reincarnation of the medieval islamic crusades with a death wish for the west I sure pray the voters here will not be fooled and show the dsa here the humiliation and defeat they deserve once again In these coming march elections Yes, I have questions myself about events and basically I don't want a bigger world mess We cannot afford to be involved in but recognize illers israel's response so far Is to a extremely vexing situation where hamas is a terrorist state Elected by a people too many of which aspire to martyrdom showing their hate and stated desire to rid the earth of jews with evil terrorist acts The substitute resolution is far better than the copy of the leftist sestual known as oakland's one On the most basic level anti-semitic violence is mostly the result of the jealousy turned to violent hate because of the extraordinary resilience and success of these Hey, could you tell the people with the genocide signs and big bodies to lower them a little bit? Thank you. Good evening My name is so fiat was that I am palestinian american I'm also newbie in which means my families were both internally displaced in their homelands The calls for humanity after october 7th were instant Not the humanity of us all including millions of besieged palestinians But for a humanity in which the slow genocide against palestinians would continue Our displacement and dispossession and deaths an unremarkable quotidian reality The annual ramadan bombing campaigns and resa and christmas raids in bethlehem the birthplace of jesus christ And prison and poison water wells Bulldozed homes burned olive trees and deliberately maine children would be met with sporadic protests here and there But forgotten days and weeks later I will not recite the horrors of our continued nakba I will not perform objection in the vain hopes that the us and israeli war machine will recognize our right to live I will simply submit There are no words to express what it is to see and hear the bodies limbs organs flesh blood screams Whales and gas of your murdered kin every minute of every day and night And be unable to look away because to look away would be a betrayal And abandonment and we have only ourselves to bear witness But we can all be witnesses and that is why i'm hoping that this Council will pass the ceasefire resolution without amendment We are the living witnesses to injustice. It's been so interesting to learn about islamic theology from people who clearly learned about it from bright Bart but regardless The term intifada means resistance The term shahid or martyr in islamic theology means witness literally to injustice We are living witnesses This can be the only purpose of every u.s citizen and worker whose tax dollars support this genocide Please pass this resolution without amendment in recognition of the global and local impact of this genocide Which will impact us all for generations to come. Thank you Thank you person online Hello, can you hear me? We can hear you Okay My name is sophia I'm a resident and voter in the city of santa cruz in district one and i'm calling you to vote for this resolution without amendments Passing the resolution at the local level is our business and it matters It's the job of local elected officials to carry our voices to higher levels of government The u.s government has sent over 14 billion to israel to fund their bombings just in the past two months defunding our domestic constitutions and locky martin is located in our backyard Zionism and the acts of the state of israel are not the same thing as the jewish faith and our and jewish people And countless jewish people within israel and our community have made that clear A ceasefire isn't radical or anti-semitic but a necessary first step in creating the conditions Where lasting peace can be achieved in gaza This resolution will make local palestinians, arabes, muslims and jewish people feel safer because it will affect how seriously we believe in the sanctity of all life and lasting peace It is not a matter of opinion whether israel is committing genocide as we speak. I will not get graphic In describing the amounts of horrific evidence confirmed by international organizations Officials of the government of israel have publicly stated their intention is ethnic cleansing and genocide And use dehumanizing language israel will stand for trial Forced genocidal crimes before the international court of justice next week According to the world health organization a child is killed every 10 minutes and that is increasing as people are now starving Let us not gloss over the fact that gazaans are actively being terrorized by israeli bombs and soldiers It is not discrete incidents in months of continuous killing and that's why we are speaking with urgency and uplifting these stories Anything less than a ceasefire is condoming this extreme uneven power and level destruction being perpetuated It is not divisive It is Disabas violence We won't be deepening or dividing that today. We will only be deciding if the city of santa cruz enables mass death or stands up to it The city council today can choose to be on the humane side of history by passing this resolution as it stands calling for a ceasefire and gaza Release of all hostages and entry of humanitarian aid. Thank you. Well. Thank you very much Welcome Thank you. Mayor kealy and the city council. My name is jessa silver As a jewish resident of santa cruz. I am proud to live in a progressive community that respects the rights of all residents Regardless of race religion and gender This is part of what drew me to santa cruz as a place to call home Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for palestinians and gaza in the west bank Israel is engaging a bloody war of collective punishment that if left uncheck Will obliterate all hope of life and self-determination for the palestinian people As a jewish person who has studied the holocaust extensively I have learned to recognize the signs of genocide And I can say with certainty that what israel is doing cannot be misconstrued as self defense Our country's support of this genocide is a disgrace and I call upon the city of santa cruz To join the cities of oakland and san francisco To lead by example by passing an unamended resolution demanding an immediate and permanent ceasefire This is not only to represent the position of the majority of americans and santa cruz residents But also to preserve the life liberty and dignity of our fellow humans Never again means never again for anyone in the spirit of tikkun alam ceasefire now From the next person online. Good evening and welcome Good evening next person online. Welcome Michael nice to see you sir. Hello. My name is mike mayor. I'm a long time resident First I'd like to thank the city council for the way you've comported yourselves and are allowing everybody to speak for two minutes This is a difficult issue. Um, it's divisive, but it's not only divisive Um, it's also lops the resolution is lopsided I don't see in the resolution a recognition of the of the trauma that was inflicted On october 7th in israel Of the rape and murder You know hamas started this war Hamas started this war and Hamas shortly after october 7th their leaders said We'll do it again and again and again And they also said we are proud to sacrifice martyrs um, so What is israel to do? um So let's get real A ceasefire is exactly what hamas Uh Is asking the international community to do after they started the war after they're Still holding the hostages. Um, if we I think the council Uh, should just not agree not to have any resolution at all Um indicating that that the issue is very complex the resolution is lopsided And it is only causing division in our community, but I do have to say that Whether we're um on one side of this issue or not I have seen Generally respect on both sides And and I I admire Everybody's passion on this issue. I'm passionate for peace too. We just have our disagreements. Thank you Next person online. Good evening and welcome Person online. Good evening and welcome Hello, hello Okay, yeah talking who's talking up there. So um clap your hands if you can't hear me. Okay Uh, it's going to be about eight hours. Um, and I think the people who are putting forth this resolution uh, you know, probably should realize that um, this whole session is Is um because this is not, um, you know uniting the issue, although, um I mean, I think it's a teachable moment that um, uh, you know, uh 50 years and one day after the uh, 1973 Yom Kippur war, um where the uh coalition of arab states attacked israel Um, there was uh, there was a mass a mass murder committed Uh, I don't call it genocide. I I I I know it was an expression of hate and war wars are um, but um, it was it was It was a provocation And it was it was hostility And uh, you know, oh god, uh, uh, benjamin neton meton neton yahoo is not gold to my ear, but um You know, uh, if they didn't expect reprisals, I mean if they were not using If ham Hamas was not using Hamas is the same people That handed out candy on uh, 9 11 when this country was attacked and and you know hamah Hamas The leaders of Hamas are over there in cutter You know and using using the palestinian palestinian civilians as human shields Now gaza, uh strip is is smaller than bermuda and larger than the u.s virgin islands Uh, and and I do agree that this resolution I don't agree that watering it watering it down is what what you should call it I think you know making it more in alignment with uh, the the silent Um, you know cohort of people who don't agree that we should be meddling in this Takes a little bit that or try to uh, purport that um, you know, this is um I don't know. This isn't just a grave tragedy. Uh, I don't know much more to say I'm incensed, but I don't know much more to say. Thank you. Well, thank you very much Good evening Welcome Hello, um My name is Naomi and I've lived in Santa Cruz almost my whole life Thank you for being here and hearing what all of us have had to say and all these people that have yet to even enter this room Um as a Jew whose ancestors have faced persecution and genocide I am loudly adding my voice to my community calling for an immediate ceasefire And a calling and calling for an end to genocide of all Palestinians We must not let the fear and unprocessed trauma that exists in our bloodlines be weaponized against us to justify this genocide Not in our name and not ever again Passing the ceasefire resolution on a local ever level matters deeply to show Solidarity and add our voices to all the cities and people who are calling for the same As elected officials, obviously, you know it is your responsibility to listen To the voices of your constituents and here we are we're in mass We are out the door and we will be here as long as you will be here. Maybe all night. Um, and just Please touch down into your humanity. I'm speaking from a place of Just deep knowing that this is so wrong and how could Jews be using this fear and um Yeah, our trauma to to even begin to think that this is justifiable. Thank you again The next person online next person online. Good evening and welcome Hello, can you hear me? Yes, we can welcome I thank you so much. Thank you so much, uh council members for listening. My name is Andrea Strada I'm a Santa Cruz, uh resident and voter in district six Um, I would like to Show my support in of the ceasefire I think that any Any intent for peace starts with ceasefire I ask you to show empathy to everything that has been going on and Thank you Oh, well, thank you very much. Thank you. Good evening Welcome Hello, um, thank you for hearing all of us tonight My name is pepper hunger. I'm a registered voter in Santa Cruz county And I'm calling you to pass a ceasefire resolution on today's agenda I know I share the experience of so many other people here of trying to contain all of the grief and the depth of my Feelings about what I've been seeing happening in Gaza into just a few words But I don't think words can even contain it. So I will say We have an opportunity as a community to say with a ceasefire resolution That we do not accept what we are seeing take place This is not a radical position The vast majority of countries in the un and most us voters want a ceasefire And the people speaking here today reflect that The bombing of civilians, refugee camps, hospitals, journalists, children. These are war crimes Our actions here matter because it's our tax dollars that are funding these attacks And that is something that every member of this community has to live with We also have an opportunity to stand with the Palestinian members of our community and say to them We do not accept what is happening and we have the opportunity to remind ourselves that we don't accept it To keep our humanity intact All of these things matter I've called on my Jewish ancestors in my prayers to be with me and give me strength while I speak today So many of us are experiencing feelings of hopelessness in the face of this But there are moments when we do what we can when we can We all have that opportunity today. Please take the opportunity. Don't let it pass Speak for us speak for yourselves and your own humanity Please pass the ceasefire resolution. Please keep the word ceasefire in the resolution If we're not talking about ceasefire about stopping these bombs from falling then I am confused about what we're actually doing here Thank you for listening We'll hear the next person online. Good evening and welcome Hello, uh, this is Reggie Meisler here. You guys all know me I'm not speaking to the council today, but really just the beautiful diverse movement in front of the council Uh, because this council has been asked repeatedly over the past three months Amid mass civilian deaths Destruction of civilian infrastructure bombing of hospitals residential buildings children's schools To do one simple thing sign a ceasefire resolution We asked them to do this for the special meeting Because we gave this council good faith and assume they shared our sense of urgency and moral outrage But clearly we were wrong Rather than expeditiously stand behind this movement for the basic human rights of palestinians and pass a strong united ceasefire as quickly as possible They instead spend the next 30 days speaking to supporters of ethnic cleansing To develop an outrageous alternative motion that completely erases the ongoing horrifying war crimes Of israel against their colonized populations in both gaza and the west bank We should not need to continue explaining the moral imperative to stop collective punishment ethnic cleansing and genocide 80 percent of democrats support a ceasefire and nearly 80 percent of city voters are democrats Even if this council doesn't care at all about palestinian lives For them to look at those numbers and not immediately and unequivocally support a ceasefire is the greatest political ed Uh that you have ever given to our population Because you are showing in the clearest possible terms that this is not a democracy that there is no popular mandate in this capitalist system That you care more about What the wealthy powerful reactionary minority want than what we want Stay involved stay connected The power is just at its beginning Good evening. Welcome. Good evening. My name is mijin cha and i'm a registered voter and a professor at uc santa cruise i'm uh i'm also recognized climate expert and in 2022 this city council passed a climate action plan Showing its commitment and leadership to the climate crisis That plan is meaningless if you do not pass a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire The moral case for a ceasefire is irrefutable and unequivocal The climate case is similarly so As israel's continued attack on gaza enters their third month with horrifying human costs This genocidal tragedy has far-reaching impacts playing out within the larger context of disastrous planet melting militarism When calculated to include war infrastructure the war exceeded the annual emissions of more than 33 countries and territories Rebuilding gaza will entail total emissions that are higher than 130 countries due to the damage that israel has wrought Putting reconstruction costs on par with the total annual emissions of new zealand The vast majority of the 281 thousand metric tons of carbon dioxide 99 of the carbon dioxide released from this war Estimated from the first 60 days can be attributed to israel's aerial bombant and ground evasion of gaza Roughly equivalent to keeping 75 coal fire power plants operating for a year In the words of the un special repertoire for human rights in the environments Armed conflict pushes humanity even closer to the precipice of climate catastrophe And it is an idiotic way to spend our shrinking carbon budget Let me reiterate that any climate action that comes from this council is meaningless without a call for a ceasefire I urge you to pass a ceasefire without any amendments. Thank you. Thank you The next person online Good evening welcome Person online. Good evening and welcome. Yeah, good evening. Phil kipnis calling. How are you tonight, sir? Very well. Thank you. Please proceed like to thank like to thank the council and yourself for having the meeting um Obviously, it's very contankerous and it brings out the worst the people What I've found is there's been a tremendous amount of factual dishonesty presented so far this evening mostly based on emotional and Family feelings towards the facts that they are My question is where is the government of hamas? The government of gaza the government that attacked israel the government that lobs rockets I spent a lot of time in israel I was unfortunately there during the second in a photo when somebody decided would be fun to blow myself up in the Supermarket I was shopping in with my family This is the government we're dealing with the government that's hiding in the tunnels Leaving the people on the streets to take the brunt of the punishment as human shields You only see the news that hamas wants released Despite what you may think If hamas doesn't want you to see it, you don't see it and nothing that doesn't support their cause ever gets out of gaza Sadly too many people only see what they see on The internet and that's just a repetition of the same thing over and over again Speaking of the government of gaza hamas The world has donated billions and billions of dollars to aid for the palestinian people Who rightfully so deserve help But where'd the money go? I ask you where the fuel go that the hospitals need It's in the bunkers in the tunnels Where's the money that hamas has been given to help provide for the people of gaza Oh, did you know the leadership of hamas are multi billionaires living in cutter Living outside the strait that ordered in their foot soldiers To kill I urge you please this is a contankerous Devious resolution do not pass it Good evening and welcome Thank you Tough act to follow Hello, once again city council My name is Jared and last time I was here I addressed all of you about the urgency of passing a ceasefire resolution and why those of us who are american jews Feel uniquely compelled in this moment to speak out in support of a ceasefire as jews Then and now I reiterate that liberal zionism is a myth Zionism is a form of jewish supremacy codified in an ethno state and as a and as a socialist jew Committed to equality hold on for just a second You're not going to make me do this. Are you? No, then Take it down a notch Please proceed Then and now I reiterate that liberal zionism is a myth Zionism is a form of jewish supremacy codified in an ethno state and as a socialist jew committed to equality I refuse zionism Today, I want to speak to everyone else here More than the council itself which remains divided on issuing a non-binding resolution calling for a ceasefire So everyone here the question I want all of you to ask yourself is this What is my red line? What would it take for me to say I cannot in good conscience vote for the democratic party any longer Is complicity in israel's genocide of palestine your line? This is my line Even bernie sanders has been unable to muster the courage to call for a ceasefire And we must conclude that the left has outgrown the limited aspirations of progressives in the democratic party This does not mean retreating from politics But changing our strategy and tactics to the reality that we face Those of us in santa cruz that oppose israel's ethnic cleansing of palestine have been correct to write letters and opinion pieces To attend city council meetings and to protest But these tactics reflect our weakness and our lack of organization in the long term We need our own organizations that are a member funded and member led and which take internationalism seriously We need to build forms of power that cannot be easily contained by the democratic party or channeled into it If there is any hope for the future it will come from everyday people like us So my message today is to find an organization join up and commit to a long fight for justice Next person online person online. Good evening and welcome Hi, can you hear me? Yes, we can welcome Hello, santa cruz city council. Thank you for taking the time to listen to us My name is hemadri and i'm a registered voter in the city of santa cruz I'm calling on you to please listen to your constituents and be on the right side of history By voting to pass the ceasefire resolution item 29 on today's agenda as is without any unnecessary changes or new substitute resolutions As you can already see by the many public comments and emails This resolution is not divisive rather it unifies the voices of your jewish, palestinian and muslim and arab constituents We are on day 92 of a genocide with 30 000 innocent palestinians killed So many of them children and so many more injured and displaced The goal of israel's violence isn't to get the hostages back It's to carry out an ethnic cleansing which is rarely officials themselves have admitted This is why even the families of israeli hostages are calling for a ceasefire And why so many other cities have passed ceasefire resolutions Regardless of what you feel about israel or palestine All of us know in our hearts that the death of innocent people is wrong That 160 children being killed every day is wrong Which according to the world health organization is what's currently happening in palestine Absolutely, nothing justifies this and we must do everything in our power to stop this And the first step forward is by calling for a ceasefire. The absolute bare minimum is for calling for a ceasefire So please use your power for good. Listen to your constituents. You work for us free palestine. Thank you Good evening. Welcome Hi, my name is debbie gould. I live in santa cruz one Temple Bethel does not speak for me When I was growing up my parents tried to prepare me and protect me as many jewish parents did By repeating something their parents had told them Scratch a non-jew Find an anti-semite Given history, I understand where they were coming from But carrying that generalization around with you Affects what affects how you hear Anti-semitism is real But fear can make us hear make us find it where it isn't When you hear from the river to the sea palestine will be free Do you hear push the jews into the sea or do you hear this land is a palestinian homeland Two and self-determination for one people cannot come on the backs of another When you hear ceasefire now do you hear Destroy israel and thus exterminate the jews Or do you hear aspiration for a future Where all who consider that land their homeland can live in peace with equality dignity freedom and justice In its totalizing worldview Scratch a non-jew find an anti-semite creates fear And primes us to hear in a certain way It can lead to a tribalism that protects no one and justifies slaughter Anti-semitism is real, but again fear can make us find it where it isn't We're witnessing israel engaging in a genocidal slaughter Carrying out a genocide in the name of a people who experienced a genocide Santa Cruz has an opportunity to add its voice to those saying the slaughter must stop We need a ceasefire now if we are ever to get to a future with peace and justice as a jew I ask you please be your courageous self Do not succumb to those who say Supporting a ceasefire is anti-semitic Vote for a ceasefire this ceasefire resolution without amendment. Thank you Next person online. Good evening and welcome Good evening. Hello. Can you hear me? Yes, we can welcome Hi, my name is rebecca gross and i'm a registered voter in the city of santa cruz and i live in district four I'm jewish and i'm calling on you to pass item 29 the ceasefire resolution on today's agenda as it is And reject harmful amendments or substitute resolutions I'm also here to make clear that I do not represent a small number of jews in santa cruz or in the diaspora with this position You may have seen other jews like me at protests here in santa cruz and all over the country Wearing shirts that say not in our name and jews call for a ceasefire And you've certainly heard us here tonight implore you to call for a ceasefire The actions taken by israel since october 7th the killing of 30 000 palestinians Is being done with my tax dollars and in my name And i'm here again to say loudly not in my name I feel strongly that ceasefire be kept in the resolution Because there has never been a meaningful ceasefire towards palestinians as long as israel has existed Hamas did not start this war The truth is that israel started this war when it occupied palestine Since 1948 since the nakba and more than 750 000 palestinians were ethnically cleansed from their homes by zionist militias The israeli government has maintained control over those who were indigenous to the region The six-day war continued this and most recently since 2005 the people of gaza have been victims of a crippling blockade The truth is that palestinians have always been treated by the israeli government as less human than jews We have an opportunity to pass a resolution that acknowledges the humanity of palestinians Saves thousands of lives in palestine and makes muslims and jews safer everywhere The longer we wait to call for a ceasefire the more our complicity grows The longer we wait to call for a ceasefire the more likely it becomes that islamophobia and Antisemitism will increase in our own city for your constituents. Please i'm begging you. Please Keep item 28 as it stands and call for a ceasefire. Thank you Good evening. Welcome Thank you for holding in space for us I remember how some of you supported immigrant people during their ICE raids and the harmful policies of the trauma administration I'm a resident from santa cruz on the west side. I'm also from Peru And I remember the blackouts and bombs during our civil war But nothing I saw resembles ongoing violence, palestinian people are suffering and having suffering for decades Council members can today join the many other peace efforts and ceasefire city resolutions passed in cities like oakland And san francisco and long beach and supported by most countries worldwide I know council members shared our grieving for the killing of innocent palestinian children and people I have firsthand appreciated the compassionate hearts of palestinians My heart aches for their ongoing suffering for children whose laughter the world will never hear again My masculine and usually jewish friends are heartbroken by the considerable harm done to civilians in gaza I heard hundreds of jewish people at the state house in sacramento yell not in our name By taking a stance today for peace to stop the inscrime and killing of palestinian people by israel You're ensuring that respect of all your constituents even the few ones who might not yet agree with you today People in the united states carry an enormous responsibility to take a stance Given how our taxes are being used by the government to fund this war us made bombs and bullets are killing innocent children The eyes of history are looking at you and at us today How you vote in representation of us will probably be remembered more than many other resolutions you have voted before At the united nations 153 countries voted in favor of the median ceasefire last month Israel will respond to charges of genocidal crimes before the international court of justice next week That tide is turning with international opposition to israel's killing of innocent human beings Today you have a memorable chance to show your constituents the values Please vote to pass item 29 to today's agenda and reject harmful amendments We must use the phrase ceasefire We must make sure that we are doing our utmost to stop israel's collective punishment of palestinian civilians by We're holding food and aid. Please vote for our preciousness of human life. Please vote for a ceasefire. Thank you Next person online. Good evening and welcome Hi, can you hear me? Yes, we can welcome Council members and mayor my name is no one and I am a Santa Cruz local Registered voter of district two and local government employee I'm calling to voice my support for our city council to pass item 29 as is affirming Santa Cruz's commitment and support for permanent ceasefire and peace I can't think of anything less divisive than coming together as a community the community that I love and uniting for peace We are talking about uniting against the killing of mass children a ceasefire is truly the bare minimum All politics is local and while we citizens continue to call email and meet with our state and federal representatives An official ceasefire fire resolution at the local level will communicate a strong message up the government ladder Aligning with many other agencies and organizations worldwide who also seek peace History will look back on those in government and elsewhere that stood up for what's right Thank you council and mayor for your time. Let's join our neighbors in san francisco and oakland and past permanent ceasefire now Thank you. Thank you Good evening and welcome. Thank you Um, thank you for hearing us today My name is alex mcdonald and i'm a santa cruz resident in district two And I ask you to pass item 29 a ceasefire resolution and to include the word ceasefire in the resolution I'm a doctoral student studying psychology at ucsc And I want to speak about the psychological importance of santa cruz passing a ceasefire resolution The mass murder and genocide of palestinian people will reverberate through generations of palestinian people And those of us who are witnessing this violence This violence is trauma Through research, we know that trauma continues to impact generations beyond those who experience it directly This trauma is affecting palestinians most importantly And it's also affecting voters and santa cruz when we witness trauma inflicted We look to our elected leaders for guidance It is vitally important that our elected officials to it is vitally important for our elected officials to stand clearly against that Violence so that we know the values that our elected officials represent I hope we share that I hope we share values of justice and appreciation of protection of innocent human life protection of children In this moment, I ask you to think of the trauma that so many palestinian people so many palestinian children have experienced Trauma that so many children and parents and mothers and fathers and grandparents have not survived A passing a ceasefire requires us to push against dominant narratives in order to do what is right for our community and for palestinians Passing a ceasefire resolution is not easy, but it is the right thing to do There's not a time in history where standing with humanity the sanctity of life and valuing oppressed people's lives was easy Today the city of san francisco passed a ceasefire resolution and oakland has also passed a ceasefire resolution Our congresspeople are not listening to us. I ask you to practice courage and vote for a ceasefire resolution today I beg you to feel the fear if you have it and please vote for a ceasefire today. Thank you Thank you We'll take the next person online. Good evening. Welcome Hi, can you hear me? Yes, we can hear you and welcome to you Hi, i'm rachel chana Your nurse t2 resident and another jewish person begging the council to support their ceasefire resolution as is And to reject an amendment that removes the word ceasefire conditions aid And would denounce hamos without denouncing 75 years of israeli violence occupation and apartheid I want to thank the palestinian people who share their daily terrors with the world on social media in hopes that we will do Whatever we can to intervene i'm also profoundly ashamed that that's what it takes for us to be moved to action But because of them we have seen in real time the war crimes afflicted upon their people We've seen 90 percent of palestinians displaced from their homes forced to live in tents Subject to israeli bombardment and blockade that keeps them from accessing food water electricity medicine and health care We've seen people getting bombed and picked off by snipers and designated safe zones We've seen grandpa collard hug his murdered granddaughter ream and declare that she is the soul of his soul We know 12 year old dunia who lost her leg in an israeli airstrike that kills her whole family And then we saw her die on december 17th after a shell fired from an israeli tank hit her while she was recovering in a hospital Dr. Ghassan told us about the frequent horror of having to perform amputations on children without anesthesia If you found it easy to condemn the deaths of israelis on October 7th, and you are now having trouble condemning more than 25 times that number of deaths of palestinians ask yourself why that is You have a chance to show us that palestinian lives matter to you to our community as much as israeli lives To show your constituents that you will not tolerate anti-aircraft violence as much as you will not tolerate anti-semitism Today, I hope that you will be brave and reject the calls for prioritizing a false piece That tolerates mass murder and torture and collective punishment all for the sake of not being seen as divisive Opposing the south african apartheid was divisive supporting civil rights in the u.s. Was polarizing gay marriage and trans rights are still controversial If passing a cease and passing a ceasefire resolution as a city you help our voices Thank you Hello My name is carly and i'm a resident of santa cruz county I would like to voice my support for today's ceasefire resolution item 29 as is without amendment For the past three months i've been devastated to see the rising death toll on gaza, which has now reached over 23 000 people If you compare this with the recent 2021 census, this is equal to over a third of the population of the city of santa cruz To say that i'm disappointed by my representative and senator's lack of action to call for a ceasefire is a severe understatement I'm appalled that my taxes are currently funding this genocide I believe the way forward to peace is through an immediate ceasefire And I would like to voice my strong opposition towards any amendments that should remove the word ceasefire from the resolution Or restrict humanitarian aid into gaza Please represent your constituents calling for peace by passing the ceasefire resolution. Thank you so much for your time We'll hear from the next person online. Good evening and welcome Good evening Good evening Welcome to you Hello, can you hear me? My name is camille and i'm a concerned resident of santa cruz county I'm calling on the santa cruz city council to pass the ceasefire resolution on today's agenda And reject harmful amendments or substitute resolutions That set out to remove the word ceasefire condition humanitarian aid And denounce the violence by hamas without denouncing 75 years of continued extreme violence and occupation by israel We want a ceasefire resolution that calls for a permanent and immediate ceasefire The release of all hostages the unrestricted entry of humanitarian aid into gaza The restoration of food water electricity and medical supplies into gaza And the respect for international law and protection of the security of all innocent civilians To say this isn't a santa cruz issue Would be appalling and factually incorrect As many have said not only are all of our tax dollars going into fund what is happening right now We have lachid martin in our backyard One of the biggest weapons manufacturers in the world To say that we are all not responsible for our local community and our global community would be wrong We are all part of this global community Whether we want to or not and Just for those of you feeling hopeless or powerless right now I remind you that these acts of solidarity are not meaningless They are powerful and in fact they can be lifesaving So please listen to your constituents Thank you and free palestine We'll hear now from the next person online. Good evening and welcome Hello guys. I hope you're having a good long night. Uh, so if you were listening to your constituents We all know how y'all would vote I feel for you guys because the dnc is against ceasefire the United States government is against ceasefire And that's why guys like jimmy panetta wouldn't take that residents letters So what I would like to say is you guys have the political cover you need these days the bigger cities Here and there some even federal politicians have already come out for the ceasefire So You guys could just be one of the first smaller cities to come out Or you can wait and have another meeting like this in a month or two And then pass the ceasefire resolution appropriately Uh as is none of the other junk And yeah, I just uh, do we really want another meeting like this when this is your eventual outcome? And you already have the political cover you need like you got it right there in the room just Yeah, that's my advice. Uh Don't put yourselves through another meeting like this pass it now. Thanks guys. Have a great night. Thank you Good evening. Welcome I did it Good evening. Thank you My name is misha cardinus. I am an associate professor of critical race and ethnic studies at uc sinna cruise And a member of faculty for justice in palestine or fjp Which is a group of over 100 faculty staff and graduate students Who've published a statement saying We the undersigned acknowledge that we are witnessing us backed israeli genocidal violence Against a dispossessed population in gaza and demanding an immediate end to the massive violence being inflicted on the people of gaza So i'm here to urge you to vote for resolution 29 calling for an immediate ceasefire with no amendments This is not a far away issue Our student body president said at our december senate meeting that every single uc sc student is negatively affected by this genocide That they are witnessing every day To say it is only about a far away places to ignore our palestinian community members and to tell them that they do not exist But they are they are right here in this room Really honestly calling for a ceasefire is the bare minimum Can we even say We want an end to the killing. That's all the resolution does We should do more We should have a resolution that supports the boycott divestment and sanctions campaign We should have a resolution that commits not to send any of our tax dollars to support genocide Many other cities have past these fire resolutions that have been mentioned oakland san francisco richmond portland iowa city And more as well as the u.n. general assembly I just want to ask When your children learn history and ask you what did you do in 2024 to stop a genocide What are you going to say? The next person online. Good evening. I'm welcome Good evening person online Okay, so, uh, thank you very much. First of all, uh My name is ifa miller and uh, and i'm my wife And i have been jewish residents of the west side for over 20 years and have sent three children through the santa cruz city public school system Including our daughter who's a junior at santa cruz high now I want to strongly urge you to vote against this proposed city council resolution Uh, I support like most people I support a free palestinian state and peaceful coexistence with israel and mourn the deaths of innocent civilians on both sides israeli and palestinian I strongly oppose the content of the resolution itself because it doesn't call out kamas for the targeted rape torture and murder of civilians Even though kamas has repeatedly stated that it will repeat october 7 However, I'm more concerned that the council resolution would do no good because neither israel nor the us government will pay attention to it But will do significant harm to the santa cruz community deepening already existing tensions and exacerbating anti-semitism and anti-muslim sentiment A yes vote on this resolution will only increase local tensions as city council members noted at the beginning While a no vote simply means the city council takes no position on a conflict over 7 000 miles away This is reasonable because the council has been silent on conflicts in yemen and syria each of which killed over 100 000 Arabs as well as conflicts in ukraine Nigeria where over 50 000 christians have been killed and the sudan where over 12 000 are dead five million displaced and a famine is coming now The council has also been silent on china's placing over a million Uighurs into concentration camps Each of these conflicts affects more people than kamas israel concept conflict By singling out only the kamas israel conflict the city council would send the message that they opine only on foreign conflict When the jewish state is involved in the words of dr. King when people criticize zionists, they mean jews You're talking anti-semitism Passing this proposition will encourage greater anti-semitism in the community Such as the disruption of the downtown celebration of hanukkah on december 7th This resolution will make many jews feel unwelcome in their own town The council can make a huge difference in our community by addressing local issues such as crime housing and homelessness Please vote no on this resolution to preserve peace in your in our own community And I thank you all for your continued service to the residents of santa cruz. Thank you Good evening. Mayak healy Vice mayor golder and all of the santa cruz city council. I really honor you for taking the time to hear us all Keith britney, I live in capitolah And we have been in santa cruz county since 1983 when we arrived to be students at ucsc This conflict is personal for me and my family and I'd like you to introduce This is not a poster of anything It's a picture of my cousin aviva And her husband keith They were taken hostage on october 7th Keith was shot and had his ribs broken by the same terrorists who took them Aviva and keith are 65 two and 65 years old She is a childcare teacher and he a pharmaceutical salesman Aviva would have returned to her family on november 26 in one of the final hostages exchanges We still do not know keith's fate at this time When aviva was recently interviewed on pbs news she called for a negotiated ceasefire Between the parties involved To bring all of the hostages home Including keith When she was asked about The brutality towards women In those that had been taken hostage she said that she had witnessed it personally And we have heard silence from all of the women's organizations I'm horrified Santa Cruz city council On the future of people thousands of miles away Keep to being a great city council Thank you very much and I oppose the ceasefire vehemently Okay, so this is now the fifth time that i've asked you Not to do that And the reason i've asked you for those of you who have come in in the last half hour since the last time I said this i'll repeat it for the fifth time We're going to hear from every person tonight for up to two minutes whether you are online or in person We are modeling the behavior that we are asking you to give to each other and to give to us And that is that we will listen to each and every one of you respectfully Without comment Without in any other way disrespecting you We would ask you to extend that courtesy to every person who speaks tonight And when the matter is back before the council we would ask that you extend that courtesy to us Please don't make me Ask other people to leave the chambers tonight Please comply with this request for civility Thank you very much next person online Thank you Thank you. Can you hear me? Yes, we can please proceed This is ex from central coast democratic socialists of america. I'm appalled hearing these Bias comments about wanting peace and only being one-sided when ceasefire does provide peace i'm appalled that Folks are thinking that this is a divisive resolution when in fact it has It has united people worldwide We sit here today hearing from our constituents From community members and the anguish that they have with hate crimes that are being experienced here And that is why this is important though. This is happening Miles away. It is deeply affecting our community members here We're hearing folks not understand that genocide has happened years Prior to Hamas doing this or what we hear has happened The Ottoman Empire should be brought into this in this resolution if we're talking about bringing factual historical events We are witnessing a genocide happen publicized across all televisions worldwide And in each municipality, we are having hate crimes and deeply effective communities that are taxpayer In the name of us We are complacent to this We look to these leadership in order to make that change and for anyone that is against this you are not for peace Those individuals that have been brought out here. It's not only for this moment, but for years prior To genocide that we have been previewed to but never televised We stand in solidarity Past the resolution as is I yield the rest of my time Thank you Welcome Hello, hello. Can you hear me? Absolutely. Awesome. Okay. My name is Candice Um, and I've lived for about 10 years Um And I would like to call on you all to pass this resolution That's on today's agenda and to reject any and all amendments that aim to remove the term ceasefire That conditioned humanitarian aid and that denounced the violence by Hamas without denouncing the 75 years of continued violence and occupation by Israel And I know it has been a question of whether or not this is a Santa Cruz issue But it is because we are part of a larger global community I have family internationally as do many people in this room. So to say that that They are not that we do not feel concerned for them Is irresponsible So it is your responsibility the council members Again to your local and global community to take a firm stance against this ongoing genocide of palestinians And I strongly urge you to vote in favor of this ceasefire resolution Thank you I'll take the next person online Good evening and welcome Good evening Hi, can you hear me? Yes, we can welcome So much Mayor Keeley and to the honorable members of the city council. Um, thank you, you know, I um I've been in deep despair over what's been happening over there Um, and tonight given me hope, um To hear in solidarity that others like me Jews of conscience A conscience, um, believe in calling for a ceasefire I urge you to pass the resolution Without amendment Uh, be not despite my Jewish heritage and values, but because of them I mean, how can we fight climate change? If we cannot agree to stop the immediate killing of babies while we've been discussing this One hundred and fifty people have been killed Fifteen of which have been Um children And let me do that math again every four minutes the adult is killed Every child it has been killed in 10 minutes. So it's been 150 minutes. So that's 15 children and uh, 30 Anyway, for a forgive the math I I'm doing this in I'm speaking out. I've got hope from this talk, um because of uh, of The family the inon family yakovi and volal inon were killed on october 7th And mauled inon in the rest of the inon family have been calling out for peace crying to end the genocide and the ethnic cleansing of gaza And not to do that in the name Of their parent I speak out a gift to pass this resolution in honor of my friend amid amed al-kartif a naturalized American palestinian Who lost 31 members of his family in one bomb? nine children From from nine to three months real quickly moff mood yusef omar Dana aroy arin yakin ellen and isla three months old Please pass this resolution. It is not divisive to say stop killing across the board. Thank you. Thank you Good evening. Welcome. Thank you. Um, good evening council members Thank you for your time and patience and listening to all of us It's a real testament to your respect for your constituents and I appreciate that Two days from now the republic of south africa will stand up before the international court of justice and the haig Much like we all stand before you here today To present their 84 page indictment that charges the state of israel with the act of genocide Against the innocent people of gaza and the broader palestinian territories We all know the history the recent history of south africa And we all understand that as global champions for human rights civil liberties and the fight against apartheid and racialized violence They do not take this charge lightly Like our brothers and sisters in south africa We have all borne witness over the last 100 days to the unprecedented death and destruction That this conflict has wrought on the two million innocent men women and children of gaza A level of destruction that continues to this day and that the un says has brought now a man made famine into the 21st century If we were to put ourselves in their shoes If the same level of death and destruction were visited upon our city of santa cruz What would we want the world to say about us? Today when we appeal for the passage of resolution that calls for an immediate and sustainable ceasefire We do not expect expect this to be a snap of the finger and everything is better No, what we hope for like our friends in south africa Is to declare that the moral compass of the city of santa cruz points in the right direction And that we the people of santa cruz will stand on the right side of history now and not in hindsight Our city may be very small in a very big world But our voices should be loud and they should be clear the people of santa cruz endorse an immediate ceasefire in gaza Thank you The next person online next person online. Good evening. Welcome to the council meeting Good evening Can you hear me? Yes, we can welcome Thank you Good evening. My name is river eisenbach and i'm a registered Builder in santa cruz county and i'm jewish and i'm urging you to pass item 29 A resolution for a ceasefire as is More than 23 000 palestinians and nearly 10 000 children have been killed by israel over the last 95 days With the usage of american tax dollars I want us all to sit and 23 000 people 10 000 children I'm going to read a poem written by refat al-yair or a renowned palestinian poet who was killed on december 7 2023 by an israeli airstrike. This is the last poem he published before his death If I must die you must live to tell my story to sell my things to buy a piece of cloth and some strings Make it white with a long tail so that a child somewhere in gaza While looking heaven in the eye awaiting his dad who left in a blaze and bid no unfair well not even to his flesh Not even to himself sees the kite my kite you made flying up above And thanks for a moment an angel is there bringing back love If I must die let it bring hope let it be a tale Let us honor the dead and prevent further death by passing this resolution Let us make it clear that santa cruz just like so many other neighboring cities in the us such as oakland and santa cruz In san francisco and as well as globally which does not support the horrific destruction of human life There's a saying from the torah that states if you save a life you save the world I urge you to do the bare minimum and pass this resolution and I ask what do you want your legacy to be? Thank you and free palestine I'm going to take just a second here procedurally Following this item this evening on our regular agenda. We have an appeal item in front of us on a completely separate matter and Given what it looks like in terms of how many people may want to testify both online and in person Anyone who is Following our council meeting tonight online We will be taking item 30 And continuing that item for two weeks time So that we can hear that item somewhat earlier in the evening the next time This item is in front of us this item being that the appeal which is item 30 We will now continue on with item 29 and Good evening. Welcome Good evening city council, my name is ellen garfield I've lived in santa cruz for 18 years. I'm a jew and I'm a registered voter in district four I'm also a licensed psychotherapist and work extensively with children diagnosed with ptsd I as well. I'm here with my colleagues of santa cruz mental health professionals for palestine Over a hundred of us signed and delivered a letter to you calling for you to pass a ceasefire resolution Without removing the word ceasefire As someone who studies trauma I know that growing up surrounded by violence causes a plethora of disturbing symptoms and kids such as nightmares self-harm and suicidality Learning problems and long-term health problems unless they're given a chance to recover Children in war zones oftentimes can't process their experiences as the adults in their lives are in a constant state of fight flight or freeze A permanent ceasefire is the first step of many to allow palestinian children a chance at a normal life While this genocide is still happening the vicarious trauma experienced by those witnessing this widespread horror is Staggering and has been compounded by our government leader silence This is especially true for muslim palestinian and non zionist jewish community members here in santa cruz By passing a resolution for a ceasefire you have the opportunity to instill hope in our community City council members you have the power to make a major difference in children's lives across the globe By applying pressure on our government to stop funding this mass atrocity I believe in you all and know you can find the courage to take action in this matter And as a jew Acting in your power to stop this senseless massacre is not anti-semitic. It's honorable Next person online. Good evening and welcome Hello, my name is samina usman, and I urge you to pass a resolution Calling for a ceasefire with no amendment To aid we must stand firmly Against this genocide that's happening within our midst. We are we are witness. We're bearing witness to this static occurring When you have over 30 000 people who have been murdered in god that This is genocide when you have hospitals mosques churches and and um hospitals and and numerous Civilian locations such as schools being bombed. This is an act of genocide when you have over a thousand children Who have been forced to endure? Amputations without any anesthesia. This is genocide. We call and urge you to please speak for justice Santa Cruz has a long history of seeing out against these type of injustices And so we we urge you to do this today. Please please vote in favor of the ceasefire revolution Thank you. Thank you Good evening. Welcome Good evening. Thank you. My name is lisa ward I'm I work in santa Cruz as a trauma informed psychotherapist calling for a ceasefire I am a jewish member of santa Cruz mental health professionals for palestine and also palestinian support central coast My son is currently living in israel and i am deeply concerned for his safety with this war raging on Long after worldwide calls and protests to stop the massive killing of palestinians As a therapist and a jew i am keenly aware of the generational trauma jews experience As well as the need to secure safety However, as a non zionist jew, I plead Peaceful measures to secure safety without killing and to remember the jewish call that not again means not again for anyone I do not believe that continued warfare by israel is going to secure safety for the jewish people But will instead further perpetrate growing international trauma for palestinian intergenerational trauma for palestinians And arabs that will fuel hatred and desire for revenge toward israel and the us making us all unsafe I have watched daily coverage in gaza and absolute horror as children and families have been relentlessly bombed and killed I cannot understand how the world is continuing to let this happen We are all watching and lifetime as whole families are being eradicated Daily we see babies and children being pulled out from the rubble tears streamed down from my face In deep grief every morning watching and listening to the stories If this were happening and our santa cruz If this were happening in santa cruz, surely our government would step in to take actions to protect its people We are your people and we are calling for a ceasefire now Calling for a ceasefire is not anti-semitic It is not divisive. It is a necessary life-saving measure Thank you. Thank you Good evening person online. Welcome to the council meeting. Good evening. Hello. Hello. We can hear you. Welcome My name is Nicole and I am a proud member of our local jewish community Let me first thank you for the hard work that you do My grief and empathy extend to all innocent victims of the war between israel and hamas. I support peace and coexistence The resolution 29 was no doubt drafted with the best of intentions, but in its current state it does not serve our local community Even the mere suggestion of drafting this resolution has exponentially increased tensions and divisions in our community And has further exacerbated anti-semitism and Islamophobia While I have experienced anti-semitism firsthand many times in my life prior to october 7th It pales in comparison to the trauma and anxiety I haven't continued to experience since and frankly this process right here contributes to it This resolution fails to recognize the complexities regarding a ceasefire Hamas is a religious extremist terrorist organization with a clear mission to eliminate not just the state of israel But the jewish people as a whole and western culture after that which they have not been shy about stating publicly They will repeat october 7th again and again A permanent ceasefire requires two parties to agree Hamas's leadership has rejected every offer of a permanent ceasefire and after 94 days are still holding 129 hostages This resolution is controversial performative symbolic and non actionable I question the motivation behind anyone focusing on this particular conflict amidst the many other global conflicts involving severe human rights violations Please vote no on resolution 29 or any other resolution that highlights the war between israel and hamas Please do not engage in actions that will cause further divisions in our community. Thank you very much. Thank you Good evening welcome That's been really hard to hold and I walk over and somebody handed it to me and it's Really hard to see and that's unfortunately what's happening right now Um, hi city council. My name is matthi. I am a resident and voter in santa cruz um I'm in full support of a ceasefire with humanitarian aid I do not need to detail the suffering of the people the palestinian people I know you've seen the genocide occur in real time in the last meeting I heard a lot of resistance coming from the sentiment of global politics has no place in the city council politics Unfortunately, we don't have the option to take that stance our tax dollars are funding this genocide And the community year present is outside and inside asking you to support a ceasefire It is currently affecting the community year present and that is why we have all waited here to speak with you to Demand a ceasefire We cannot continue to let the palestinian people suffer in silence Injustice must be heard if there is even a slightest chance that your support for a ceasefire resolution Could help ease the suffering of a war that is being funded by us tax dollars Is that one small drop of hope not enough? Would you would you have not wanted someone to stand with you in your time of suffering? Please support a ceasefire. Thank you. Thank you Good evening the next person online. Welcome to the council meeting Good evening. Good evening. Hello We can hear you Oh, thank you Hello, my name is Nadat. Mr. Wea and I am a palestinian american residing in oakland california The town has proudly and bravely passed a ceasefire resolution As did riskman first and san francisco death today In the past ten years i've visited stana cruz Ella times and i've actually brought every single domestic and international plan to santa cruz when they visited me My godson's first steps were in the ocean in santa cruz When he was just a few months old so santa cruz is a special place for me So thank you for listening I am calling on you to pass item 29 The ceasefire resolution as is and reject any harmful amendments or substitute resolutions that will incite more violence in our community I'm surprised that so many say that this is not a local issue However, santa cruz sadly sends over 800 and seven thousand dollars a year to slaughter children in gaza This is a local issue because already a six year old palestinian american boy Was stabbed dead 26 towns here in the united states This is a local issue because you are elected Representative and as i hear all your constituents for hours now You must represent those that have entrusted you with that privilege richmond oakland davis San francisco Long beach among others have stood on the side of humanity If santa cruz doesn't directly call for a ceasefire It will fail to add its voice And the voice of our constituents to the unified and international That is calling for an immediate ceasefire and child's die A ceasefire Please vote yes on a ceasefire now So I can again vacation on the shores of santa cruz where I know I will be safe I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak and I hope we all get to vacation On the shores of gaza one day in a free palestine from the river to the sea. Thank you Good evening and welcome. Hi. Hi. My name is Lauren I don't think that hamas a fanatical religious organization Is going to heed the wishes of liberal santa cruz's call for a ceasefire Nor for that matter will net and yahoo Rather let's protect and support our citizens locally After 9 11 This community came together to do that with our muslim neighbors After george floyd we spoke up about the abject disproportionate treatment of the black community Yet after hamas savagely butchered israelis most who were living in kubitsi kibitsi Centered around peaceful coexistence and young adults at a music festival Where was our outrage for using raped dehumanized torture and kill israeli women? Where was the outrage for beheading babies? Where was the outrage when it was shown on hamas terrorist go pros? Families bound together and burned alive To remind jews that the evil that existed during the holocaust is still with us I'm afraid that the resolution being proposed will continue to conflate and blur the lines between israel's absolute need to wipe out hamas and anti-semitism Why were there protesters downtown jaren hanukkah when families with young children were lighting the menorah? If you were one of those protesters you weren't condemning the war You were showing your desire to obliterate the jewish community. Please vote no Next person online. Good evening. Welcome to the council meeting Hello, can you hear me? Yes, we can certainly hear you and welcome Hi, my name is elaine. Um, I've been a resident of santa cruz county my whole life I graduated from ucsc and now I work in the city um I'm here To support passing the ceasefire resolution And keeping the clear calls to denounce the violence by israel I'm jewish and I feel strongly that israel Does not represent me This resolution should remain clear to denounce the 75 years of violent occupation In addition, it's important to keep the calls for humanitarian aid and be very clear with the term ceasefire We need to recognize the humanity of people in palestine I want to stress that there was not peace before october 7th. There was violent occupation And several years ago when I learned of israel's crimes. It was a horrifying realization to see this done in my name um So this resolution as it stands Is an important step to show that we do not support sending weapons and funding for genocide And I also want to say thank you for putting this resolution on the agenda Thank you to council members brunner and brown for your work in writing it Um, and please pass it as it is. Thank you Thank you Good evening. Welcome I'm rabbi richard with that. I've been a resident of stanokrews for over 45 years and I am here to call upon you to reject this resolution to vote it down There's a reason why 85 percent of american jews are against a ceasefire A ceasefire will have the effect of preserving hamas as a military power That can continue to control gaza From the days that they seized power in 2007 They have used gaza As a launching pad for their efforts to destroy the state of israel You can read their covenant They say very plainly Their goal is to kill and murder israelis and to end the jewish state Return it to palestine all of palestine to palestine This is not a group that supports a two-state solution It's a group that's dedicated to destroying the state of israel If you read their covenant, they also say that they're dedicated to killing all jews as a part of jihad And it's not metaphorical Read their covenant. It says kill murder These are words of violence that they have carried out upon the jewish people Since 2007 It's not surprising that The people of gaza are suffering, but it's not because israel just decided to attack them It's because hamas watched thousands of rockets against israeli civilians And committed atrocities that are uh unspeakable They did this because They wanted to draw israelis into a battle a battle which they very nefariously structured By putting all their forces in the middle of civilian populations and underneath them So that they would absolutely force israelis and when they were defending themselves against these attacks To fight in these areas in the midst of the civilian population It's terrible and I think that all of us feel The outrage, but we have to hold hamas responsible And there's no mention of hamas being the main reason for This tragedies in gaza. Thank you. Thank you Next person online. Good evening. Welcome Next person online. Good evening Hello, hello. We can hear you council members for your patience and stamina and openness To hearing your constituents. I'm rabbi debbie israel and i'm a community rabbi in santa cruz I want to express my opposition to this resolution Those who are asking for a ceasefire need to understand And appreciate that from experience. We know hamas does not honor ceasefires In fact, october 7th was a broken ceasefire and a hamas officials said later They would do october 7th over and over and over The hamas covenant talks about the obliteration of israel And about killing the jews when israel struck back the killers dispersed to the safety of their multibillion dollar tunnel system Burrowed below residences Hospitals mass schools and u.n. Facilities. Please do not be misled and artificial ceasefire only benefits hamas terrace I quote u.s. Secretary of State Anthony blinkin We believe that israel has not only a right but also an obligation To defend itself and to try to make sure that october 7th never happens again I hear virtually no one demanding a hamas that it surrender This is over tomorrow with hamas does that? How can it be that there are no demands made of the aggressor and only demands made of the victims? Resolutions like these are meant to send a message to our santa cruz residents And I hear the message loud and clear I recognize anti-semitism when I see it as people against this resolution leave your chambers They are subjected to abusive language in spite of saying to you that it is not divisive They criticize israel but ignore hamas or trust They are silent about civil wars raging in syria, yemen and sudana Continue to escalate in the bay area We need to remind the council that the introduction of any resolution about hamas and israel Will only further inflame tensions and create a form for hate. Thank you so much Good evening Hello My name is rachel norris, and I have been a resident of santa cruz for over 20 years First and foremost, I urge that you oppose the city council's resolution Entitled affirming commitment and support for a ceasefire I have a personal connection to israel as i have lived there and have also visited many times I have friends and family who currently reside in israel I was deeply disturbed by what took place on october 7th And what took place in our country soon after The anti-semitism the calling for the genocide of the jewish people And the endless anti-semitism anti-semitism on our college campuses It has been unrelenting and a punch to my gut on a daily basis I have not been able to truly excel since october 7th. Please respect Members of this city council, please understand that this resolution that has been set for does not invite peace and dialogue It only divides us further This resolution does not explain the very sensitive intricacies of the israel and hamas war And this resolution definitely does not discuss that the terrorist group hamas Intentionally entered israel and murdered women children elders and entire families Hamas has only one mission and that is to eliminate the jewish people. This is their end goal Israel has a right to defend herself and will always have this right This resolution does not discuss important issues such as anti-semitism islamophobia The safety of our members in this community a call for a permanent ceasefire does not guarantee The safety of our community. It only hurts us and will divide us even more A permanent ceasefire only threatens israel security and those that reside there Please vote no on this resolution regarding the israel hamas conflict And so please remain focused on how we can bring our community together peacefully Good evening. Welcome. Good evening Next person online. Good evening We'll skip over that. Please come forward. Good evening. Welcome My name is christine hong. I'm faculty at uc santa cruz and i'm a local registered voter Time is not on the side of the palestinian people who are on the receiving end of israeli state Violence the resolution that you are considering is of the utmost urgency Through our tax dollars really anyone who pays taxes that is where the local is Intimately connected with u.s. Foreign policy including its Unqualified support for israeli state militarism And through that globally far-reaching infrastructure of imperial violence that this country is essential to you We are deeply complicit in the genocide that israel is committing in gaza Whatever our personal politics We are structurally accountable for the world destroying violence of a war machine that has left over 1,000 and counting palestinians dead and this is not an elective matter As people as americans we are compelled to account for israeli's annihilation of palestinian My daughter is with me Even as i do not force any images on her they are ubiquitous right now I was working on my computer. She came up behind me She saw that i was reading a news article and she pointed to the photograph and she said What is that? and what i said was hunter That is a dead palestinian child Who has been killed by israel? There is no answer sufficient to answer the next to answer the question she posed next which was why I want to say something I'm korean-american In the middle part of the 20th century few people spoke out against us armed intervention in korea Even though it resulted in the deaths of Four million korean people the vast majority of whom were civilians and this was through what scholars have called a bombing holocaust One there were people who did and one of them was paul robison the great black activist thinker and Musical artist and what he said was he Let me just ask you to be kind enough to wrap it up. Thank you He challenged arm intervention in korea and he said We should not act in meek conformity americans shouldn't act in meek conformity with the policies of the war minded The racists and the rich are you about finished? I'm done. I'm going to say this which is just this I'm asking you I'm asking you Not align yourself with the war minded the racists and the rich microphone. Thank you Next person online Welcome Hello, can you hear me? Yes Thank you for the opportunity to speak My name is aria brown I'm a registered voter in the city of santa cruz I'm a caregiver who cares for all people I'm calling on you to pass item c9 The ceasefire resolution on without amendments. It must entail permanent and immediate ceasefire The release of all hostages Unrestricted humanitarian aid in degaza and respect for international law We refuse to fund genocide and we urge you to raise our community voices to state and federal levels Santa Cruz must unite under peace There must be a ceasefire. I hear the fear and heartbreak and everyone's voice But two wrongs do not make a right We must have empathy for everyone's fear amid this conflict But move forward with bravery that our voices can help achieve peace We are all human family and we cannot forget this. We are all connected Violence only begets more violence and we must make the cycle cycle with a ceasefire. Thank you Next person in line. Good evening. Welcome I support the ceasefire resolution exactly as it is written because the only thing allowing me to be here today The only thing separating me from a palestinian child is this is the circumstances of our birth I'm a junior at santa cruz high school. And when we had a serious school shooting threat last year What seemed like every single cop car in santa cruz Immediately responded and worked for hours to ensure the safety of every one of us The now more than 10 000 palestinian children murdered and thousands more buried under the rubble and gauze since october 7th Is comparable to the number total number of students enrolled in public school in the entirety of santa cruz county I hope that i'm right to believe that the santa cruz that raised me sees palestinian children as worthy of life as me I hope you will have the courage to affirm that the value of a human life transcends borders and understand not only We have an obligation to the protection of and unity of palestinian people as americans whose tax money and government is funding and supporting this General genocidal occupation, but also to our own community I hope that from your place of privilege in america you will use this opportunity to condemn colonial violence and begin to reconcile santa cruz's own history as a mission town and show your dedication to the livelihoods of all occupied people to the Waswas speaking aloney people who Faced the same colonial violence on this soil and to every one of us here today and join the thousands of your constituents along with global human rights Organizations and calling for a permanent ceasefire. Thank you for your time Okay, now this will be the sixth time i've tried this We're gonna hear from everybody for two minutes Whether you're here in person or you're online, however long that takes tonight We are modeling the behavior for you that we expect Which is to say We are listening to each and every one of you respectfully without comment Without cheering or booing Without hand gestures or eye rolling We listened to each one of you. We would ask you to extend that to each other And we would ask you to extend that to us This is the sixth and final time i'll mention this If i have to gavel this to order again I will clear the room and we will take one person at a time into the council chambers. This is on you Next person online My name is heather and i'm a community member As the child of people who fled an oppressive colonial regime I wholeheartedly support the call for a ceasefire and I implore that the council passes resolution as is We need to send a message to our federal government that genocide is not acceptable anywhere and end the siege on gaza now I want to ensure that our taxpayer money is going towards the betterment of the world and our communities Rather than harming and killing palestinians We must send a strong statement to others in the city join hands with those in richmond oakland davis in san francisco Who have passed ceasefire resolutions as well as beyond that we do not support genocide It is up to both of us both voters and council members to join hands with our communities to end the violence and genocide in gaza This is a humanitarian issue. No more palestinian lives should be lost ceasefire now and long lives in tefada. Thank you Please come forward Good evening and welcome Hi, i'm jody reicher a santa cruz resident and registered voter Thank you for the opportunity to speak today I am confident that after this meeting you will take action to reduce the violence and injustice Devastating not only the people of gaza, but also palestinians muslims and jews everywhere I'm here to respectfully demand that city council pass the ceasefire resolution without omitting the word ceasefire and Without putting conditions on humanitarian aid And without and to reject any amendments denouncing the violence by the hamas without also Denouncing the 75 years of violence and occupation by israel against the palestinian people 160 palestinian children are dying every day. I know it's been said already, but it needs to be repeated until we all listen And those of you on your phones. Are you listening? That's a child every 10 minutes It's like 8 30 now that means more than 20 children have died since this meeting started We must act now I come to you as a descendant of jews who are murdered in the holocaust A horror that we must do whatever we can to ensure that it is never repeated Against any group of people and I hope we can at least unite In agreeing in that to make that effort I also come to you as an instructor and I fear for the safety and well-being of all my students It is my duty to stand for what I believe in Even when it is difficult and to model the courage that I hope to inspire in my students to stand against violence Against any group whether they are member of that group or not and to speak up for those who have been silenced I appreciate that you have a difficult decision to make and your bravery will make a difference. Thank you We'll take the next person online. Good evening. Welcome Next person online. Good evening and welcome Yes, uh, my name is anthony I'm an arab-american. I'm a resident A voter and a scientist in santa cruz I was raised christian in a muslim town Every year here in california I spend Passover with Jewish folks who I consider to be closer to me than my family None of this should matter as to my stance for supporting the dignity of human life I'm calling for the city council to pass the ceasefire resolution And to pass it with no further amendments This is not an issue of partisanship Muslims or Arabs versus jews This is an issue of occupation and genocide and remaining silent on this matter is not neutral This is our chance to speak up for humans whose voices have been silenced for decades It is also just as important in our own community We've all witnessed the anti-arab sentiment present in the room with us today And this makes it more even more important for us to pass this resolution. Thank you Welcome Good evening council members I just wanted to thank you all for your patience and also give a shout out to the People who have been waiting for four hours outside in the cold Um, I just wanted to thank you for your time. My name is Fatima And i'm a mother to a three-year-old daughter and a human I'm here to ask you to pass item 29 to this the ceasefire resolution without amendment I have called my senators congressman and even went to dc to speak to congressman panetta in person And i'm exhausted that my calls for a ceasefire have been ignored Each night I see a new video of a child in gaza wounded or burned Desperately searching for their mother and I cannot help but see my own child in their eyes 2.3 million people. This is not just hamas have been cut off from food water and electricity Disease is now rampant. There's starvation setting in Over 800 thousand dollars. You've already heard this of santa cruz residents tax dollars Go directly to fund the israeli military. Nothing goes to hamas This money could be used for greater local housing paying teachers bigger salaries Like repairing storm Damage or whatever, you know like anything but not killing babies that remind me of my own babies South africa supported by nearly a dozen countries has brought a case accusing israel of genocide If found guilty the united states will will stand criminally complicit Due to the sheer amount of money and artillery artillery supply to israel by us citizen tax dollars As council members you face the difficult task of representing And leading our community 30 000 innocent people have been killed I am asking you to have the leadership and courage to demand that our tax dollars not be used To kill to kill additional lives. I thank you all. Thank you Good evening. Welcome next person in line who is with us. Please come forward. Good evening. Welcome Hello, my name is my name is lee I'm calling on you to please pass the The resolution without amendment I think both my daughter and I as well as my wife Believe strongly that that this is something that is very clear. It's very clear It's not that it's not a battle between hamas and israel It is israel using force to commit genocide to wipe out 2.3 million people or displace them That is the intent. This didn't start on october 7th Many of you on this this esteem council are old enough to know what the engine to remember jimmy carter as president He wrote a great book called palestine peace or apartheid. This isn't a new issue But what is new is the extreme violence used against children And we need to end that and if you could ask yourself Where were you on the other clear points in history where there was some debate? But in hindsight, it's so clear what the answer is This is one of those moments. You don't have to see the videos to know What it's like to see a child asking for their mother What it's like to see a burned body These are not terrorists. These are civilians And it's our weapons and our tax dollars that are being used against them and that needs to stop Thank you. Thank you Good evening. Welcome to the council meeting Next person online. Good evening. It's not your turn yet Hey, good evening. Can you hear me? Not your turn yet Yes, the person online Welcome Thank you so much and I deeply appreciate your time and attention. My name is aliza ballantine I moved to santa cruz in 2015 and I am a mother of two and a psychotherapist at panth I am here with my colleagues from the santa cruz mental health professionals for palestine a group of over 100 mental health professionals in santa cruz county advocating for immediate ceasefire Our shared humanity matters. The bloodshed in israel and gaza has activated wounds that are centuries old I condemn hamas. I condemn the october 7th attacks. I want the hostages returned I want to be very clear that none of us in this room support the eradication of jews And I also want to be clear that nothing Nothing Justifies the killing of over 20,000 innocent civilians over one over 10,000 palestinian children have been killed Buried under revel suffocated A thousand palestinian Children have lost limbs 1.9 million palestinians have been displaced in recent months As a mother and psychotherapist my heart is breaking over and over and over again We need you our local leaders to acknowledge that the relentless bombing of gaza funded by our tax dollars is unequivocally not okay Jews and arabes alike deserve to feel safe in our community We are all being traumatized watching this unfold on our screens But can you imagine what it's actually like to be a child in gaza now? I implore you to stand on the right side of history and vote to approve the ceasefire resolution And I will remind you that israel's violence Occurred long before october 7th. It is not divisive To advocate for the sanctity of human life and we should all be able to unify around the idea that An innocent civilians is wrong Please be courageous and pass this resolution as it stands. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening. So now it's your turn Welcome Good evening. Mayor kealy and members of the council. My name is ray Diaz. I'm a student at uc santa cruz and a resident and a voting voting member of the city and a resident of district five I'm calling and urging the santa cruz city council to pass a ceasefire resolution on today's agenda And reject harmful amendments or substitute resolutions that set out or remove the word ceasefire Condition humanitarian aid denounced violence by hamas without denouncing 75 years of continued extreme violence and occupation by the state of israel And when we talk about decorum and when we talk about respect You know, I see one council member who is not even on the dais And I see council members who are standing up walking behind And so to me that is a lack of respect to the constituents of this city And also to the members who came to this meeting who are standing four hours outside in the cold right now as we speak And so if we're going to talk about respect in decorum Then I urge the rest of the members of this council Listen to the constituents of the city and listen to the residents who are talking. So thank you very much. Um, and have a good rest of your night Who is online welcome and good evening We'll take the next person who's with us. Good evening and welcome. Good evening As a registered voter santa cruz I'm calling on y'all to pass item 29 the ceasefire resolution But as it stands with no changes And I would like y'all to keep in mind that the gaza strip is 25 miles long um, that's approximately The distance from here to salinas Okay, we could see that on a clear day And that area of land For us, there is about 300 000 people that occupy that area land in gaza. It is 2 million people who have experienced non-stop bombing for three months The displacements are measured in the millions of people The casualties are measured in the thousands The amount of bombs used are measured They're measured And the amount as the equivalency of nuclear bombs. All right This is we have to call this what it is is it's not a war. All right. This is terrorism. That's genocide right And there is really no justification to this sound thing And for the calls to return hostages home Um, I don't I don't know how you can support not support a ceasefire when it comes to returning hostages because I don't know how they look at people being pulled from under the rebel the rebel and don't picture Other you feel me hostages under the rebel as well You feel me? This is the fate that I see being decided Not only the fate of palestinians, but the hostages that people wish to be released as well These the ceasefire is an integral part of this as well. All right. Thank y'all. Thank you Good evening. Welcome to the council meeting Next person online. Good evening Yes, my name is Gregory fix You to pass the resolution calling for a ceasefire It's not a war. It's a genocide. It's collective punishment paid for by our own tax dollars 2,000 pound bombs wiping out entire families indiscriminately It's a graveyard for children 10,000 dead children so Yeah, it's not a war. It's a straight up genocide. It's a straight up holocaust happening and we're paying for it So please pass the ceasefire resolution. Thank you. Good evening Welcome Good evening. I'm sorry. I'm my voice is kind of on its last leg. So I'm going to do my best My name is Camila Hawthorne. I'm a Santa Cruz resident and a voter in district two A professor at UC Santa Cruz a member of faculty for justice in Palestine And a member of national alumni for justice in Palestine And I'm also speaking today as I have done before at the same podium as a black woman Which as I've said before means that I feel a moral obligation to stand with oppressed people everywhere And I also speak as someone with muslim family and family from the swanah region I am calling on you our council members to hear the overwhelming support of your community your constituents For the ceasefire resolution and to vote yes for this resolution as is without amendments You are our elected officials and your job is to represent us. So please listen This resolution was crafted through a democratic deliberative process of negotiation with input from many different community Stakeholders organizations and groups representing diverse perspectives It was a product of intense negotiation compromise and community dialogue And we should respect the process into which so many have invested time and emotional energy over the last month and through the holidays I have heard concerns this evening that a ceasefire resolution is divisive Nothing could be further from the truth This resolution explicitly stands against violence and hate and calls for dialogue across backgrounds and faiths I also have heard from both sides of this issue calls for peace But here's the thing Armed retaliation against a trap civilian population is not peace The monitoring and surveillance of humanitarian aid to a population that has been cut off from medical supplies Sanitation food clean water is not a path to peace But a ceasefire is it is the condition of possibility under which peace can flourish I urge you to reject amendments and subst and substitute resolutions and pass this resolution as is We have an opportunity to stand on the right side of history. Please do the right thing. Thank you Good evening, welcome to the city council meeting Can you hear me? Yes, we can and welcome Thank you. My name is Darcy Kavanaugh. And um, I want to thank you guys for your service and also your openness to this dialogue Um, your Your presence and listening is deeply appreciated Um, I'm speaking in support of resolution 29 for a ceasefire with the specific usage of the word ceasefire I'm a local marriage and family therapist and member of santa cruz mental health professionals for palestine And most importantly, I am a mother And gods are right now since october 7th doctors without borders Estimate that over a hundred children are being killed by israeli attacks every day As we know and have heard repeatedly This violence is being directly funded by our tax dollars santa cruz tax dollars 100 innocent children every day We know that the world is on fire and there are crises everywhere And it's really easy to feel paralyzed by helplessness by this complexity by fear By not wanting to diminish the suffering of israelis and the horrific attacks by hamas on october 7th that I fully condemn But our silence santa cruz county our silence is complicity So let's acknowledge the horror of hamas attacks and also implement resolution 29 In doing so, I hope that we can bring hope into action And inform both our county santa cruz county our the state of california and the country america So we choose to use our voices in support of those who cannot speak for themselves right now Those who need us most right now the children of gaza Many consider santa cruz to be a sanctuary city and with that we hold great privilege And within the safety of our lives here and now there is a deep responsibility to Respond to what we are witnessing It takes a lot of courage and I don't pretend to know what you're holding in holding this So I hope that you can choose to be part of this message of hope. Thank you so much. Thank you very much Welcome Thank you. Um, I've never used a microphone before. This is crazy Okay, thank you So, uh, I just have a few words Firstly, I just want to say there can be no peace without justice We know that we know that from history and both peace and justice must begin with a ceasefire now Passing item 29 without amendments will be an act of solidarity if nothing else um And an act of solidarity in our community is a unifying action I want to speak from my heart and echo what's the words of so many others in this room who have called for the ceasefire and support For humanitarian aid to the people of gaza Our communities here in santa cruz and beyond have been calling for a ceasefire for claiming loudly that we Support the end of brutality and suffering suffering in gaza at the hands of the israeli government With support of the united states with our taxes The voices of the people must not only be heard, but they must be listened to and acted upon The thousands of lives that have been lost weigh so terribly on my heart And the importance of safeguarding this precious vital lives of human beings is something that we all can agree on when we're talking about this we all agree when we're talking But actually passing the resolution is allowing you and all of us to show our solidarity and unify In the fight for the well-being and the liberation of all people and I think We all know what we have to do. Thank you. Thank you Next person online. Good evening. Welcome to the council meeting. Good evening. Hello. Thank you. Can you hear me? Yes, we can and welcome Hi, my name is Naomi I am a member of the east bay democratic socialist of america And to those who say that this is not a local issue I feel like you're ignoring the fact that we exist in a globalized world that has something called international trade and global supply chains of which Santa Cruz is one link So our workers You know work on the technology that is used by the israeli state both to Surveil and to control Palestinian population the weapons come out of our ports This is not something that is separate from us um And you know we as workers also have power ourselves That we can build through our unions that we can build through organizing together I know probably a lot of you don't like coming to these Also meetings to beg for what little scraps you can get From your elected officials. I don't either All the more reason to organize Um, so if you are in a union, um, and you know other folks who are You know, we're demanding a ceasefire as well Um, work with them put a resolution forward You know get some motion going there the fact that y'all have assembled here in the first place To the testament to the power that we have when we come together and we work It's not a small task, but it's one that Um, you know It's one that we can do it's one that we can do Um, ceasefire now pass the resolution But let's keep organizing Thank you welcome Hello, thank you to all the council members and the people who are here today My name is geritao her. I'm the student government representative from john r lewis college of uc santa cruz I am the daughter of mong refugees from the vietnam war Now many of you may not know who the mong people are and that is because when there was violence against us people were silent But as a mong person, I believe that we should never be silent ever when there is When there is travesty in the world My own family was caught in the midst of war and barely made it out alive losing many family members Who should have been here today? I would have loved to meet them In palestine the same thing is happening. We are losing family friends and culture that can never be recovered I urge Each and every one of these council members to pass the ceasefire resolution for palestine Because santa cruz is not a tiny city next to the sea. It is a mighty city next to the sea Our voice here matters In the palestinian people. I see my own family I see innocent people being killed and punished for nothing But I see something else too That is the hope of the city of santa cruz and this council who is capable of not only changing the city But changing the world by passing item 29. Thank you Next person online. Good evening and welcome to the city council meeting Good evening Next person online. Good evening. Hello. Hi. Good evening. We can hear you and welcome to the council meeting Hi. Thanks for having me. I was just having dinner with my my gauze and family members here and uh You know, this has been in the background instead of a football game or Or something else. So just know that this is very very important to us Everyone in this community and everyone around you. I just wanted to tell you guys a story of the unity of this community I've visited and lived in both Jerusalem and in Haifa for a very very long time And I have not met as many people of Jewish descent as I have In this community and with this motion Part of the moderate the central coast solidarity And people in your presence right now So to say that this is divisive is incredibly incredibly frustrating knowing that You know, this is an apartheid state that we're talking about and if I can't make Jewish friends in Israel And I can hear then we have a problem And it's a big problem at that Um, and so yeah, thank you everyone for your time and we hope to have a resolution passed Thank you Good evening. Welcome. Good evening. Good evening. Let's take a breath Now let's think of the 21 978 Palestinians who can't My name is chris garcia and I am here alongside many other passionate dedicated And devastated individuals who are urgently calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire It is important for us to remember that the occupation of Palestine is intrinsically Intertwined with every movement towards liberation and sovereignty for all oppressed and occupied people This ceasefire resolution Directly addresses the urgency of our responsibility to stand unified for justice and against genocide and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians It is also critical to pass this ceasefire resolution to ensure our Palestinian Arab and muslim community members including Jewish community members Ultimately feel safe through communal solidarity that their lives are protected and sacred I want to conclude my statement with a few lines from a prayer written by Rovina Khalid a Pakistani-american the prayer reads as follows I want to live in a world where Palestinian men grow old Amidst the laughter of their children and grandchildren Where they sleep deeply in a quiet night secure that the walls won't crash down upon them Where the only thing they must dig out of the dirt are flowers or vegetables things of beauty and nourishment I have to believe this will happen. I need us to fight for a world where this will happen That concludes the end of the prayer I also have to believe that this will happen and with your support of passing this unamended ceasefire resolution It can free Palestine. Thank you Next person online. Good evening. Welcome to the city council meeting person online. Good evening Hi, can you hear me? Yes, we can welcome to the council. Wonderful. Um, thank you so much for letting me speak My name is Eden Mendel. I'm the descendant of Holocaust victims and refugees of pogroms in Eastern Europe I'm a Santa Cruz resident and an anti defamation league board member Since 1913 the ADL has been dedicated to ending the defamation of the Jewish people And ensuring justice and fair treatment for all I urge you to vote against resolution 29 the ceasefire resolution The local resolution will do nothing to help Palestinian Zangaza or his release. It blithely ignores complex geopolitical factors Influencing the hotbed in the Middle East Including the cold war between Iran and Saudi Arabia Hezbollah's recent entry into the war and most importantly Hamas's refusal to surrender and release all of the hostages These hostages include women who are being brutalized, starved and kept underground and men Hamas started this war because as they admitted they thought it would start a regional war And they were trying to undermine any normalization between Saudi Arabia and israel. Hamas could end the war tomorrow Permanent ceasefire by surrendering and returning the hostages. They are not interested in peace They are not a partner for peace. They are interested in continuing hostilities in order to destabilize the region And why focus on this particular tragedy? If the council is suddenly stepping into global politics Why should we start with the most complex region? Why the obsession with this tiny Jewish state among the other Middle East crises going on? Or surely Ukraine or Sudan would be simpler Continue passing of poorly thought resolutions such as this Only fuels divisions within our communities and hatred against jews, which is growing Astronomically due to the blind acceptance of Hamas propaganda The very conspicuous submission of any mention of october 7th and the atrocities committed by Hamas In this resolution makes it very clear that jewish lives were not considered by the framers The casual misuse of words such as genocide zinism and apartheid that this hearing alone is telling The jews community has been traumatized by the events of october 7th But even more by the response of people we believed were our allies on the left We feel alone and we will never be the same. This is the first time in my lifetime I do not feel safe as a jew in the united states and this whole resolution process has added to my family's insecurity I ask that santa cruz lead the progressive charge against the normalization of jew hatred and stop If you insist on a resolution related to the Middle east then focus on one that calls for peacebuilding education And ensuring that all people feel safe and secure in our community. Thank you so much. Thank you Peter good evening. Welcome. Good evening. My name is peter klotz chamberland a city resident speaking for myself I imagine every each one of us hope that everybody here would unite behind common values of peace We are united in heartbreak Every death in this catastrophe is heartbreaking While voicing concern for peace our member of congress votes to send missiles and bombs to the government of israel The prime minister of israel has said this killing is going to go on for a long time Until he eliminates hamas But he can't eliminate the palestinian desire and need for freedom and liberation I'm not defending hamas when I say that palestinian people like people everywhere will continue to resist occupation I do not justify the murders in hostage taking by some palestinians on october 7th Can any of us really justify the murders of 30 000 palestinians since then 11 000 children 95 percent of the deaths in this catastrophe are palestinians This is not national defense. This is genocide When will the u.s at israel recognize that more weapons do not bring security american hero dr Martin Luther king said violence begets more violence Doesn't this catastrophe teach us the reality of that? A nonviolent way of peacemaking is first about what each of us can do from our capacities and in our roles What you can do is use your elected office to pass this resolution Defining peace as a city where everyone will agree is a false hope The government of israel is not stopping to talk Mass murder continues today I don't support a repeat of october 7th net nyahu is repeating october 8th and 18th every day The u.s is supporting it by the way the government of israel openly opposes a two-state solution Congress members panetta and eshu need your clear support for an immediate Permanent cease fire the children of gaza need it pass this resolution in full tonight. Thank you Good evening, welcome to the city council meeting Hey there, can you hear me? Yes, we can welcome to the council meeting Thank you so much. Hi, my name is kalia and i'm a registered voter in santa cruz And i'm a born and raised santa cruz native who recently moved back to be a part of and serve my community who I love so dearly I'm so moved to hear so many of my fellow community members today showing up for justice And urging the city council to pass the proposed ceasefire resolution as it is Without amendments, which I too ask of the city council I am also a jew and a therapist in our community I have been dedicated to serving those with the least access to therapy and those most impacted by systemic violence throughout my career And I will continue to do so I feel honored every day to get to hear people's stories Stories that have helped me understand and feel on a deep visceral level that hurt breeds more hurt And all of our healing is interconnected As many others have shared today our pain and trauma as jews has been weaponized by people in power And false information campaigns to make us and others around the world Believe that we must harm and expel other people for our own safety This is false History personal experiences and relationships science and many spiritual traditions show us time and time again That the humanity and safety of one person is bound to the humanity and safety of all others Life is bound to life I don't know anyone who supports the ceasefire who does not care about and grieve the loss of any in all life And who does not want safety and peace for all residents of our local and global communities Healing helps people identify more options. There are always more and different options than bombing thousands of innocent people As others have shared tonight many humans rights abuses and issues that we now consider blatant and horrific and obvious We're at one time considered controversial not so long ago Please Please stand for the reputation and reality of Santa Cruz by standing against violence and passing the current ceasefire resolution without amendments Thank you. Thank you Welcome Thank you My name is Shantara Gill. I'm one of the 100 Santa Cruz mental health professionals that did sign the petition to call for an immediate ceasefire Thank you for allowing me to address you today in fervent support of adopting that ceasefire resolution I was actually asked to come speak in front of you all today And I think it's because i'm supposed to remind you all that you have done hard things before You have accessed your values of equity and justice to move into action within this community I have seen it. I have been in leadership dyads with many of you and have witnessed that And I know that many of you have acknowledged that violence as an output strategy to resolve conflict does not lead to an impact of peace So Because of this because this is such a gross infringement of human rights There is actually no middle ground the lines of blurred and the ongoing war has now transcended issues surrounding religion We can no longer look away to be silent on this matter would be considered complicit in an ongoing genocide Since i've been here this evening. I've also heard opposition of this resolution Almost encouraging complicity bringing up syria yemen and sydan as if to say you have ignored so many other world atrocities Ignore this one too. Perhaps this will be the start where we are not silent anymore as a santa Cruz community So be courageous once more Continue to do hard things know that we have your back Ensure that santa Cruz maintains its values of equity and justice for all and listen to the community that's here today demanding a ceasefire I know you already have Please pass this resolution as it is. Thank you The next person online. Good evening. Welcome to the city council meeting Good evening Good evening. My name is camille and I would like to urge you To vote on to pass the ceasefire resolution with as is um, I would like to start by saying that thousand miles journey starts with one step and one voice is enough In order to move to move things forward as long as it's the right voice And I mean like I think rosa parks when she refused to give up her seat in 1955 She did not know that she's gonna kind of like be one of the sparks for a civil rights movement that changed the course of history So we should never ever kind of like say that Yes, it might not I mean voting for the ceasefire resolution It might not really change the reality on the ground But it's a step in the right direction and when we reflect back In history and we look at what we did we know that at least we did the right thing The other thing I wanted to mention that it's not divisive because War is deficit killing innocent people is divisive It's not calling to stop the killing on both sides Calling to release hostages on both sides calling to provide human aid On both to the people who needed the most. This is not really divisive It is it is the right thing to do and it's the human thing to do So The other thing it's kind of like the point of being this is a complicated issue. It's not really complicated Killing civilians and killing innocent people is never complicated. It's wrong and it needs to stop Whoever is doing that they need to stop and there is so much disinformation that is being shared in the meeting today I mean this the killing there has never been a ceasefire if we call the killing of hundreds of palestinians in just the two years prior to I mean what's happened recently And the injuring thousands and jailing thousands if we call that A ceasefire then I don't know what what really In injustice is so I really urge you to pass the ceasefire resolution as is. Thank you for the time. Thank you Good evening and welcome to the council. Good evening My name is jane. I am a voter in district two and the palestinian and granddaughter of survivors of the nekba of 1948 The stories I heard of the nekba echo what I am seeing in raza today massacres force displacement Destruction of homes and land History is repeating itself except this time we the global community are bearing witness I am so grateful to be palestinian Even and especially with the pain that comes with it It has been humbling to watch palestinians on the ground show each other care love protection And showing the world that nothing is more profound than kindness community and fighting for liberation When we bear witness with purpose we start seeing how much of history mirrors itself This is not about just one nation It spans geographical borders and touches every life that yearns for dignity and freedom This is a call that stands against our past aggressions worldwide slavery and jim crow the genocide of six million jews south african apartheid The atrocities against the first nations settler colonization colonization everywhere And this is a call that stands against the current continued systemic injustices To the most marginalized and exploited in our community and across the world This diverse movement that you see here and globally Calling for a ceasefire is a testament testament to that We are all building blocks all directly involved and I hope that this council that represents us is compassionate and brave And can match the care for others that we have seen from the people of reza And with the case of ongoing genocide now brought to the international court of justice in the hag The u.s. Government is directly implicated as we are funding it with american money and american weapons Do we want to be a city that had a chance to choose care and love but chose otherwise? I ask that you pass the resolution as is Please do not dilute it or add coded language. Let the words of the resolution speak truth. Thank you Next person online. Good evening Good evening Good evening My name is julian ward and I live in santa cruz. I'm grateful for this gathering and for you all taking time for this vital issue I won't go into all the reasons you should vote for this ceasefire resolution Which have already been so powerfully articulated by so many people tonight What I would like you to consider are the words left unsaid by those speaking tonight against the resolution What has gone unsaid here has thankfully and despicably been stated very clearly by the people dropping the bonds I will read some quotes This is the war between the sons of light and the sons of darkness We will not let up on our mission until the light overcomes the darkness The good will defeat the extreme evil that threatens us and the entire world We're facing monsters Monsters who murdered children in front of their parents. This is a battle not only of israel against these barbarians It's a battle of civilization against barbarism That was the prime minister israel Another quote It's an entire nation out there that is responsible. It's not true this rhetoric about civilians not aware not involved We will fight until we break their backbone That is from the president of israel So more quotes We are imposing a complete siege on gaza. No electricity. No food. No water. No fuel Everything is closed. We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly That is from the israeli minister of defense these words and many many more were compiled in the 84 page report Filed by south africa in the international court of justice accusing israel of genocide I ask is that the side you want to be on the side of genocide? The side of breaking the backbones of the people and the side of removing all restrictions against the occupying forces I don't believe you do if you want to be on the side of peace Vote as san francisco did today in favor of this vital ceasefire resolution ceasefire now Good evening. Welcome My name is tenaya schner. I'm a city of santa cruse resident and voter um, and just really want to thank y'all for your Endurance and your presence with us and you're listening. I know it's a long night. I'm also very hungry and thirsty I am standing here to support um, the ceasefire resolution As it is and really want to thank council members brown and brunner for Collaborating with the community to make that happen um, I think you know, it's like as As we're hearing tonight The electorate is speaking of course right through us I am a mental health professional here in santa cruse county. I'm an occupational therapist. I work with elders in our community Um, and I am aware of how deep-seated trauma from childhood echoes throughout the lifespan And throughout our communities in ways that might be invisible to some and so as we are thinking about Um, the ceasefire resolution To me it does not seem lopsided. It does not seem like it's in one direction or the other To me what it says is that we're not okay with this killing continuing and um, I understand that we have different perspectives on the history here However, I don't think that Causing more trauma For vicarious trauma for the world watching In men's trauma. I cannot even fathom for the people who are on the ground both israeli soldiers And you know, it's like the palestinian people Um, and just really urge you to pass it as it is. I think you did an excellent job with it Um, and I fully support it and I fully support y'all. So thank you Next person online. Good evening. Welcome to the council meeting Person online. Good evening Hello. Hi, we can hear you. Welcome to the council meeting Thank you very much. My name is Eliza, but sheva valka corral I'm residences 2020 I'm a new member of community Uh, please vote no for the resolution. There is no mentioning the hostages And thomas invasion An attack on peaceful israeli citizens I'm listening to many people That actually speaking the voice Of people of kibbutz and little villages In a gaza strip people that were dancing In a psychedelic concert to the morning In a sign of peace All of you that talking for ceasefire You speaking the language Of victims of this war of women That were brutally raped and nobody asked them if they like palestinian state food state solution Nobody asked them about their beliefs people that Spend 40 years of their life creating peace peace community Women that were taking palestinian children to israeli hospitals Fathers that were organizing kite Uh above wall They all were brutally healed And talking about ceasefire without context Of that brutal attack on israeli civilian life And life of other 40 other nation people that came Dancing together to show their support for a palestinian self-determination That's not acceptable I am a war so polis citizen I am a married to santa cruz citizen here And uh, I am a guest in your city And for the first time I feel so much anti-semitism My ancestor were in camps I used to live in israel I met zion as Arab Christians and Jews There are palestinian Let me ask you if you could let me ask you if you could wrap this up. Thank you for your testimony. Take a couple more seconds Thank you very much. I just ask you in the name of the memory of your ancestor to vote no Because sometimes the war is for peace and sometimes you can do something by doing nothing Good evening, sir Good good evening mayor and and council and uh Particularly appreciate the mayor for managing a very very difficult issue tonight and the council members who have worked so hard on the on the The resolutions In my capacity as executive director, my name is david ginsburg. I mean in my capacity as executive director I am principally responsible for the safety and security of temple bethel and the jewish community center of santa cruz home to the largest community in the greater santa cruz region With 550 families a thriving preschool and summer camp as well as two cemeteries One which is in the city. I speak now as a resident but from my my professional perspective Since the barbaric attack by hamos on october 7th the jewish community here Which includes those on all sides of this issue have experienced and expressed increased fear For their personal safety Members have reached out and told me of their concern for attending services wearing the yamaka and displaying pub displaying publicly their menorah for hanukkah At our annual family gathering to kick off hanukkah the town o'clock We were met with intimidating protesters hoping to silence us It was the first time in my life. I felt uncomfortable publicly celebrating my faith I was saddened by the substantial police presence that was required But appreciate the professionalism of the santa cruz police officers keeping the peace The jewish community's fears are not without basis We have received intimidating and her and harassing emails other synagogues in the bay area have had more specific threats That required evacuating their buildings to check for bombs others have had anti-synomatic graffiti I have responded by increasing security as well as reducing receiving additional support from public safety As you evaluate this resolution, I urge you to take in consideration our safety and security And whether you believe the current resolution will help or harm efforts to increase love peace and understanding Thank you. Thank you Next person online. Good evening. Welcome to the city council Hello, do you hear me? Yes, we can and welcome to the meeting I thank members for bringing this resolution. I urge you to vote for it without amendment And to be with the diverse community and not with the pro-genocide Zionist this matter is not basic In the country it united the world the whole new world is now united with palestine and gaza The issue started 75 years ago when zanist gang killed and expelled the indigenous people of palestine and created israel Undistolled and land and continued till today daily to steal more palestine Palestinian houses and lands And and collect and use settlers to live on loose lands It's the israeli leaders israeli responsible people Responsibility to protect their settlers and the akibat people as well under this is under the international law Using us tax dollars. They use us tax dollars To give incentives to those settlers with free houses education medical care With over four billion dollars yearly from the united states Israel and its fundraisers like genocide joe The human as Palestinians to justify the genocide and use fake information like we hit a children Right being women's without any coups Thank you for the good news who clarified that zanism is not judeism Hamas was labeled as theirs by the israeli occupation and the criminalized them about power According to the uan occupy people have the right to defend themselves. Mr. Mandela was called terrorist And now he we consider him as a peace hero Over the years israeli kidnapped 15,000 children women and men Per to october 7 the only way to release them was through hostage exchange With this guerrilla group That happened to take israeli people to exchange The anism is in the new net nazi They told israeli hostages and choose not to exchange hostages under the free Free all for all exchange deal. Thank you. Thank you Before we begin so those of you who weren't with us who have just entered The way we're doing this this evening is that you will all be heard everyone whether you're online or in person for two minutes We would ask that what you do is what we're doing, which is to listen respectfully To each other A second or two of applause after you hear something No, no objection whatsoever Beyond that we're just delaying everybody's opportunity to speak so we'd appreciate your Accommodation in that regard. Thank you very much. Good evening, sir and welcome Good evening members of the council. My name is bill rents I've lived in santa cruz in 1973 And in my house, uh, that where I now live since 78 Except for seven years in salinas for a while We'll forgive you for that. Okay. Thank you So, uh, I was in my mid 20s when the 1967 war came along and israel took Gaza and the west bank away from jordan and egypt And since then I've just been watching not in extreme detail But just with interest to see what israel has been doing and not doing With respect to the palestinians And I found that what israel is not doing Is anything to promote the possibility of a two-state solution Or anything that would liberate the palestinians in any way And what I have seen them doing is thwarting that doing everything they can to prevent it from happening So In around 2001 or so jimmy carter wrote a book mentioned previously and called israel an apartheid state And the response of mainstream democrats who should have supported this man as a former ex-president He's the response was to shun him And I thought Okay, that's right. That's what people do. There is in fact a rule of social discourse that says You cannot criticize israel. You cannot say anything good about palestinians without suffering some kind of social punishment And I thought, you know, there's not a law that says that and that seems weird Why should I not be able to criticize israel when I could criticize our own government anytime I want? So been in around 2018 or 19 I had occasion to meet with jimmy panetta our congressman Have I reached my two minutes you have but but take a few more seconds go ahead What I found was he was supporting a law that would criminalize criticism of israel and In 2001, I'm sorry 2021 bet salam and an israeli civil rights civil rights group Did a report telling us all that in fact israel is an apartheid state That's why there's controversy here because you've got five more seconds. Okay. Use it. Well the resolution Criticizes israel. It's breaking that inviolable rule Thank you, sir Remember that's about two seconds would be helpful on that. Thank you next person online. Good evening. Welcome to the city council meeting Hi there. Can you hear me? Yes, we can welcome Great. I'm here to add a voice to the chorus who are also here to support the ceasefire resolution without amendments Seeing the oh, sorry. Also. My name is jordan. I'm a resident of of district one Seeing the number of people here tonight who are also in support the ceasefire is heartening And I agree that it should not be a controversial issue to condemn a genocide and to call for its end and to call for the end of the death the mass death of children and for the occupation in general To the members of this council passing this resolution and calling for ceasefire is the bare minimum that our community can do Listening to our voices is the bare minimum you can do If you refuse to pass this resolution, you are ignoring a clear mandate And we will continue to demand That you pass this resolution and that we continue to take action as a community can to condemn genocide as well as to condemn Islamophobia and anti-semitism in every form It's important for us all to remember that what we do does matter I've heard many here tonight arguing that we it doesn't matter. No one no one's going to notice. So why do something? But I just think that that is Such a fallacy that we really can't fall into Let us also remember that genocide has happened here in Santa Cruz of indigenous people and culture That is an immense tragedy that cannot be undone that we should do what we can to make operations But we do owe it to Palestine and the victims of genocide everywhere to call for an end to genocide I'd like to use the rest of my time for a moment of silence to the victims Thank you for your testimony. Good evening Welcome Leaving my name is Michael. I'm a Santa Cruz community member Others have spoken about the scale of what's happening in Palestine how the ongoing physical and cultural destruction of gaza and its people Is unlike anything in my lifetime How this is how history did not begin on october 7th But what we're seeing is the culmination of a process of ethnic cleansing. It goes back 75 years long before hamas existed Given all this, what do we do? When I was growing up in the 50s and 60s people spent a lot of time wondering how German fascism Had managed triumph How ordinary people had stood by as the holocaust took place around them We could say the same for slavery jim crow in the us the korean war as a previous speaker said doing nothing is easy We can stay silent by arguing That's what what's happening is far away that it doesn't directly involve us But consider as others have said according to the associated press the vast majority of the bombs That have killed more than 30 000 people in gaza are us bombs without us support without our tax dollars None of this would be happening or we can try and Avoid taking any stand at all by supporting the status quo This reminds me of how the right wing forces in the south are trying to rewrite the history books in terms of racism Right because talking about racism talking about slavery. I mean as slavery as something harmful would be divisive Would make the white students in the class feel vulnerable or maybe guilty Right so supporting the status quo in this case No ceasefire placing conditions on humanitarian aid is to give israel the go-ahead To finish the job what we're talking about is a settler colonial project Whose goal is to eliminate the palestinian people. They have said this as we've as we've heard To to uh adopt it to oppose the ceasefire to add conditions or genocide So I urge the city council to be on the right side of history Take a stand against genocide past the resolution before you as it stands. Thank you Online next person online. Good evening. Welcome to the city council meeting Good evening A voter therapist mother jew and lifelong resident of santa Cruz I'm here to urge you to pass the ceasefire resolution as is For three months. I have woken up in despair to live footage from palestine of unimaginable horrors Every day. I've seen some of the worst things I have ever seen In particular image after image of slaughtered babies and children and people trapped beneath rubble These are not the events of a singular day But the culmination of 75 years of violence and oppression of palestinians that it's escalated again significantly in the last months I'm no stranger to the history of violence against jewish people My grandmother and great-grandparents fled ukraine hidden in a wheelbarrow Just prior to every jewish member of their town being buried alive in a mass grave But I want you to understand that even with my familial history as a jewish person What actually makes me feel less safe in the world is the idea that so many people could see what's happening in palestine And not immediately want to do everything in their power to stop it Because before i'm a jewish person. I am a human being deeply connected to all other humans And because I recognize it is a privilege to be worried about the potentiality of feeling unsafe When other folks are actually living in daily violence and terror Gaza has one third the size of santa Cruz county with roughly nine times the population And in the last three months around 45 000 bombs and missiles have been dropped there Imagine if even just one bomb fell in our town and how traumatizing that would be for our community 45 000 If it was our county if it was your families and neighbors being decimated and starved and dying of disease and thirst Would you want others to claim the issue was too divisive and complex to take a stand? For every hour we spend here debating whether our verbiage suits those who claim offense Before we go back to our safe homes to kiss our loved ones. Good night 15 people on average loved ones like our own will be killed at gaza six of them children And countless more maimed orphaned and traumatized Thank you. Good evening. Welcome to the council. Hello. My name is gilliana cruzz I live in santa Cruz I want to start by saying nobody wants war and war is horrible By not supporting the declaration. It doesn't mean that we support the war I've been a resident a homeowner a mother and now a grandmother in santa Cruz for over 40 years And I want to thank you guys for taking care of our city. We're blessed to live here Regarding the ceasefire resolution that is being considered here today I would like to share with you a bit of my personal history and concern My family escaped from the anti-semitism of the soviet union 40 years ago We were fortunate to land in santa Cruz With its warm welcoming friendly open community People of all different backgrounds live here together or lived here together Without prejudice I remember how was my soviet background I tried to hush my son If he mentioned being jewish in a public place And how happy and proud I felt when he responded that is in america In santa Cruz He did not need to hide being jewish. He didn't need to hush I would so much want To see my four-year-old grandson To grow in that same america That same santa Cruz Where he does not need to hide being jewish And can stand proudly and safely and does not have to speak on behalf of somebody else And like in 1967 in the soviet union When they collected all A little bit known jews and made them in front of tv To speak against israel. This is I can't even tell you how it feels If this resolution Approved it would not make A dent in what's happening in gaza or in israel It's just for us here And for us here as you can see it is divisive the air here You can cut it with a knife. It's divisive So please do not Approve the resolution. Thank you Next person online. Good evening. Next person online. Welcome to the city council meeting. Good evening Hey there, can you hear me? Yes, we can welcome to the meeting Um My name is late to south. I am a resident and builder of district two in santa Cruz Um, ethnic cleansing started long before october 7th. I am a product of this diaspora My father's family was forced to flee their home in 1948 to avoid massacre Living in poverty and refugee camps for decades Never allowed to return And it's happening again today, but somehow worse Palestinians want what every other person in this room and on this planet want and deserve Peace and basic human rights the right to go to a school or hospital like those that have been punitively destroyed by the IDF the right to hold their child like the 10 000 that have been murdered the right to protest like the 223 peaceful gossens murdered by the IDF in 2019 The right to their homes is promised in 48 in oslo while systematically undermined by settlements assassinations and political subversion To hear the anti-arab and islamic comments tonight is nothing new Here are some clarifications feel free to fact check me into fada means to rise and shake off Allah Akbar means god is great And it's well documented that netanyahu supported hamas financing to undermine palestinian immunity and statehood These past 94 days have been filled with hopelessness as we have all live streamed a genocide Listening to the diverse voices here today gives me glimmer of hope I stand with my peace supporting neighbors of all faiths and to those yelling not in my name I appreciate you from the bottom of my heart I implore you to pay close attention to the language used here today and ask yourself. What does this city stand for? peace or genocide The choice is easy. Please pass this resolution unamended And for those with unwavering support for israel, I suggest you ask yourself What will 30 000 murdered palestinians accomplish set more violence and extremism? Thank you Evening, welcome. Hello council. Hello. My name is satan souter I am here today to urge you to pass a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire of the genocide occurring in palestine As perpetrated by israel and directly funded by the united states We have been heartbroken watching children mothers fathers human beings lose their lives to unimaginable violence These are human beings with lives families hopes and dreams Israel has unceasingly bombed homes schools hospitals places of worship and murdered innocent civilians I encourage you to stand for humanity and pass a resolution calling for a permanent and immediate ceasefire The release of all palestinians held hostage in horrible conditions by the israeli government immediate humanitarian aid to be allowed and provided to palestinians in gaza Restoration and rebuilding of gaza in greater palestine and the right for palestinian refugees to return to their homeland I urge you to join with the many countries and organizations Demanding israel be held accountable for their horrific violations of international law A ceasefire resolution will the will demonstrate that we as residents of santa cruz find genocide and ethnic cleansing Unacceptable the hundreds of residents here have shared their voices calling for a ceasefire And I urge you to listen and pass this resolution The settler colonial project of israel must be held accountable for their over 75 year long record of occupation Violence and terror and we must uphold humanity by honoring the palestinians right to live and exist in their homeland Thank you Next person online. Good evening. Welcome to the city council meeting Good evening Good evening. Hello. Hi Welcome. Hi. My name is yasmin And I actually had the privilege and honored to live in palestine for two years as a 16 year old girl Going to school. I recall being pepper sprayed And tear gassed multiple times along with my three younger siblings. I remember having rifles Pointed towards me and my siblings going to school simply because we lived in palestine and we were palestinians I remember living and having no right as I have been born and raised here It's truly Difficult to even speak about what's happening back in palestine Especially in raza as a mother now. It breaks my heart seeing all the helpless mothers The lifeless bodies of children I ask you to please Call for a ceasefire And pass the ceasefire resolution Thank you Hello council. My name is kathryn osajima pope and I am proudly from oakland california, which is where I wish I was right now I'm a ucsc student and work in santa cruz city schools I think it is of the utmost importance for the resolution calling an immediate ceasefire to be passed as is today There is no place in justifying the ethnic cleansing of palestinian people There is only one side of history and supporting a ceasefire is the first step toward being on the right side of history The attacks on palestine palestine are fully against international law I highly encourage you to use your privilege as a member of city government to make a monumentally important change There is no excuse for the brutal harmful violent fatal actions against palestinians Make the right choice and pass the resolution. This is not a war or a conflict. This is genocide There is no debating this the answer is clear pass the resolution and represent the voices of this community Thank you and free palestine Good evening next person online. Good evening. Welcome to the council meeting Good evening Let's go Thank you No, no, no, we'll get to you. We'll get to you in a minute. Thank you Thank you council members for going into the night on this My name is chill and i'm a resident of d2 a jewish spiritual leader out here in santa cruz I'll be ordained as a rabbi in may and I will be one of the rabbis to serve in santa cruz county and the next generation I work at the university of san francisco in the jewish studies and social justice department And I run an emerging community out here called the simsum community When the idf drops bombs on gaza or settlers kick palestinians out of their homes the world sees this and often complates this these horrendous acts These horrendous acts of state sanctioned violence carried out by israel as jews everywhere This is dangerous for all of us jews This state violence is not my judaism And is not the judaism of the jews I serve out here in santa cruz The violence in the name of zionism in israel makes jews unsafe unsafe everywhere and has for a very long time I ask you to pass an immediate ceasefire resolution To ensure safety for all people all lives are sacred in this matter As a leader of jewish community in santa cruz and having served as a jewish community leader in san francisco in the greater bay area for over a decade I hope tonight you hear the voices of the jews that are unaffiliated with jewish institutions The jews that identify as anti zionists and the jews that Are just kind of floating in space sharing and dreaming and learning because they count their voices are valid Those were many of the jews who showed up to hanukkah To say that their judaism matters and their anti zionism matters and it matters that they call for a ceasefire They are valid They are sacred and they will continue into the future and I think that is a big part of judaism into the future Lastly standing in solidarity with my palestinian arab and muslim siblings looks like calling for a ceasefire My safety as a jew is no more important than the safety of theirs everything Everything I Everything I have learned as a jew calls me to speak up and out when I see people suffering and this is that moment May you be moved by spiritual courage to pass this ceasefire resolution. Thank you Thank you. Is it my turn? Next person online. Good evening Yes, hello, my name is uh, shea davila. I'm a former council member in the city of berkeley um Who unfortunately? Is genocide all Zionist berkeley city council and did not do this and Is not being a good example for the rest of the world however Santa Cruz has an opportunity here to be a champion to follow the lead of san francisco who Has the ceasefire today in richmond who is the first city And oakland and many others now Um, someone called this award. I kind of have a Um, don't feel like that's an actual actual Fair statement. Um And this is not a disagreement. Um, and it did not start on october 7 It's it's started a long time ago over 75 years And this is a unity issue It's united millions and millions around the world who finally Realize and recognize that israel is in a apartheid state and um Recognize that zionism is equal to racism, which is equal to hate um So you can do the right thing children are dying Children are getting infectious diseases and many people. There's the water is They don't have water. They don't have food. They don't have medicine. The hospitals are being bombed um All kinds of spiritual places and spaces are being bombed Entire generations are being killed So this is a humanity issue for the world The world is traumatized not even to mention how the palestinians are Traumatized and murdered and killed and have been living with this atrocity for 75 plus years This didn't happen october 7 and you can You must I beg of you to please Pass this resolution Be courageous Have strength And don't listen to the zionism We appreciate your testimony Welcome to the city council good evening council and mayor And thank you to everyone who's still waiting outside after many hours. My name is kira drawley I am a concerned citizen of santa cruz county and faculty at uc santa cruz I am calling on you to pass item 29 the ceasefire resolution on today's agenda as is and reject harmful amendments or substitute resolutions As a scholar, I studied the music and propaganda of nazi germany and the holocaust I studied the ways in which nazi lawyers were sent to arkansas in the 30s to study jim crow laws As well as the ways in which german investigation teams interviewed native american tribal leaders to gain insight into american genocidal tactics I studied the ways in which truth itself was silenced under nazi law I trained in the warning signs of genocide and apartheid with jewish and south african scholars And now I watch as the journalists on the ground in gaza document the very same genocidal tactics by the idf Supported by american weaponry Day after day, I watch as the idf targets and martyrs civilians as well as journalists academics and poets For simply having the courage to show the world the tragedies that they are living and have been living for decades History will judge us for our actions today As dr. Gabor mate said the only difference between gaza and the holocaust is that most gazans are still alive and we can still act Thank you The person online. Good evening. Welcome to the city council meeting Good evening Good evening. Hold on. Hold on. Sorry. Hold on Hello You're welcome Hi um Yeah, my name is barack Used to live in israel and I serve in the idf I just wanted to say that this resolution A little bit of a joke because unless you have the hostages in the back room and you can release them I'm not sure what you're trying to gain here Uh, that's number one number two. I see a lot of numbers flying around None of them are mentioning how many terrorists are being killed just mentioning civilians A lot of uh false attacks going around And people need to educate themselves more than just tiktok um And really it's just a joke. I lived in the west bank. I've been a victim of terror attacks pretty much my whole life Anyone that thinks that a one-sided ceasefire is going to gain anything from Hamas and It says A lot of palestinians. I don't know if you've listened to The testimonies from hostages that were leased um civilians or let's say post civilians We're involved with raping women um passing hostages between houses and gaza um They can end this 90 days ago, right Uh, both ramas and civilians, but they chose not to They voted ramas In 2005. I don't know if you watched the videos After gaza was given to Arabs And they Gladly accepted it. It's not an open jail They could have turned it into paradise into singapore. They have funds The gdp and gaza is higher than egypt's and most arab countries Um, but yet they chose violence and they will keep choosing violence so This resolution will do nothing, but Insight more anti-semitism um, which we experience Every day Thank you Welcome My name is riley collins, and i am a santa cruz resident We stood before you four weeks ago At the city council meeting on december 12th To urge you to support an immediate and permanent ceasefire resolution in gaza Since that date 2822 palestinians have been killed by israeli strikes On christmas eve and christmas day alone israel carried out more than 50 strikes on three refugee camps in southern gaza These in the same so-called safe zones where the israeli government had instructed gazans to take refuge Just today the united nations agency for palestinian refugees Declare that immediate and immediate Humanitarian ceasefire is a matter of life and death I stated at the last city council meeting that our city council has led the way before in matters of global justice After it declared itself a global planetary city in 1982 Santa cruz became the first city council in the us To denounce the iraq war Earlier this year You may akili were part of formally denouncing russia's military aggression in ukraine Surely then we can find the moral conviction to stand today In favor of this most basic ask for an immediate ceasefire I ask that you listen to our resounding call to pass this ceasefire with no amendments and no substitutions. Thank you Thank you Next person online. Good evening. Welcome to the council meeting Hello Can you hear me? Yes, we can welcome Okay My name is laughing coyote I am a california native american My people are from the sierra nebata mountains between yosemite national park and king's kangen national park I attended ucsc in the early 80s and have been an off And on resident of santa cruz in regards to this issue in palestine. I have this to say First of all, I come from a people who know and understand genocide from firsthand experience During the 1800s both the united states and in particular the state of california Inducted a full-scale genocide against native american people Who were my ancestors Between 1850 and 1890 following the advent of the gold rush The california native population was decimated by 90 percent That means nine Out of ten of our people died In less than a 40-year period mostly due to disease Which we had no immunity to But it was also due to state-sponsored violence perpetrated by white settlers Not unlike what has been happening in palestine For the past 100 years The state of california placed bounties on our people Who were hunted down like animals Because they were not considered as real human beings By the newly arrived western europeans You don't have to go very far to discover where genocide took place You can go down to the catholic church and you'll discover A genocide has taken place I have studied this issue for a very long time This issue didn't just start on october 7th Been going on for much too long There are some who might ask this question of what does this have to do with City of santa cruz Why should this matter to us halfway across the world? The answer is it matters because palestinians are human beings It matters because we are human beings And we have a responsibility to act whenever this kind of atrocity has taken place no matter where it is in the world The ionism is a form of racism And has no place in this world. I urge you to pass the resolution as is. Thank you. Thank you Good evening. Welcome to city councilman My name is becker scheriff. I am a palestinian american registered devote in the city of santa cruz Israel is slaughtering entire family trees In discriminately bombing hospitals schools Entire complex buildings ambulance trucks and people trying to flee How could this be justified? This could not be justified I personally know people who have lost their entire family tree their entire family tree has been eradicated With the backing of my tax money and yours How could you even begin to recover from that? How could you even begin to heal from that? To say it is traumatizing is a true understatement It is It is it is appalling That a that a That is that a resolution that calls upon a ceasefire Is controversial I do want to emphasize The incredible mass support that the people of rosa have received across the globe And across religions And across religions and races We see tens of thousands hundreds of thousands millions of people across the globe going out in support of palestine So if you are on the fence about this i urge you The masses urge you the masses across the globe from race across races and religions urge you To call for a ceasefire Thank you so much Next person online. Good evening, please proceed Can you hear me you get up here? I'm recognizing you It's not your turn person online person who's with us in chambers. Good evening Good evening My name is amando argeta vogel. I am a u.s. Citizen and a salvador an american I'm a registered voter of the city of santa cruz And I want to thank you all for being here and for holding this space right now I'm calling on you to unanimously unequivocally And unconditionally vote yes on item 29 the ceasefire resolution on today's agenda as it is And to reject harmful amendments or substitute resolutions As a community member A citizen of this republic and a human being I call upon you as elected officials And elected representatives of our community to stand on the side of truth justice peace and human rights It is incumbent upon all free peoples to denounce the israeli government's us funded genocidal campaign Against the palestinian people which is illegal under international law and fundamentally unjust democracy is not the avoidance of internal divisions or conflicts democracy is the peaceful civil and rational management of conflict history and posterity will judge our community by the choices that you all make today I call upon you to affirm the human rights and dignity of all the people who have been dehumanized by the Irrational violence unleashed by this war and all those who will be dehumanized if this violence is allowed to continue I implore you to do your part to call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire Sonja Brunner Shereb Kalantari Johnson Renee Golder Mayor fred keely martin watkins sandy brown scott newson Stop the us funded israeli genocide of the palestinian people At least call for a ceasefire now End the siege and the occupation and the apartheid and free palestine Okay, this is the eighth time i've tried to do this I would ask for your cooperation A couple of seconds of that after the speaker that you happen to think is doing something good Not a problem Five ten seconds you're wasting everybody's time. I'd ask you to Try to exercise some self restraint. I know that may be easier for some than others, but I would ask you to do that Good evening Good evening. Can you hear me? No, you're not on yet Let me move this all the way down Hello, and thank you very much to the council and to the mayor and to all of the people here, especially the folks that are still outside Who are here tonight to call for a ceasefire? My name is jess fornier. I live and work in santa cruz. I pay taxes here I'm an instructor at the uc santa cruz And I want to join others in urging the council to adopt the original ceasefire resolution That calls for permanent and immediate ceasefire unrestricted humanitarian aid And a restoration of the necessities of life for palestinians And i'll keep it short But I wanted to reiterate what I said at the last meeting where people spoke eloquently as they have tonight About the 75 years of occupation apartheid and brutalization of palestinians And the mass death murder and destruction of the people of gaza of the past few months As americans as people whose tax dollars are used to fund empire Around the world including the genocide in palestine We have a moral political and ethical responsibility to apply pressure where we can We are not helpless. We are not powerless And this is an opportunity to do the right thing And I hope we can come together and find the courage to do that and pass the ceasefire resolution Thank you. I yield the rest of my time Person online. Glad to pick next person online. Good evening Hello, my name is Isaac Born and raised santa cruz county Over 10,000 kids are dead 10,000 Children massacred Have any of you in the council seen any of the videos of the aftermath of a missile a 2000 pound Missile being dropped on children Have you have you seen it? I don't want to describe it to you, but you can imagine what that would do to a child is brutal. It's graphic Not calling for a ceasefire Is condoning accepting and taking responsibility for the death of these children if you truly believe it is not your business Then you say if then you call for a ceasefire Not calling for a ceasefire is condoning the continual funding of the massacres Thank you for your testimony. Good evening. I'm not done. I'm not done. I got a minute left. I got a minute left I'm sorry. I thought you were finished. Excuse me. Please proceed No To say no to a ceasefire The the logic and thinking That not calling for a ceasefire That calling for a ceasefire will promote Antisemitism what kind of logic is that that makes no sense That makes no sense at all How does saying that we are okay with killing more children? How is that going to result? In less anti-semitism i'm all for peace between muslims and the jewish community But how is saying hey, we are okay with killing these kids. How is that going to prevent anti-semitism If you truly believe this is not our business then call for a ceasefire Thanks for the time Hi My name is Veronica Hamilton I'm a resident of the west side a phd candidate in social psychology and a delegate to the monterey bay central labor council From ua w 2865 the uc student workers union And today i'm asking you to adopt the call for a ceasefire in gaza and an end to the occupation i'm a psychological researcher i study dehumanization And the psychological study of treating people as less than human clearly outlines. What's at stake? The dehumanization of black people throughout our history sought to justify chattel slavery jim crow and persistent state violence The dehumanization of jewish people in nazi germany sought to justify the holocaust Today we understand the dehumanization of palestinians as prescriptive of the genocide that's being waged in gaza Clear evidence of this can be found in israeli government descriptions of the people in gaza as animals And claiming that none of them including children are innocent The purpose of these depictions is to justify violent treatment and to allow people the opportunity to distance themselves Empathetically from palestinians Indeed, there's a broad consensus within gen genocide studies that dehumanization is an integral part of extreme intergroup violence However, palestinians have broken through the veil of dehumanization inflicted upon them by sharing their stories on social media The israeli government blocks foreign press from entering gaza unless they're accompanied by israeli military And get all media coverage approved by the israeli military When israel dehumanizes palestinians asserts primary control over the narrative All while waging one of the most brutal attacks against civilians in recent history You will see people particularly Zionists seek to justify continuing violence That is unacceptable I'm also a labor organ. Oh Take a few more seconds. Okay. Well Labor strongly supports this issue. It's evidenced by labor organizations around the world stopping Weapons transport and particularly in santa cruz. This is a local issue as the labor center Excuse me the monorail based central labor council has voted to support a ceasefire These are 35 000 people in our county represented by the labor council and I urge you to support the ceasefire. Thank you Next person online. Good evening Good evening, mayor keely and honorable council members. My name is rachel kippen And I'm a resident of santa cruz county whose work in community service is within the city of santa cruz I have been privileged to formally serve the city through various commissions and advisory roles Firstly, I'd like to thank each of you for listening to your community's calls for a ceasefire resolution Holding special meetings and agendizing this proposed resolution and discussion tonight I urge you to pass the proposed ceasefire resolution without amendment What you have written is a beautiful testament to unity I learned for example That santa cruz became a planetary city in 1982 that has for decades Quote resolved to solve world problems and live in peace sharing a global responsibility Which is extended beyond state and nation. What an incredible precedent I know that some have said that this is not the work of the council or that this resolution does not make a difference I believe this is the defeatist outlook We have elected and put our faith in your leadership Not only as our representatives on local issues, but as conduits our connectors You give us a seat at the table and move the dial in our name for global justice I value the language that calls for all people to live with dignity and equality And for the release of all hostages for the immediate aid to gaza This language holds multiple realities at once Please keep every sentence and specifically the word ceasefire As no lasting peace will be realized through indiscriminate warfare funded by our taxpayer dollars Thank you for the declaration Of peace month this january this january. What a powerful way for us to start the new year together Please pass this resolution without amendment. I'm grateful for your work and thank you for your time. Thank you Good evening Good evening. Thanks. Thanks for your time tonight. My name is shake up fontana. I live on the west side and I'm a graduate student at UC Santa Cruz I urge you to support the resolution as is As we sat here debating this over the last five and a half hours 33 pelastinian children have been Slaughtered by the state of indis Israel This resolution as others have pointed out is really a bare minimum, right? It does not require a material divestment from the genocide that our taxpayer dollars goes to fund It merely reaffirms the most basic principle ethical principle that indiscriminately bombing children is is bad Others have asked you to Have the the courage to support this resolution. Um, I'm not going to ask you that I don't think this requires courage I think this requires you to just listen to the overwhelming majority of your constituents and to Listen to your basic humanity that the slaughter of children is it's bad and not to support that So for those reasons I urge you to support the resolution as is unamended. Thanks. Thank you We'll take the next person online. Good evening. Welcome. Good evening My name is nashel glowan. I'm a voter in district two and I've lived in santa cruz for 15 years I'm a mother of a middle schooler at branch of 40 middle and a professor of anthropology And I'm here to urge you to vote in support of item 29 the immediate ceasefire resolution As it stands without amendments or substitute resolutions I encourage you to stand with your constituents and calling for an end to the horrific violence The genocide in palestine We're asking you to stand for a ceasefire and to do what's within your power as local representatives with a much broader reach of influence We all have responsibility to do what we can to stop this genocide while the u.s federal government plays a primary role in funding and supporting the actions of the israeli government We have absolutely seen that in u.s history municipal and state actions such as resolutions like these Paired with and spurred by movements and collective action of the people have worked towards turning the tide in federal policy You've heard tonight residents of santa cruz from diverse backgrounds palestinians muslims jews old and young people across racial racial cultural and religious identities Who stand for a ceasefire and support this resolution and in drafting this resolution you've heard from these diverse groups in the city We urge you to act to call for a ceasefire because if we do not act We fail to add our voice to the unified and strategic international campaign that seeks peace and that seeks to end this violence Gaza is in desperate need for aid Attempting to limit this aid by adding punitive conditions sets out to justify starving an entire population of the basic resources They desperately need as a method of punishing its government. Gazans need aid immediately I urge you to vote in support of item 29 the ceasefire resolution without amendments tonight Good evening I thank you for your patience. The lord knows you need one My name is vladimir cross and I lived in santa cruz for 40 years I'm in district one and I honestly I don't know who my council member is your website is terrible Who is my council member? Thank you, but now I know Anyway, what I would like to talk about what's happening here not 6 000 miles away On october 8 not 7 october 8 santa cruz council was silent when hamas and hasbala reigned the rockets On israeli homes and schools and hospitals and israeli farmers santa cruz council was silent By the way santa cruz council was also silent when islamist butchered thousand and thousand people across africa but suddenly santa cruz council sprang to action Why because of the terrorists have been brought to justice the jews need to justify Is there a desire to to be alive? And why would city council sprung to action only When jews are acting as self-defense You know all of this been okay if all the silences if If not for this resolution today Because to me it looked like eight years ago It will be similar to Being totally cool with auschwitz but tell Telling a lie stop pursuing germans because you know the war is bad We all need to get along together plus a very loud crowd really likes germans ways My family my wife told me before my family escaped anti-symmetism from the soviet union And santa cruz was a happy home for us for many years So and then our synagogue needs gods and then we need Concrete bullets and then our family has been intimidated at religious holidays. Where we're going to If this resolution was not contentious and divisive you all be home now Look at that at the normal times you probably would have a couple dozen people who have nowhere else to go But I appreciate you very listen to me Please vote no for any resolution that has nothing to do with city business. It leads to no good. Thank you sir Good evening next person online welcome to the council meeting Good evening We'll take the next person in line who's Good evening welcome to the council Thank you very much. My name is a kindle a bank only. I am a resident of santa cruz and It is awesome to see everyone Rising to see their peace in this council meeting Conversations about our differences as we are having at this moment Is definitely better than any conflicts that we can have on the streets Uh, all of the individual and collective emotions are understandable Although if most of you are like me, uh, you probably don't spend your every waking hour Researching all the history of all the conflicts in the world So we don't have an we don't often have enough information about what's actually going on um I realized that this chamber like many around our country Has its work cut out for it And as you have been attentive to the inputs of all the residents of our city I hope their concerns are reflected in your resolution As a black subsire an african-american I'm very aware of what it means to be a target of hate Based on stories passed down to us by different ancestors The stories That convinced majority of people in the world That my black skin is the evil and dirty and therefore denigration and loathing is my destiny Is the story of many black people anti women anti lgbt qa anti children anti human doctrines are filled In many secular and sectarian ideologies Our entire semitism Has also unfortunately been enshrined In many ideologies in the last 1400 to 1700 years Either in their doctrines Or directly in the religious text So from thousands of years of caste system in india that place certain citizens in lower rung by the 1400 year enslavement of subsire and africans by North africa To the enshrinement of anti semitism in our major ideologies I hope we can reform our religious narratives and begin writing more humane stories That embrace all differences in the world Thank you Let me uh, let me suggest something to those of you who haven't spoken yet We're now five and a half hours into two minute presentations And that should not come as a surprise to you that we're asking you to contain your comments to two minutes So it would be helpful if you do that So starting now I am going to request as soon as that two minutes goes off For you to wrap it up in five seconds That does not mean please prepare two minutes and five seconds worth of comments try to get it done in two minutes Next person online. Good evening Good evening council members. My name is Melissa. I've been a registered voter in the city of san jacuzzi for a decade I'm here to support your passage of the ceasefire resolution as is And request that you reject the following three amendments one any amendment to remove the word ceasefire Two any amendment that adds conditions for humanitarian aid And three any amendment that denounces the violence by hamas without denouncing the 75 years of continued violence and occupation by israel Since october 7th an average of 160 Palestinian children are being killed each day. That's the child killed every 10 minutes Every day more than 10 children in Gaza lose limbs to the israeli bombing Through the israel's blockade these children are often forced to endure amputations without anesthesia They could be bombed in the hospital or even a school or place of worship that has been converted into a refugee camp The israeli government told their families to leave their homes and relocate to designated stations Only for israel's military to shoot at them as they have activated and then bomb them in the so-called safe zone Nowhere is safe in palestine Israel has dropped 65 000 tons of bombs on gaza in the last 90 days israel fired 45 000 bombs and missiles amounting to 500 per day Israel's genocidal war on gaza has wounded 58 000 people and killed over 22 000 people Including 9 000 children Almost 90 percent of the gaza's more than two million population has been forcibly displaced by israel Over 70 percent of housing units in gaza have been damaged left uninhabitable or destroyed Moreover, i'm appalled at israel target journalists and medical professionals in their attempts to hide their genocide from the world They have assassinated 109 journalists in 93 days and killed many of their families as well Israel has killed more than 140 you and employees in gaza Israel is committing war crimes every day Any politician who does not call for a sea solder has lost my vote Please pass the sea star resolution as is. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening Welcome. Hello. My name is michael herald I'm not much of a public speaker. You'll hear it in my voice. You'll see me shake I am a teacher in sanikers. I teach elementary school being a teacher I know that Children are our future And it's really heartening to see all the young people who have come out here to be representatives in their community and to speak to you And also I will say as a teacher. I know when you're listening and I know when you're on your phone when I think about Children being the future. I think about all of the lights of the future that have been snuffed out I think about All the children in gaza that my taxpayer money has gone to bombing My support for gaza does not mean that I do not Think of the children who were killed on october 7th All of those lives all those children Before I can't speak anymore. I just want to say please pass the Resolution as is Thank you. Thank you We'll take the next one line Good evening Hello Hello. Good evening. Hi Oh, can you can hear me? Okay. Good. Um, yeah um I just look at this situation um from the side And it seems fine to me. I'm not Related to the situation in any way, but I did serve um And it seems to me like a very one-sided resolution um I'm trying to understand what the resolution is meant to achieve If it's not asking for release of hostages um Is this a resolution aimed at Hamas or Um, I'm not I'm not actually certain what you know, the free palestine movement is trying to achieve over here um You know, we all saw what happened on october 7th. We've seen the evidence. We've seen the videos from gopro cams um We know that they are terrorists. They're they've been condemned to the terrorist organization not just by israel, but Many organizations around the world um Yeah, just um, I think this is more about elections looking on the side, you know statistically in the world You have more muslims and jews and so Obviously, this is going to affect Uh, the votes for council members um And if you're just doing the resolution based on that then really there's no point Um, I would say dig deep look at what you're trying to achieve over here See if you're actually doing good for the people that actually live in israel. I don't know how many people over here have been to israel um Yeah, I would say no on the resolution Just logically. Thank you Thank you. Good evening Good evening. Um, thank you for taking the time to listen to us all tonight and thank you to everyone still here Um, I'm surla couch. I'm a registered voter here in santa cruz I've lived here for almost um 10 years now And I have stayed here because I love this community Um, and I believe this community can come together now um And cross all racial Um, religious and cultural differences to Pass this resolution for an immediate ceasefire With no substitutions and no amendments Um, my heart aches tonight for All of the innocent palestinian civilians um Lost under the rubble or Dying from starvation disease injuries um and I all on you all members tonight to please pass this resolution um to Call for a permanent ceasefire to release all the hostages to unrestricted aid for the innocent gossans Um And I would like to echo previous sentiments. I've heard about if we are have been silent In previous atrocities Let us turn the tide now tonight And make a stand and continue the momentum Thank you. Thank you Online good evening. Welcome to the council meeting. Uh, yeah, I can hear me. Yes, we can welcome And thank you council My name is uh, Nate edenhofer. I'm a resident and a voter here in santa cruz Um, I'm speaking in support of passing the ceasefire resolution without amendments Uh, taking a position on on what's occurring in gaza is is not complex. It's simple Israel is committing genocide against the palestinian people With at least 23 000 people killed In the culmination of uh, decades of ethnic cleansing Thousands of children have been and continue to be killed indiscriminately by israel By the israeli defense forces at a rate of one child every 10 minutes Um, and the killing through constant bombing of gaza is funded by our own tax dollars And this killing will only intensify through starvation and disease From the displacement and concentration of millions of gaza's into conditions Totally unfit for human life. Um That is even even more unfit for human life than it already was in gaza because of the israeli siege of gaza Um, so it's our moral obligation to take the steps we can to stop this before it gets worse and comes even more intensified So you uh council have the power right now To place your loyalty with humanity and against genocide, uh before it gets worse So this this resolution is it's just one first step We can take to build support uh to make a ceasefire reality And also to prevent not create racism and division within santa cruz To stop the horrific dehumanization happening in gaza for continuing and coming here So please council follow the overwhelming support here Urging you to pass this resolution Without amendments Thank you Good evening. Welcome. Hello. Thank you. Um, my name is emma I'm a registered voter and resident of santa cruz. I have lived here my whole life and I am a student at cabrio college I'm here to urge you the city council to pass item 29 With no amendments in support of a permanent and immediate ceasefire As witnesses to and contributors to the ongoing genocide against the palestinian people is our responsibility To advocate for a ceasefire We contribute via our tax dollars to this ongoing genocide It is appalling seeing such an egregious misuse of our tax dollars When so many in our local community are in desperate need of help and are not getting enough of it And to those who are saying that a call for a ceasefire is hypocritical when our community hasn't stepped up for other international causes I say why can't passing item 29 be a start a first step in using our voices to advocate for people across the globe And an end to colonialism in all of its forms So please pass the proposed ceasefire resolution with no amendments Free Palestine and thank you Next person online. Good evening. Good evening We'll take the next person who's with us Welcome Hello My name is David. I'm a santa Cruz county resident. I'd like to thank the city council for being so patient and hearing what the community has to say In the past three months, it's estimated that between 23,000 and 30,000 palestinian men women and children have been killed Hundreds of which were killed today Hundreds were killed yesterday and the day before yesterday And unless a ceasefire is called immediately hundreds more will be killed tomorrow and the day after tomorrow This number of 30,000 doesn't do justice to the extent of the damage that is being done It doesn't account for the amount of people who've been injured and are without medical attention or the people who've been Removed from their homes and are without food or water Or the people who are dealing with the tremendous grief as they have lost their family their friends and their community What's happening in Gaza right now is genocide And it's not right and it's not fair to anyone you know, and it's it's not fair to me that my Tax dollars that me being an american citizen and my tax dollars are contributing to this and this Genocide it's not fair to me Or my family or my friends or my community That the politics and the government meant to represent us Are in favor of this genocide and that is why ceasefire is so important. That's all. Thank you Good evening to the next person online Good evening Yes, we can hear you and welcome Thank you. Um, my name is Sayed Qadri And uh, I would like to ask the council To support the resolution without any amendments Uh, to put the context put situation in context um In just the first three weeks of this conflict There were more deaths of children than in the entire world All conflicts with the entire world in the last three years combined So and it's really really substantial people are like asking. Oh, why why is royal? You know why why Palestine? Why not Yemen etc? But literally or Ukraine If you actually total the debts up And that's despite the fact that raza is a very small place just 2 million people So the scale of it is just unimaginable And 85 percent of the population raza has been displaced That's ethnic cleansing And at this point given the fact that they have nowhere to go Um, this kind of makes the ethnic cleansing into genocide It is a genocide. It is why South Africa has put in that motion towards the international court of justice So it's really critical for us to understand that at this moment Uh in time Perhaps it's not as clear to some of us um But this will be recognized as a genocide and this will be uh an event that will go down in history Let's make sure we are on the right side of the of the history this time Please I urge you all to uh Passive resolution as is without any amendments If possible, please also include words of at the fact that it is an ethnic cleansing And in fact it is a genocide as well and we should condemn that as well. Thank you very much. Thank you Thank you all for your patience and stamina My name is Konstantin and Santa Cruz has been my hometown since the early 80s. I'm an immigrant I have family that lives in israel between the river and the sea I'm a father and in fact, I am the stay at home father of a four-year-old So I ask you to forgive my uniquely juvenile frame of reference Because I've been listening to the pro ceasefire camp speak and it feels like I'm listening to the story of the three Little pigs as told from the point of view of the wolf You are being told to pity the poor wolf because he's hungry. Frankly, I agree he is But you're also being told that the one and only reason that the wolf is hungry Is that the mean selfish power hungry pigs won't open their door and let him eat them and that they must The pro ceasefire advocates are asking you as a governing body to condemn not the wolf for invading the pigs home seeking their death But only the pigs for taking measures to protect it and themselves because it's been 75 years of the pigs not letting the wolf eat them And they have only themselves to blame Please don't forget. Hold on just second. I'm not going to take this out of your time How many times do I have to do this? This is number nine You are going to accord respect for every speaker the same way we are doing for every one of you This is my last warning. I will clear the council chambers if I have to do this warning again And then you can come in one at a time and provide your testimony Is that clear to everyone? Not yet now Please don't forget that barely three months ago the gazon army and it is an army We're talking about thousands of well armed and organized soldiers Invaded the neighboring nation of israel where they slaughtered over a thousand civilians kidnapped hundreds more Half of whom are still held in brutal captivity while we're sitting here and having this unbelievable conversation These soldiers raped women so violently that their bones broke from impact before murdering them having first dismembered them alive They baked a live jewish baby in an to death in an oven to which one of the most widely respected literary figures in gaza Who was shamelessly and unironically quoted by a ceasefire supporter tonight tweeted and I quote with or without baking powder The people urging you to adopt a ceasefire resolution This is what they're asking you to condone not just passively but through officially demanding that the guardians of the ancestral home of the jewish people Be restrained from trying to protect us from being massacred again That's what the word ceasefire is coded language for for restraining the three little pigs, but doing nothing to contain the wolf Please recognize and rise above this Reject antisemitism reject the acceptance around the world and palpably in this room tonight Of the murder of jewish jews under the cowardly guise of antisemitism. Thank you. Thank you Next person online. We'll be glad to hear from you. Good evening Next person online. Good evening Hello, could you hear me? Yes, we can welcome Hi, my name is gabby darlack. I am a registered voter in the city of santa cruz I'm a resident of district three I've lived in santa cruz for a decade and worked at ucsc for the last five years Like many of your other constituents have expressed. I'm calling on you to pass item 29 The ceasefire resolution on today's agenda as is and reject harmful amendments or substitute resolutions I'll keep my comment short because as the clock keeps ticking more lives in gaza are brutally taken from our world In this ongoing occupation and genocide We do not have time for revisions debates or arguments about whether palestinians deserve to live And whether our palestinian neighbors here in santa cruz Some of whom we've heard from tonight deserve to be safe and supported And when the time comes around for santa cruz to vote, we will remember your decision tonight Please join our neighboring cities oakland and today san francisco and pass item 29 ceasefire now. Thank you Thank you all for the opportunity to address you tonight My name is anastacia torrez gill and I have lived in santa cruz since 1998 Since that time I have worked to make our community healthier safer and more inclusive I Believe that people should be free to live authentically And that indigenous peoples have a right to live in their ancestral and historic homelands Including jews in israel But today because of this proposed resolution. I find myself being called violent Don't make me do this. I'm begging you. Do not make me do this Do not make me do this I'm asking you to remain silent unless you are having your two minutes to speak Please proceed. Thank you I've watched here in santa cruz As posters of kidnapped jewish israeli children Are ripped down by those alleging at peace vigils that they want peace There's no excuse We're taking down a poster of an innocent kidnapped child Because of this proposed item 29. I no longer feel as safe in my own community as I used to Please don't divide us locally over international issues. I'm asking you to vote no on 29. Thank you Thank you Good evening. Welcome to the council meeting Good evening. Can you hear me okay? Yes, we can hear you. Welcome Great Good evening council members and members of the public And thank you for the time you're spending on this My name is zav. I'm a jewish resident of santa cruz And i'm here to ask you to vote in favor of a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire The israeli assault on gaza as well as a rapid admission of humanitarian aid to gaza Hold on a second. Hold on just a second What about my previous nine requests is unclear to people? I've said it exactly the same way Since five o'clock I would ask you to refrain from any kind of noise While another person is speaking I don't know how I could be more clear about this or ask you to extend the courtesy to others That is always extended to you for the last five hours Please proceed person online Thank you A ceasefire in this current assault is important not only to palestinians and israelis killed injured or threatened by the war But also as part of lasting peace in the middle east The root of this violence is in the ongoing oppression and displacement of palestinian people Claims to the supposed uncompromising anti-semitism of palestinian groups like hamas or supporters of the palestinian cause Ignore history and refuse to consider how some palestinian people some palestinian people Have arrived at the use of violence as a political tool This is not to justify that violence any person's death is cause for sadness and we should abhor killing as a political tool This is why we must recognize also that the attack on gaza is part of a decades old campaign By the settler colony of israel to displace palestinians from their homes and establish a jewish state This is a stated goal of the zionist political movement If we abhor political killing if we want to stop the killing of palestinians and israelis and at this point lebanese and likely yemenis We must call for an immediate ceasefire as well as justice for palestinians including the right of return compensation for stolen property and full civil and human rights in their homeland As the black lives matter movement taught us over the past decade No justice no peace We would all be fools to expect palestinian people to simply accept their treatment by the zionist state Resistance in all forms violent and nonviolent will continue as long as palestinians are oppressed Justice in palestine starting with a ceasefire now Is the only realistic precondition for a lasting peace. Thank you for your time. Thank you Good evening. Good evening. Mayor kealy all the council members. Thank you very much for your hard work always I'd also like to thank the police department fire department. Thank you guys for keeping everything orderly and safe My name is elai karen. I was born and raised in santa cruz I'm raising my children here in santa cruz. I vote and pay taxes here in santa cruz and I will die in santa cruz Hopefully not anytime soon I'm urging you to vote no on this resolution for many reasons and i'm not going to give you a history lesson And i'm not going to spout statistics It's been over three months since terrorists attacked innocent israeli citizens and kicked off the three months long war In gaza. So i'm guessing you know some history Resolutions are tricky If a resolution is going to pass it should either be actionable Like the resolution that passed earlier today to update the wharf or it should be totally non-controversial But to pass a performative non actionable incredibly controversial resolution that is tearing apart our community Just kind of look around Is not only misguided. It's dangerous This may be too logical for some people here But if some people are saying something is divisive and other people are saying something is not divisive It's divisive If you vote for this any time we have a similarly controversial issue You're going to be expected to pass a similar resolution because you would be setting a divisive precedent today If you're going to pass any resolution It should either be a non controversial one or an actionable one Calling for a ceasefire in an emotionally charged war 7 000 miles away from our seaside community is most definitely not actionable I hate to be the bearer of truth But the israeli military is not going to lay down their guns if we pass a resolution today Hamas won't stop trying to rape and kill jews if we pass a resolution today Spending tremendous time and resources on a non actionable performative resolution is not what we should be doing as a city Tonight i'm going to go home kiss my children and thank god that i live in the greatest country in the world I'm going to thank god my children aren't being used as human shields by terrorists or being held in hostage terrorist tunnels And i'm going to thank you for voting no on this resolution. Have a nice night Next person online Next person online. Good evening Not hearing that person. Please come forward Good evening Hi My name is lauren said i've lived in and been politically active in santa cruz for over 50 years Some of you might know me even During my long years working for justice and equality. I've come to appreciate the nuances involved in many of the issues I have both supported and opposed The more I study the history of middle east the more I've come to realize that this area of the world And it's many conflict conflicts are complex Not easily understood or resolved Uh, the ceasefire resolution resolution doesn't take into consideration The fact that things ended that hamas ended the ceasefire That it was in place on october 6th Um, hamas is always and continues to promote the end of jews in the area They will do anything they have to to make that happen Uh resolution 29 well might be well intentioned But it will do nothing to alleviate the suffering of innocent people in that area Nor will it do anything to end the conflict It will do two things One it will further fracture this already severely divided community And two it will certainly as we have seen here and elsewhere Reinforce and invigorate islamophobia and anti-semitism I strongly encourage you to vote no against 29 The same information repeated hundreds of times doesn't make it true We've learned that from our last president So, um once again vote no on Proposition Who is online welcome Greg cotton here. Can you hear me? Yes, we can welcome Thank you. Greg cotton here a santa cruz city voter. I'm here late in honor of all of the innocent that we're killing. Thank you I love my many jewish friends their faith and respect them completely This has nothing to do with them judeism and everything to do with trauma killing innocent people Israel and its relationship with the united states If you will imagine with me gazda size It's equivalent to a cage that starts three miles offshore of santa cruz Goes almost to scott's valley and runs down the coast to moss landing 65 000 tons or 130 million pounds of bombs Dropped between here and moss landing where two million people are trying to live This is more than an act to destroy a political group This is beyond beyond self-defense and we are preventing the international community from stopping it You cannot kill and dismember wholesale The way israel and the us are and convince me that this is self-defense I've heard words lawn mowing to describe what israel is doing and frankly This is what I see in the photos and video It is trauma on top of trauma and we are pouring gas on it and doing everything but solving a problem Do we really think that all this bombing is eliminating a violent group? If we were in gazda right now, do we honestly want peace for us or israel? I can't imagine it Hopefully not, but I wouldn't be surprised if this there was retaliation in both israel and here in the united states This resolution may actually protect this community You are right to lift our voices in this resolution a call for peace And standing with essentially every country on this planet We we see what is happening and we loudly and clearly say cease fire now Thank you for lifting our voices Good evening Good evening. Good evening. Mayor keely and council Thank you for your patience and hearing us out. My name is omar and i'm calling on you to support this critical ceasefire resolution as it is myself and hundreds of others Have stood outside in the cold for hours to voice our support because this issue matters deeply to us Life cannot go on as is while genocide continues to rage on According to bbc the daily death toll is about 300 palestinians per day It is surely to be greater than that because there's areas that cannot be reached and there have been any more in the rubble unaccounted for We must act now with a massive sense of urgency I'm palestinian with many family members in gaza And over the last 13 weeks over 70 of my relatives have been killed Since israel's bombardment of gaza has begun Every family my local network here that has relatives in gaza has suffered casualties This is a result of israel's genocidal tactics How do you think it feels knowing that your heart aren't tax dollars? Go to fund the bombs dropped in your own family The people in gaza are enduring a living hell. They're desperately trying to find a shelter in an area where nowhere is safe They're barely surviving during a due to an extreme shortage of everything and live in concert concentrate People opposing this resolution say it's divisive If calling for the end of a genocide is divisive if calling for the preservation of human life is divisive What kind of unity do we have to begin with? This so-called This so-called unity is built on silencing and dehuman dehumanization of palestinians I think it's important to understand that calling for a ceasefire after 13 weeks of this madness is the absolute bare minimum Think about the thousands of lives that we fail due to our inaction and think about the many we can save if we act now Every effort makes a difference Over a thousand of us across race religion And ethnicity I've gathered here to show support Acting to corn so what 70 of americans already support. I'm sure you heard that san francisco just approved their ceasefire resolution Join the number of cities. They're increasing in number and standing with humanity. Thank you for your time. Thank you My name is joy schendl decker next person online. Good evening Hello, i'm sorry. Good evening Yes, I can hear you. Yes Oh, okay. Should I start over then? Sure. Sure. Go ahead. Okay. All right. Okay. Thank you Mayor and council members friends and comrades. My name is joy schendl decker The ceasefire resolution will affirm our commitment to peace justice and the fundamental rights of those affected by deadly conflicts everywhere To council members who have reservations about the proposed resolution You know the impacts of your decisions beyond the city limits If you do believe in the democratic process and our connection to regional state and national politics Then you should recognize that this resolution matters The humanitarian crisis in gaza has parallels here in our community Particularly among our neighbors without housing The involuntary displacement faced by palestinians and unhoused people in santa cruse echo a shared call for justice and the preservation of life Just in the past four months in gaza tens of thousands of people of all ages genders religions and vocations have lost their lives Been disabled or are starving to death an estimated four percent of the population is dead missing or injured Homeless deaths increased in our county by 33 percent in 2023 at least 122 people That's one in 15 or 6.7 percent of our unhoused friends neighbors and family members Just as we call for a ceasefire abroad We must demand an end to cruel discriminatory and deadly displacement policies in our own city For all of you mobilized by the unthinkable death and destruction in gaza If this resolution effort fails, don't retreat into depression and cynicism Let your frustration be the fuel that channels your rage into continued and collective engagement with the political process Our commitment to justice and solidarity must extend universally No excuses or exceptions from the streets to our jobs from the courts to the chambers together We create a world of universal liberation at home and around the world Thank you Good evening. Good evening My name is jill suskind and i have been a registered voter in santa cruse since 1989 currently living in district three i'm a jew parent business owner and preschool teacher I've been an active member of our local chapter of showing up for racial justice for the past three years Thank you for taking the time to listen respond and act even as you have countless other issues to address as a council I appreciate the freedom to be able to speak on behalf of oppressed people without censorship i'm calling on you to pass item 29 the ceasefire resolution on today's agenda as is I appreciate that this resolution reflects the process of council members gathering diverse community voices And already represents a compromise that still includes our community's goals of peace justice and equity for all Please know the effectiveness of sending the ceasefire message to state and federal legislatures Legislators that we don't condone the use of our tax dollars for violent military strategies the perpetuated oppression here and abroad As a jew i've experienced anti-semitism throughout my life and don't view this as a justification for israel's decades long imperialistic dehumanizing policies and practices toward palestinians i'm horrified to see our people go from surviving one genocide perpetrating another i'm also disheartened to see anti-semitism used to condemn other jews speaking out against all of the brutality dehumanization and killing of jews on october 7th tens of thousands of palestinians since then And all this displaced killed and oppressed by israel's occupation with the past 75 years The definition of ceasefire from botanica is an agreement to stop fighting a war for a period of time So that a permanent agreement can be made to end the war In passing this resolution our city stands with an increasing majority of people and bodies including jewish-led organizations around the world Calling for an immediate permanent ceasefire Return of all hostages and unrestricted humanitarian aid as a necessary first step in creating the conditions where lasting peace can be achieved in the region Thank you Welcome to the council meeting Good evening My name is amanda and i run a small catering business called I'm a registered voter and reside in santa cruz I am in support of item 29 the ceasefire resolution put forth before you today as is I am vietnamese and proud i have an obligation to stand in solidarity with the people of palestine Israel's genocidal violence towards the palestinian people is no different than what the united states did to vietnam and its neighbors The images of violence coming out of gaza are horrific 30 000 dead half of them children We need to stand against this together It is not divisive to stand against the genocide of the peoples Showing global solidarity is powerful and meaningful and we have a duty and a moral obligation To speak up for palestine to be on the right side of history like many others before we have mentioned It is imperative to pass the ceasefire resolution No amendments. It is simple There is no liberation until we are all liberated Thank you Several members are gone right now. Should we wait let me tell you where they are where they are is they're probably Going to the restroom. Okay. They they are That's fine. I just No, let me just tell you where they are. So there's a A conference room right behind here, which has this same screen. So they are they can hear what's going on We've been here five five hours. So people may need to go to the restroom or whatever it might be Got it. Yeah, please. Thank you. Okay. My name is Susan Collin And I'm a registered voter in the city of Santa Cruz living in district two Thank you council members brunner and brown for listening to your constituents back in december And thank you all for listening to all of us here I want to say quickly that I was at the menorah lighting that david ginsberg referenced The one where he said he felt unsafe on hanukkah What happened there was a group of us 20 anti-zinnist jews came to participate and showed jews that many of us want a free palestine We were calm quiet Except when we were singing along while we were celebrating hanukkah. I'm pretty sure he was the one who was aggressive at first So I also remember david offering us donuts at the end and singing people are singing and dancing with us So I just wanted to I felt the need to tell the truth of this history So as an ashkenazi jew who has faced anti-semitism in my life I believe strongly that being pro-palestinian liberation is not anti-semitic And I would like to add my voice to the majority of those speaking here online and online Urging you to pass. I'm 29 I stand with hundreds of thousands of jewish people around the globe I stand with hundreds of jewish people in our county and I stand with palestinians with muslims Arabs christians atheists agnostics who are asking that all of us choose to care for those who are enduring daily atrocities We talk about safety, but I do not feel safe because the violence of the israeli defense forces Violence done in the name of judaism Makes jews less safe and I feel deeply that conflating judaism with science that makes jews less safe The bombing has to stop a ceasefire will make everyone safer Honestly, I can't even believe we have to come up here and ask for a ceasefire How is it possible that we have to fight to demand that our tax dollars stop being used to murder families? How is it possible each and every one of us is not opposed to bombs being used daily to murder innocent children? How is it possible that we don't agree that humanitarian aid is desperately needed for the people of gaza? How could it be that we don't agree that starving entire population is outrageous? This and then I have to say quickly this resolution that's presented is called divisive baffles me What is divisive when we call things like peace safety inclusion jewish values jewish people are not the only ones who value these things What I have been a part of since the horrific events of october 7th has been the opposite of divisive Thank you so much a beautiful group. Thank you. Thank you Next person online Good evening. Welcome to the council meeting Hello, hello, we can hear you welcome Yeah, hi. Hi, so I I'm um, uh, citizen of the county's Santa Cruz County This has been a long way. So thank you for letting me speak I am against the resolution and as it stands It does not promote peace in Santa Cruz So massive the terrorist organization their first goal is to Is to cause as much damage as they can as possible to the israeli people Their own population and then the world See they have even Reach this part of the world see what what it's doing here in Santa Cruz Their supporters are constantly interfering in the background You must know that Hamas will not stop with israel. The western world will will be next I was in israel on october 7th I personally experienced the bombardment of over 5 000 missiles On the day on that day in israel Israel had a good anti missile missile system and that reduced damage. They are constantly bombing israel They they do not stop What you see is the damage when Hamas doesn't protect their own citizens I've experienced I saw how how the militants crossed the border And then the garrison population followed them I saw them kill slaughter burn children parents grandparents. They raped the mutilated woman Can you imagine that your daughter began raped? Her breast sliced a virginia shot Is this the group you want to make peace with? My good friend's daughter born two months after my own daughter attended the music festival Her last message was I'm safe. Don't worry Her burnt body was identified one whole week after And that was only after her parents What do you think happened to her the citizens kidnapped people they've taken them to their homes They have Hamas tunnels under their homes Try to wrap this up about five seconds would be helpful. Thank you Yeah You are not in favor of Hamas Or in the favor of peace when you vote for Hamas. Thank you very much. Thank you solution 29 Thank you Good evening Good evening mayor and good evening council members Thank you for your time and your perseverance with democratic process this evening My name is katelyn brun and I'm a register voter in the city of santa cruz in district two I'm calling on you to please pass the ceasefire resolution on today's agenda as is Gandhi reminded us that an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind A ceasefire resolution upholds the sanctity of all lives human and more than human Acknowledging the avoidable and immensely costly toll of war and violence And affirming the choice to pursue Nonviolent pathways to the future A ceasefire resolution at the local level will send a message To state and federal levels about the seriousness of our commitment To uphold the sanctity of all life and act in ways that reflect this This issue is critical for us as residents because the genocide happening in gaza is funded by our tax dollars This is our business as engage global citizens And this bottom-up strategy is common in responding to crises and bringing about significant social change And affirms the city city's 1982 planetary city resolution I've been struck by this movement to encourage ceasefire And how it has promoted interracial interreligious solidarity worldwide A ceasefire resolution will likewise foster feelings of safety for local Palestinians, Arabs, Muslims, and Jewish people Kindly pass um, item number 25 29 Online good evening. Welcome to the council meeting Person online. Good evening Hello, we'll hope. Can you hear me? Yes, we can welcome Please proceed Good evening. I know both council members. My name is Muhammad As we stand today confronting the grim reality in gaza We must also confront the narratives that have fueled this onslaught One such narrative is the traveling justification of the mass killing an onslaught upon gaza civilians rooted in the belief that they're Voting warrants such consequences This perspective Which is often associated with most factions within the ideas posits that by voting for hamas The people of gaza have somehow forfeited their right to set safety in life It's a narrative that dangerously dehumanizes an entire population reducing them to mere ponds In this conflict This blood thirsty mindset, which justifies the indiscriminate killing of civilians and overlooks potential war crimes Fends in stark contrast to the principles of international law and human dignity While we grieve the innocent lives lost on october 7th, we must also confront the reality Of the days that followed a fixation on a single day. It should not blind us to the ongoing tragedy That folds day after day This war's lack of proportionality has not only led to humanitarian crisis, but has also raised serious questions About the adherence to the international law We stand at the crossroads where our actions or inaction will be remembered by history We cannot under the guise of political complexity turn a blind eye to what amounts to excessive civilian casualties Thank you. Therefore. I implore this council to act with the urgency this crisis demands. We must pass the ceasefire As is Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you Good evening council members. Thank you for your patience and perseverance My name is gail mcnulty. I live in bonnie dune My children attend school in the city of santa cruz and we spend most of our dollars locally I'm calling on you tonight to pass item 29 the ceasefire resolution on today's tonight's agenda In its original wording and to reject any harmful amendments or substitute resolutions I speak as a mother attempting to raise conscientious children in a nation whose leaders are morally bankrupt With the hope that our local leaders will model justice and love If you think that today's resolution will have little influence on us policy I invite you to empathize with palestinian parents living in santa cruz Imagine how they felt when a six-year-old palestinian boy was shot and killed in illinois And when three college students were shot for being palestinian in vermont In his christmas eve sermon delivered in bethlehem christ in the rubble The reverend moonser isaac said gaza today has become the moral compass of the world demanding an end to targeted attacks on homes schools hospitals places of worship and refugee camps Is not anti-semitic It's the only sane humane morally correct thing to do jewish voice for peace 64 members of congress two-thirds of american voters many cities including oakland and san francisco And the majority of the world have called for an end to genocide in gaza Your yes vote tonight will be an act of courageous love that shows santa cruz says no to hate and fear And yes to love and hope As angela davis said You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world And you have to do it all the time Thank you My name is jack Good evening. Welcome. Whoever it is online Good evening and welcome Hello, my name is jack. Hey, thank you for waiting. I couldn't be I am a city i live in the city of santa cruz and I think that the resolution that you're pondering will more likely cause deaths through war Then avoid them and that peace will not be a key The reason is because the cycle of violence that we've seen in the middle east over many decades Is more often than not a result of an attempt to eradicate israel and if amas is allowed to stay and control The lives of palestinians it will Continue this cycle of violence The only way it can be resolved Resolved with the minimum of death Through war is for those groups including amas that seek to destroy israel for those groups Be eradicated and for the setting an example of for those who seek to Prevent israel from existing and noticing our group um That before you so many people said oh 75 year old occupation of the colonialism empire of When in fact that they don't seem to Understand that israel in fact was formed by the united nations. That's 75 year old occupation So called occupation is in fact the will of the world community as expressed by the un So there's a terrific amount of ignorance about history in the middle east, which I think is maybe a brutal much of what you hear Thank you for your time Thank you Good evening. Good evening. My name is avid and i'm a resident of santa cruz I'm also a proud member organizer of starbucks workers united and a member of the international coalition for human rights in the philippines I moved here at 18 to attend ucsc my first time away from home For 18 year old palestinians in gaza to go even a few miles away from home. They have to pass many checkpoints and surveillance So many don't know what the west bank or jerusalem look like I am now 24 and if I were living in gaza I would most likely be dead because the median age as of 2020 was 18 And i'm sure that median age has lowered in this past period at the age of 18 most palestinians haven't seen the beach Most palestinians no longer have both their parents Most palestinians palestinians will not see the next day Many have said that there is no need for santa cruz to take on this resolution But this is further from the truth We hear gaza's craze for solidarity. That's why there's hundreds lined up in public comment Attempting to limit aid by adding punitive conditions does not put santa cruz on the side of human rights I grew up catholic and I learned that jesus didn't break people or support oppression to protect power Jesus taught us to not screen freedom for ourselves while remaining silent for others Jesus taught us that if they are not free, we are not free It's clear with the masses of people. Excuse me. I won't take this out of your time I won't take this out of your time. We're going to just pause here for a second While people get themselves under control So hold on for a second because it takes some people a little longer than others apparently So we're going to pause here for a moment Respectfully, can we continue? We're going to pause for a second Please proceed So It's clear what the masses of people are saying here Are saying in richmond in oakland in san francisco and around the world And that's past the ceasefire resolution as is and us aid to israel and the season occupation of palestine Long live international solidarity My name is erin and i'm again No, we're we're gonna hold here for a minute There's a tenth time i've made this request that you be as respectful Of each other as we are being with you Apparently that's not easy for some people to understand I would ask you you are going to get your two minutes Absolutely uninterrupted by us We will be glad to hear anything you have to say without censorship We'll be pleased to hear it Please extend that to everyone else Thank you We'll now take the next person online My name is erin and i'm a constituent in santa christ county I'm jewish raised in a reformed and russian orthodox jewish family I grew up experiencing anti-semitism. I have worked for multiple international women's rights organizations Committed to ending sexual and gender-based violence I have seen the videos photos and heard accounts of attacks Of the attacks on october 7th, and they're horrifying. I grieve these events unequivocally And these horrors are not and should not be used as justification for the ongoing decimation displacement and progressive slaughter of the palestinian people their home and their culture More than half the population of gaza is made up of children I cannot comprehend that sexual and gender-based violence is being used to rationalize the ongoing massacre of thousands of children The ongoing violence against palestine backed by our tax dollars cannot be disguised as defense Like most jewish children in america. I was raised On holocaust stories as bedtime stories the videos of the genocide in gaza looks strikingly like the history of my people People forced from their homes walking in lines for miles while guns are pointed at them Men are stripped bare beaten and forced to stand out in the cold with their hands tied Families are being torn apart people are starving It looks like the holocaust and it is important to me that the only jewish ethnic state in the world Can commit the same catastrophic violence on another people that was done to us I urge the council to to vote for item 29 without amendment a resolution for a ceasefire and humanitarian aid to gaza does not imply a ratio of the attacks on october 7th How can peace happen without ceasefire? ceasefire is the first step to peace ongoing violence in palestine provokes further division anti-semitism and islamophobia here in the united states A ceasefire resolution affirms our investment in the safety and well-being of palestinians and jews and santa cruz And families and loved ones impacted in palestine and israel the liberation and safety of the jewish people is tied up with the Liberation and safety of palestinians. Please pass ceasefire resolution 29 without amendment amendment Good evening. Good evening. My name is abby. I am I'm born and raised here in santa cruz I'm also a filipino woman and an organizer with gabriella an alliance of filipino women organizations fighting for national democracy in the philippines and i'm here to support an unamended passing of the ceasefire resolution I'm also here to rebut the ridiculous and baseless claims of violence against women Some of the zionists have spouted here tonight And i'm also here to assert that the largest perpetrators of violence against women have been the israeli defense forces Consider that 30 000 of the palestinians killed are women and children Consider the fact that 50 000 women in gaza are pregnant and are being forced to leave their homes To walk miles be homeless sleeping on the ground with just harps over their heads Forced to give birth in hospitals that have no water no electricity No incubators for these babies who we don't even know are surviving There was a little girl born in southern gaza named alamira aisha or princess aisha She survived for two weeks before bombs flattened her home and she died along with her whole family and 25 other people There are also very many palestinian filipino families that are being Uh expatriated back to the philippines and are being separated from their families in gaza This is not an issue for just palestinian people. This is an issue for all of us So because of this I urge you all to please Pass the unamended ceasefire resolution and stand with the people of gaza. Thank you We'll take the next person online. Good evening Welcome Good evening. My name is jennifer kelly and i'm faculty in critical race and ethnic studies and feminist studies at ucsc And a founding member of our ucsc chapter of faculty for justice in palestine 100 members strong I am also here as a scholar of palestine For the past two decades my scholarship in my teaching center palestine and palestinian studies I'm also here as a mother I'm one of two moms to a two-year-old daughter who's come with us to every action in every march over the past three months A child marching for other children in a world that should not necessitate that I'm also here to ask you To unequivocally support the ceasefire resolution with no amendments along with so many here I support a ceasefire resolution that stands unequivocally against colonial state violence and the state sanctioned murder of a besieged population The majority of whom are refugees from successive waves of displacement by Israeli settlement and ethnic cleansing since 1948 Israeli bombs continue to reign on gaza murdering tens of thousands for health sinians over 9 000 children not counting those trapped under the rubble Israeli airstrikes have destroyed hospitals and universities targeted first responders and bakeries murder journalists and their families targeted professors Eradicated entire families leveled neighborhoods and routinely demolished safe routes 1.9 palestinians have been displaced and over 70 percent of homes destroyed these numbers go up every time I speak Israel has continued to deny palestinians and gaza water medicine food electricity and fuel these war crimes are supported by the us At the rate of 3.8 billion per year and 70 percent of constituents are saying no and demanding a permanent and total ceasefire two final things One palestinians are teaching life in the words of palestinian poet Rafif Zayada every day in gaza while they're being subjected to death They're making sure children have space to play between bombs. They're pulling each other from the rubble They're cooking for each other. They're comforting their babies while they flee They're risking and losing their lives every day to make their stories heard As they teach life the very least we can do is amplify their pedagogy and demand a ceasefire Two the notion that this divides our community is a farcical distraction The ambit square event disparaged earlier today was a beautiful family-centered collective community demand for freedom and celebration I've never been prouder of my community in Santa Cruz as I was then and on December 12th When we showed up here in the hundreds or tonight when we come together once again to demand an end to violence done in our Name and with our tax dollars ceasefire now Good evening in the first place. I want to point out That the mayor insists he won't interrupt anyone, but he did interrupt my friend Adith And refused to allow her to continue when she asked. I respect his authority, but I feel that was very disrespectful to this community Secondly Some things I feel compelled to state as a person of conscience one The moral prerogative of a decent person is not to avoid Division it is not to avoid controversy. It is not to be quiet and respectful and wait your turn And prevent oppression by the with with only the tools and rules provided to you by the oppressor It is to do what is right and what is right regardless of of how divisive it may be is to oppose Imperialism genocide and colonialism. So I would call on you Uh, uh to pass the resolution unmodified although I agree with someone earlier who said that it would be Good if it also included a clear recognition that what is happening is genocide, which it is Um, secondly, I'm absolutely disgusted to have heard Uh, uh, uh, Mr. Netanyahu's own racist rhetoric about human animals repeated here tonight I think it should be stated very clearly that Palestinians are not bloodthirsty wolves. They are human beings of the species homo sapiens Uh, the fact they live in a foreign country and speak a foreign language does not change that. Please don't prevent them from clapping I'm okay with it. Um, that said, I do feel also compelled to state that the comparison of the idf to fat incompetent pigs Seems fairly appropriate given their relationship with police in this country. Um, Secondly Secondly, it must be made very clear that homos did not start violence on october 7th The violence we are facing right now or I should say palestine is facing right now began with the balfour declaration and the beginning of the illegitimate Colonial project of zionism in palestine. It was not begun by the palestinians who are indigenous to that land It was begun by foreign imperialists from britain and foreign zionists from britain And it has been committing genocide against palestinian people ever since Next person online Good evening Next person online. Good evening We'll take you now Excuse me Let's go Yeah, the person online isn't responding. So please proceed Welcome Well, I don't know. I'm supposed to follow that up, but um I'm esmeralda urtavo a student and registered Registered voter in district five and i'm calling on you to pass item 29 the ceasefire resolution on today's agenda as is and reject harmful amendments or substitute resolutions As over 23 000 palestinians have been killed in just over three months The need for calling for a ceasefire has only exponentially increased by the day I have seen our palestinian muslim and simply out of friends and family in greater pain and danger now Than ever before since my childhood in the aftermath of 9 11 and throughout the war on terror We as a society have seen six-year-old wadea al-fayome brutally stabbed by his landlord for the crime of simply being palestinian We have seen our three brothers tassin ali amad Kenan abdahamid And hirsham abhartani shot and hospitalized The latter of who has been paralyzed from the waist down for the crime of being palestinian We have seen multitudes of students arrested Detained and brutalized for the crime of speaking out against the ethnic cleansing and genocide being committed upon the palestinian people I have personally seen my own friends receive hate mail Death threats and rape threats for the crime of speaking out for palestinians here in so called peaceful santa cruse On october 13th 2023 Jewish israeli holocaust scholar razz sigal called the ongoing situation in gaza quote a textbook case of genocide That was three months ago I'm calling on you now to do your part in fighting for the precious lives of palestinians Who are currently being ethnically cleansed for the crime of being born palestinian? i'm calling on you to help protect our palestinian muslim and adab family by calling for a ceasefire now Good evening person online welcome Hi, can you hear me? Yes, we can welcome Oh, thank you. Um Uh, my name is miriam greenberg and i am calling in support of the ceasefire resolution Um, I wanted to thank council members brown and brunner in collaboration with community members for advancing this resolution Um, I strongly support those who are arguing That the condition of possibility for peace in the region depends upon starting with this Uh ceasefire and that having communities like our communities of conscience around the united states as well as in his own palestine Supporting ceasefire is very meaningful very uplifting for all of those of us Who also support peace over the last uh, the last close to 20 years I have lived and raised my children in santa cruz Worked as a professor at ec santa cruz And then and i'm a jewish member of santa cruz and a member of temple Bethel I now stand with a member of my fellow congregation members At temple Bethel as well as so many others jews and and Other members of our community in support of this vital resolution um, I do so In also from my jewish values and feel that what israel is doing in its ongoing bombardment of gaza Is completely antistetical to those values of which i was raised And will also sadly not solve the crisis that is being faced The human toll is unbearable with both sides committing grave violations of the geneva conventions and humanitarian law That certainly includes the horrific violence of the 7th of october and of course since then Overwhelming and unending atrocities in gaza with over 20 000 palestinians having been killed by israeli bombardments The majority of them women and children tens of thousands wounded and humanitarian disaster that is being that is ongoing due to the deprivation of food And the displacement and uh, excuse me the the blockade the blockade of water and electricity And medicine i wanted to just finish by saying That this can only be stopped with a political solution and that political solution has to begin with the ceasefire And i really am so proud of the community in stanakrys for standing up for this resolution. Thank you so much for supporting the ceasefire Good evening. Welcome. Hello. Thank you so much for your time. My name is amir asadi I am a robotics engineering student at ucsb and i am here to Uh call for the passing of the resolution In support of a ceasefire. I ask a very simple question Why have so many people he spoken here to vehemently oppose a humanitarian ceasefire? A ceasefire is a cessation of violence violence that is currently harming both palestinians and israelis Since october 7th the state of israel has killed over 20 000 palestinian civilians and over 60 of their own citizens in the recent carpet bombing of gaza I am saddened to see so many people calling for the continuation of this violence For those who bring up the genocides and violence in sudan Artsakh and other countries in the global south as a strawman argument to justify opposing this resolution I remind you that the Israeli government uses our tax dollars to fund the oppressive regimes in those countries Israel funds the israeli government in their ethnic cleansing of armenians from artsakh Israel funds the rsf the military force committing rap mass rape and genocide against indigenous sudanis If you truly cared about these humanitarian crises, you would condemn the accomplishments of that violence Every child killed today in gaza would be alive if there was a ceasefire yesterday What hatred has infected our hearts that encourages people to call for more death I am not here to gravel and beg unwilling ears to grow moral backbones strong enough to condemn the slaughter of over 20 000 human beings. I will not debate the humanity of palestinians I am not here to conflate the cruelty of these really government with the beauty of judaism I am not here to humor the rhetoric of people who can excuse the massacres rape torture environmental desecration starvation and systematic Cultural desecration inflicted upon the palestinian people I am here to remind you of your duty as public servants to serve the public The people of sanikers are telling you that we do not stand for this violence We ask you to add your voices to the national calls for ceasefire and the The distribution of humanitarian aid into gaza as a black muslim american born in that aftermath of 9 11 I am intimately familiar with violent islamophobia and anti-arab racism It disgusts me that the same rhetoric used to justify the hate crimes and violence against my family Is never vitalized under the guise of combating anti-semitism. It disgusts me that in 2023 and 2024 islamophobic and anti-arab hate crimes Have nearly tripled in the u.s. Since october. Thank you for your time. Please call for an immediate ceasefire online No, excuse me. We're going to take the next person online first No, not a problem. Thank you for your patience. We'll take the next person online. Good evening Good evening. Um, this first part is for renae golder Respectfully, could you please bring your attention to your constituents? I know it's been a long night. Thank you very much Liz Fitzgerald here sanikers resident psychotherapist and social worker with the sanikers mental health professionals for palestine I'll keep it simple. Um, there's a list of things that I want. I think that we want less murder more ceasefire less trauma more psychological safety less us california sanikers funded genocidal weapons More healthcare and housing for all less racist zionist violence More palestinian life self-determination joy and freedom Less colonialism more accountability more land back more reparations No genocide all ceasefire. No amendments or dilutions 29 all the way as it is. Thank you Evening Good evening Thank you for your space and time. I know you are tired, but we are tired too We are tired that what is happening and Gaza right now continues to be described as a war a word that implies that both parties involved Have equal footing. We must question how this word is appropriate when we examine the scale of the state sanctioned violence from Israel How they are fully cutting off palestinian's access to electricity water and food And I'll have how they have launched the equivalent of two nuclear explosive in bomb attacks This is to reaffirm the fact that what we're observing is not war. It is genocide I also want to acknowledge the dissonance and irony and the fact that the purpose of a city council meeting Is to get the public and community involved with city affairs Yet windows have been closed and people with speakers outside have been shut down Of which are actions that make these conversations inaccessible to the very public that you claim to serve Now the public is here and an overwhelming majority of them Sorry and an overwhelming majority of them are showing palestinian solidarity It is easy to say that this is far and removed from us But as an indigenous kamai crumb student at ucsc I'm telling you right now that the forces that enable this genocide colonialism Settlerism do affect our community and everyone here calling for a ceasefire is a testimony to that If you really do believe in the principles of democracy and serving the community Then please listen to us and if you do not we will not stop until item 29 is passed And we will come here every single day if we have to because complicity in the face of genocide is a crime of evil in itself Thank you so much, sir Good evening. Next person online. Good evening welcome Person online. Good evening. This is a can you hear me? Yes, we can good evening. Welcome Good evening. Thank you so much. My name is Najeeb Kamil. I work in the city of santa cruz as well as throughout santa cruz county I urge the city council members to pass item number 29 as is I'll not repeat what people have already said about what has been happening in occupied ballastine And why it's so important to pass this resolution Argument that you will not have an impact on the genocide in gaza holds no weight It sends a clear message That we will not support the use of our tax dollars to kill palestinians And as more city councils and county border The supervisors pass such resolutions. The impact will be exponential in helping end this genocide We'll be celebrating MLK day this coming monday And martin lucer king jr stated on april 4th 1967 the time comes When silence is betrayal and added that time has come for us in relation to vietnam It was a lonely and moral stance It was a lonely moral stance But it was part of the beginning of the resistance to war in vietnam And we find ourselves in the same situation today With the palestinian genocide I have full conviction that palestine will be free one day The question for this city council is on which side of history you will be remembered We'll be remembered as those who are on the side of genocide white supremacy Zionism and apartheid Or will it be the side of freedom and liberation? Thank you Good evening. Good evening. My name is vishal sing I study and I work at uc santa Cruz and I'm urging you to pass the ceasefire resolution Over my time at that campus. I've witnessed many struggles among my fellow students Just trying to get by with today's absurd cost of living And yet I also have to watch on the news as billions of dollars that could have gone towards change for them And the many others in need within our communities and others are instead diverted towards a genocide Where we would watch hospitals and schools be buried by israel's campaign against its own civilians as seen with the killing of hostages by Israeli weapons And of course the bombing of palestinian people We have to recognize as a city that this resolution is not just about ending a one-sided massacre Of the people including the children of palestine But also an end to the flow of money and resources that should be spent on the community instead of being used for mass murder like this A ceasefire is the first step in this. I refuse to watch our tuition Our taxes and our research go towards murder when I'm hearing my own fellow students talk about how they have to ration food And they live in their cars and they can barely afford to go on through another quarter because there isn't enough affordability for them How come I watch billions of dollars go towards this genocide Instead of going into things like housing or other resources that our community needs I've heard from other people the claim That this it does not involve us that this war is millions of miles away And for some reason that means we do not need to care about it But I refuse to believe that because I believe that the money from that war directly does involve us Because if that money can be used to create a better community It should become a reason for us to end this war and support a ceasefire resolution It's the first step in the struggle of divesting from war investing in better wages Housing our people and protecting the future of our community. Thank you Good evening All right, my name is Maureen Eberhardt and I'm here speaking on behalf of my friend Karime who could not speak tonight And her statement is as follows Hello, my name is Karime. I am the third of my family and I am named after my Teta Karime My family was driven out of Palestine in the 1950s and 60s But our home is the Christian Palestinian town of Ramallah Last week the IDF sent tanks and shot at my family's hometown injuring many My whole life. I have watched my people suffer But never has it been so televised as in the last three months Over 20,000 Palestinians have been murdered Hundreds died daily my brothers and sisters and thousands more who are trapped under the rubble are either dead or doomed to a slow and agonizing death The IDF is carpet bombing kidnapping men women children not just in Gaza, but all the west bank Stripping them naked beating them murdering them starving them Netanyahu has called us animals. My people are dying a slow terrifying death They're destroying the water supply in the fields. They're destroying future generations I will not condemn those that are fighting back in Palestine. How could they not? What other choice is there? After growing up this way It is a fool who appeals to the humanity of the oppressor for the oppressor has none They strip themselves when stripping others by naming us Palestinian. You admit the indigenous indigenous of my people We had no country If we have no country, then why do we have a name? Palestine was always a land with a people But I have been robbed of my culture. My whole family has I beg you to condemn the senseless torture and murder this genocide How could you watch what's happening and not stand with a ceasefire stand with me your constituent? I'm a low-income disabled 24 year old Palestinian indigenous Salvadorian I'm a Santa Cruz teacher and I'm asking you to support item 29 ceasefire resolution as is No matter your politics. We must stand against the senseless killings. This is not war. This is a concentration camp Support a permanent ceasefire now support allowing humanitarian aid into If it was your family From the river to the sea for my people Thank you Thank you very much. Good evening. I don't think she was quite finished. Good evening. Welcome. Thank you Um, my name is zika glucks. Um, thank you for this opportunity to speak to you and to my community On this issue. Um, I'm a jewish santa cruisin born and raised And I'm here to speak on behalf of the ceasefire resolution as proposed or in support of it My first born daughter turned one in october Um, being a new mom has made witnessing the violence on the gaza strip particularly horrifying in the face of every hungry injured killed an orphan child. I see my child In every displaced family I see my family and when I see the pregnant birthing and postpartum mothers struggling to stay hydrated fed Clean and safe. I see my friends and family who are going through these same precious and sacred life stages But without the support and care that they truly need Every day that a ceasefire is not reached. I dread what the future holds for these palestinian families for israeli families and for our families That our government is promoting this war by providing our tax dollars military equipment and political cover for israel Makes this even more personal I feel it is my place as an american and our place as a community to do all we can to bring relief to our fellow humans living on the gaza strip And to stand in solidarity with them And with the cities all over the country and the countries all over the world To support a nonviolent political solution to this conflict And I just wanted to add that Throughout this time. I've I've felt very sad and alone um But tonight getting to stand outside for five hours with my community I've felt the safest and the most hope that I've had in a long time So please support this resolution. Um as is with no amendments. Um, thank you. Thank you very much Person line welcome Yes, hi, can you hear me? Yes, we can welcome Thank you so much Dear council members. Thank you for having us here today Please do not believe in lies about genocide and occupation Prohamas supporters are using jewish pain to serve their political agenda The ceasefire is not a peace resolution What ceasefire are we discussing? Hamas broke ceasefire on october 6th Then in november of 2023 during the hostages exchange and refuse refuse the ceasefire in december Hamas is holding our hostages. Hamas is steering humanitarian aid from palestinians Hamas tortures their own people. Do you understand? If you really want to help the people of palestine and israel Release the hostages the resolution should be about demanding hamas to lay down its weapons And did you see the pictures of the israeli tortured girls? This is pure jewish hate And nobody Tonight in this chambers who are claiming to be women activists mentioned these girls today I'm aware that hamas fires bombs on israel every few hours And are you aware that israeli children take turns to go to school to ensure enough space in shelters? Are you aware that israeli citizens sleep in shelters since october 7th media doesn't cover this Since there is so much For all of us to understand and learn about middle east. Let let's help us With local issues anti-semitism is skyrocketed. We're hurting. Please unite us. Don't divide us I do not support this resolution because it does not bring peace. Thank you very much Please come forward and let me say this good morning. Good morning. Good morning Um, but can I just ask something for clarity? I don't I haven't actually ever spoken here before and I see some people really giving their attention to everyone And then some people like tony and matt and scott um And renay just not like being on their computers what it looks like maybe scrolling on their phones and I I think so many powerful. There's been so many powerful speakers I am not sure what they're looking at but people have taken the time to gather their thoughts and let me do this I won't take that out of your time Council members sit here and react. However, they choose to react So why don't you begin with your presentation? But it's okay to scroll on your phone and be on your computer doing other things. I don't know. I'm just wondering I'm I'm curious. I'm wondering how I am going to take it out of your time. Please proceed. So let's go So I'll take it as that's okay to do other things instead of listening fully to the people who are speaking um, I mean it's such an honor and a privilege to listen to all these powerful speakers and Oh, no I don't have much more to I don't have much more to say than all the powerful things that have already been said I I'm haunted That um at night, you know, like I went all throughout the day Just um Seeing these images of people um Children and and and families having to hold down their family members to have Their limbs amputated because they've been destroyed by bombs dropped by israel um Without anesthesia With knives in there out of their own kitchens if they still have the kitchen Anything that they can find to cut off limbs that have to be cut off because gangrene is setting in And then it starts to smell I mean, this isn't my this is what i'm seeing if you look you'll see it's all there um And so there's no antibiotics all the all is there to support them and take care of them on the borders But can't be isn't being let in by israel intentionally I mean, it's the most horrific unconscionable thing It's happening and it's um I mean really just just that just that that Parents i'm not even a parent, but I imagine some of you are and i'll wrap up the my saying that Could you imagine holding down your own family members to have their limbs cut off? And have the world stand by and see it It's the least we can do To call a ceasefire. Thank you Next person online. Good morning. Next person online. Good morning We're gonna hear from you. Good morning. Okay, let's pretend I didn't say it You get to say it haunted I'm just gonna say I am with you Every moment of every day. I am thinking about what is happening in Gaza Okay, um, my name is caroline cuspa. I'm born and raised in santa cruz. Um I and live here. I am a descendant of eastern european jews with Humanitarian spirits my mom harriet crocus became the first female obgyn in santa cruz My uncle joseph heyman also an obgyn fought tirelessly against racial inequity in patient care earning leadership roles like president of the massachusetts medical society and chair of the board of trustees of the am a My mom and uncle are no longer with us sadly Um cancer But I felt their pain every time a hospital in gaza has been targeted And every doctor who refused to leave their patients And was later bombed in their own homes Premature births due to stress Undernourished mothers and children they would shudder absolutely shudder to see it By december 20th 104 physicians 87 nurses and 87 other health care workers have been killed Um the opposed to a ceasefire are my brothers and sisters And I believe your fear and your generational trauma is real However, I do not believe that a military response is viable nor ethical To my palestinian brothers and sisters. I will steadfastly advocate for a ceasefire and for your equal rights and self-determination throughout historic palestine um passing a ceasefire Would uh give me hope that a diverse majority of santa cruzans including jews and palestinians young and old are not powerless in this nightmare That we have taken a step to fulfill our civil duty to speak up and end this preventable suffering and opt for a diplomatic solution I hope the record will have it that on this fateful day santa cruz joined Like 33 other cities um across the nation and counting. Thank you so much Good morning. Good morning Person online. Good morning Welcome Let's go We'll hear from you. Good morning. Hi Thank you My name is nereva. Uh, I have been a santa cruz resident since 2004. I live downtown I'm also an educator at a local elementary school and i'm also raising my child here in santa cruz I'm here today to ask you to pass the ceasefire resolution as it is because it is the right thing to do You might be feeling that taking a position on matters of foreign policy is beyond your purview Um, I'd like you to know that there is ample precedent from cities Councils around the country who have passed such resolutions and they have done so because it is the right thing to do Here is a partial list of these cities Detroit albany portland main iowa city bridgeport connecticut Atlanta providence rhod island acron ohio Patterson new jersey olympia Wilmington delaware madison wisconsin seattle lorence kansas belligham washington And in california fulsome long beach richmond davis Hollister laguna beach oakland now san francisco date in ohio epsilon e dearborn kalamazoo all in michigan And here is a partial list of human rights organizations who have also called for a ceasefire because it is the right thing to do Amnesty international doctors without borders the king center oxfam the world health organization The united nations children's fund the carter center and save the children in addition 172 united nation member states have also called for a ceasefire because it is the right thing to do There is mass murder of children going on at this very moment and you and i and everyone in this room We are responsible for it This is one small thing we can do we can ask for it to stop Will you find the courage and the decency to add your voice to the growing call for a ceasefire today? I hope the answer is yes. Thank you. Thank you From the next person online. Good morning Can you hear me? Yes, we can welcome My name is carl shankler. I'm a 40 year jewish resident of santa christ county I grew up in birmingham alabama during the civil rights here many jewish people there Were bravely involved in attending marches writing letters holding meetings in support of ending segregation In fact, one of the people who spoke at this meeting had a prominent civil rights activists Relative who was kidnapped by the klan and so badly beaten that he later died from his injuries But i was still a child when my rabbi whom i greatly admired revealed it spied off of saying he opposed segregation Had secretly been involved in trying to end the ongoing civil rights demonstrations I could never again listen to his sermons without deep skepticism The current support by many jewish leaders and mainstream organizations in the u.s for continuation Of israel's unmitigated bombing disproportion and revengeful retaliation for the brutal attacks Of october 7th now directed at civil civilian population gaza is to me reminiscent of the confusion and timidity In the mostly older jewish leaders in birmingham in 60s and the relative silence that preceded the civil rights movement Was no more a ceasefire for black alabamians than was the period before october 7th In which palestinians were subject to attacks dispositions and policies described As apartheid by human rights watch amnesty international length The uncareful documents and by an occupation labeled illegal by the united nations And i object to the claims the criticism of israeli policies and support for ceasefire even by jewish people such as myself as anti-semitic i've spent my adult life criticizing my own government's militaristic Anti-humanitarian policies and that is an essential form of patriotism So why should a clearly decreasing number of american jewish people fail to criticize government that is not even their own most racist and right wing In israel's history lastly You should know that opposition to reactionary pro-israel zinus My own grandmother who fled anti- jewish pogroms Over a hundred years ago as an anti zinus organizer in the 40s when israel was being established I remember her and honor her memory by speaking here about these issues. Please pass the ceasefire resolution without amendments. Thank you Good morning. Hi there. My name is henry cordial. I'm a cabrillo college nursing student and I live downtown here in santa Cruz Uh, i'm originally from st louis missouri and in 2017 in st louis More than 100 headstones at a jewish cemetery were vandalized Seeing this sickening act of hatred and anti-semitism. I felt compelled to help out even though i'm not jewish Um, I so I donated money to help in the recovery effort um I was reminded of this recently because I have seen videos online of palestinian cemeteries that have been completely destroyed by idf bulldozers This is just one small aspect to this entire thing, but it is an important aspect of the conflict So I asked myself, what can I do now and what is an appropriate response to Such hatred and destruction and I think the very least we can say is that a ceasefire would be part of that um, I also want to say just one last thing um Is that I I saw videos of this, um where I got left You can address. Oh unlimited. I think Sir, sir, excuse me. You can address us. Oh, I can't look that way. No, I would prefer you. Okay. Sorry. I was okay. Gotcha um Well, I was just going to say real quick that Uh, I my twitter feed is only pro palestinian stuff and I imagine I talked to one of my friends who just describes himself as a third generation Zionist that hit he said his twitter feed was only pro israeli stuff and I um Would happily show this to anyone This video of these graves being desecrated in palestine if anyone here or back here would like to see And I would happily see anything that's convincing from the other side as well. So thank you for john. Thank you very much Good morning Good morning. Can you hear me? Yes, we can welcome Thank you It was a cold six and a half hours out in the courtyard And I finally had to move to doom But I stayed with it because I think it's so important that your council hear a range of voices on this topic I'm a 40 year resident of the city and my heart is broken by what is happening in gaza I stand for a permanent end to the violence And therefore I oppose the resolution A permanent ceasefire Empowers hamas We all know the unbridled terror that will flow from that And the region will be further than ever from a permanent peace The resolution is divisive in our city our city has many opinions And there's no way that this resolution represents all the voices or the complexity of the voices And it shouldn't go forward for that reason alone Some speakers have said they don't see how the resolution is divisive They must not have been in the courtyard because there there were signs that say from the river to the sea And that means a new calisthen from the jordan to the mediterranean And it means no israel and it means no israelis And it's a racist possibly genocidal dog whistle And in this city, can you imagine us tolerating that if it was targeting black people or targeting asian people? We would reject it and we should reject it now I hope my community will show up as a unifier in these difficult times and not as a divider I hope that unity and support for all of the impacted communities is the outcome of any action the council might take The alternative resolution is a place to start But not approving this simplistic and unjust resolution is even better Thank you so much for your time Good morning My my Salam, good morning to this council. My name is nadia. I'm a 15-year resident of sanikers and a voter in sanikers city I Wrote a long thing to say But really everything has been said so beautifully tonight that I already would have said um It feels important almost to ask you to bear witness to what tonight has been. I'm sure from your position Um, you're tired. I'm tired too. I go to bed at nine but I Tonight has been such an incredible show of solidarity amongst each other and people and I actually respectfully disagree with with the last Community member just said last we were singing in harmonies that were eight pieces out there And everything we were saying was for a type of understanding that freedom cannot be won alone And so many people have spoken to their loneliness tonight That loneliness of looking through our screens at genocide unfolding and by ourselves and tonight we got to come out as a community and hold each other And also ask you to please witness so many of us asking you to see that we The smallest thing our city council our city could do is pass a ceasefire resolution It would show The people of gaza who have no hope that there is Hope the people of gaza who every day on instagram Just say how disappointed they are in all of us and i'm disappointed too, but I also know that we have the ability to genuinely make each other whole again through witnessing and The people of palestine don't need us, but we need to see ourselves free All together and palestine is showing us how and I ask you it's so late To please pass this ceasefire resolution as is Expersion online. Good morning Person online. Good morning We'll take the next person in line then Good morning, sir Thank you. Good morning. My name is westley summers. I am a phd student at uc santa cruz I am in solidarity with ucse faculty for justice in palestine I'm a registered voter in santa cruz And I support a ceasefire resolution without amendments Since october 7th the israeli government has murdered over 20 000 innocent palestinians In retaliation for hamas's attack and whatever you think about hamas There's absolutely no way to justify this level of violence After hearing multiple Military and government officials of israel state their intentions to ethnically cleanse the gaza strip And they greatly reduce their territory. There is no doubting that their actions amount to genocide and this is why south africa is taking israel To israel's government to the international court of justice charging them with genocide And I have every confidence that they will win un Has also ordered israel to ceasefire, which is real promptly ignored Meanwhile, the biden administration Continues to funnel our u.s citizen tax dollars my tax dollars your tax dollars Into the israeli genocidal war machine As people of a nation founded On the mass genocide of this land's indigenous people And as citizens of a mission town where that genocide took place and as citizen as citizens whose money Is being used to murder murder innocent people in palestine now. We have a great responsibility To act in solidarity with all oppressed people With all black and indigenous and people of color with all people being genocided and displaced To pass our own ceasefire resolution and add our voices to the many cities And countries across the world And organizations across the world We're also calling for a ceasefire. Thank you. Thank you That's person online. Good morning. Welcome to the council. Can you hear me? Can you hear me? Good morning. Hello, we can hear you just fine. Please proceed. Hey, good morning. Good morning. Well, thank you very much for I think you can continue to speak. My name is alex seren and I am a registered reporter And I am linked in santa cruz Since 1991 Well, thank you. Mary gilly and council members for patients and endurance during this hearing So, uh, dear fellow Santa Cruz and santa cruzians I post this kind draft of this non-actionable one-sided devices resolution Here's why I skip some soviet union as a political refugee and as a jew I had experienced the anti-semitism firsthand And I see how the draft of this resolution is already dividing our santa cruz And would lead to rise and distrust and hatred in our community Just recently the jewish person had been killed In the pro-palestinian demonstration la and I'm afraid about safety of my daughter who is studying in uc la I'm working high-tech worldwide including middle east and I have close friends That my muslim colleagues some of them are palestinians and lebanese Who expressed disgust with the khamas ruling of gaza and abroad this middle east horrible situation No folks who call for this resolution mentioned that people of gaza are suffering because of the actions of khamas The release of hostages and surrender khamas can finish this war today While we must demand the peace we should do it in balanced and comprehensive way The existing resolution doesn't show understanding of the reality of the new east Not promotes unity in our community In opposite it's very divisive for a local community and may cause a long-term continuous issues in middle east I demand reconsidering this resolution and to arrive In balanced and beneficial way for our community Thank you very much. Thank you very much Good morning and welcome. Good morning Well known long-time former santa crs resident and ucsc dr. Holder Huey P newton once wrote israel was created by western imperialism and is maintained by western firepower He was the founder of the black panther party for self-defense in oakland california The racist systems that labeled dr. Newton and the black panther party as terrorists for the idea of mere resistance to oppression Are the same systems labeling the palestinians as terrorists since the nakaba of 1948 Long before october 7th Why do we in santa crs and in the bay area lack focus on the fundamental causes of violence and oppression ignoring history So if a ceasefire wasn't a local issue as members of the public here claim Then why are we seeing billboards stating hamas is your problem too on our roads? And why are we sending taxpayer money to fund the genocide while we continue to ignore the plight of unhoused santa crs residents? As a muslim south asian resident of the santa crs mountains for over a decade I say it is imperative to our safety to denounce that racism that affects marginalized groups like our middle eastern American community and that had and also that that had silenced people Like huep newton in the city by calling for a ceasefire to set a precedent for future generations The feelings of the oppressor are not more important than the lives of the oppressed I implore you to pass the resolution as is and to mirror the heroic actions of the san francisco city council Who passed their resolution during the time of this meeting? Thank you. Thank you Good line next person online. Good morning Hello, can you hear me? We can good morning. Welcome to the council meeting Hi, thank you for having me here today. Certainly I've been a resident of santa crs for about 10 years now Um, and I'm I'm really passionate about this community I just want to urge you to please please please pass this resolution It is desperately needed Um We won't we won't stop until The killing stops please Please take our words to heart Thank you Thank you Morning. Good morning. Apologies for my early start. Um My name is lawni. I've lived here and worked in santa crs since 2016 Currently I work as a library personnel Here in santa crs um I am here today to basically just state my full support for the city resolution calling for a ceasefire And I ask everyone here to reject the changes proposed on the resolution um, I Really feel like this is an important issue for us in the city as a whole um And I want to see I don't really want to repeat what everyone has already said tonight. It's pretty late I'm also past my bedtime Um, but yeah, thank you for your patience tonight. Thank you everyone for being here. I really love every single one of you Thank you Good morning Good morning person online. Hello. Can you hear me? Yes, we can welcome Well, thank you. Uh, good morning to you folks. I'm sure you want to go to sleep Uh, a couple of comments I want to make here. My first of all, my name is gill stein I have an office in santa cruse and I've been a graduate of ucsc stevenson college And I think that this resolution Misses the point and first of all, I think it's an excuse basically to malign the state of israel the comments about anti zionism basically zionism is the aspiration of the jewish people to return to their ancestral homeland itself determination for jewish people and it seems to me that what the phrases of Occupation of 75 years first of all it basically denies the legitimacy of israel and secondly It denies the fact that jordan and egypt occupied gaza and the west bank for several years Uh in 1948 Until 1967 so that's one point. I want to make secondly the idea of genocide Genocide was the what hamas attempted to do on october 7th. That was their intent to kill as many jews as they could What's happening in gaza is unfortunate It's unfortunate, but it's part of war and that we cannot change the fact that hamas is hiding in hospitals In schools and mosques building tunnels under them making having weapons factories Under uh civilian areas. That's what's causing the damage. Unfortunately the people who aren't supporting this resolution ignored that If if we wanted peace if we wanted ceasefire hamas could have done that immediately by releasing the hot shoes And stopping their bombing of israel that has not happened and I think that this resolution needs to be defeated And so city needs to get back to doing the city's business Which is making it safe and prosperous for everybody. Thank you. Thank you Good morning. Good morning Okay Hi, my name is ellen kane. I came to santa cruz in 1976 right out of high school 3000 miles away in upstate new york I have loved santa cruz from when I arrived here and I still love this place. It is just an amazing community Thank you very much for staying up so late and having all our voices heard I feel very very passionate about this particular issue because having um grown up here from 18 till 65 Um, I attended a cabrio a number of times have degrees from there I'm an alumni from ucse and in fact my degree is in women's studies Which is now called feminist studies and what I learned in women's studies is how Isms are Is systematic oppression and I learned a lot about you know The whole concept of systematic oppression and then when I was only 22 actually before I went to ucse I went off to europe and spent three years there including 14 months in israel So I arrived at israel very naive. I wanted to go live on a kibbutz and learn hebrew. I speak hebrew. I still speak hebrew I'm not jewish I ended up meeting in israeli became his Havera his girlfriend and then we came back to the states and got married here because we can't marry in israel because i'm Not jewish Um after a couple years his father is dying and we had to I had to get divorced from the man I love because i'm not jewish his family would not accept him being married to a non jew So to me that's um that zionism is racism the whole concept of That these people are better than others. That's a racist concept. Okay now back to hamas Okay, so what I learned is a women's studies major is that every time there's oppression there's going to be resistance That's human nature to resist oppression So what hamas did was horrific and atrocious But everybody who is oppressed is going to resist that and the first thing I noticed when I was 22 years old And nobody was speaking this is 1981 when I arrived to israel is that it is an apartheid state I noticed immediately that if you were a jew you were given these rights and privileges And if you were a non jew you didn't receive them. So this oppression is going on for 75 years Um the genocide that's happening now is being done in the excuse of what hamas did But it is a systematic oppression that's been going on for decades and we have to stand up against it I feel very passionate about this. Please pass the ceasefire resolution Seven and a half hours into this and we will stay until every single voice has been heard You do know as I have indicated repeatedly You have two minutes to speak So if you've been here for the entire presentations You should tailor your presentation to stay within those two minutes. That would be helpful We'll take the next person online Good morning Good morning. Thank you mayor for taking everybody's calls I would like to urge you to vote no very strongly on resolution number 29 As someone said from the bottom of my heart hamas has broken every ceasefire There was a ceasefire on october 6th And they refused another ceasefire in december 23rd in exchange for the hostages Hamas does not care about the palestinian people. They steal all the humanitarian aid They shoot at palestinian families when they try to get the un Aid for their families people in this room are calling themselves palestinians and hamas as resistance fighters I'm shocked to see so many terrorists and sympathizers here in our community The constant naming of israel's actions as genocide is a cover-up for their internal anti-semitism and hate that there is one democratic state in the entire middle east that allows freedom of choice religion and love Unlike the arabic countries that consider women second-class citizens murder LGBTQ community members by throwing them off buildings and volunteer to kill jews as martyrs In 1948 there were 160 000 palestinians and now there are more than two million Is this really the definition of genocide if it is then many here need to go back to school The jews are the indigenous people of judei which is israel palestinian authority pays terrorists and their families to kill jews Hamas said october 7th will happen again and again until jews are gone Not one pro-hamas supporter here mentioned anything about the hostages if Hamas releases the hostages and put down their weapons There will be a ceasefire if israelis put down their weapons. There will be no more israelis Anti-semitism is anti-zionism Good morning and welcome First thing i'd like to say is thank you to the entire council for Staying and allowing all of us to speak. Thank you very much My name's arthur barnes. I was here last month and i'm in favor of the ceasefire And i wrote up a speech and i thought i might have something useful to say but everybody Before me has already said it all And i've been standing in line hoping i could come up with something to say that would be useful i'm sad i'm sad Because there are people of goodwill in this room who believe That what i observe as the slow motion annihilation of two million people is going to solve a problem That's about as far as i can go I hope That that's useful. Thank you. Thank you Good morning. Hi, can you hear me? Yes, we can. Good morning and welcome Thank you. Um, my name is asma. I'm a healthcare worker. I've been a pharmacist now for Over 10 years. I'm also the mom of two girls um I want to ask you um, when's the last time that the santa cruz city council had hours and hours and hours of public comment The vast majority of whom are calling for a ceasefire I think if you ask yourself that question your answer and your vote will become very clear There was a speaker a few minutes ago Who said that, you know, people who are calling this a genocide need to go back to school Um, I ask all the folks that oppose this resolution to actually open the resolution and read it If they do, um, they will see clearly that it is calling for all hostages to be released And it is calling for the very bare minimum Which is a ceasefire And the argument that a ceasefire is somehow not peaceful Is the opposite of A statement that someone would make who's actually educated And would see the definition if they looked it up in a dictionary or just googled it Um, I don't have much more to say the powerful speakers tonight have honestly Given you every reason Um that you needed uh to pass this resolution I hope that you'll look within your hearts and you'll find it in your moral compass tonight To vote this through and to vote for a ceasefire. It's the bare minimum that we can do Please listen to your constituents. That is your job And if our federal government And our state legislators were doing their job, we wouldn't have to be here tonight Standing in the cold calling in on zoom At hours into the night to ask you to do that. So please use your position of power To be our voice. Thank you. Thank you Good morning. Good morning Honorable members of the santa cruz city council I want to take a moment and thank you for sticking with us and not reducing our speaking time Thank you for that My name is basil oj. I'm a member of this community a voter and a concerned citizen I'm also a muslim and a father I stand before you today to urge you to pass item 29 the ceasefire resolution Without any changes The ongoing conflict has far reaching consequences Not only there in the middle east but here in our community The attacks on gaza are fueling anti-semitism and anti-muslim sentiments locally Impacting the very fabric of our diverse society Recently, I went to a hospital to visit a 21 year old stanford student Who was a victim of an anti-muslim hate crime Simply for wearing a t-shirt that said Damascus on it in arabic The perpetrator shouted foul language and told him to go back home Um, I felt compelled to visit the student as he is the same age as my son Some are saying a ceasefire resolution is divisive I stood outside this great hall for the last for the past seven hours I met chicanos blacks Jewish Asians mexicans Filipinos and muslims And I did not see a division I want my grandchildren And I am probably on the upper age limit here I want my grandchildren to know that I try to contribute to a world Where no child has to suffer and where the humanity United to protect the innocence I encourage you All of you council members to reflect on your own potential contribution What would you tell your grandchildren? Thank you Next person online. Good morning Good morning. Hi everyone I want to thank you council members for your time and consideration and listening to the people of Santa Cruz My name is Jojo Diaz And first and foremost, I'm a human that cares deeply about social justice issues As a mexican-american studying the field of critical race and ethnic studies It would be foolish to not stand in solidarity with Palestinians in juzza My heart is heavy for our martyrs in juzza And growing up I have learned and been taught to uphold the golden rule to treat others how I want to be treated And if my identity was being rapidly eradicated Displaced, forcibly removed, denocided, as is in juzza I would want someone to speak up about it to at the very least denounce it Over 30,000 people have been murdered in juzza And that is just another example of the u.s. Israeli war machine that we as citizens of the u.s. uphold In our complacency and tax dollars We do not have the time to wait until years later once the world writes in a textbook that the quote-unquote war in juzza was actually a genocide We have seen this narrative countless times before and with over 300 juzzans dying daily We have no time to waste in attempting to save lives There will be no Palestinians if we do not act in our capacity now As we put on our business attire as we get up in the morning as we eat our food clean ourselves and drink our water Hussins are dying and have been revoked of the very pillars of basic needs for humans ceasefire means to stop the indiscriminate bombing and killing of Palestinians through starvation illness bombings, etc permanently Calling first a ceasefire since precedent for solidarity struggles across the globe through sudan the kongo yem and armenia to alana Please take into consideration our calls for true peace in palestine israel a ceasefire I urge you all to pass item 29 as is and reject harmful amendments or substitute resolutions Thank you all for your time viva palestina Good morning Welcome Thank you so much for your time. Um, my name is betsy centeno and I am a phd student in the social psychology At uc santa cruz and i'm also a concerned Resident of the santa cruz county I'm here today to call on you to pass item 29 The ceasefire resolution on today's agenda and to reject harmful amendments As a person of central american Indigenous descent whose family has been affected for generations by settler colonialism Um, I stand in solidarity with the palestinian people We must end this genocide as I can no longer watch children and innocent lives die every single day I am in pain. They are in pain We are suffering They are suffering Santa cruz must call for a ceasefire to add our voice to the unified and strategic international campaign that seeks to end the violence for palestinians and israelis We must end this violence. We can no longer be silent or complicit You can no longer be silent or complicit Support a ceasefire as is and free palestine online Next person online Good morning Good morning last call Next person in line Here we go Good morning. I waited so long outside that my anxiety medication is out of my body now so Apologies, my my voice will be more shaky today because of that So first of all, I wanted to debunk a huge myth that a lot of zionists have been saying today And that is that hamas broke the ceasefire. That is completely Untrue the idf broke the ceasefire one hour into the ceasefire Which was not even a ceasefire because it kept shooting and killing people. So yeah, just you can google it It's it's online Um, but I just wanted to say that excuse me for a second. Yeah hate to have to do this for the 11th time What we're what we're going to do is hear from every single person for two minutes uninterrupted Please proceed Okay, uh, sorry. There's a little bit of a drag on y'all But I wanted to say that on december 12 members of the community asked the council to conduct a special meeting to call for a ceasefire Instead they went on vacation to celebrate the holidays with their families Since then at least 4,600 more palestinians have been killed by israel I went on your websites and saw that you're part of many health environmental and youth related commissions I don't if you don't pass the resolution as is I don't see how you can face your constituents and continue to pretend like you care about any of these topics I also don't see how you will continue to pretend to care about all people of color for that matter Um We are not we are not divided the majority of our community supports a ceasefire resolution as is There I also noticed today that there are not many latinos here today because most of us work in flexible hours We are 30 of santa cruz Latinos are some of the most pro palestinian group. So I want to remind y'all that we're missing that population here As you think about your next election Remember that the majority of the community supports a ceasefire. Thank you and for my community Divest boycott and sanction. Thank you Next person online. Good morning and welcome Is your last call Okay, we'll take the next person in line with us. Good morning, sir morning. Good morning Thank you so much for your service and your civic duties Really appreciate all of you. Thank you and I appreciate everyone that's here Um, and I just want to say I have a lot of love for every person in this building and I Would love um for us to lead with that even in this decision-making process Uh, my name is chris kogan. I am a new resident to santa cruz. I moved here three months ago I'm a consultant in renewable power And I you know did a calculation Um On the way here and what I found out is that you know since I moved here Center street has Filled with bodies You know center street approximately 230,000 square feet The street the sidewalks the parking spaces If you lined up an average size human child woman a man 23,000 of them all across center street It would be completely covered And I encourage you if this decision is hard For any of you or unclear. I encourage you to take a walk down center street and really let the gravity of that Hitch you and really what I want and encourage you to do Is to really lead with your heart and lead with love And acknowledge the atrocity that exists because if those bodies were on our street God knows that we would stop We would stop this immediately and Yeah, please support ceasefire Good morning Next person online. Good morning. Good morning We'll take the next person in line here Good morning. Welcome My name is Gabiella. My mom is Venezuelan Spanish and not Jewish and my dad is a white Ashkenazi Jew If we had a city council meeting during Nazi Germany, it would be divisive It would be divisive because people were able Filled with so much hatred that they were able to kill each other The reason why our city council meeting is quote unquote divisive is because it's really propaganda white supremacy is divisive That's why we're having this issue Anywho Um, I would like to address two points made by the council The first one is that the genocide resolution is the root of the divisiveness which to which I respond No, it's white supremacy is really propaganda. The last time I came here. I said the israeli Propaganda made it so that the american jewish population was called Neurodically self-hating jews is the point that they needed psychiatric treatment mental health treatment because they believed that Israel was wrong It is the same israeli propaganda that has convinced so many people here to have the courage and power to show up to a city council meeting To argue that more innocent civilians need to be bombed starved because of ridiculous evidence of terrorism Nobody in our community should ever feel empowered or safe to be racist hatred in any public space And the fact that we are allowing that in city council meetings is incredibly harmful and disrespectful to all people of color All jews and literally anybody that cares about arab muslim penn palestinian folks in our community I Totally understand why folks might be checked out of this meeting because it is ridiculous It is 12 56 a.m. And you've heard the eight hours of this you've heard people talk about how they've lost 70 family members Like how can you listen to that and be like done? We're done. We're having the ceasefire. It's done We've done it. We've listened to enough people Like as human beings if I heard one person tell me I have lost 70 70 family members In the past three months. I would not have the audacity to have another person speak This conversation would be over. It would not be what I am This is ridiculous The second point is one of the council members mentioned that cops will save us that cops will help anti-semitism and stop Islamophobia. This is ridiculous Cops did not save waida Cops did not save his sham and kanan and tazin from being killed cops do not make people who have hatred deep seeping into them stop They don't shot stop people from showing up to city council meeting to spew that racist hatred And they don't stop people from thinking that jewish people support a genocidal state That's what this ceasefire meeting is about Thank you Person online Good morning Next person online. Good morning. I think they've missed the opportunity. Good morning No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no Hello, can you hear me? Hello? Yes, I can now I can hear you. Yes, please. Good morning It wasn't my call. Okay. Um, I'm for ceasefire, of course, definitely. I mean, there is no any No any questions. I mean, we are humans. We have to I don't understand Both sides. I do understand both sides and I do realize there is somebody else involved in this conflict which tried to keep this conflict up and But we have to be human because ceasefire will help to remove the things for both sides. I mean, I don't know why it's called No, I don't know what amendments are all about. I haven't read yet that part, but for ceasefire Resolution, please kindly accept it. I vote for I'm I'm I'm done. Thank you Morning Hi, um, my name is Anna Orloff and I've lived in Santa Cruz for almost four years. Um, I'm calling on you this morning to pass item 29 And to Reject harmful amendments or substitute resolutions I want to emphasize that the Israeli government has expressed genocidal intent in its attack on the palestinian people A retired general of the IDF, Giora Ellen Wrote in an Israeli newspaper And I quote the state of israel has no choice but to turn gaza into a place that is Temporarily or permanently impossible to live in Um, 30,000 palestinian people have been killed including 10,000 children at this point And supporting an end to this violence is our moral obligation And we must do so by directly calling for a ceasefire and to exclude the word ceasefire from the resolution Would be failing to stand against genocide. Thank you Thank you I'm sorry next person online. We'll be right with you just just a couple minutes person online. Good morning Hi, can you hear me? Yes, we can welcome Thank you Good morning. So the council members My name is Asa McCroskey. I'm a registered voter in Santa Cruz And having spent most of my life here. I deeply value our collective voice in this community I'm lending my voice in support of the passing by item 29 The immediate and permanent ceasefire resolution including the release of all hostages delivery of humanitarian aid restoration of tea infrastructure and respect of the international law I'm not going to be listing statistics But for perspective the number of murdered palestinians has already reached over half the entire population of Santa Cruz And this is appalling to me As someone has faced oppression. I recognize the interconnect Interconnectiveness of all struggles for liberation. I urge you to search within yourselves for empathy drawing from any experiences of oppression you may have encountered I imagine your journeys to these positions on the city council likely stemmed from a dream to effect change This unquestionably is one of the most significant opportunities to do so Each one of you possesses the power to truly impact millions of lives I hope this responsibility weighs on you in a way you can't ignore And if the roles are reversed if your families are facing this degree of devastation and violence Wouldn't you wish for global solidarity and urgent action to stop the suffering? I understand the repetition in today's please may create what feels like an echo chamber But I implore you to not become desensitized Instead, let it signify our unity in standing here repeatedly pleading for action We hold palestin and her people with us in every moment because none of us are free until we are all free Thank you for your time patients Thank you for your patience. Good morning Hello, my name is Yasmina Porter. I'm a retired professor here in Santa Cruz I'm also an interlite prayer practitioner and I'm really excited to see all the young people here. I was in bed at 10 30. I got a text to come down here I got out of bed. I love a lot of you guys up here and behind me And I have a complex position. So I'm hoping a bunch of people are going to start to boo me But first of all, I am here to support the ceasefire resolution 29 And I am a Jew And I am concerned. I didn't read it If there's any language in there that's like specifically anti Zionist I wouldn't want to see that because in my understanding and I could be wrong. There's not okay. Thank you, sandy Then I'm good um that That jews want to have a homeland everybody wants to have a homeland And we as americans want to have a homeland and many of us in this room. We don't want trump I mean a lot of people feel that what's going on with the israeli government and their leadership Is disgusting and a lot of jews agree with me on that And many people in the room. I had to listen to people Say self-hating jew behind me. I cried many times sitting here. I'm not a self-hating jew Although I am jewish. It is a part of my Interfaith background. I'm also proudly muslim and christian and I teach buddhism. I'm complex But I support resolution 29 Please don't hit on me at the high holidays. I love you all Thank you Next person online. Good morning. Next person online. Good morning. Good morning. Can you hear me? Okay? Yes, we can welcome All right. Hi, my name is emory and I have been on this zoom call for over Gosh seven hours now And I have overwhelmingly heard the santa cruz community use our voices to call for an immediate ceasefire Lifting of the siege ending of the occupation And ultimately a free palestine This is not a war. This is a genocide and we are calling you to stand on the right side I'm urging you santa cruz city council members to pass the ceasefire resolution as is Without any harmful proposed changes that dilute its purpose The world is overwhelmingly in support of the palestinian people as the un general assembly showed us with 153 countries voting for a ceasefire And the u.s. Being one of the measly eight countries against it Despite this outcome over 60 of americans have reported to be in support of a ceasefire The government is clearly not being representative of our demands and we are calling on you to help us change that To not raise our local voices to the higher levels of government Would be to not do your jobs as our elected officials We are watching you yes you and will not forget your course of action or inaction I would like to urge you to stand on the side of the right side of history As we witness it unfolding in real time before us with the words of palestinian storyteller and activist jnan madari If you've ever wondered what you'd have done in times of american slavery and how outspoken and how much risk and protection You'd have offered during the holocaust or how you'd have reacted to the internment camps in america And how deeply and how often you'd have protested for civil rights Take a look at whatever you're doing right now for gaza and know that's exactly what you'd have done in times before Thank you for your time. And as always free palestine Good morning. Good morning. Happy wednesday I am a registered voter who's been living in santa cruz for 14 years and i am So so honored to stand with my community and say Cease fire now It has been nearly 100 days of bombing In that time israel has made it abundantly clear repeatedly that their intent is nothing short of genocidal An idf spokesman stated the emphasis is on damage and not on accuracy Israel's defense minister said we are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly I have seen such strength From from the palestinian people such endurance such utter resilience in the face of a tragedy. No human being should endure Imagine if it was you That corner store you frequent reduced to charred rubble the house you raise your family in gone your child's school Bombed to the ground your child's remains being carried around in a plastic bag because that's all they could find of them Does that make you uncomfortable? Because i'd be deeply disturbed if it didn't That is what palestine is going through right now Yes, october 7th was a horrific day where 1200 israeli citizens were killed And the response to that attack has been massively disproportionate Our tax dollars are being used to fuel the murder of 30,000 palestinians over 30 percent of raza's population And that number will keep growing if we don't have a ceasefire The people of raza deserve to live The children of raza deserve a future. Please Please do not deprive them of that. Thank you. Thank you Excellent online. Good morning. Welcome person online. Good morning and welcome We'll take the next person who's with us in chambers. Good morning. Good morning My name is destin silver. I'm a jewish student at uc santa cruz And a member of the uc ic jews against white supremacy My grandmother Carol ruth silver was a freedom rider during the civil rights movement In her legacy for fighting for what's right. I urge you to pass resolution 29 without the softening of language or demands through amendments Within these past three months and beyond israel has been committing a genocide with us tax dollars 30,000 palestinian people have been killed within three months 10,000 of whom were children More continue to die under rubble, but you've been hearing that information all night Because of the rate of the genocide there truly is no time for metaphors of the big bad war for the three little pigs While the siege on gaza continues nor can we afford the time to debate divisiveness of the ceasefire While refugee camps are under attack after palestinians are explicitly Directed to go there without exaggeration without metaphor over 10 thousand Palestinian children have been murdered by israeli bombs and will continue to be unless a ceasefire is enacted There is no justification for the violence inflicted upon children by the idf Not even the tearing down of propaganda posters here in the united states of america There's no time to halt this meeting to berate people for making noise over 12 times At least until there is a ceasefire Cease fire now And the occupation now free palestine now Thank you Next person online. Good morning and welcome Good morning I can barely hear you. I think you need to speak up quite a bit or turn up your microphone or something of that nature And I won't charge that against your time. So you can begin again thank you Well, I can bear I I really cannot hear none of us in the chambers can hear you I'm sorry. I'm gonna have to go on to the next person. We literally cannot hear you Good morning, sir Hello ceasefire now It has been inspiring to come out with community And to finally do Something anything about the endless or at least seemingly endless onslaught genocide Casualty in gaza in palestine It is possible to end this genocide. This ceasefire is the step It is the required action For ending this genocide. It is not easy This is a uniquely american problem We have been talking a lot about the tax dollars But more importantly, it is the resources that are fund that are Particularly fueling this genocide the bombs are american made the bullets are american made the tanks are american made People are profiting From this genocide and that makes it incredibly difficult to act but not impossible At the top levels of the political system. There is no action For ceasefire, but here here in grassroots organization. There is potential for ceasefire There is potential for peace for safety And for resolution Ceasefire now. Thank you The next person online. Good morning and welcome We'll take the next person who's with us. Good morning Hello, my name is skylar. I am a registered voter in the city of sanacus and I live in district two I'm calling on this council to please pass item 29 the ceasefire resolution on today's agenda as is and to reject harmful amendments or substitute resolutions We cannot deny that there is an ongoing genocide happening in palestine right now Many of us have been watching daily from our phones and hearing directly from reporters on the ground in gaza Who are living through relentless bombings and witnessing death every single day Tens of thousands of civilians including thousands of children have been killed in just the past few months and almost two million people Have been displaced in gaza The people of palestine deserve food water warmth Shelter safety and they deserve to be free They also deserve all of our strength and our commitment to their liberation Passing this resolution can be our first step in showing them and our community That we can that we have that commitment to justice and freedom Please pass this resolution today without amendments. Thank you Online good morning. Welcome. Hi, can you hear me? Yes, we can welcome Hi, i'm a proud american like all of you on the city council I'm tired of what's happening in gaza There's so much death and destruction there and I just wish we could all unite behind israel So they could destroy hamas more quickly to protect the innocent's lives of gossens The quicker that hamas can be destroyed the sooner that gossens who want peace can have a chance for that We need to call on hamas to stop using civilians as human shields A lot of ceasefire folks have pointed out. This is a global issue I agree Hamas's genocidal attack on israel is just a beachhead for their ambitions for a global islamic caliphate Instead of the ceasefire resolution as americans We must all unite behind israel as they fight for their survival of the west radical islam hates america Why? Look back to 9 11 Look at the young people on tiktok today. We're standing up in support of osama bin laden Fear of a global islamic caliphate is not an irrational one. It is a stated ambition of radical islamists As we look toward mlk day, we must speak out against the enslavement of blacks For those in the christian world who know about the decades long mass slaughter and enslavement of black christians in sudan Which they call the hidden holocaust Sudanese arabs sought to subjugate and enslave the black sudanese of the mostly christian south The onslaught cost the lives of 2.5 million black sudanese I so hope for peace in the middle east a two-state solution I hope that the ignorant young people who have been lied to by social media Can wake up and see that hamas and coordination with iran and cutter are waging war on western values I feel sad for the many hamas sympathizers here. You won't be spared if israel fails in excoriating hamas I actually don't think that it's within the purview of a local city council to pass foreign policy based resolutions But I do hope that everyone on the city council will separately join me and all patriotic americans In privately supporting israel and their war of fighting back against hamas and a global islamic caliphate. Thank you Good morning. Welcome Hello, my name is dice and I'm a registered voter in the city of sanikers I live in district 2 And work as a teacher in sanikers. I'm calling on you our mayor and our city council to pass item 29 The ceasefire resolution on today's agenda as is and reject harmful amendments or substitute resolutions I'm here today because I feel that it is my duty to stand up for what is right and call for an end To the violence and the genocide of the palestinian people As we all can see there are people here today from both opposing sides who feel very strongly about the issue at hand I think that every single person in this room can agree that we do not want to see any more violence We don't want to see any more murders. We don't want to see any more children dying According to the world health organization about 160 palestinian children are killed every day That's a child killed every 10 minutes If we were in gaza the preschool class that I taught last week at green acres would be wiped out within a matter of hours We play hide and seek in the sun while palestinian children dig through rubble looking for their parents and siblings It should not be divisive to say that palestinian children and all palestinians are human beings who deserve to live freely and safely The drafted sanikers resolution acknowledges the suffering of both palestinians and israelis Though the harm can't even begin to be compared Urges the release of all hostages calls for a permanent ceasefire by all parties And urges the immediate entry of humanitarian assistance to aid all of the suffering starving and dying people and children of gaza Why would anybody vote against this? I want to express extreme gratitude to council members bruner And brown for having the courage to listen to the overwhelming majority of sanikers citizens And for working with community members to draft a ceasefire resolution To the rest of you, please do the right thing and pass item 29 tonight Do not let our cries go unheard the city of sanikers stands behind you And we believe that you all have the strength and courage to stand on the right side of history If we didn't believe in you, we wouldn't be here tonight pass item 29 It's all of us or none of us from the river to the sea palestine will be free Next person online. Good morning Good morning We'll take the next person in line Welcome My name is mackayla. I'm a resident of sanikers county And i'm here out of love and compassion for my fellow humans The palestinian people who as we speak are being subjected to a genocide I'm calling on you to take a stand against this violence by passing the ceasefire resolution And rejecting any harmful amendments that weaken the intent of this resolution This matter is extremely urgent It is not an exaggeration to say that every moment that passes another loved one is lost Killed by bombs supplied by this country In just the past 96 days over 30,000 palestinian people have been murdered Over 12,000 of those precious lives being children That's over 133 children violently killed every day As politicians who have been elected to represent our community I urge you to use your power to do so When you hear a united voice begging you to change the current course Our government is supporting israel as they commit daily war crimes Breaking countless international laws in the process whether it be cutting off access to basic human necessities Or carpet bombing schools and hospitals entire neighborhoods and refugee camps The u.m. Just released a statement saying half of the gaussian population will starve to death at this rate On top of all that as of last week 198 historical sites have been destroyed israel is actively trying to eradicate palestine and its indigenous people from history Regardless of anyone's politics. It is an absolute fact that the erasure of human history is devastating to us all Please do the right thing Listen to the voices of your community and pass the ceasefire resolution Thank you to my community for showing up with such strength The beautiful display of unity that we have seen today is a testament to our determination to get the solution passed Know that the term that that determination will not waiver. We will not be silent until palestine is free Thank you for your time. Thank you Back to person online welcome Person online welcome test one two. Hello. Hello. Hello Test one two test test. Hello. Hello. We can hear you and welcome. Please proceed goodness quick history lesson Um, let's say there is an ethnic and religious population on their homeland for 2,500 to 3,000 years And then a couple of few decades ago an imperialistic Colonial power says, you know You'd be better run by a different ethnicity different religion. It's all good. It's going to be fine and then late last year that ethnic majority comes in loads of buildings shoots people and does Basically a genocide and I'm talking of course about Nagora Karaba and I ever ever was John. Sorry. I'm so tired right now If you pass this Uh resolution about uh Gaza I would like an amendment to also send a strongly worded finger wagging letter to Baku because they've gone from 100,000 Armenians to 50 in that ethnic homeland And that's not acceptable Also, not acceptable is the fact that is now what almost 130. This is not kind to the council It's not kind of staff. It's not kind of the public It's not kind of the poor Community tv person. I don't know why this has gone on so long and why we're giving up city business we were going to do the tree and Everybody here should call panetta because they're the one that can do this And also maybe we can have six hours of discussion why we don't have a swimming pool Thanks, and uh good night. I've been up for way too long. Bye Welcome welcome Good morning My name is Amanda Shamsul and i'm resident of santa Cruz county I ask the council passes item 29 for a ceasefire resolution without amendments As of now more than 85 percent of gaza has been displaced Let's sit with how unbelievable it is that humanity has allowed this to come this far Recently and in an Israeli ambassador in the uk claimed that there is no humanitarian crisis happening in gaza How is this through when yesterday a quadcopter not a many quadcopter drones Were firing shots near nasir hospital in communis in the southern gana strip when yesterday three palestinians were executed in tulkram city and west bank When the one when one of the bodies was after being executed rolled over by a military vehicle this happened yesterday How is this the truth when the ones surviving are currently living in tents when Having they're having to urinate in buckets All is this this is not enough to constitute as a crisis For the world leaders to step in for us to step in Things have not slowed down these past three months. Things are not slowing down right now Let us not let the media make us believe that a ceasefire will happen on its own If there is a question on why santa cruises commitment matters Then it is the same question of why the us matters at all in this I can tell you right now my family in malaysia is not being asked to vote on whether palestinian lives matter Because that is not their business and the reason it's the us's business is because we are funding it whether we like it or not Tax dollars that should be going to healthcare to education to unhoused people in the winter conditions But instead we are here talking about this because somehow our voice matters and it does So I urge our community leaders you all to make the choice be part of a collective voice that will hopefully Ideally influence the broader federal stance compelling the us to call for an immediate ceasefire in gaza Because somehow unfortunately the us's voice matters in this. Thank you and free palestine Next person online welcome and good morning Person online good morning We'll take the person whose voice Good morning and welcome Hello, my name is telma. I am a phd student at ucsc And I am standing here today after waiting in line like all of these people Nearly nine hours to implore this elected member the elected members of this body to do all that they can To pass item 29 in full What is happening in gaza is a genocide the zionists who control israel have openly admitted to that Repeatedly First to all of the zionists that have wasted our time this evening If israel really wanted to get their hostages back they would have already done so Israel cannot claim to have hostages that they intend to rescue if they themselves are prolonging their capture And in fact contributing to their murder If the iof are killing the same hostages they are making they are making so much noise about When we just witnessed israel target and kill a palestinian with acute With acute precision in a sovereign nation without any repercussion from the global Audience for the last three months We have all bore witness to mass murder at scales that continue to break horrific records of conflicts past We live in one of the wealthiest counties in the wealthiest state in the wealthiest country in the world You would then think that the residents of santa cruz are living in the lap of luxury when that is far from reality Residents of santa cruz are counting pennies forgoing medical care compromising on education only to hand their hard-earned dollars To a genocidal state that provides their settlers with subsidized housing free health care and Free and subsidized education All while more and more people in santa cruz end up on the streets living in tents Students fall further and further behind in their education as an educator. I experience firsthand how third and fourth year college students Are falling behind in their basic reading and writing I want to remind you today that our government has grossly neglected its people across all levels And I imploring you if your conscious does not remember We the people have seeded you in all of your given positions of power And we the people can take that privilege away Next person online. Good morning Good morning welcome Good morning to you Good morning. My name is katie. DiGiorno. I have lived in this community my entire life And the late city council member sally diGiorno is my great aunt In the past santa cruz city council have passed resolutions about apartheid president reagan's efforts to overthrow the sandanista government in nicaragua And condemning the russian invasion of ukraine Passing a ceasefire resolution would be morally consistent Our local issues of homelessness and climate resilience go underfunded because taxpayer money is instead Going to fund a genocide abroad and militarization of our own neighborhoods As in the case of the us-based surveillance company palantir Who has major military contracts with israel and until recently the santa cruz police department Israeli surveillance company elbit systems have installed 10 surveillance towers in santa cruz county under a contract with customs and border patrol Weapons manufacturer lockheed martin runs tests on trident missiles and other surface to air missiles in the santa cruz mountains Then we saw those weapons to israel The city government is our closest proximity to power We call on the city of santa cruz to lead the nation with its moral clarity and visionary leadership ceasefire now Next person online good morning Person online good morning. Welcome We're gonna take you. Hi, can you hear me? Yes, now we can hear you. Thank you for your forebearance. Thank you. Please proceed Hi, my name is ruby. I was at the meeting in person and Now on zoom just want to thank everyone who showed up And I think I wanted to respond to folks who are saying that a ceasefire is divisive I was outside tabling for hours and saw nothing but unity amongst a majority of the folks that showed up and um believe that the overwhelming Voice today has been to support the ceasefire And all the folks that mentioned it was divisive never even mentioned any detail or specific wording Or anything that was actually divisive. I Saw them literally physically dividing themselves from the unity that was president present amongst the group And I guess that is the only divisiveness that they don't want to be a part of Cease fire and calling for no more violence against Palestinian people So yes, I unequivocally Support the resolution as is for a ceasefire. Thank you. Thank you very much Good morning. Welcome. Good morning. Um, hello council. My name is craig walker Um, I rode my bike from uh from school yesterday to be here and happy to be here. Um, I'm a teacher in sand crews and um I am really happy to be here to to encourage you to adopt a ceasefire resolution with unambiguous language Calling for immediate ceasefire a permanent ceasefire As a teacher, um, I've been a teacher for a while I'm far from a perfect teacher. Um, and I I am grateful to have still a lot to learn as a teacher Um, and it took me a while to just realize that if I want an honest answer for my students I should just ask them straight up. Uh, you know, what would make me a more trustworthy teacher What would make me more fair? What would make you feel more supported and valued and um, overwhelmingly I hear from my students that um when Uh, I am made aware of harm being uh taking place in the community Um, I need to address it And that simple notion uh doing something Um when harm is occurring Um Is is their answer and I see no difference between that and um the situation we find ourselves in as a city Here and now and many other cities across our nation to acknowledge harm that is occurring on a massive scale to do something about that and I believe that we our small city of Santa Cruz can adopt this resolution to show our allyship for the people of Palestine and to Make a small change in the world. Thank you. Welcome and good morning version online Yeah, can you hear me? Yes, we can. Welcome. All right Awesome. Okay. Thanks. Um Hey council, my name is mel I'm a registered voter in district two and I've been living in Santa Cruz for eight years now I stand alongside the countless voices today urging you to pass item 29 the ceasefire resolution as is In the 1982 planetary city resolution the city of Santa Cruz resolved that to solve world problems And to live in peace all people must share global responsibility for international Cooperation and extend their citizenship responsibilities beyond state and nation As we speak before you today and call for a ceasefire. This is what we are doing Sharing the responsibility to speak in the name of justice freedom and the right for all people to live free from constant violence and bombing To live in Santa Cruz and know that my tax dollars are currently funding the killing of innocent Palestinians Is excruciatingly infuriating and absolutely heartbreaking It is important and appalling to see our governments on this genocide against palestinians This is why we call for a ceasefire continued violence will only breed more violence Constant bombing will never lead to lasting peace It will only lead to more deaths and atrocities and our hearts and our communities just can't bear it any longer As we call for a ceasefire We also call for the immediate release of all hostages and political prisoners immediate entry of humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza and the restoration of food water electricity and medical supplies to the people in Gaza Please listen to us here as we show you how our hearts have been breaking As we try to mend them again by speaking up for people who are living under constant and daily state sanctioned violence May all people be safe free and liberated as that is what all people deserve May love reign over violence I pray for all those affected and urge you to pass item 29 a ceasefire resolution Palestinian people deserve to live it is crucial and urgent act in this moment and pass the ceasefire resolution Solidarity to all our people everywhere. Thank you. Thank you Welcome Oh, thank you council for listening to your community tonight My name is Zora skeleton and I'm a district three resident of Santa Cruz as well as a uc santa cruz student I am also a proud anti Zionist Jew and I stand in full support of the ceasefire resolution without amendments And Palestinian sovereignty from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea I know that I am safe as a Jewish person when we stand in solidarity with our Palestinian siblings Not when my identity is used to justify a genocide In 2018 I was lucky enough to visit Palestine while I as an American Jew was able to freely travel I saw how Palestinians were barred from walking down the streets of their childhood homes and schools From seeing their family and loved ones just yards away from selling goods to make necessary income I bring this up because there's nothing new going on in Palestine But today you should be grateful because the people of Santa Cruz have given you the opportunity to mitigate colonial violence By signing on to a ceasefire the bare minimum that can be done to make sure not one more innocent Palestinian is killed We know Santa Cruz is a city that exists because of colonial violence We pay homage to an every day passing mission Santa Cruz just a few blocks away I know that leaders such as yourself attempt to right pass wrongs today by working with indigenous organizations and leaders Such as the almond mits and tribal band Why can we not make the same efforts to combat colonialism and genocide as it unfolds in front of our eyes? Are you as leaders only able to fight for indigenous populations after the colonizer has already taken power? I urge you to question why you cannot apply the same perspectives to Palestine as you do to Santa Cruz And how you could claim that this issue does not pertain here To pass a ceasefire would not be an allocation of Santa Cruz's resources to an unrelated issue In fact, it would be a step towards the opposite Taking our u.s. Dollars out of israel and investing in setting housing education health care Transportation everything we all know Santa Cruz desperately needs To reject this resolution would be to tell our palestinian and arab community members That you are not willing to risk your political safety to protect them and their families lives. Thank you very much Next person online. Good morning. Hello. Hi. Can you hear me? Yes, we can welcome Welcome. Good morning My name is uh, shiram endelevich and I live at foster city Um, I oppose the ceasefire resolution and agree with everything the people who opposed it said before me I would like to add another perspective Foster city is a very diverse community. There are israelis jewish americans palestinians iranians chinese japanese and much much more And after october 7th, there was a naturally a lot of tension between the israeli and jewish communities To the palestinian community But several weeks ago there was an attempt in our city council to pass the resolution here It was a very hard intensive and full of emotion meeting like this one And it caused a bigger mistrust between the communities something that i'm not sure if it will ever be fixed Now we live in the bay area. There are many people here from different backgrounds Where at home they are at war, but here they have to get along What will happen to the community if tomorrow you will be requested to do resolution? For example regarding china and taiwan india and kashmir Why not address the matter in a less invasive way? Also, I see that they have some some middle time left I'd like to concern. I'd like to address two issues that we raised earlier Concerning the genocide accusation I would like to quote from the hill today Use secretary of state anthony blinken on tuesday denounced israel being referred to the international court of justice For alleged genocide during its war in gaza calling the claim very less And the other thing is that hamas promised to perform the october 7th attacks Even more times And this is why israel continues to fight there. That's the that's the reason Thank you very much. Thank you very much Good morning Welcome. Hello council. Thank you for hearing us. My name is keenan lorenzato I'm a resident of santa cruz and a quaker And as a quaker, I do a lot of work with consensus all decisions in our community are made through consensus and thank goodness We don't have that at city council But I have heard a lot of unity in this room tonight and that's what I want to speak to I am concerned about our community and I want our community to come together And I'm concerned that we're going to miss this opportunity to unify I've heard unity around Hurt for our fellow humans Across the ocean. I've heard unity around condemning atrocities The murder of children the murder of innocence I've heard unity around recognition that this Item before us is not a silver bullet and will not solve problems in the middle east or israelan palisthen I've also heard unity that we want something better And it's that that I'm sticking to and it's that reason why I support approving the amendment as is I think it's a first step and I think our community has shown With the people here and all the voices in the room that we do want discussion around this We do want this to be part of the santa cruz community And we are showing up for a reason and I believe that that reason Starts with approving this item. Thank you Thank you Hello Good morning person online. Welcome Hi, can you hear me? Hi. Yes, we can hear you. Please proceed Hi, I'd like to start by saying thank you for continuing to listen to our voices as we get further to the night My name is leo massiel. I am a mexican-american and a student here at ucsc And i'm currently living within the santa cruz bounce I urge you just as most have done throughout the night to pass item 29 as is A ceasefire is the least we can do for the people who are being slaughtered As you sit here and debate if their lives are worth saving A ceasefire is the least we owe the palestinian people after our tax dollars have gone to funding their genocide I'm calling for full humanitarian aid into gaza an acknowledgement of 75 plus years of israeli occupation in palestinia land And return of all hostages and political prisoners I've seen the power and beauty and resistance that this movement has enacted Oppressed peoples black indigenous peoples of color around the world have recognized the genocide of palestinians Namely south africa the birthplace of apartheid I appreciate you all for writing this resolution. I wholeheartedly support its passing as is free palestine. Thank you Good morning. Welcome. Good morning. Welcome. Good morning I'm here in support of the palestinian children and israeli children And I have a question for all of you Just to ask yourselves Who or what is holding you back if you're not supporting the resolution already? to think about it because it's such an easy thing to To conclude if you think of the children That are suffering in the middle east sitting well in both in palestine and in israel Thank you. Thank you sir Take the next person online. Welcome and good morning to you Excuse me Can you hear me? Yes. Now we can you have a very soft voice. So make sure you speak good and loud. Thank you I'm american and israeli And I'm so happy that the previous person asked won't help you back because Oh, how much I want to inspire How much I want the release of the 10 months boy And the 87 year old grandparent that are kept in the dungeon And the tunnels for more than almost 100 years So what helped me back is because it's going to help Hamas Not the gaza In the last in the past 20 years Hamas rules Gaza There were many seals fire In between a lot of money Went into Gaza from the humanitarian community So why guys are not so full? Why they don't have bomb shelters? Ask them where is the money? Follow the money When israel asked gas to live the combat zone At 1.7 million deep You call it cleansing If they say it's genocide This is double standard Israel don't try to help the palestinians Living in in 10th now it's war But it saves life I thought So So why I only hear About humanitarian health And no one's here. I mean not no one But most of you Don't talk about the hostages Why I if you are so focused I never heard about two-state solution We are Thank you very much. Good morning Welcome Good morning. My name is Jacob I'm a registered voter in Santa Cruz and a person of both Jewish and Armenian descent I grew up with stories of genocide and it is horrifying to see these repeated in our time UNICEF has reported that every single child in Gaza under age five is at risk for severe malnutrition There is no excuse for the mass starvation of children This nightmare is a direct result of the current campaign of violence by the state of israel As well as the denial of aid to the people of Gaza I urge this council to immediately pass item 29 in its original wording To call for a full unequivocal and permanent ceasefire Help protect the people of Gaza from any more harm and an end to state sanction famine Thank you. Thank you That's person online. Good morning. Welcome to the council meeting Hi. Good morning. Can you hear me? Yes, we can welcome Um, hi, I just want to first as others have said, um, thank all of you so much for For listening. Um, I am a History teacher and I greatly value the democratic process and I understand that it's Messy and really difficult and I appreciate all of you. Um My name is Mary Gardner. I'm a teacher and a resident of Santa Cruz and a voter Um, I'll make this quick because I think a lot of it's been said Just from my perspective, I grew up in New York City I was in eighth grade when, um, the planes hit the world trade center Um, my dad saw the buildings collapse from his school in the Bronx Um, the wars on Iraq and Afghanistan in response did not make us safer and when I protested those wars That didn't mean that I was Supporting al-qaeda or saying that I didn't care about the 14 firefighters from my neighborhood who were killed when they went to rescue people from the trade center Um, I'm also the daughter of a disabled American veteran who fought in vietnam war Um, vietnam war also didn't make us safer, but uh, I saw what it did to my dad Um, if war was made us safer, we wouldn't be fighting him anymore. Uh, and the only people who are Benefiting from this are the shareholders of like Raytheon. Um And just lastly as a history teacher, I just want to live in a world where like We can see mass death for what it is and condemn it and try to stop it and not get caught up in Misinformation and rhetoric and jargon. I support the ceasefire because it's the right thing to do Thank you so much for listening. Thank you very much. Good morning and welcome. Good morning. Um, my name is Tyree Richie I'm a or as an activist associated with black lives matter in Santa Cruz I've witnessed a continuous acts of police brutality and violence inflicted upon black and brown bodies in our country Joe biden who mentioned the talk That black and brown parents have with their children if faced with encounters with law enforcement and to remain peaceful and civil As the parents of tyree nickles listened to his words But the Memphis police force that took tyree nickles's life Received training from the israeli national police and military The police chief who oversaw the killing of tyree nickles was also trained by the israeli national police and military Who have been known for various human rights violations against palestinians? Hundreds of police departments in our country including california have traveled to israel for training Thousands of other departments have received training from israeli military in the united states as of 2023 One thousand two hundred thirty two people in united states were killed by the police As the by the administration continues to bypass our elected officials to send additional weapons To the same as israeli forces to inflict inflict violence upon palestinians I am puzzled and depressed as to why that same energy to remain civil and peaceful isn't exercise Despite overwhelming international support for a ceasefire to find resolution in this conflict In this moment in time we cannot stand silent as people die of starvation Inhumane conditions and violence for existing to live Our palestinian brothers and sisters should not be dehumanized and killed to justify revenge and genocide As a community that prides itself on being an international attraction We must stand with the world and not be afraid to hold biden and our elected government accountable and demand a ceasefire resolution Next person online. Good morning. Good morning. Thank you for allowing me to speak I'm tired of waking up every day to read two hundred palestinians killed in 24 hours Journalists entire family killed hospital bond Seeing videos of idf soldiers rummaging through dead palestinians belongings Making silly faces announcing their wedding date right before blowing up a residential home These are sick people who need to be disarmed. How can we allow the indiscriminate bombing of entire city blocks? These are war crimes We cannot just stand by while genocide plays out right in front of us if we have any conscious We must call for a ceasefire now Thank you Thank you Thank you. Welcome Thank you My name is Curtis Rutherford Y'all sparked me talking about death killing people Kids and women these knuckleheads take them to take their life Take them Dude, this ain't right Everybody talking about their phd's and they all these letters in front of their names and who do you have a heart and a soul? Do you have a heart and a soul? There's somebody bigger than all of us up in here And that put us here to talk about love peace compassion empathy for all Ain't you ain't got no control over these people? And if you ain't got no heart and soul You ain't got no business being in here You don't give a shit about us You don't need to knock I can talk You don't need to be here if you don't give a shit about human being It ain't both of being on death and killing man We face a more crisis as a people as a country those who do nothing advice shame and violence Those who act boldly recognize that they're right as well as reality and that's what these people are doing in here You can't drive out hate with hate Only love can do that Each hand you wish to see in the world Be the change you wish to see in the world. And if you think it's all death Don't tell don't tell mother fuckers and kill the motherfuckers Ain't nobody else in here speaking strong I'm speaking strong. I bring it I bring it everywhere I go because 400 years you told black people you can't talk 400 years We ain't never had no opportunity to talk you have a more crisis in this city Come on, man. Wake the fuck up next person online. Good morning. I'm welcome Next person online. Good morning and welcome Thank you. My name is Leanne and I'm with the Alameda families and friends for a ceasefire We congratulate all the peace loving people and students in Santa Cruz That have organized for a ceasefire and push their city council to agendize a resolution As a city that recently took up this issue last week and resulted in a motion and tie vote for the Alameda city council To support house resolution 786 currently in congress that calls for a ceasefire We know that the outcome wasn't what we wanted But we were able to connect as a community over this commitment to life Falling for a ceasefire now shows your commitment to doing the right thing Similar to how this Santa Cruz body will vote tonight your stance on genocide ethnic cleansing The most basic calls for a ceasefire will be on record This election year ceasefire is an issue that is electrifying voters Nationally majority of voters want a ceasefire Overwhelmingly young people and people of color want a ceasefire Mayor City council members you do not want to be on the wrong side of history Unions places of worship community organizations and nonprofits have called for a ceasefire Cities not too far from Santa Cruz like Richmond Davis oakland and just today San Francisco their city councils have called for a ceasefire As the demands grow for a ceasefire and the moments get bigger council members You will need to grow a spine tonight Will you pass the resolution as is without amendments to join the billions around the world that are saying no to genocide? Or will you simply stand idle wait until thousands more get murdered with our taxpayer money? Wait till it becomes so unbearable Or wait when it becomes fashionable or comfortable to call for a ceasefire? We are watching your vote. Gaza is being murdered. This is the least you can do Good morning and welcome Night I have no name Tonight like many other nights. I am nobody Having no name. I cannot lend my voice to this desk of war Where you comfortably weigh whose lives are worth living And whose lives this empire deems to be meaningless Tonight I have no name and tonight Like so many others the night sky is lit by the path of bombs and the phosphorescence of sanctioned death The death tax dollars usher into the world Tonight I would like to speak to someone else not to this council of war, but to some dweller of the future Or better to those few listening in from the land of the not yet To some other nobody Who might stumble on a few archives? Who might study the broken paper trail of this genocide you have deemed worthy of debate? This inhabitant of the future who might ask what did they do? Where did they stand? And how did they grieve? I would like to tell them that I have seen I would like to tell them what I have seen I would like to tell them that I have seen wailing women Straddling their bodies over warships to stop them from leaving their ports That I have seen bodies lie across the highways to stop this war machine I have seen grief assemble to usher another world I have seen lamentations break the sky open Calling for a night where the clouds do not buzz under the roaring of war drones I have seen the living join the dead to say free palestine online Good morning and welcome Hi, thank you. My name is victoria nobles. I'm a registered voter of stanikers in district one I'm a parent educator activist and business owner in this community I support the ceasefire resolution as is and I urge the council to listen to the overwhelming number of community members Who also support the ceasefire resolution as is their calls for a ceasefire are supported by the global community By global organizations who have been watching in horror as more than 20,000 people have been bombed to death It is the very least that The um we can do as a community and if we need to keep this going all night and for many days we will Thank you Morning. Good morning. Welcome. Thanks. My name is Amy Krause and I teach in the feminist studies department at uc santa cruise I teach classes on law reproductive health and rights and concepts of justice And i'm here to first. I want to thank everyone who supported one another to stand up against the u.s Back to genocide of palestine palestinian people and the destruction of their life worlds I'm here in solidarity with the majority of people who are asking the council to pass the resolution without amendments And more than a thousand others who have expressed themselves in emails to the council And I ask for you to pass this resolution without amendments ceasefire now I have nobody else with their hands up yet. We'll we'll hear from every one of you then good morning Good morning. I'm gabriela. I'm a student at cabrio college um I was here last time and I spoke and I got to see all of the moving testimony um and a large large majority of people supporting uh a ceasefire and so it's kind of surprising to me that it hasn't been Uh passed yet. Actually, I would like if it was surprising. It's not surprising But it's quite disappointing that that wasn't passed right away because there are so many people here who are like Just passed the ceasefire Really similar to oakland and it hasn't happened and we're all here at 2 a.m And I would like to say like thank you to the public servants who are serving the public I'd like to say thank you to you guys for staying here until 2 a.m And I would also like to say thank you to everyone who is here who's not getting paid. This isn't our job We like we're so tired, you know, like this is we're we're sacrificing a lot and renee like you were back there for so long I know I know that but but Come on like I'm going to go to work with not enough sleep tomorrow And I'm going to be super tired and then I'm going to pay taxes and my taxes are going to pay you to not listen to us Like that sucks. That's just really disappointing and you know, I I was going to use this time To say other things but everyone has already said what needs to be said and it just it feels really disrespectful when people are Are giving up so much of their time and and are are giving so much voluntarily when you guys Dedicate your jobs to serving the public and the public has made Clear what they want to happen. We are in solidarity with Palestine Santa Cruz supports Palestine. Please do your job and support us and supporting Palestine. Thank you Good morning, welcome welcome Good evening. My name is Forrest. I'm a student at UC Santa Cruz And I'm in speaking in favor of item 29 a ceasefire resolution Um And I would reject any amendments that would seek to water down or conditionalize our support for our palestinian siblings Having said that I would like to make several acknowledgments First that the violence being carried out by the IDF and by the united states government against the palestinian people in Gaza is a genocide And furthermore this violence did not start on october 7th. And in fact not even just 75 but like Oh like around a hundred years in the making since like the first dionist congress in like 1897 um But we're not we're not going to get into that I guess. Um, secondly, I'd like to You note that are a lot of our conceptions around decorum respectability and politeness Stem from white supremacy culture as has been illustrated and you know, I I've been in model the UN I had no did you do spare fingers and all that stuff? But you know I just think that like that shouldn't be like conditioned like people's respect, but you know Um, thirdly, I'd like to acknowledge the hard work of all of the organizers and everyone that gathered here today Thank you for taking time out of your day in support of humanity. Um, Like I I haven't felt very good About life in general for a really long time, but coming out and seeing like everyone coming to like out of their day and like Resoundly like supporting humanity and life has like Maybe changed my mind just a little bit Finally, I've been keeping a tally in of the of those in favor of item 29 So far we have a hundred and twenty three wonderful beautiful people voicing their support And it's been around 81 of all of those speaking that kind of overwhelming majority should show you where the people stand on this issue Please use your support position to listen to the overwhelming consensus on this issue. Thank you so much for your time Good morning. Hi My name is Marissa. I'm a resident here in Santa Cruz county And I'm here with the rest of this profoundly diverse crowd who took the time today and yesterday To ask you to pass item 29 as is um on December 17th 2023 The Auschwitz and Birkenau state museum in poland publicly denounced The genocidal remarks by the mayor of an israeli town Mayor Mayor who said that all of gaza should be ethnically cleansed of palestinians and turned into a museum Like the notorious nazi death camp and I quote The whole gaza strip needs to be empty flattened just like Auschwitz Matula mayor David Azuli said in a radio interview according to the times of israel He said and I quote let it be a museum for all the world to see what israel can do Let no one reside in gaza strip for all the world to see this you could all research and see this is fact In response the Auschwitz Birkenau state museum wrote and I quote David Azuli appears to wish to use the symbol of the largest cemetery in the world as some sort of sick hateful pseudo-artistic symbolic expression Calling for acts that seem to transgress any civil war time Moral and human laws that sound as a call for murder on the scale akin to Auschwitz Puts the whole honest world face to face with the madness that must be confronted and firmly rejected The museum added we do hope that israeli authorities will react to such shameful abuse I think that even just knowing that this happened knowing that the Auschwitz museum chose to denounce such things Uh, I call it trauma goggles if you can't see that this is wrong. So thank you very much My name is Stacy Marie Garcia and I have served the city of santa cruz for over 13 years and community engagement work Previously led the community engagement at the santa cruz museum of art and history Also sat in those seats serving on the city of santa cruz arts commission And was previously at the community foundation of santa cruz during covet and the fires I now work for an international human rights organization that is calling for in a permanent immediate ceasefire alongside Tons of other organizations that are calling for a ceasefire and i'm asking you to do that today I have never seen this amount of civic Participation in the city of santa cruz and I've been doing community engagement work here for the past 13 years So I want to be really proud of that and I want you all to really acknowledge that Um, I also want to really thank you for listening to our community's request for a ceasefire resolution and particularly Sandy and sonia for engaging members of the public in that process, which is so important I also want to thank you for taking the time to put this on the agenda today And this comes at a time when the vast majority of americans are calling for a ceasefire 80 percent of democrats yet only 11 percent of congress is supporting a ceasefire So as this is happening after daily relentless calls to our representatives We are calling every single day and it feels like many of our voices are completely being silenced However, it's clear that you all at the local level are listening For the majority and are taking action on this and we sincerely thank you for doing that We hope you'll continue to listen to the vast majority here in this room Many who are from marginalized backgrounds who are calling for a permanent immediate ceasefire Just so you know, our team has been counting 197 have been speaking in support of the ceasefire 46 have been opposed That is over 81 percent that you've heard from today that are in support of the ceasefire without amendment These people are bravely speaking up to ask you to pass the ceasefire resolution without harmful amendments And we're asking you to stand with us. I believe all of you want a world that is peaceful equitable and just We want that too, but we cannot get there first without ending the horrific violence that's happening in Gaza So I invite you to be brave with us to be our voice to use your power Which comes with a ton of responsibility and to take action by passing the ceasefire as is. Thank you My name is uh, joseph. I'm a graduate student in politics at ucsc I'm here in support of the resolution Council members understand as we sit here knowing full well that we'll be able to go home Palestinian men women and children alike are either stuck or dead under the rebel Council members understand that since the clock struck 12 o'clock A new day began and more than 10 Palestinian children have lost one or both of their lakes Council members understand as you eat your next meal drink your next sip of water is really using starvation as a weapon of war Council members understand as you step out of this meeting and breathe in the fresh air Israel is dropping right fast for us over the bodies of Palestinian men women and children Council members understand that when you visit the doctor next time and are giving anesthesia Pregnant guys and women are endearing c-sections without anesthesia Council members understand that when you go back to your home To your children nephews nieces Palestinian children have their names written on their bodies in case they are murdered by the idf Council members understand that when you make your next trip to your local church or synagogue or your next religion or other religious institution Israel has banned dozens of churches and mosques in the Gaza Strip Council members understand that Israel has been bragging about its genocidal project since october with no shame Genocide scholars and experts have concluded that Israel is committing a genocide This is not a controversial position Nor is it anti-semitic as some may want you to believe this has been Israel's plan since its inception Council members more than 30,000 murdered Palestinians later passing this resolution is the bare minimum you can do From the river to the sea Palestine will be free ceasefire now morning welcome morning Good morning. My name is Stephen Karen I have lived and worked in Santa Cruz for the last 50 years What was the question? I'm sorry. I'm sorry mayor. Okay. I've lived and worked in Santa Cruz for the last 50 years How to acknowledge your stamina? Okay, seriously. I'm not just flattering you this very impressive and your composure Very very inspiring Well, we are respectfully requesting that you not support the resolution as it is written Our concern is that the ceasefire That's advocated would then allow Hamas to rearm recalculate Resume atrocities resume beheading resume raping women and resume their activities Such as that The Hamas leaders have publicly stated that we will do this again and again and again We would prefer a resolution that does address Hamas because if they were to surrender tomorrow Lay down their arms release the hostages then we would have a ceasefire So that is what we are advocating Thank you for your attention Thank you Good morning and welcome morning My name is Judy Yockel I Live and vote in the first district and I am president of the board of temple Bethel A number of people have asked why Many members of the Jewish community find this proposed resolution to be divisive I'll give you three reasons one Calling for a ceasefire Without conditions without negotiation and monitoring Would absolutely open Israel up To repeated genocidal attacks, which Hamas has vowed to continue to make until all Jews are dead in the Middle East to The resolution calls for the ceasefire to be immediate. It does not call for the release of hostages to be immediate Yes, it is true. It does not And no no wait hold on just second not taking this out of your time Thank you. Please proceed. Yeah um That is an imbalance and we believe release of the hostages needs to be the first step towards peace three The resolution does not condemn The utterly horrific attacks of october 7th And I'd like to point out that the san francisco resolution that was passed today Was not passed as is it was passed with significant amendments Including condemnation of the attacks of october 7th Google it if you don't believe me um So those are those are three reasons there are others I think Council members bruner and brown. I think you've been very well intentioned And I think you've tried to draft a resolution that you hope might please everyone But it does not And this resolution is not going to change things one iota in the middle east But it will severely harm Anger and alienate the majority of the local jewish community I ask that you not pass this resolution and if you feel you must pass a resolution I ask that it be limited to the jurisdiction. You are elected to govern Focusing on peace education and fighting Antisemitism and islamophobia in our local community That is something worthwhile that you can truly impact as a local city council. Thank you Good morning. Welcome Good morning. I really am impressed by all of you all sitting still. I have had to move my legs so many times So respect for sitting still We are not innocent or neutral as americans. We are directly involved in the genocide. That's clear The us uses our tax dollars to feed the war machine. Duh However, santa cruz is home to lockheed martin testing sites that makes us uniquely Part of the problem that makes us uniquely involved and we have to call for a ceasefire because our voice does actually matter It is within our jurisdiction to participate in national and international politics. So I thank you for hearing us today I beg you to pass the resolution as is without amendments It is historically illogical and offensive to include a denouncement of hamas without a denouncement an extreme explanation of the israeli apartheid state Obviously the events of october 7th were horrific. Obviously, however, it is so deeply blind to discuss hamas without a Without explaining the israeli state has imposed a 75 year brutal occupation displacement and enslavement of the palestinian people A call for a ceasefire and humanitarian aid is so fundamental so necessary because it is the first step There's no justification for the amendments. Thank you for listening to us and with my last 45 seconds I'd like to say that i'm just so happy for everyone that i've met today For the people that have smiled for the people that have talked to each other in the lines For those who passed out water and food for everyone that has had a great conversation with me today And for the people that are here no matter how tired you are to continue asking for the bare minimum a ceasefire resolution Thank you for drafting it with us. That is so meaningful and that is what democracy looks like I know that us screaming and clapping loud has been bothersome. I know that our snapping and clapping has been bothersome But democracy is loud. It is complicated democracy Sometimes is divisive, but you have to make a statement for the better of humanity. You have to protect humans And that means a ceasefire now. Thank you Hey Thank you for being here I am once again here to urge you of your moral obligation and supporting your community and calling for a ceasefire as is An opposed amendments or substitute resolutions Please use your power to end the genocide of our palestinian siblings The fact of the matter is that if this were happening, let's say new york Or if as many white people were experienced such atrocities I would not be standing here for a second time pleading for a ceasefire Please stand against the direct funding of this genocide show us your allies not just to palestine But to your own communities in santa cruz county being directly affected because palestinians also live here Please take a moment to reflect and connect that free in palestine is directly tied to us We have the power to do the right thing and stand on the right side of history You may feel that you do not have any jurisdiction over foreign policy But you do indeed have leverage and can influence national policy If you join the other cities that have already passed a ceasefire resolution and have called for the bloodshed to end Silence is not merely complacency. It is an endorsement of racism Do not be complicit with white supremacy Show us your humanity and compassion as we have stood here all night all day burying ours free palestine Just a moment. We have somebody who is called in online, so we'll toggle back and forth this we've been doing Thank you for your forbearance person online. Good morning and welcome I I would just like to add another voice For a ceasefire resolution Thank you Welcome. Thank you for waiting a moment. Thank you. My name is Daniela. I was born and raised here in santa cruz a couple of walks away Um, I am a Jew. I am an indigenous mexican and I want to say that I just really really hope that you Um are I know you're beat. We're tired as hell too We have to stand in the cold for hours and hours. Um, but I hope that you're able to like find some pride Um that this many people in our community believe that you can do the right thing tonight because we would not be here If we didn't have the hope and a belief that you all could be the real leaders We elected you to be and pass this ceasefire resolution as it stands unchanged I'm proud to be a part of a community of people that stand in solidarity with the most With most of the rest of the world and condemning the genocide of palestinian people I have never felt more held in santa cruz than here outside talking with people with my fellow jews or fellow mexicans like I've never been more held in my own community than being here tonight with these people And I like wish that you could have been out there with us talking and chatting and being in community Um, it was really beautiful Um, you have the incredible opportunity to tonight to stand with us and the rest of the world with integrity And be on the right side of history a side that the us does not have the tendency to be on And as our tax dollars continue to fund a genocide those of us here who have spoken in support of an unamended ceasefire resolution Understand that it is our responsibility to speak out against what our government is doing All we are asking is for you to show us That you hear us as the people who believed in you enough to put you in these seats And are willing to stand out in the cold for hours to support you And doing the right thing and to make sure that you get to be on the right side of history We're here for your souls As well as ours I strongly suggest that you pass the ceasefire Resolution with no amendments tonight. Otherwise, we will run this back Again and again. We will be here every day Thank you Good morning. Good morning. Welcome. Yeah. Hi. Um, my name is erics I've been living in Santa Cruz for the last 15 years And teaching in the county for the last 10 years Um, I'm a part of palestine solidarity central coast and i'm joining My fellow speakers to ask you to pass a ceasefire resolution as is without any further amendments I know a lot of people have mentioned the various cities that have adopted ceasefire resolutions If it helps locally, we also have several resolutions that have been passed Someone mentioned Monterey Bay central labor council which passed a ceasefire resolution Pajaro valley federation of teachers committee on political education has also passed a ceasefire resolution Um, both of those organizations represent many Workers that live in Santa Cruz your constituents So a lot of people have already taken action to get ceasefire resolutions passed Um, we're hoping that you know the city of Santa Cruz and the city of watsonville also passed one um I think the last thing I wanted to say was that as of me That's 206 people that have spoken in favor of a ceasefire resolution as is With only 48 speaking against so that's over 80 of the people that have spoken today Are in favor of a ceasefire resolution as is Yeah, thank you for your time and free palestine We have another person online person online. Good morning and welcome Hi, good morning. Um, my name is lila So I just want to thank everybody in this chamber for staying up so late to like Go through this resolution or to discuss this resolution Um, I just wanted to put my voice out to start to say that I'm in favor of The resolution and with no amendments no changes um, uh As of right now It's been about 90 days of war and almost 60 000 palestinians have been martyr Um, I don't know about you, but that's a lot of people within three or four months um I I just can't with a good conscience Say here Not give my voice out. Um, I don't know. That's yeah. Yeah, that's all I have to say Thank you Morning, welcome Sure, there's quite a bit of magic in this room tonight. There's quite a bit of hate also and ignorance You know, I was outside the supervisors building room at 830 I don't know if sandy brown heard my public comments. I was the third one to speak Technically, this is the seventh but actually the ninth time I've spoken today in a recorded room I Read the information about the ceasefire. I don't particularly have an opinion on that I spoke quite clearly about accountability for what's going on You know, there's no timer. That's okay You know the only difference between plant blood And human's blood is that we are iron based in plants or magnesium based I wrote down a bunch of things that would probably be censored In the funniest of ways But here it is 2 30 in the morning. It's not very often that uh I don't know whether to start my day or to end it I do know that I'm going to be in Palo Alto before seven o'clock Uh I don't know this could be censored During the civil war Garlic was used to treat gangrene During the revolutionary war And the civil war it was the russian fleet That kept the french and the english and helped america It's really surprising who our enemies actually are I could physically describe With a great deal of evidence Like six or seven of these journals things that are On par as grotesque As to what I understand has been going on the past 75 years in occupied palestine And those journals Are represent over 500 times that i've spoken publicly In this county about things that are pretty ugly So good morning and thank you and I really appreciate this opportunity It's a lot of magic in this room. Thank you, sir Good morning online Good morning. Welcome. Good morning. Um, I am a registered voter in the city of Santa Cruz I could appeal to emotion I could talk about history and I can provide statistics, but I don't think I would do so As effectively as most other people have spoken tonight And I also don't think that it is my responsibility to make you all feel as I feel But I would like to remind you that your responsibility Is to represent the public and I strongly urge you to listen to the overwhelming majority of speakers here tonight and Pass the resolution as is Thank you We have another person online. Good morning and welcome Hi, can you hear me? Yes, we can welcome Hi I am a Jewish registered voter of Santa Cruz county and I urge you to pass the ceasefire as is it says in the Torah that Murder and killing is immoral being anti zianist is not anti Jewish. It's not anti semitic It is simply against genocide and murder You can pass the ceasefire Without being against Jews you are simply for human life and basic morality And as our representatives in Santa Cruz county I urge you to look at the people in front of you and see the overwhelming support of a ceasefire Thank you. Thank you Good morning. Welcome Good morning My name is Ellen stone and I'm a registered voter in the city of Santa Cruz living in district three The last time I stood here. I spoke with you all about my how my Jewish values compel me to not stand idly by as Palestinians continue to be killed Displaced starved and brutalized by the Israeli government and I am here again My values do not waver and the death toll the Palestinian people has risen to more than 30,000 people And I'm so happy to be supported by so many Jews my own community across the country and around the world Who are saying never again to the mass murder of any people? Never again for anyone I'm standing here again with all the love in my heart for my Palestinian siblings Some of which who have been here tonight To call on you all to pass item 29 the ceasefire resolution on today's agenda And to reject the harmful amendments or substitute resolutions Adding our voices to this united and strategic international campaign for a ceasefire Is a big act of bravery and love for our community not of hate It's saying to our community members and to our kin abroad We see you and we see your suffering Let's stand united in our humanity so that no more harm comes to anyone And my phone just died so It's a good time. So I know you're all tired. I appreciate you all being here and I'm tired too This is the time I'd be asleep and dreaming and I hope you can all Dream with me the world to come if we were to pass the ceasefire resolution Thank you all so much We have to take a break Let let me just tell you which we can All right, good. I we we thought we had a problem with our recording and the computer information But but we don't so please Good morning. Welcome Hello, I am Palestinian and I am here today because I have been watching the brutal slaughtering of the Palestinian people for the last 95 days I demand a permanent ceasefire now Does Palestine not have the right to defend itself against over 75 years of occupation? Do the 30 000 martyrs not deserve justice? Do Palestinian people not deserve to live? The pro-genocide supporters are worried about the release of hostages Have you not taken a moment to think that those same hostages are being bombarded by your own israeli army? Thank you for allowing us our full two minutes. Please not only hear your constituents, but listen to what we are asking of you Please ceasefire now Thank you. Thank you Next person online welcome and good morning Person online. Good morning We're gonna go with you. Good morning. Welcome. Thank you. Good morning I'm here as a santa cruz resident voter And trained qualified and working historian Who has listened to hours of testimony to this council? What is it? eight nine hours eight hours now um hours of testimony to this council and horrified Frankly by the unverified and unsighted misinformation hyperbole Racism and lies that have been Blaviated at this council by the self-proclaimed peaceful Zionist present this evening There are simply too much misinformation to counter in two minutes Though i'm very willing and capable of responding to if the genocide there is present are genuinely interested in learning Call me While the very same violence Recorded and exposed by u.s. Military personnel in abu grave 10 years 20 years ago in iraq and roundly condemned by the world Thereafter is now being posted on tiktok twitter and instagram by the idea for daily without any condemnation The case of genocide that south africa will bring to the icj in the next week Is testimony enough of who has suffered from what is internationally recognized as apartheid and genocide And who has assessed as apartheid and justinized genocide under international law In a final note My own family and what is known as the west bank has been under attack by israeli settler's military and government Since the bell for declaration of 1917 And in the past three months they have not been able to leave their home safely for months In an area of historic palestine where the histrionic bogeyman of hamas does not exist What do our pro-genocide neighbors have to say about the 5 000 palestinians who have been arrested in the west bank since october 7th without charge A trial including 1 000 children and contravention of international law have to say For yaoi christ allas and motherfucking antonio graham she's sake Please pass this resolution as is without amendment today Merci beaucoup Thank you so much The matter let me make sure we don't have further folks do we have One more person online. We have person online. Good morning and welcome I keep getting called on but I lowered my hand a long time ago. I've already spoken ceasefire now. Thank you Last person online. Good morning and welcome Good morning. Yes, I would like to speak on Oh Yeah, please proceed welcome. I'm sorry Disconnected. Okay Anyone else wish to provide testimony? Who hasn't spoken It's your last opportunity. Okay I'm sorry Anyone who has not spoken People online have hands up now people have hands up Person online. Good morning and welcome. Do we have anyone else online? We'll take that person. Good morning and welcome. Hi, can you hear me? Yes, we can welcome Hi, my name is Anna. Santa Cruz has been my home for the past 12 years I care immensely about this community and I feel so proud of the overwhelming support and deep love that is being shown here tonight and support of palestine I'm often disheartened by the city's neutrality to our most marginalized people's suffering And tonight I'm desperately hoping that I am surprised I don't have anything to say tonight that hasn't already been so beautifully called into existence So I'd rather just sit in the pain for a moment We have watched whores beyond belief through our phones every day Their nervous systems on fire and hearts breaking I think of how we will never know the suffering of the palestinian people What they're actively living through right now I feel so grateful to be grieving with my community And I feel so heartbroken that palestinians don't even have that luxury of space or time to process and honor their own grief I think of the generations the palestinians to come It will be free from occupation and oppression and yet we'll still have to fight for peace in their own minds as they carry unspeakable generational trauma in their bodies I asked that you sit with yourselves tonight for a slow moment before making this decision I want you to feel the weight of this genocide to hear the screams of death and destruction ringing in your ears And I want you to ask yourself who you are This is a moment for you to genuinely check in with yourself about who you are and why you're here on this planet I'm calling on you to support the ceasefire No amendments I would like to invite you to be in community with us Palestine will be free I will be dreaming of all of trees blowing in the warm breeze I hope that cannot be lost for a free palestine. Thank you. Thank you With no further testimony being offered The public portion of this is now closed the matter is back before the council. Let me tell you how we proceed What will happen now is council members brown and bruner were the ones who Brought the resolution open the discussion We will give them an opportunity to speak then obviously council members can weigh in As a see fit what I would ask you to do if you'd be kind enough to do so Is to give us the respect that we have given you this evening with regard to allowing us to have our open public debate and Deliberations Without interruption that would be very helpful. So thank you for that and the matter is back before the council Which one of you would like to open? I'll move the resolution Of the city council of the city of santa cruz affirming santa cruz's commitment and support for ceasefire in peace Is there a second I second there's a motion and a second you may open on your motion Thank you. I'm gonna be real brief here I just want to make a few statements. Um, first I want to say I'm I'm I'm saddened that our Numerous discussions with so many people including many people who are here and stuck around and and really hung in there with the conversations That we had over the break That it did not result in a unifying resolution Particularly because we incorporated suggestions from all of the people And groups we engaged with You know and nobody in this process got the full verbiage and substance I think that they wanted but we really tried to reflect The different voices that we heard and to try to avoid some of the more The language that condemning sides and you know, we really thought that we wanted to focus on our You know how it's affected our community And I think if you actually read the language of the resolution In which we clearly see Now therefore be it resolved we call for the release of hostages So I'm just disappointed that there are people who have kind of critiqued it without necessarily even knowing what's in it or Kind of the the spirit in which it was it was brought And so, you know, I'm sad about that But I also feel really positive. I feel really good I'm grateful to have been part of this process talking to so many people in our community In this room and outside of this room over the break I appreciate the time you all took To share your perspectives and I learned I've learned a lot And I believe that we developed This resolution coming from a place of integrity and and I Have a lot of gratitude for my colleague councilmember bruner for For really diving into this with me and so many of you And I think that the resulting product does provide an ethical and balanced response to The over 1,000 calls we received In support of a ceasefire as well as the other perspectives that we heard. I'm proud to live in this community I'm glad to hear you many of you felt you were in community tonight. So whatever happens here You know, I feel good about having gone through this and it's not over There are many There's much more work to be done and I'm I'm here to work with you It would be appreciated if you would let us have our our deliberations Councilmember bruner, do you wish to open on this motion? Thank you. Um My brain is trying to think clearly Some of you have been here since five, but we started our city council meeting at 10 15 a.m Tuesday morning And so Many of us are sitting here barely awake Um, but um So let me um just say that um incredibly grateful for every single voice Uh I think over the holidays We had about 20 meetings with many different people I even had impromptu meetings and grocery stores and whatnot as I mentioned before and really Stand behind the thoughtful process that went into Creating this document that represents The voices and the the everything that was expressed tonight is represented in this document um, I want to think um Susan for her peaceful resolution Every resolved has been incorporated. I believe into um The document as well Including the recognition declaring January as peace month Initially, it was peace day And we tweaked it to include the entire month of January to encourage You know everyone coming together In this community and to foster really Understanding each other I saw some really disrespectful behavior tonight and some real bullying and intimidation that Really did not make some people feel Comfortable And that's exactly what we want to avoid We want the people of Santa Cruz To feel that they this is a safe place and um There are many different perspectives that were shared here tonight that are represented in this document and um, I thank you all for being part of that process and um For really Coming together I want to pull up some notes um I really really appreciate the collective concern for the well-being of members in our community To me that is the number one priority here And I want to really Express my commitment here in supporting peace And addressing the impact felt by members of our community and I hope that everyone Thinks about how some people spoke and they're scared and They're fearful and I think that understanding also needs to be um respected um So I stand to continue to advance the values of Santa Cruz and as a place that promotes inclusivity inclusivity and equality and um I hope that we can as a community continue to um Listen to each other and um Not create any reason for division this resolution is not a reason for division These feelings have existed before this resolution even existed so We can navigate this together Santa Cruz. Thank you um for everything and I hope my Colleagues i'm looking forward to um hearing what what they have to Say and thank you Thank you to the mayor to i'm sorry. Excuse me. Thank you mayor for um, very kind of me. Yes Thank you. Thank you for the debate or discussion Our councilmember Newsom is recognized. I'd like to make a substitute motion to consider a different resolution that was entered into the public record earlier this morning State the resolution Let me see if miss bush will bring that up on So that everybody can see what that is. It'll take us just a moment to do this We good miss bush Okay I think this I think this resolution of firms are are you moving this? Yes, I'm moving this is our second There's a motion and a second open on your motion I think this resolution affirms our community's values and it's something I support For the debate or discussion is there debate or discussion seen in here and uh Excuse me This matters back before the council now This is our opportunity to debate and discuss you've had yours for eight hours. This is now our opportunity You debate and discussion miss brunner on the substitute Thank you. I appreciate um this peaceful peace resolution that was Brought forward by one of the community members um, who we also met with and Um, it was incorporated into the document. I think For me and for all of the people that we met with through this process it's a portion of uh, what our santa cruz community Is is is asking for and If in that substitute motion um I think all of them are incorporated into the resolution that we've put forth um, and some additional Language that addresses our community. So We did take that into consideration with the draft. It's Thank you council member for the debate or discussion on the substitute motion seen in here and none the clerk will call the roll Council member newson. Aye Brown no Watkins. Aye Please continue the roll call no Calentary johnson. Aye Vice mayor golder. Aye, mary kealy. Aye the substitute motion has now passed what that does is replaces the motion in chief With the substitute motion. Is there a debate or Uh The council is back in session What is uh It transpiring now is that the substitute motion has passed which replaced them the Miss bush. Let's let's Let's proceed Let's get let's secure the chambers here. Let's get that door closed We will No officers. That's not what we're interested in at this point We're interested in securing the chambers Okay, miss bush Are we good? We're good. Thank you Are are are we underway miss bush? Miss bush, are we good to go now? We are good Where we are. Let me reset us where we are is that there was a an initial motion There was a substitute motion the substitute motion passed which replaces the main motion We will now need to vote on what now is the main motion Which is to say that's substitute motion. That is what we are voting on now We voted to replace it To replace your motion with the substitute motion That passed now. We need to vote on that motion in chief The clerk will call the roll Council member newstone Aye Council member brown is absent. Watkins Aye Brunner No Calentary Johnson Aye Vice mayor golder Aye Mayor Keely Aye Motion passes this award Mr. Kandadi is there for the business to come before the council this evening? No, there's none Seeing and hearing none The motion adjourned will be in order Council member Watkins moves council member Newsom seconds not debatable those in favor signify by saying aye Opposed motion carries and so ordered we stand adjourned