“My family members in Gaza just relocated to a makeshift tent because their home in northern Gaza was reduced to rubble,” Zaynah Hindi, co-founder of Reem’s, a popular San Francisco restaurant, told the committee. “My co-founder has lost at least 40 members of her family in Gaza.”

At the nearly five-hour public hearing, community members and supervisors sparred over whether to add the language proposed by Dorsey, which would have also included identifying Hamas as a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization.

“If we were to, in effect, reward terrorism by platforming grievances that underlie it, even if those grievances are just and right, we have to be explicit in our condemnation of acts of terror,” Dorsey said at the hearing. Omitting that language, he added, “would risk sending a dangerous and unthinkable message that terrorism works.”

Dorsey was supported by a handful of speakers, including some from local Jewish groups, who advocated for the failed amendment.

“I’m calling for some humility, to acknowledge that Hamas is a terrorist organization,” one San Francisco resident said during public comment.

The majority of speakers on Monday, however, supported the resolution without any amendment.

More than 60% of U.S. voters said they support a cease-fire in Gaza, according to recent polling by Data for Progress.

“I am the son of U.S concentration camp survivors. I’m here to add my voice to that of thousands who, for the last three months, have demonstrated to demand a halt to the genocide,” said San Francisco resident Don Misumi. “We cannot afford to stand by and allow this to happen. The call for a cease-fire is the absolute minimum we can do. It is our moral obligation.”

San Francisco’s push for a cease-fire resolution comes after the approval of similar resolutions in a small but growing number of U.S. cities, including Richmond and Oakland. The debate over the issue in both East Bay cities attracted national attention and accusations of antisemitism after some public speakers defended Hamas’ actions, and lawmakers ultimately rejected amendments condemning the group.

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OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Oakland’s City Council on Monday passed a carefully crafted resolution calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war after hours of hearing impassioned rhetoric about the deaths of thousands of civilians in Gaza.

The council in the California Bay Area city voted 8-0 in favor of a motion supporting a congressional resolution for a permanent ceasefire, along with the unrestricted entry of humanitarian assistance into Gaza and a restoration of basic services, as well as “respect for international law” and the release of all hostages.

Before the vote, the council voted 6-2 to reject proposed amendments by member Dan Kalb that specifically condemned killings and hostage-taking by Hamas, whose Oct. 7 attacks in Israel prompted the war that has devastated Gaza.

The motion was met by boos and angry shouts from the packed chamber.

Kalb later went on to vote with the majority, noting that the unchanged resolution also didn’t mention Israel.

In fact, councilmember Caroll Fife, who brought the resolution, said it went through four drafts and “intentionally attempted to de-politicize” the issue by “lifting up what we support and not what condemn.”

She said the issue of a cease-fire was “deeply, deeply concerning” to Oakland residents and called for a moment of silence for the lives lost on both sides of the conflict.

“I want Jewish children to live as much as I want Palestinian children to live,” she said.

The deaths of thousands of children, most of them in Gaza, weighed heavily on councilmembers.

“The number of children who have been killed just since Oct. 7 surpassed the number of children who have been killed in global conflicts over the past four years,” council President Nikki Fortunato Bas said.

“I was absolutely mortified by seeing dead babies” on social media,” and a ceasfire would be crucial for stopping the killing, councilmember Kevin Jenkins said.

Harsher language was used by most of the dozens of speakers, including Jewish anti-Zionist activists, who argued for passage of the measure. They accused Israel of colonization of Palestine and of apartheid and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.

“We’ve seen the targeting and massacring of civilians, of health care facilities, of hospitals and ambulances,” said one speaker, who identified herself as a recent medical school graduate. “Silence in the face of oppression and genocide, I don’t think, is an acceptable response.”

Others argued that Oakland taxpayers shouldn’t be funding weapons for Israel when the money could be used for problems within the city, such as housing the homeless.

Similar resolutions have passed in three cities in Michigan, where a large percentage of Arab Americans live, as well as in Atlanta; Akron, Ohio; Wilmington, Delaware; and Providence, Rhode Island.

A temporary cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, which Qatar helped broker, is currently in place.

U.S. cities have been adopting resolutions regarding the conflict even though they have no legal role or formal say in the process, said David Glazier, who teaches constitutional law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.

“It raises an interesting question on where they are getting this mandate to speak for the people in their city when nobody elected a city council person because of their stance on Middle East peace,” he said.

In the nearby city of Richmond, an approved resolution calling for a cease-fire and accusing Israel of ethnic cleansing prompted more than five hours of heated debate in October. The city of Ypsilanti, near Detroit, approved a peace resolution but rescinded it amid backlash.

Oakland’s resolution demands “an immediate ceasefire; release of all hostages, the unrestricted entry of humanitarian assistance into Gaza; the restoration of food, water, electricity, and medical supplies to Gaza; and the respect for international law; and calls for a resolution that protects the security of all innocent civilians.”

Cities across the United States have increasingly been speaking up on matters that have long been relegated to diplomatic spheres, even working with local elected leaders abroad on what has been coined city-to-city diplomacy to tackle everything from housing refugees and asylum seekers to dealing with climate change.

Now, city councils are just the latest arena where intense debates over the war and the United States’ support for Israel are playing out. Protesters calling for a cease-fire recently shut down traffic on a major bridge into San Francisco during an international economic summit, and the California Democratic Party recently cancelled some events at its fall convention due to demonstrations.

In some cases, the tension has turned violent. A pro-Palestinian protester was charged with involuntary manslaughter this month after a Jewish man died from head injuries following dueling protests in Southern California. He pleaded not guilty. In Vermont, a man has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted murder in the non-fatal shooting of three Palestinian men studying in the United States.

Oakland’s action comes as Hamas has released some hostages captured in the Oct. 7 attack, while Israel has released some imprisoned Palestinians. Israel has said it would extend the cease-fire by one day for every 10 additional hostages released, but that it remains committed to crushing Hamas’ military capabilities and ending the group’s 16-year rule over Gaza, which would likely mean expanding the Israeli military’s ground offensive.

The war started after Hamas broke through Israel’s high-tech “Iron Wall” on Oct. 7 and launched an attack that left more than 1,200 Israelis dead. Hamas also took nearly 240 Israelis hostage.

More than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, roughly two-thirds of them women and minors, according to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in Gaza.

Jablon reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press journalist Julie Watson in San Diego contributed.

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Protesters demanding Gaza ceasefire block San Francisco’s Bay Bridge | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Every act of aloha counts. Click here to DONATE to the MAUI RELIEF Fund.

By Associated Press | November 16, 2023 

At least 50 protesters were arrested on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and 15 vehicles were towed after demonstrators blocked all lanes on the upper deck.

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Demonstrators shut down the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge in conjunction with the APEC Summit taking place Thursday, Nov. 16, in San Francisco.

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Demonstrators shut down the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge in conjunction with the APEC Summit taking place Thursday, Nov. 16, in San Francisco.

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Dr. George Tanaka, an eye surgeon, joins demonstrators as they shut down the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge in conjunction with the APEC Summit taking place Thursday, Nov. 16, in San Francisco.

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Demonstrators shout slogans after shuttting down the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge in conjunction with the APEC Summit taking place Thursday, Nov. 16, in San Francisco.

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Demonstrators shut down the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge in conjunction with the APEC Summit taking place Thursday, Nov. 16, in San Francisco.

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Demonstrators shut down the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge in conjunction with the APEC Summit taking place Thursday, Nov. 16, in San Francisco.

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Police officers clear demonstrators blocking the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge while protesting against the APEC summit on Thursday, Nov. 16, in San Francisco.

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Police officers detain a protester blocking the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge while demonstrating against the APEC summit and the Israel-Hamas war, Thursday, Nov. 16, in San Francisco.

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Elsa Santos and her children wait for police officers to clear protesters off the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge during a demonstration against the APEC summit on Thursday, Nov. 16, in San Francisco. Santos was stuck for several hours while trying to take her kids to school.

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Motorists wait in a queue as demonstrators shut down the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge in conjunction with the APEC Summit taking place Thursday, Nov. 16, in San Francisco.

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The post Protesters demanding Gaza ceasefire block San Francisco’s Bay Bridge appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

KEXP expands to San Francisco: Seattle’s favorite nonprofit radio station is growing into California. KEXP announced via a donor email that it purchased San Francisco’s KREV 92.7 with a winning bid of $3.75 million as part of a bankruptcy auction. So long as the Federal Communications Commissions gives them the green light, KEXP will start operations in SF in the next few months. 

THING ditches Port Townsend: Seattle Theater Group’s eclectic arts fest, THING, will no longer take place in Port Townsend. After declining ticket sales in the event’s three-year run, STG determined Port Townsend was the problem. The town is difficult to get to and doesn’t have a ton of lodging for a slew of guests. It is damn pretty, though. Ah well, THING will live on, just somewhere else. STG has not said where, though. 

Good news for this dog: On Monday night, a fire swept through SODO’s dog daycare, Dog Resort. In the hubbub of trying not to die in the fire, Remi, a dog, went missing. Three days letter, Remi turned up after reportedly falling off a ramp near Lumen Field. She is now at a veterinarian’s office in critical condition. Remi’s owner is currently in Japan. The owner’s other dog, Georgie, turned up on I-5 after the fire. 

Hey, I heard you like weather: So, here’s some weather stuff. First off, it will be rainy on Saturday through early Sunday afternoon. Other than that, the weekend and the following week is looking cool, crisp, and dry. Pretty different from the soggy first half of this month.

Already half way through November. Seattle weather stats for the month so far ( thru the 15th ).

Rain, 5.09″, 2″ above normal, 9th wettest in 79 years.
Temps, 49.0°, 0.9° above normal, 24th warmest in 79 years.
Normal for the entire month, rain 6.31″, temp 46.5°. #wawx

— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) November 17, 2023

A modest quake: A 3.1 magnitude earthquake gave Snohomish County a nice little rattle Thursday night. 

Hey, I heard you like the moon: So, here’s some moon stuff.

Tonight 15.8% Crescent Moonset over the Space Needle pic.twitter.com/FSVIgBtgZz

— Steven.T.Luong (@steven_t_luong) November 17, 2023

Diddy sued for rape, sex trafficking: The signer Cassie filed a suit Thursday against Sean “Diddy” Combs, the rapper, hiphop mogul, and billionaire. Combs signed a then-19-year-old Cassie to his label in 2005. At the time, Combs was 37. Several years later, the two entered into a romantic relationship. However, according to Cassie, Combs “raped her in her home after she tried to leave him, ‘blew up’ another man’s car after learning of his romantic interest in the singer, and often beat and kicked her,” NBC News reports. She also alleged Combs forced her to engage in sex acts with other men while he filmed it. Cassie named Combs as well as Bad Boy Records, Bad Boy Entertainment, Epic Records, and Combs Enterprises as defendants.

UN stops delivering food to Gaza: After telephone and internet service in Gaza failed due to a lack of food, the United Nations said it was forced to stop delivering food and supplies. The UN warned of widespread starvation. Israel budged a tiny bit and said it would allow “‘very minimal’ daily shipments of fuel into Gaza for use by the UN and communications system,” according to the Associated Press. However, the UN said the amount Israel has greenlit will not be enough “to fuel water systems, hospitals, and trucks to deliver aid.”

Protesters block bridges: Over 200 protesters blocked the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge to urge President Joe Biden to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. Biden was in San Francisco for a global trade summit. Protestors blocked all lanes of the bridge’s upper deck with their cars. Some even threw their keys into the bay. Police arrested 80 people and had 29 cars towed. Bostonian ceasefire protesters also blocked some car infrastructure, stalling traffic across the bridge connecting Boston to Cambridge for two hours. 

Rep. George Santos faces expulsion—again: On Thursday, the House Ethics Committee found “substantial evidence” that Santos “used campaign funds for personal purposes, defrauded donors, and filed false or incomplete campaign finance and financial disclosures,” the New York Times reports. According to the report, Santos may have used that campaign money for personal Botox and to pay for OnlyFans subscriptions. Santos announced he would not be running for reelection. On Friday, Republican Rep. Michael Guest, chairman of the House Ethics Committee, filed a resolution seeking to expel Santos from Congress. 

We’re living in an episode of VEEP pic.twitter.com/5F05LsibI4

— Jordan Alexander (@JordnAlexnder) November 16, 2023

Nazis are no good for business: IBM will stop paying for ads on Twitter/X after an ad for the computing company ran alongside pro-Nazi content. The move comes after Media Matters posted analysis of Elon Musk’s platform showing ads for major companies (IBM, BCUniversal’s Bravo, Oracle, and Comcast’s Xfinity) running on pages affiliated with pro-Nazi and pro-Hitler ideology. 

Forget Black Friday: In the American plumbing world, the day after Thanksgiving is known as Brown Friday. It’s their busiest day. 

Snoop cuts out kush: Snoop Dogg, who is famously good pals with Mary Jane, announced via Instagram: “After much consideration & conversation with my family, I’ve decided to give up smoke. Please respect my privacy at this time.” It’s unclear whether Snoop will just stop smoking weed, or whether he’ll cut out all marijuana from his life. 

How to stop the orcas from sinking your ship? Sailors are blasting death metal to ward off the killer whales.

ICYMI: A new “Play Date” came out yesterday. This time I went to an accordion social club and had the time of my life.

A recommendation for your Friday: Maybe I’m behind the times on this, but have you watched The Righteous Gemstones on HBO? It’s sort of like if Succession were a ridiculous comedy about an ultra-wealthy mega church family in the South. I’m having a ball with it. 

The post Slog AM: KEXP Expands to San Francisco, UN Warns of Mass Hunger in Gaza, Diddy Sued for Rape, Intercourse Trafficking appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Palestinian people and their allies are continuing calls for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas. Thousands of people filled San Francisco’s Civic Center on Saturday, joining nationwide rallies calling for an end to the fighting and for the U.S. to stop sending aid to Israel. The rally was the biggest so far in the Bay Area since the war began on October 7, and one of numerous actions in other cities, including a massive demonstration in Washington, D.C., with other demonstrations taking place across Europe.

A woman waves a Palestinian flag at the International Day of Solidarity: Free Palestine rally in front of City Hall in San Francisco on Nov. 4, 2023. (Kathryn Styer Martínez for KQED)

“I am optimistic about the unbelievable outpouring. Just coming here on BART this morning, half the car was people with signs,” said Seth Morrison, a member of the national board of Jewish Voice for Peace Action, at the rally. “I’m seeing all over the country our JVP chapters, our actions are bigger than ever.”

Seth Morrison, 72, attends the International Day of Solidarity: Free Palestine rally. Morrison, who lives in El Cerrito, has been organizing with Jewish Voice for Peace since 2011. (Kathryn Styer Martínez for KQED)

Suzanne Ali, an organizer with the Palestinian Youth Movement Bay Area Chapter, says she hopes the marches happening across the country draw attention to the thousands of Palestinians that have been killed in Gaza since the war began.

“What we’re seeing today is a shock to the human conscience.  People need to focus on the real root issue of violence which is Israeli settler colonial occupation.”

Suzanne Ali, 25, speaks with reporters at the International Day of Solidarity: Free Palestine rally. Ali of San Francisco is an organizer with the Palestinian Youth Movement. (Kathryn Styer Martínez for KQED)

Andrea Muir said she has family in Gaza that have been displaced from their home, and that one of her cousins has died as a result of the fighting.

“It doesn’t feel right to sit at home,” said Muir.

It’s been a month since Hamas launched an unprecedented cross-border attack into Israel from Gaza, killing at least 1,400 people and taking approximately 240 hostages, according to the Israeli government. In the weeks since, Israel’s unrelenting attacks on Gaza have killed more than 9,400 people, at least 3,600 of whom were children, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza.  Over 1.4 million people have been displaced. Calls for a cease-fire, including a call for a humanitarian pause from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday, have so far been rebuffed by Israel, as supplies of food, water and medicine in Gaza run dangerously low.

The Bay Area has seen a series of vigils and rallies in recent weeks.  Last Saturday an estimated 15,000 protesters marched up Market Street in downtown San Francisco and onto the Highway 101. The following day, hundreds attended a tightly guarded pro-Israel rally in downtown San Francisco at Yerba Buena Gardens.

Thousands gather at the International Day of Solidarity: Free Palestine rally in front of City Hall. (Kathryn Styer Martínez for KQED)

Dozens of Bay Area residents traveled to Washington D.C. this weekend, joining the march there calling for an end to U.S. aid to Israel, an end to the siege of Gaza, and for an immediate ceasefire.

“I have to do what I can in this moment and onwards to ensure that more Palestinians aren’t displaced from their lands, like my grandparents, using U.S. taxpayer dollars,” said Rami Abdelkarim, an organizer with the Palestinian Youth Movement in the Bay Area. “I want to join the people who refuse to sit idly by while our country funds the destruction and the displacement of my ancestors and my people.”

Thousands showed up to attend the International Day of Solidarity: Free Palestine rally. (Kathryn Styer Martínez for KQED)

San Francisco rally attendee Kisae Hussein said she feels a moral obligation to protest because her country, the United States, is spending tax dollars to support Israel.

“It’s hard not to feel despair when there’s all these marches and our representatives are still doing what they’re doing,” she said. “But if there’s enough pushback, if we boycott, divest, sanction, if we keep moving forward with these actions I think we have to have hope that something will happen despite how impossible it may seem.”

Adam Shain, 6, attends the International Day of Solidarity: Free Palestine rally with his mom Faten, who says they currently have family in Jordan and Palestine. (Kathryn Styer Martínez for KQED)

The response to the protestors’ calls by California politicians has been mixed. California’s leading Senate candidates, running to fill the late Senator Dianne Feinstein’s seat, have largely expressed support for Israel’s response to the Hamas attacks. Meanwhile, East Bay Rep. Barbara Lee is calling for a cease-fire and is stressing that Israel must respond “within the framework of international law.”

While the White House has not called for a cease-fire thus far, President Biden on Wednesday did call for a humanitarian pause in Gaza, at a time of mounting pressure from human rights groups, and even members of his own Democratic Party. But a majority of the U.S. Congress continues to support the Israeli military. The House of Representatives recently approved $14.5 billion in military aid for Israel.

On Thursday, a San Francisco law firm sued the Biden administration in a push to evacuate Palestinian-Americans trapped in Gaza, saying that while some American citizens have been evacuated, the administration has so far failed to bring Palestinian-Americans home to safety.

Attendees at the International Day of Solidarity: Free Palestine rally in front of City Hall call for the Israeli military to cease fire in Palestine. (Kathryn Styer Martínez for KQED)

The Bay Area’s Jewish Community Relations Council CEO Tyler Gregory said the JCRC and the Jewish Community are calling on the Biden administration to do everything to provide humanitarian aid and work with Israelis to minimize loss of life. But, he added, Israel would not live with a cease-fire until the hostages are returned and Hamas is “no longer ruling the Gaza Strip.”

“We think that it’s reasonable that Israel has the right to self-defense and to try to reclaim its hostages,” Gregory said on Friday. “And we know that the United States would do the exact same thing. There is a lot of hypocrisy going around by those that are denying Israel the right to finish this.”

United Nations experts are warning that Gaza is “running out of time” and are calling for an immediate cease-fire “to prevent genocide.” Amnesty International has referred to Israeli governance of Palestinians as “oppressive and discriminatory” and “a system of apartheid.”

Organizers are planning more actions in the weeks ahead, including a protest at the Oakland Federal Building on Thursday.

KQED’s Juan Carlos Lara, Annelise Finney, Attila Pelit, David Marks and Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman contributed to this story.

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