Correspondence - #19 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Alcala, Abigail From: Greg Camphire < Sent: Tuesday, December 5, 2023 10:31 AM To: eComment Subject: Agenda Item #19: Resolution to Call in Support of a Ceasefire in Gaza Hello Councilmembers, I'd like to draw your attention to a place just blocks away from where you sit on the dais at City Hall, down the street at the Santa Ana Public Library. On the front lawn along Civic Center Drive, there is a single statue dedicated to a man named Alex Odeh. Mr. Odeh was a Palestinian -American poet, writer, and human rights activist who fled his homeland as a refugee and made a new home in Orange County. He earned a master's degree, raised a family, and led the West Coast office of the American -Arab Anti -Discrimination Committee (ADC), which continues to fight against racism while advocating for fair Arab -American representation. Alex Odeh was brutally murdered at his ADC office in Santa Ana on October 11, 1985. The FBI named three suspects in connection with this horrible assassination who were linked to a far -right Zionist terrorist organization and who fled to Israeli -occupied territories in Palestine. Nonetheless, Odeh's murder remains unsolved and justice remains unserved. On the day he died, Odeh was scheduled to speak at a local synagogue as part of his work uniting Jewish and Arab communities in their shared struggle for civil rights. Rabbi Arnold Rachlis said that "Alex Odeh was an advocate for justice for his people. He championed Palestinian rights, not because he wished to deny those of others, but because he wanted his people's voice to be heard." On a related note, I highly recommend seeking out Odeh's master's degree thesis from CSU Fullerton, "United States Policy Toward the Palestinian's in the Overall Context of the Arab-Israeli Conflict." It is extremely significant that the Santa Ana City Council unanimously approved Odeh's statue and its location at the library, a communal meeting place of knowledge and understanding. More than 500 people attended the statue's dedication ceremony in 1994, and at that time, it was the only known full-length outdoor statue in the U.S. dedicated to an Arab -American. Santa Ana, a city of immigrants and refugees, has chosen Odeh as our hero. It's especially significant that we continue to honor Odeh at this time, as his people's voice is once again crying out in pain due to genocide and ethnic cleansing. These horrors are being inflicted on Palestinians by a cruel autocratic government that represents neither democracy nor the global Jewish diaspora. Many in our local communities are acutely feeling the pain of the events in Gaza —not only Palestinian- and Jewish -Americans, but all residents who care about human rights, justice, and peace. The city has an obligation to support these communities in a time of crisis, and that time is now. So I am writing now to strongly urge you to direct the Interim City Manager to prepare a resolution for the City Council's consideration to call in support of a ceasefire in Gaza. It's in the best interest of our city government to make a statement that will be remembered on the right side of history, echoing the statement made with the dedication of Alex Odeh's statue. The inscription at the statue's base reminds us that "he was a visionary, a builder of bridges which many may now safely cross." As a city, we must join the growing chorus of calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza; the safe return of Israeli hostages to their families; and the return of land to the Palestinian people. It's the least we can do and it's the right thing to do.