Correspondence - #19 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Alcala, Abigail From: Cat C < Sent: Tuesday, December 5, 2023 2:18 PM To: eComment Subject: Dec. 5: Comment on Agenda item 19 Hello, My name is Cathy, and I am writing to comment on Agenda Item 19: Discuss and Consider Directing the Interim City Manager to Prepare a Resolution for City Council's Consideration to Call in Support of a Ceasefire in Gaza — Councilmembers Vazquez and Hernandez. I would like to express my support for this resolution. I am part of a growing international chorus calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, an end to all of this brutal carnage. UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell has said "Gaza is, again, the most dangerous place to be a child." I believe that a permanent ceasefire is a vital part of addressing the growing anti-semitism and Islamophobia we are seeing across the country. Calling for a permanent ceasefire is not anti-semiticit is staying in touch with that part of our humanity that recognizes the unbearable devastation of wiping entire families off of the civil registry, of destroying the small bodies of children, of displacing over a million people (some of whom have already lived through displacement), of the elderly, ill, and disabled trying to make it to a "safe" space, of healthcare providers, journalists, rescue workers being targeted and killed. The loss is unfathomable. Generations will live with this trauma —if they even survive. The pursuit of liberation and justice is not just for certain fronts or reserved for the higher echelons of government. Speaking up at a local community level matters. It matters to those we call neighbors, our children (who are watching our actions), and yes, even those on the other side of the world. I do not wish violence or marginalization of any group. The flourishing of one group should not depend on the oppression of another. I am pleading for our collective conscience. Thank you for your time and consideration. Cathy C.