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WHEREAS, hundreds of thousands of lives are at imminent risk if a permanent cease-fire is not <br />achieved and adequate humanitarian aid is not delivered to the people of Gaza without delay; <br />WHEREAS, the United States government plays a significant role in facilitating the ongoing <br />violence happening in Israel and occupied Palestine; <br />WHEREAS, the United States provides significant financial support to the Israeli government, <br />with an approximate $3.8 billion in taxpayer dollars going to the state of Israel every year, as <br />part of a $38 billion deal over 10 years signed under former US President Barack Obama in <br />2016; <br />WHEREAS, on November 2, 2023, a bill authorizing an additional $14 billion to be sent to Israel during <br />this conflict recently passed the House of Representatives and is expected to receive bipartisan support in <br />the Senate, offering more financial support to the state of Israel while depriving American citizens of <br />money that could be more appropriately used to address urgent needs here at home; <br />WHEREAS, in addition to financial assistance, the United States government supports Israel <br />through the sale of weapons and ammunition, with US weapons manufacturers such as <br />Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, and Boeing projecting surges in their stock prices as the assault on <br />Gaza continues to escalate; <br />WHEREAS, the state of Israel would not be able to continue their bombardment campaign on <br />the people of Gaza without enormous financial and military aid provided by the United States <br />every year; <br />WHEREAS, in recent weeks, multiple high-ranking US officials have resigned from their posts, including <br />Josh Paul, the former director of congressional and public affairs for the state department’s Bureau of <br />Political-Military Affairs, who resigned last month to protest continued arms sales to Israel amid its <br />bombardment of Gaza, writing in a letter that one-sided U.S. support for Israel is “shortsighted,” <br />“destructive” and “contradictory,” adding, “We cannot be for a better world while contributing to one that <br />is materially worse”; <br />WHEREAS, as Israel’s most powerful ally, the United States government holds immense diplomatic <br />power to save Israeli and Palestinian lives and should exercise that influence with Israel and the <br />international community to negotiate an end to the violence, including the safe return of the Israeli and <br />Palestinian hostages, and an end to the apartheid occupation imposed by Israel on the Palestinian people; <br />NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City of Santa Ana takes seriously the entreaty <br />of “Never Again,” and that the historical memory of the Holocaust requires us to speak out when <br />we see atrocities being committed against innocent people, no matter their identity;