UNION CITY, Calif. — Students at James Logan High School want the city’s leadership to take a clear stance on Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip, but so far, they have only encountered resistance.
On Tuesday, Jan. 23, about two dozen students and community members urged the Union City City Council, for the second time this month, to pass a resolution supporting a permanent and lasting ceasefire in Gaza. Susanna Chen, a junior at Logan, emphasized that issuing a statement wasn’t a matter of politics or religion, but a matter of recognizing the human impact of an ongoing genocide.
“I hope, with all my heart, that as our city council, you recognize the significance and impact of putting out a statement at the very least,” Chen said. “And that you recognize the implications and harms of not doing so.”
Mayor Carol Dutra-Vernaci told the audience that “we all agree what’s happening is heartbreaking,” but said that passing such a resolution was outside of the council’s scope of responsibilities. She did not respond to criticism that the council passed a resolution in support of Ukraine and the ongoing military aid directed toward that conflict less than a year ago.
That was the same response Dutra-Vernaci gave two weeks earlier, prompting the students to stage a walkout days later that drew about 300 students and community members. Fernanda Miranda, a senior at Logan who helped plan the walkout with Chen, told the East Bay Echo it was important for the council to reflect the will of the community, and the community wants a ceasefire.
“The school board already agreed to the ceasefire resolution, so why can’t Union City do that, too,” Miranda said.
At the meeting Tuesday, Shamsa Rafay, a member of the New Haven Unified School District Board of Education, pointed out that U.S. foreign policy impacts the atmosphere locally. She shared how her daughter was recently called a terrorist by her classmates and has witnessed students joking about dropping bombs on Gaza.
“There have been so many issues that go unreported by both Jewish and Muslim students,” Rafay said. “Israel and Palestine is a Union City issue, too.”
The youth have been witnessing a genocide in real time on social media, and “they deserve to be heard,” said Union City resident Maria Ramirez. Passing a resolution would give young people faith that the government can be a vehicle to respond to “crimes like this.”
“It’s like Vietnam,” Ramirez said. “What we saw in Vietnam woke up the youth, but this is accelerated — 104 days and it’s still going on.”
Several community members said the council was employing a double standard by refusing to acknowledge the suffering of the Palestinian people while passing a resolution in support of Ukraine, particularly since the scale of the slaughter in Gaza is unprecedented.
Since Oct. 7, Israel, which receives $3.8 billion in annual military aid from the U.S., has killed more than 25,000 civilians in Gaza, almost as many as have died since Russia invaded Ukraine (about 30,000 civilians) in 2021. Within a span of just over a hundred days, Israel has killed six times as many journalists in Gaza (at least 90) than have died in Ukraine (at least 15) over the past three years.
Members of the community said they will remember the council’s decision when they vote in the fall.
Sonia Waraich can be reached at 510-952-7455.
Photo caption: Students from James Logan High Schools hold up signs of solidarity with the Palestinian people after being rebuffed by the mayor at the Union City City Council meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 23. (Sonia Waraich – East Bay Echo)
