Editorial | Our leaders need to call for a ceasefire

Politicians love empty symbolic gestures. You can see this pretty clearly if you follow them on social media. Like clockwork, they all issue a generic supportive statement for the oppressed group of the day or month to let people know just how much they care. That’s why it’s confounding why our leaders are refusing to do even the bare minimum, a symbolic gesture, when it comes to the Palestinian people.

The residents of Hayward and Union City, young and old, have made it clear that they want their local elected officials to pass resolutions in support of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Israel has already killed at least 27,000 civilians, almost half children, with no signs of stopping the carnage while the Biden administration happily facilitates it with more arms shipments.

If people with influence don’t take a moral stand now, the situation is only going to get worse. It’s time for local city councils to listen to their constituents and send a clear message to the federal government: stop the bloodshed and engage in diplomacy now.

Unfortunately, members of both the Union City and Hayward city councils have said it’s not their place to get involved in international affairs.

Then why did Union City pass a resolution in support of Ukraine and the ongoing military aid directed toward that conflict less than a year ago? Why does the city have a whole page on its website called “Ukraine Community Resources,” stating the city is actively “seeking help to donate and assist with supplies.” Perhaps Union City would have offered the same support to the people of Gaza if only their hair were more blond and their eyes more blue.

Setting aside the abhorrent double standard, it is glaringly obvious to most of the community that U.S. foreign policy impacts domestic spending.

Local officials, like their communities, should be concerned that, while we don’t seem to have money for special education or school buses, we do have money to give to military contractors like Lockheed Martin and Raytheon so they can flood the world with more weapons.

At least $3.8 billion in annual aid goes to Israel every year, funding that could be redirected toward one of many underfunded domestic priorities, like education, housing and public transportation.

While local officials are far removed from the federal budget process, they can send a clear message to our federal representatives about what our priorities are.

Though Hayward has not passed a ceasefire resolution, many members of the city council have signed onto letters calling for some form of a ceasefire. The council also took the commendable step of divesting $1.6 million of local funds from companies with ties to Israel, which is a big step even if the city later clarified that the vote was in no way an endorsement of the nonviolent protest movement to boycott, divest from and sanction Israel, known as the BDS Movement.

But that’s not enough.

The attitudes of people in positions of power, for better or worse, color the atmosphere in which the rest of us live. If they choose not to speak up for the Palestinian people, even as social media is flooded with images of their indiscriminate slaughter, it sends a clear message to the community that some lives don’t matter.

It’s no wonder that the post-9/11 Islamophobia has resurfaced, emboldening bigots to call anyone who appears to be Muslim or Arab a terrorist. The Muslim civil rights group Council on American-Islamic Relations reported that it received 3,578 complaints, including reports of anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian incidents, between October and December, a 178% increase from the previous year.

Passing a ceasefire resolution would send a clear message to the community that Hayward and Union City does not tolerate human rights abuses, let alone bullying.

It’s already been well over a hundred days and Israel is now facing charges of genocide at The Hague. Why can’t our cities get their acts together and display a little bit of moral courage by condemning the starving of children, the targeting of journalists, the leveling of universities? How is that such a difficult position to take?

At this point, whether the councils pass ceasefire resolutions or not, they’ve shown us their true character and whether they’re capable of seeing everyone’s humanity or only the humanity of some.

They’ve also shown us whether they’re worthy of reelection. We need more choices at the local level and if you think you would be better at reflecting the community’s values and desires, please consider running. You may be just the person we need to ensure something like this never happens again.