Heres how Illinois Democrats split on Israel-Hamas war and antisemitism legislation

Table Of Content

• After scandal, movie producer Randall Emmett is flying under the radar with a new name
• Goldberg: What we keep getting wrong about protests like those at USC, Columbia and other campuses
• Opinion: Don’t gut L.A.’s best shot at building affordable housing
• Legislative Research: US HR786 2023-2024 118th Congress
• This small, Latino city took a public stance in support of Palestinians. Will others follow?
• Local governments

There was an overwhelming vote Oct 25 to pass a GOP-authored resolution “standing with Israel as it defends itself against the barbaric war launched by Hamas and other terrorists,” with 412 voting yes; 10 no; six present; and five not voting. The bill was also, wisely, amended to exempt actions by the new agency to finance new building or preserve affordable housing from challenges under the California Environmental Quality Act. This state law, which requires an assessment of the impacts of new development, is often misused by opponents of development to stop or slow housing projects for low-income or homeless people. CEQA requirements will still apply to the actual development projects financed by the agency.

After scandal, movie producer Randall Emmett is flying under the radar with a new name

Berkeley’s council, though not currently in favor of making a resolution, was one of the first to call out South African apartheid in 1972. In Los Angeles, council members passed a resolution in 2003 opposing the Iraq War, and many cities passed resolutions showing solidarity with Ukraine shortly after the Russian invasion. The city of Richmond voted to support the Palestinian people in Gaza with a controversial resolution after a marathon City Council meeting. An official vote is expected to take place at an upcoming meeting. Cudahy’s said Palestinians had “lived under violent and dehumanizing conditions” and that the council was “grieving all lives lost as a result of this genocide.” It passed with three votes for, one abstention and one absence.

Goldberg: What we keep getting wrong about protests like those at USC, Columbia and other campuses

In Southern California on Tuesday, some members of the Santa Ana City Council opposed any mention of a cease-fire, while others opposed any resolution without it. By the end of the night, after hours of impassioned debate, council members couldn’t agree on a motion merely to ask staff to draft a proclamation on Gaza. Still, some liberal cities have found it difficult to pass cease-fire resolutions. In San Francisco, several board members said they didn’t want to bring the war in Gaza into City Hall, and it’s far from certain that a resolution will pass there.

Opinion: Don’t gut L.A.’s best shot at building affordable housing

Mr. Martinez, 74, a longtime leader in the left-leaning Richmond Progressive Alliance, said that members of the city’s large Muslim community thanked him profusely, but national and international hate mail followed. “Stick to picking lettuce,” one angry critic wrote to Mr. Martinez. “I hope the terrorists cut your babies [h]eads off,” another wrote in an email. Those calling for cease-fire resolutions believe that this time, a critical mass of local gestures may ultimately convey to the White House that it has lost support for backing Israel’s military campaign. Especially if the resolutions come from Democratic strongholds that serve as President Biden’s base. The Dec. 5 vote on the GOP-authored resolution condemning antisemitism passed, , with one Republican voting no.

The recent measures mark a distinct contrast with the response of local governments in October, when public officials widely condemned the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks and expressed solidarity with Israel. Leaders representing some of the largest jurisdictions passed pro-Israel resolutions, including Los Angeles County and Dallas, as did cities with large Jewish populations like Beverly Hills, Calif., and those with conservative voters like Huntington Beach, Calif. We have already lost precious time getting this agency set up and at work creating and preserving affordable housing in Los Angeles County.

CAIR-SFBA Welcomes Rep. Zoe Lofgren's Call for a Ceasefire in Gaza, Urges All Elected Officials to Support HR 786 - CAIR California

CAIR-SFBA Welcomes Rep. Zoe Lofgren's Call for a Ceasefire in Gaza, Urges All Elected Officials to Support HR 786.

Posted: Thu, 25 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

This is very good news, because Los Angeles desperately needs more affordable housing and this bill would help. It would set up the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency to build new affordable housing, preserve existing affordable housing and offer struggling renters emergency rental assistance and access to legal counsel to help resolve landlord-tenant disputes. Hernandez said it was jarring to see hundreds of people attending Oakland’s meeting, in person and virtually, while “not showing interest” on important local issues.

Legislative Research: US HR786 2023-2024 118th Congress

Cudahy is the first city in Southern California to support the Palestinian people of Gaza with a resolution that calls for a cease-fire. Local governments have been taking stands on global issues for decades. But given the intense debate over the war, the resolutions have heightened divisions in some communities and raised questions about what governments get out of them. But while a ceasefire could save lives in the short-term, there’s no reason to think that if the Israeli government stood down, that Hamas would too — and the resolution does not address that longer-term problem. Launched in 2004, GovTrack helps everyone learn about and track the activities of the United States Congress. Initiated from Gaza, the region Hamas has effectively controlled since 2006, terrorists broke through border barriers to kill Israeli civilians with weapons, while launching 3,000 rockets at Israeli targets.

This small, Latino city took a public stance in support of Palestinians. Will others follow?

More than a dozen U.S. city councils have now passed resolutions urging Israel to stop shelling Gaza, including several in Michigan, which has a sizable Muslim population, and several in California. William Hall, an adjunct professor of business and political science at Webster University in St. Louis, said there was “a long-standing precedent” nationwide of city councils passing resolutions on international matters. Asked why she voted no, Underwood said “this was a flawed Republican resolution” which was “written by individuals who are holding up aid to Israel, and that’s a political game. This resolution was written by people who are part of a Republican majority that are loyalists to Donald Trump and, you know, are affiliated with white supremacists who unleashed these attacks and these waves of antisemitism that we’ve seen around the country.

This resolution urges the President to immediately call for and to facilitate de-escalation and a cease-fire in Israel and Palestinian Territories. The resolution also calls on the President to promptly send and facilitate the entry of humanitarian assistance into Gaza. In the immediate aftermath, as the Israeli government officially declared war for the first time since 1973, American public opinion was overwhelmingly on Israel’s side. Bills and resolutions are referred to committees which debate the bill before possibly sending it on to the whole chamber.

Regardless of the reason behind the decision, careful wording in resolutions is paramount to avoid additional strife, Hall said. Department of Justice mediator helped communities deal with conflicts due to race, religion and other matters for more than a decade. “Whichever way you vote, you will upset many Richmond residents who you have the responsibility of representing,” Wilk wrote. And he noted that the reasons cities pursue such proclamations aren’t always noble.

Oakland was unanimous in its passage of a resolution that included input from Jewish and Muslim leaders and called for a cease-fire in language that mirrored House Resolution 786, authored by Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.). If the bill to create the agency passes, it would still need a financing mechanism. The best approach would be to ask voters to approve a local measure in 2024 to fund the agency’s initiatives since it’s too late for advocates to collect the signatures needed to place it on the November ballot. Mr. Preston, who is Jewish, said he’s heard a lot of pushback about the resolution not being central to what local supervisors should be focusing on — and he said that’s been true when the board has weighed in on other international topics.

The discussion and the resolution left Christian Hernandez feeling “split.” Hernandez worked for four years at Oakland’s Community Education Partnerships, an organization dedicated to enhancing educational opportunities for homeless and housing-unstable children. Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7 killed roughly 1,200 people and led to the kidnapping of more than 200. Since that day, Israel is believed to be responsible for at least 15,800 Palestinian deaths. The table below shows whether other legislators who may be on relevant committees or cosponsors of relevant bills are the sponsor or a cosponsor of this resolution. An original cosponsor was a cosponsor on the date the legislation was introduced. Other cosponsors are shown with the date they joined, or later withdrew.

Much of the debate has taken place in heavily Democratic cities, underscoring the larger fissures the party is seeing over the war, both in California and nationally. Some public comments made at an Oakland City Council meeting sparked criticism from top Democrats, who said they downplayed the bloodshed by Hamas. Weeks after the Hamas invasion of Israel and amid that nation’s attacks on Gaza, a few hundred Bay Area residents packed a Richmond City Council meeting to passionately debate the merits of a resolution calling for a cease-fire.