Following two lengthy public meetings and more than 150 speakers, the Los Altos City Council last month signed off on Resolution No. 2023-72, which has the city council “denouncing anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim hate, anti-Palestinian racism and anti-Arab racism, the Hamas terrorist attacks of Oct. 7, 2023 and reaffirming every person’s right to safety and right to live without fear of violence or intimidation.”
Approved at the Dec. 11 meeting, Mayor Jonathan Weinberg signed off on the final, edited document on Jan. 9. Although Weinberg initially proposed a resolution condemning the Hamas attacks, council members decided the resolution had to be more inclusive. Numerous Israeli and Palestinian residents said they were suffering from family losses and from racist attacks in their own community. Council members said they crafted the resolution, not to comment on foreign policy or international affairs, but to support local residents.
According to the resolution, the city “affirms all of its community members’ rights to live in safety, without fear of violence, intimidation, or threat, based on their ethnic identity, religious beliefs or how they choose to express those beliefs.”
In addition to denouncing Hamas as a terrorist organization, the resolution affirmed “that support for the Palestinian people is not the same as support for Hamas and categorically denounces the notion that anyone supports terrorism because of their faith, ethnicity, or the manner in which they choose to express their faith.”
It recognized that members of the Los Altos Jewish, Muslim, Arab and Palestinian communities are “hurt, anxious, and scared.”
To view the complete resolution, visit losaltosonline.com.
