Active coalitions of Orange County residents continue demanding Irvine and Santa Ana officials to formally call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
At the same time, other residents and elected officials urge city leaders to not get involved with foreign affairs five months after Hamas attacked Israel arguing it’s not relevant to a city council dais given the host of other local issues in play.
Hamas took 250 hostages in a surprise attack on Oct. 7 that killed over 1,000 Israelis. That incursion into Israeli territory triggered retaliatory airstrikes from the Israeli Defense Forces that have in turn killed over 28,000 Palestinians and forced over a million people towards the Egyptian border sparking a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The violence thousands of miles away continues to be felt deeply in Orange County – home to tens of thousands of Jewish residents and Arab American residents as well as a recently officially designated Little Arabia business district in Anaheim.
Scores of pro-Palestinian activists and residents have shown up to council meeting after council meeting in Irvine and Santa Ana since November demanding elected officials pass a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
“It’s painfully obvious that what is happening in Gaza today has a direct effect on our Irvine residents,” said Felicity Figueroa, an Irvine resident, during the Jan. 23 Irvine city council meeting.
“Of course, we condemn Hamas’s brutal attack on innocent civilians. We value every human life equally, whether Israeli, Palestinian or American, which is precisely why so many of us are advocating for a permanent ceasefire, so no more lives are lost on any side.”
At the same time, pro-Israeli activists, residents and rabbis have also shown up, urging council members to stick to city business and stay out of international issues.
“Irvine should leave international relations and policy matters to the federal government,” said Irvine resident Jamie Evans at the Dec. 12 Irvine city council meeting.
“The city of Irvine council and mayor should not embroil our city resources and time in international affairs which it has no business or knowledge to address.”
But for local activists like Figueroa and Lulu Hammad, co-founder of Yalla Indivisible, what’s happening in Gaza is very much a local issue pointing to U.S. tax dollars that are sent to Israel in military aid.
Hammad said in a phone interview that one Irvine family has lost 50 family members in Gaza.
“So this whole point that this is not a local issue is extremely jarring for our communities. People are taking special offense to that,” Hammad said. “If my tax dollars pay for it, It’s a local issue.”
Meanwhile, local Arab American, Muslim and Jewish leaders report a spike in hate crimes across Orange County since Oct. 7.
Officials in other OC cities have passed resolutions on the issue.
In October, the Huntington Beach City Council unanimously approved a resolution in support of Israel and condemning Hamas.
That same month, Laguna Beach City Council members unanimously approved a resolution condemning acts of terrorism against Israel and urging both sides to protect innocent lives.
Stanton officials took similar action to Laguna Beach in December.
[Read: Stanton Council Condemns Terrorism as OC Officials Weigh in on Palestine and Israel]
Irvine Avoids Resolution Debate; Santa Ana Deadlocks
Irvine’s leaders have avoided publicly debating any official resolution about the conflict after multiple meetings where dozens of activists have shown up, calling on the city to step up and recognize the impact it has had on its people while others called for an end to any discussion.
Last December, Mayor Farrah Khan, who is running for county supervisor, and Councilman Larry Agran, who’s running for mayor, called for a ceasefire in Gaza, but did not move forward with any official city statement.
“The events of October 7th were horrific,” Khan said at the council’s Dec. 12 meeting. “We will continue to articulate our opposition to antisemitism in any of its forms while also acknowledging that it would be morally bankrupt to allow the slaughter of tens of thousands of innocent people in Gaza in response to a terrorist act.”
A resident group, including a handful of rabbis, sent a letter in December to the Irvine City Attorney demanding an ethics violation investigation into Khan and Agran, pointing to a section of the municipal code that prohibits the city council from taking action on non-municipal issues.
They argue that what is happening in Gaza is not a local issue.
“War between the sovereign state of Israel and Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip is not a ‘municipal issue’ in the City of Irvine. It is a foreign conflict occurring thousands of miles away to which the United States government is not a party,” reads the letter.
City Attorney Jeff Melching reported at the Jan. 9 meeting that Khan and Agran did not commit an ethics violation.
Others agree that it is not a local issue.
City Councilwoman Tammy Kim, who is also running for the Mayor’s seat, said at the Jan. 23 meeting that she feels bad for Gaza, but her primary focus as a city council member is on local issues like housing, public safety and economic development.
“We have the responsibility to address issues that directly impact the lives of our constituents,” she said. “And by diverting our attention to international conflicts, we risk neglecting the pressing needs of all of those residents who have entrusted me as a representative.”
Kim then listed off other international issues taking place right now like war in Sudan and the mass killings of civilians and ethnic cleansing of Armenians in Azerbaijan.
The Councilwoman’s remarks sparked applause from some in the chambers and boos from others. The city council meeting was then recessed for a couple of minutes.
Later that night, Khan said that she can work on local issues like housing, transportation and more as well as call for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the Israeli hostages.
“I can be a mayor and stand with humanity. It shouldn’t be an either or situation,” she said after Kim and Councilwoman Kathleen Treseder left the meeting amid public comments on Palestine and Israel.
It’s not the first time this has happened.
At the council’s Jan. 9 meeting, Councilmembers Kim, Treseder and Mike Carroll left during public comment, and Agran and Khan were forced to wrap up the meeting early and listen to the rest of the speakers outside the official meeting.
Irvine officials are not the only ones facing resident pressure.
Activists and residents have also shown up to Santa Ana City Council meetings after elected officials deadlocked in December on a resolution in support of the Palestinian people and calling for a ceasefire.
[Read: Santa Ana Council Deadlocks on Israel & Palestine Statement]
At the second Santa Ana meeting in December, Mayor Valerie Amezcua cleared out the city hall chambers in response to demands for a ceasefire resolution with police standing in front of the dais.
Since then, city officials have attempted to implement policies restricting photography and video filming during council sessions, arguing disruptions.
Officials recently indicated they are reconsidering those actions to a media and legal coalition, including Voice of OC, that has protested limitations – which run counter to state law – allowing people and journalists to film and photograph public meetings as long as those efforts do not create a disruption.
Amezcua also attempted to bar public comments on a ceasefire resolution leading up to the December debate.
In Irvine, multiple police officers typically stand at the front of the chamber during public comment keeping an eye on the crowd.
Hosam Elattar is a Voice of OC reporter and corps member with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him at helattar@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @ElattarHosam.
Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC reporter and corps member with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him at nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @NBiesiada.