Anti-Israel California residents told a council meeting that elected officials are “puppets controlled by the zionist lobby” and that Israeli children were not massacred by Hamas.
Nearly 200 locals lined up to address the Long Beach City Council meeting on Tuesday before it passed a ceasefire motion.
One woman wearing a headscarf said that elected officials are “puppets controlled by the zionist lobby”.
A woman wearing a keffiyeh said "Israel is a known safe haven for child sex offenders and paedophiles all over the word including Ghislaine Maxwell’. A white man said “black jews have been given forced sterilisation”.
Another man said “the 40 children were not massacred. They were not burned. The real terrorism is from Israel who are controlling our media right here”.
A woman wearing a keffiyeh as a headscarf said, ‘if you are Jewish and want to claim the effects of the Holocaust, how dare you”.
Long Beach became the latest in a growing list of cities across the state that have formally approved a proclamation calling on the U.S. government to support a ceasefire in Gaza.
The council voted 5-2 in favour of the motion.
Breaking news: The IDF has decided to stop it's fight against Hamas, because the city of Long Beach CA, where crime and homelesness have been rising at staggering rates, decided after a 6 hour meeting to vote for a ceasefire. There are many reasons to support this ceasefire,… pic.twitter.com/yOkEDWQCXH
— Yael Bar tur (@yaelbt) December 21, 2023
The Long Beach Community United for Peace, which says it represents the "Palestinian Community in unity with Muslim, Christian and Jewish allies", started a petition calling for the city to support a ceasefire.
The petition was sent to Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson for his endorsement.
The letter read: "It is with a sense of urgency and a plea for compassion that we seek your endorsement for an immediate Ceasefire in Gaza.
"This plea transcends complex political discourse; it is a fundamental human rights appeal. The principles of humanity should never be obscured or overridden by the tenets of warfare."
Long Beach now joins Cudahy, Richmond and Oakland in a list of cities that have called for a ceasefire in Gaza.