By Miriam Gershenson
SAN MARCOS, California — I attended the June 25 meeting of the San Marcos City Council. I arrived over an hour late and still sat there for hours waiting for the “public comments” time for subjects not on the published agenda. That was when the pro-Hamas crowd started to demand that anti-Israel resolutions be placed on a future agenda.
As is the procedure for such “public comment” occasions, members of the City Council listened but took no vote. So far, no anti-Israel resolutions have been placed on an upcoming agenda.
Learning that the pro-Hamas demonstration would take place, I signed up to speak against that idea. There were a few others on our side. We were not even a fraction of the crowd that they came in with. But we showed up anyways because we needed to show the opposite view. We needed to debunk the lies that they spew.
We were four speakers against their crowd of what I believe were 16. We each got three minutes to say our part. They wanted the City Council to adopt a ceasefire resolution, condemn Israel, and enact BDS.
The Hamas supporters were mostly college-aged. They are so brainwashed, it’s a sad sight to see. The level of ignorance is unbelievable but sadly, that’s the world we live in.
The level of disrespect they showed toward the council was astonishing. They were confrontational, calling the mayor and council members by first names, accusing them of supporting genocide, racism, and being incompetent, and so much more.
They yelled at Mayor Rebecca Jones: Rebecca this, Rebecca that. I have to give Mayor Jones and everyone on the council so much credit for being able to keep their cool as these kids were doing everything in their power to provoke a reaction.
I was thinking about how pro-Hamas forces have such large numbers. Since when do college kids want to sit through hours of boring meetings? Then I found out, they get paid for their “activism.” Amnesty International is one such employer as this advertisement posted in Seattle, Washington, demonstrates. Advertising the position as flexible and perfect for students. Offering up to $30 per hour which is a lot of money for any student.
This is both good and bad. On the one hand, it’s nice to know that they need to spend money for people to care for their cause. On the other hand, money talks and it makes people show up. We need to counter them and I think it speaks volumes that we don’t need to get paid to stand up.
I’m make a plea to every Jew and pro-Israel ally out there to please show up! This is important. Stand up for all of us. Show the other side and bring truth and facts to the table. If you are in the greater San Diego area and ready to jump to action, let me know and I’ll be happy to add you to the group.
If you are a reader from elsewhere than San Diego County, if there isn’t a group of people for you to join, create it. As they say, if you build it, they will come. And if you need help, let me know, I can share resources with you.
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Miriam Gershenson is a freelance writer based in Escondido, California.
I attended a city council meeting in Oceanside and there were probably a dozen Palestinian protesters there as well. I’d be happy to join the effort to attend and speak up at these meetings.
That’s wonderful! Thank you.
Miriam,
Thank you for your honest observations. I’m in my 18th year of serving the City of San Marcos, these “students” refuse to listen when I’ve told them that we have a legislative platform that spells out what type of actions we will spend time reviewing on our agenda, it specifically says “ the City will not address matters that are not pertinent to the City’s local government services such as social or international issues.” These protesters admitted that they know it would be symbolic but I told them in no in no uncertain terms that it will not be added to our agenda. This bullying behavior does not work on true public servants, I will remain committed to serving all San Marcos residents and doing so in a fair manner that makes all residents feel valued and included, I will not be deviating from my values in service to placate these activists no matter how much they yell, demean or disrespect me. I have been elected 5 times and know that the value of true inclusive practices are something that all residents value, it has been the hallmark of the success of San Marcos. Here is the legislative platform that was unanimously approved this year proving on page one in the bottom paragraph our long standing policy- https://sanmarcos.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=12595192&GUID=9B40E8FC-B527-4A41-BD0D-C807A3EB93B1.
In service to all,
Rebecca
Mayor Jones,
I cannot express how honored I feel that you took the time to respond to me both publicly and privately.
I thank you for staying true and committed on the city stance and focusing on city issues. I further appreciate your leadership of coming from a place of inclusion instead of exclusion.
While I understand that you have had worse bullying in the past and it comes with the job, I still extend my sympathy as it is uncalled for and undeserved.
Thank you for all you do!
It makes perfect sense. I think they know very well which cities they can get a resolution. Even if they don’t know, they get an idea after 1-2 times. Yet they keep coming again and again. I think their main goal is to use the city council as a propaganda stage to spread lies against Israel (their code word for Jews)..
This why Jews should come and counter their lies. This takes time but without countering it and calling it out people will just accept it must be true if no one opposes this.