LONDON: A recent city council meeting in Oakland, California went viral online after speakers defended militant group Hamas.
And following debate, council members voted for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
In a clip shared online, one person attending the meeting said: “Calling Hamas a terrorist organization is ridiculous, racist, and plays into genocidal propaganda that is flooding our media and that we should be doing everything possible to combat.”
Oakland City Council meeting.
In their own words… pic.twitter.com/9deJ1GGJ3I— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) November 29, 2023
Another speaker referred to the group as a “resistance organization that is fighting for the liberation of Palestinian people in their land.”
Tye Gregory of the Jewish Community Relations Council Bay Area later told The Jewish News of Northern California that the meeting had been the “most antisemitic room I have ever been in.”
British journalist Piers Morgan shared the video on X and accused the commenters of being “brazen terrorist sympathizers.”
Horrifying… these so-called ‘progressives’ are all brazen terrorist sympathisers. https://t.co/qImsPoynUL
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) November 29, 2023
During the city council meeting, lawmakers unanimously approved a resolution calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in the conflict, the unrestricted entry of humanitarian assistance into Gaza, the restoration of food, water, electricity, and medical supplies to the Strip, and respect for international law.
They also called for a resolution that protected the security of all innocent civilians.
