Resolution 15311CITY OF ALAMEDA RESOLUTION NO. 15311
CONDEMNING THE INCREASED INCIDENTS OF BIAS, PREJUDICE,
DISCRIMINITION, VIOLENCE AND ANTI-SEMITISM
WHEREAS, there has been a rash of bomb threats and cemetery desecrations
targeting Jewish Community Centers, Jewish Day Schools and Jewish Institutions
across the nation and in the Bay Area, and Temple Israel in Alameda was targeted by
vandals on August 17, 2017 and there has been an increase in discriminatory rhetoric
and actions, including verbal and violent anti-Semitic assaults, nationwide and in the
Bay Area, targeting Jewish community members and in Alameda where Jewish
students in the Alameda Unified School District were targeted and bullied; and
WHEREAS, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Southern Poverty Law Center, Anti-
Defamation League, ProPublica, and other reputable groups have identified evidence of
hundreds of incidents of anti-Semitic harassment and intimidation in the last few months
throughout the country targeting individuals perceived to be of Jewish ethnic and/or
religious ancestry; and
WHEREAS, some of these acts appear to have come from white-nationalist and racist
groups and often include anti-Jewish bigotry, including anti-Semitic discrimination
rooted in efforts to delegitimize Jewish self-determination; and
WHEREAS, today, white nationalism and neo-Nazism remain very real threats to the
values for which the Alameda community stands, and their reinvention as the "Alt-Right"
should not mitigate their hateful ideologies; and
WHEREAS, white nationalism and neo-Nazism are continuing to grow as menaces to
societal order as they seek to reignite social animosities, reverse improvements in race
relations, divide the nation, and foment hatred, classism, and ethnic eradication; and
WHEREAS, there have been an increase in violent rallies sponsored by white-
nationalist and racist groups, including in Charlottesville where a non-violent counter-
protestor was murdered as hundreds of white supremacists gathered with torches and
chanted racial, ethnic and religious slurs about Black and Jewish people while waving
banners with swastikas and in the Bay Area where many peaceful counter-protestors
were beaten, threatened and subjected to verbal assaults; and
WHEREAS, these incidents occur in the context of a steep rise in anti-Semitism
globally, xenophobic and discriminatory acts targeting people of diverse backgrounds,
including Muslim, Arabs, Sikhs, Latinos, women, immigrants of all backgrounds, and
LGBT people in our nation; and
WHEREAS, the City of Alameda has proudly recognized and celebrated its diverse
community through various resolutions and events and declared that "Everyone
Belongs Here"; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, in light of the volume, frequency, and intensity of acts of intolerance,
bigotry, xenophobia, racism, and the nature of anti - Semitic, we hereby reaffirm our
commitment to an open and inclusive city that actively opposes all of these forms of
prejudice, bias, and discrimination against people based on religion, ethnicity, race, sex,
gender identity and expression, national origin, immigration status, sexual orientation, or
disability, and, be it
FURTHER RESOLVED, that we seek to uphold principles of equality, pluralism, and
inclusivity, and will stand in solidarity with Jewish, Muslim, Black, LGBTQ, immigrant,
and other communities whenever they are targeted or further marginalized; and be it
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the totalitarian impulses, violence, xenophobic biases, and
bigoted ideologies that are promoted by white nationalists and neo -Nazis are strongly
denounced and opposed; and be it,
FURTHER RESOLVED, that nothing in this Resolution shall be construed to diminish or
infringe upon free speech or any other right that is protected under the First Amendment
of the Constitution of the United States.
I, the undersigned, hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution was duly and
regularly adopted and passed by the Council of the City of Alameda in regular meeting
assembled on the 19th day of September, 2017, by the following vote to wit:
AYES: Councilmember Ezzy Ashcraft, Matarrese, Oddie, and Vella
� 4.
NOES: None.
ABSENT: Mayor Spencer - 1.
ABSTENTIONS: None.
IN WITNESS, WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the official
seal of said City this 20th day of September, 2017.
Lara Weisicier, City CI rk
City of Alameda
.roved as to form:
J44 C tern, �City �Attorney�
City of Alameda