Parents of Scotts Valley are calling on the Scotts Valley City Council to adopt a formal resolution at its February 21, 2024 council meeting calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

As parents and residents of Scotts Valley, we are deeply troubled by the ongoing horrors in Gaza. The repeated cries of children suffering from the ongoing violence of the past 3+ months, funded by our taxpayer dollars, are unbearable. Every day we witness horrific images of men, women and children in Gaza who have been maimed or killed and are suffering from unfathomable physical and emotional injuries caused by weapons supplied by the United States. 

It is estimated that at least $176,000 of Scotts Valley taxpayer money goes to the Israeli military each year. These funds could instead be used to improve local parks, fund after school programs, or increase pay to public school teachers.

These taxpayer funds have contributed to the killing of over 27,000 Palestinian civilians, including over 11,500 Palestinian children, and the deprivation of food, water, electricity, medical supplies and humanitarian aid to 2.3 million people. 

On January 26, 2024 the International Court of Justice found  that the seige on Gaza was a plausible genocide. The United States and the Biden Administration have also been sued for complicity in genocide due to the ongoing financial and resource support the United States is providing, enabling crimes against the people of Gaza. To date, our elected representatives at the local and federal levels have yet to call for a ceasefire.

We are therefore asking the Council to take a stand on this issue.

RESOLUTION BY THE SCOTTS VALLEY CITY COUNCIL

WHEREAS, all human life is precious, and the targeting of civilians, no matter their faith or ethnicity, is a violation of international humanitarian law;

WHEREAS, on October 26, 2023 the United Nations General Assembly, in a near unanimous vote, called for an immediate and sustained humanitarian ceasefire;

WHEREAS, on January 26, 2024, the International Court of Justice found the humanitarian suffering and destruction in Gaza to constitute a plausible case of genocide;

WHEREAS, hundreds of thousands of lives are at imminent risk if a ceasefire is not achieved, and humanitarian aid is not delivered without delay; and

WHEREAS, the Federal Government of the United States holds immense diplomatic and appropriations powers to save Palestinian and Israeli lives;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the City of Scotts Valley, California calls upon our U.S. Congressional delegation, both in the Senate and House of Representatives, to join us in –

1) urging the Biden administration to immediately call for and facilitate de-escalation and a ceasefire to urgently end the current violence in Gaza;

2) calling upon the Biden administration to promptly send and facilitate the entry of humanitarian assistance -at the scale needed- into Gaza;

3) calling upon the Biden administration to not use taxpayer dollars to fund plausible war crimes or genocide; and

4) calling upon the Biden administration to restore funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the City of Scotts Valley, California supports all of its residents and condemns all forms of racism, bigotry, and discrimination.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Scotts Valley City Council asks city staff to quickly send copies of this resolution to the President of the United States, Senator Laphonza Butler, Senator Alex Padilla and Congressman Jimmy Panetta.