This petition was first launched in February 2024, when the death toll in Gaza was just beginning to mount. Nearly two years later, the crisis has deepened under Trump’s second term, with over 600,000 lives lost. We are renewing this call for Sacramento’s city leadership to take a stand.

Dear Mayor Kevin McCarty, Vice Mayor Karina Talamantes, Mayor Pro Tem Eric Guerra, and Councilmembers Lisa Kaplan, Roger Dickinson, Phil Pluckebaum, Caity Maple, Rick Jennings II, and Mai Vang,

I write to you with profound urgency and moral purpose — as your constituent and as someone who cannot remain silent in the face of mounting atrocity. The genocide in Palestine is intensifying, driven by Israeli military aggression and made possible by U.S. policy under Trump’s second term, which exhibits deep alignment with Netanyahu’s agenda.

For over 75 years, Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands has undermined justice, sovereignty, and prospects for peace. Since October 7, 2023, when Israel claimed Hamas had taken hostages, the violence has escalated with devastating consequences.

Between October 7, 2023 and October 2025, more than 600,000 lives have been lost — including vast numbers of women, children, and other civilians. Entire communities, schools, hospitals, mosques, cultural sites, and infrastructure lie in ruins. This scale of destruction is not just a statistic — it is a human catastrophe demanding a forceful response.

Under Trump’s renewed presidency, U.S. foreign policy has played a central enabling role. The administration’s unapologetic support for Israel’s military operations, its unwillingness to demand accountability, and its political proximity to Netanyahu aggravate the crisis rather than constrain it.

We draw moral solidarity from over 70 U.S. cities that have passed resolutions condemning Israel’s conduct and calling for an immediate ceasefire — from major centers like Chicago and Seattle to smaller communities like Carrboro and San Francisco. These collective acts lend power to public pressure on national leadership to act.

Of particular concern is the U.S. relationship with UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees. This agency has long provided essential lifelines — education, health care, food assistance, and shelter — to millions of displaced Palestinians. Reports indicate that the Trump administration has moved to block funding to UNRWA. While much of U.S. support was already suspended under prior policy, Executive actions in 2025 formally extend the freeze and direct a review of U.S. support to UN agencies.

We urge you to emphasize that cutting off funding to UNRWA amounts to abandonment of responsibility to vulnerable populations in crisis.

We also recognize the indispensable work of humanitarian organizations on the ground, including:

• Palestine Children’s Relief Fund
• Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders)
• United Palestinian Appeal
• Palestine Red Crescent Society
• Save the Children
• UNICEF
• Islamic Relief
• Medical Aid for Palestinians
• Gaza Amputee Project
• International Rescue Committee

We call on your offices to consider how Sacramento might support or amplify these organizations — whether via advocacy, logistical support, coalition building, or public awareness initiatives.

In addition, we urge you to demand:

1. An immediate, enforceable ceasefire, withdrawal of Israeli forces from occupied territories, and robust protection for civilians.
2. A suspension of all U.S. arms transfers, military assistance, and intelligence support that enables Israel’s operations in Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the West Bank.
3. A comprehensive arms embargo — not only by the U.S. but coordinated with allied governments — to halt the provision of weapons, dual-use technology, and military support.
4. Opposition to any proposal to further cut support to UNRWA and insistence on maintaining its funding and operational capacity.
5. That Sacramento adopt a formal resolution or public statement affirming that our city refuses complicity in genocide and demands accountability at the federal level.

As precedent, governments like Spain have implemented a total arms embargo on Israel, banning military sales and transit of weapons, and refusing to allow entry of arms shipments. Other countries, including Slovenia, have similarly acted. These steps show that sovereign states can choose to disassociate from complicity in violence and shift global pressure.

Given that Israel has been a principal recipient of U.S. foreign aid (over $300 billion cumulatively), it is critical we reassess whether American tax dollars should continue to underwrite a conflict defined by mass suffering and violations of human rights.

In this moment of grave moral urgency, your leadership matters. Sacramento can help shift public consciousness, strengthen civic pressure, and amplify demands for justice, accountability, and humane policy.

Thank you for your time, your courage, and your commitment to the dignity of all people.

Sincerely,
Your Constituents
Sacramento, CA