Hey Jesse Zwick, maybe do something about this rotating encampment of mentally ill and addicted people before you tackle the Middle East?

Arthur Jeon

Get the encampment out of this carport so that the teachers in my building aren't terrified to go to work in the morning, as they step around human feces. You know, start small.

Dear Council,

I knew it was just a matter of time before the virtue-signaling, radical left-wing of the Council, as embodied by the clueless Jesse Zwick, felt the need to "be heard" on Gaza. Typical hubris! As if anybody cares what Santa Monica thinks about it, as if it will change anything in the Middle East, as if Jesse Zwick has any understanding of the issue. Rabbi Gotlieb summed up the reasons why the city shouldn't wade into it well (https://www.smobserved.com/story/2024/05/14/news/span-classbrnwsbreaking-news-spansanta-monica-rabbi-opposes-pro-hamas-resolution-sponsored-by-city-councilmember-jesse-zwick/8292.html), but not being a rabbi, or even Jewish, I will restate his 3 points less diplomatically, and add a 4th:

1. Do your F***ing job for Santa Monica. The city is a mess. I've got a homeless encampment in the empty carport in the building directly across the alley from my condo, and so far the city is impotent to do anything about it because they need to hunt down the owner and get a "no trespass" letter first (NMS Properties 1242 10th Street). Maybe sort this out before tackling Gaza?

2. Palestinians are dying because of Hamas, not Israel. The difference between the two can be summed up this way: Israel uses missiles to protect its citizens, while Hamas uses its citizens to protect its missiles while hiding in the tunnels. Israel can kill every Palestinian in Gaza, but doesn't. While Hamas would like to kill every Jew in Israel, but can't. There is no moral equivalence.

3. The resolution itself is garbage. Both ahistorical and meaningless, it will only prove how dumb we are. It also doesn't represent the truth that the majority of Americans support Israel and that any serious talk of a ceasefire would be started if Hamas released the hostages. What it will do is cement our reputation as a clueless city that seems determined to do everything possible to destroy our brand, while indulging in grandiose pronouncements far above the pay grade of Santa Monica City Council. (Reread #1).

Your proposition's money sentence is simply a mishmash wish list without even a precondition of hostage release:

"The city of Santa Monica supports the resumption of a negotiated bilateral ceasefire, which must include humanitarian aid for the immediate provision of desperately needed food, water, medical care, closing and emergency shelter to Palestinians, and the end of Hamas's rule in Gaza, due process for all prisoners, and the immediate release of the remaining 132 Israeli hostages taken by Hamas."

This is a meaningless in the "if pigs could fly" mode of meaninglessness. How do you get the end of Hamas's rule in Gaza? Wait... Are they going to hear about your resolution and stop their murderous rule over their own citizens?

4. Recall Jesse Zwick. Rotted by privilege, schooled in the reductionist oppressor/oppressed theology which he applies everywhere, proud of his work with disgraced Mike Bonin in Venice, never met a bad idea he didn't love, incapable of a non-tribal thought, and supported by daddy's deep pockets, Jesse shouldn't have the power to decide where to put a park bench in our city. Seriously, a random resident selected by lottery would be better, (as long as it isn't one of the transient addicts defecating in my carport that Gleam thinks is a resident). He's an embarrassment-recall him and the luxury beliefs he consistently stands for.

There is a lot more to say about Israel: about how the Palestinians missed opportunities for a two-state solution (Arafat walked away from 97% of what Palestinians wanted in 2,000); about how most of the Jews in Israel are not European 'colonizers' but from the Middle East who have been there for 3,000 years; about how Israel, upon giving Gaza up to the Palestinians, moved their own people at gunpoint out of Gaza, only to be rewarded by suicide bombers and intifada as Hamas took the West's billions in aid and built hundreds of miles of tunnels in preparation for October 7th. Yes, this death cult didn't choose to build Monaco on the Mediterranean, but a grim prison for its own people, while calling the walls Israel built for its own protection Apartheid.

I could go on, but I'm going to let public intellectual Sam Harris address this in two excellent auditory essays for those of you who want a dose of reality about Gaza. Educate yourself, Jesse. You're no longer in college and won't get the pass the misguided students are getting (Gays for Palestine! Where they would be thrown off the first roof 😂). Listen to these essays for calm and rational deconstruction of the thinking behind Jesse's proposal:

The Bright Line Between Good and Evil (https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/making-sense-episodes/340-the-bright-line-between-good-and-evil)

The Sin of Moral Equivalence (https://www.samharris.org/episode/SE905D3EAA4)

For now, Council, show a little humility and do NOT pass this resolution. Get the encampment out of this carport so that the teachers in my building aren't terrified to go to work in the morning, as they step around human feces. You know, start small.

Alyssa Erdley

A group of transients hanging out behind this abandoned sofa in a Santa Monica residential alley - eating, taking drugs, and leaving trash behind

Alyssa Erdley

Trash left behind by the transients hanging out behind the sofa, including what looks to be a used needle.