Editorials

These days there’s no shortage of long, literate comments offered to the Berkeley Daily Planet. They are about a variety of topics, but sooner or later almost all gravitate toward the same area: the writer’s shock and horror about the way Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies are trying to turn the nation of Israel into a terrorist war machine.  

Most of us here in Berkeley know many people with connections to Israel. Most of these self-identify as Jewish based on religion, genetics, ethnicity, culture, and/or all of the above.  

Some grew up in Israel. Some of these are former Israelis who no longer believe in the mission. 

Others have family members who went to Israel as adults to build a new life. Two of my own friends are grandmothers with children raised in Berkeley who have married and established families in Israel. And we have Jewish friends in the anti-Zionist category, people who emphatically don’t believe that creating a state where not all the residents are equal is mandated by Judaism—who believe that the state of Israel is not “good for the Jews.”  

Just about all of these people are passionate about what they believe. After the horrendous October 7 invasion by the Gaza-based Hamas, Berkeleyans of all opinions asserted Israel’s right to defend itself from such attacks. However no one in my acquaintance claimed that Israel was entitled to the forty-to-one kill ratio against the Palestinians of Gaza, a majority of whom were non-combatants. And now slaughter goes on in Lebanon.  

That’s why I’m so surprised to learn that among all of the Bay Area’s supposedly “liberal” cities (not just the far-out“progressive” ones) Berkeley is conspicuous for not passing a resolution calling for a Gaza ceasefire. The word on the bush telegraph is that a draft introduced in the Berkeley City Council’s Agenda Committee has yet to reach the council because it was stymied by behind the scenes bureaucratic maneuvering in the Committee. 

Here I feel obligated to call out two councilmembers, both of whom I supported in several previous elections, who are now running for higher office. Jesse Arreguin is now mayor of Berkeley, and Sophie Hahn is a councilmember. He is currently running for California state senator, and she is running for Berkeley mayor. Both of them are members of the Agenda Committee, where the ceasefire resolution has been stuck for months. 

I have known both of them for something like twenty years, and I’m pretty sure that both of them know better. But neither one of them is acting on their better instincts—why? 

It’s a good bet that when the campaign finance figures are finally published the development industry will be a major contributor. Neither one of these two receives public financing with its spending limitations. 

In an attempt to salvage Berkeley's reputation as a city of peace, some long-term members of Berkeley’s Peace and Justice Commission, who are appointed both by councilmembers and Berkeley Unified Schoolboard members, drafted a resolution which they hoped to pass on to the city council. Last Monday there was a lively but civil meeting to consider it, with articulate speakers, many pro but a substantial minority con. 

Some of the most emphatic opponents of the ceasefire resolution were recently appointed to the commission by Arreguin and Hahn, obviously to vote against it, which they did. But even without the votes of these newby ringers, the majority of the Peace and Justice commissioners voted to support the resolution. 

I no longer feel that I can count on either Arreguin or Hahn to support peace with justice. This conclusion was prompted by their disappointing performance on the matter of the ceasefire resolution, but I also no longer trust them to make good decisions on other issues. 

I’ve always refrained from endorsing candidates on behalf of “The Planet”. Instead I have sometimes revealed which ones I’m voting for myself. I’m reluctant to support either.of these two. 

I am voting for Jovanka Beckles for California State Senator. 

Kate Harrison is my first choice for Berkeley Mayor. She’s really smart, and has a long history of public policy work, both professional and volunteer. 

With three candidates, it’s unlikely that anyone will get a majority, so the second choice is crucial. Hahn must be my second choice with Berkeley’s ranked choice voting, since the third candidate, who has approximately no record of civic involvement, is backed by the dreadful YIMBYs, as is Arreguin. But that’s a rant for another day..