By Eric Licas
The Review
As many as 35 members of the South Pasadena community gave impassioned comments on a topic that was not on the City Council meeting’s agenda last Wednesday: the ongoing violence in the Gaza Strip.
Speakers described Israel’s military campaign as a genocide and asked the council to adopt a resolution calling for a cease-fire.
South Pasadena resident Hidab Tarifeeq said she emigrated from Gaza 12 years ago and still has family there. She said she has “lost count after 150 family members were killed” in the conflict.
“The last two were this last weekend: my cousin’s husband and his father,” Tarifeeq said. “They were both doctors. I’m asking you to call for a cease-fire so that we tell the world that the city of South Pasadena is joining the human race in calling for peace and calling for safety for the Palestinians.”
On Oct. 7, Hamas militants killed about 1,200 civilians and took about 240 hostages in southern Israel, leading to Israel’s military response in Gaza.
Representatives of the Israel Defense Forces have described their campaign as an existential fight for survival, and they say Hamas fighters must be rooted out to ensure the country’s safety. However, there have been widespread reports of mass civilian casualties inflicted by IDF bombings, and about 1.7 million people have had to flee their homes because of the conflict, according to the United Nations Population Fund. On Sunday, an Israeli airstrike hit a camp of Gazan refugees, killing 45, multiple news outlets reported.
“You possess the unique ability to amplify our voices with a cease-fire resolution,” South Pasadena resident Dana Barbera said. “Likewise, doing nothing diminishes our role as citizens. I hope you will help us join over 100 cities across the United States and put our community on the right side of history.”
First published in the May 31 print issue of the South Pasadena Review.
