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Oakland, CA Shows the Depth of Jew Hatred in America
University of California, Berkeley lecturer Brooke Lober telling the Oakland City Council on November 28, 2023 that accounts of Hamas massacre on October 7 are a “fabrication.” Photo: Screenshot
The city of Oakland, California, lost its football team. Then it lost its baseball team. And now, it has lost its sanity.
Many have seen the absurd video of people spewing lies at the recent Oakland City Council meeting, where it voted 8-0 to call for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Some who spoke as part of the public comment process said no Israeli women were raped, Israel murdered its own people on October 7, and that calling Hamas a terrorist organization was racist. There was also the comment that those who opposed the resolution were “old white supremacists.” Another said the Hamas attack was a fabrication.
It is understandable that some who have little knowledge of the situation called for a ceasefire, because all people of conscience and heart would love to see no more Israelis or Palestinians die.
They don’t understand that while a ceasefire might save lives in the short term, it would ultimately cost more lives in the long term. It would allow Hamas to declare itself a winner, and commit similar barbaric attacks again, which a spokesman already said they would. There are others who want Hamas to win and basically want Israel to commit suicide.
Don’t expect the Oakland City Council to pass a resolution against Hamas. When one member, Dan Kalb, spoke about the need to put blame on Hamas in an amendment, it was not treated favorably. If morality mattered, the resolution should have called on Hamas to surrender.
While the resolution itself is meaningless, the event normalizes antisemitism.
Leadership is important, but there is no shortage of pathetic people in charge. A recent bizarre interview with KTVV Fox 2, Oakland’s mayor, Sheng Thao, was a disgrace.
She could have said that Israel was attacked and women were raped, and it was a tragedy. She could have said that Hamas is designated a terrorist organization by America. She could have said she felt terrible for Palestinian civilians who have died, and she hopes the people who have fled the violence to Southern Gaza could get shelter, food, and safety.
She chose to say none of those things. When asked about the city council’s vote, she said that hateful rhetoric should be condemned. When asked specifically what words she condemned, she said: “I hear it from both sides.”
She said, “when we are speaking, we have to be united.”
“I am not a legislator,” she said, explaining why she would not comment. “My job, again, is to keep Oaklanders safe.”
Asked about Jews who don’t feel safe in Oakland, her response was “that makes me really sad.”
But she is putting Jews in danger by not correcting false claims that could easily lead to violence.
It’s true that Shao is not the first politician to stay quiet due to fear of upsetting people. At least Berkeley’s mayor announced in a statement that such a resolution is currently not on the table because “these resolutions will not end the violence abroad, but they do fan the flames of hatred here at home. That’s a threat I cannot ignore.”
I’ve interviewed many Holocaust survivors who aren’t sure how Holocaust denial could have spread. Right now, we are seeing similar wheels in motion.
The mayor’s moral bankruptcy is just a sad state of our times — and the hatred of Jews that is permeating America.
The author is a writer based in New York.
The post Oakland, CA Shows the Depth of Jew Hatred in America first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.