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CREATED:20240930T032400Z
DESCRIPTION:We will gather at noon in front of the courthouse (next to the County 
 office building), where members of our community will speak about our 
 request for Rep. Jimmy Panetta to stop supporting Netanyahu's violence. 
 Then we will carry our requests to Panetta's office on the third 
 floor.\n\nAlso, we will gather at 6:30pm that evening at the Collateral 
 Damage statue in a candlelight vigil to reflect on the people suffering. 
 The statue, called "Collateral Damage," sits in the island next to the Town 
 Clock amid the busy traffic downtown. We are grieving for the people in 
 Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Yemen and Israel. Shockingly, our nation is 
 supplying the next load of weapons to continue the 
 violence.\n\n--------------------------------------------------\n\nPanetta's 
 record of supporting the violence (partial list):\n\n1. Failure to support 
 a ceasefire:\nA large majority of the public has wanted a ceasefire since 
 the initial Israeli military response to the horrible Hamas attack of 
 October 7, 2023. According to a Data For Progress poll on October 19, 2023, 
 80% of Democrats and 56% of Republicans agreed that “The U.S. should call 
 for a ceasefire.” in Gaza. For eight months Rep. Panetta failed to 
 respond to the high volume of mail from constituents asking that he support 
 a ceasefire. Finally, on June 7, 2024, Rep. Panetta endorsed the Biden 
 proposal for a ceasefire. \n\n2. Support for additional offensive weapons 
 to Israel\nPanetta’s support for additional offensive weapons to Israel 
 continues to undermine the prospects for a ceasefire. Rep. Panetta stated 
 on Nov 2, 2023:, “More efforts also must be taken to reduce the impacts 
 of Israel’s military campaign on peaceful civilians in Gaza”. Yet in 
 spite of all evidence in the months that followed that the Israeli military 
 is not protecting civilians, Panetta voted to approve an additional $17 
 billion in military aid to Israel in April 2024.\n\n3.Denunciation of 
 International Court of Justice and International Criminal Court \nOn 
 January 23, 2024, Rep. Panetta signed a letter to “express our disgust” 
 with South Africa’s filing of a “grossly unfounded case against Israel 
 at the International Court of Justice”. Shortly thereafter the ICJ found 
 South Africa’s case for genocide plausible, and ruled that Israel must 
 take actions to prevent indiscriminate killing of Palestinians and 
 “deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to 
 bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.” The ICJ 
 updated its ruling in May, 2024, calling on Israel to “Immediately halt 
 its military offensive, and any other action in the Rafah Governorate.” 
 \n\nIn May 2024, the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor requested 
 arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders, presenting evidence of 
 intentional attacks on civilians and “starvation as a method of 
 warfare.” However, Panetta voted with House Republicans to sanction ICC 
 officials, in a resolution (opposed by the Biden administration) that 
 dismissed the court’s charges as “illegitimate and baseless”. This 
 resolution denies the evidence presented by Human Rights Watch, Oxfam, and 
 a UN report labeling Israeli and Hamas actions as “crimes against 
 humanity.” \n\n4. Acceptance of contributions from arms manufacturers and 
 AIPAC\nIn the 4th quarter of 2023 Panetta received $143,000 from AIPAC, the 
 pro-Netanyahu lobby. He has accepted nearly a quarter million dollars from 
 the arms industry.\n\n5. Voted with Republicans to conceal the death toll 
 in Gaza\n https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2024/09/29/18869617.php
SUMMARY:Stop the Violence in Gaza, West Bank, Lebanon & Israel: Press Conference, Protest, and Vigil
LOCATION:Santa Cruz County building and Courthouse - 701 Ocean Street, Santa 
 Cruz\n6:30 pm evening event at Town Clock at Water St. and Pacific Ave.
URL:https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2024/09/29/18869617.php
DTSTART:20241007T190000Z
DTEND:20241007T200000Z
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