* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:01] WELL, GOOD EVENING LADIES [REGULAR MEETING – 7:00 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS] AND GENTLEMEN. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE ON OUR MARCH, UM, SIXTH CITY COUNCIL AND FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT MEETINGS. UH, WE THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE IN THIS IN CLIMATE WEATHER. AGAIN, THE RAIN IS COMING TO RANCHO CUCAMONGA. SO WE'LL START THIS MEETING BY ASKING OUR COUNCILWOMAN, [PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ROLL CALL:  Mayor Michael  Mayor Pro Tem Kennedy  Council Members Hutchison, Scott and Stickler] CHRISTINE SCOTT TO LEAD US IN THE PLEDGE TO OUR NATION'S FLAG. PLEASE STAND, PUT YOUR HAND OVER YOUR HEART AND REPEAT AFTER ME. I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES AND TO DREW CALLED STANDS NATION UNDER GOD. THANK YOU. WE'LL, NOW DO ROLL CALL. MAYOR MICHAEL IS PRESENT. MAYOR PRO TEM LYNN KENNEDY. PRESENT COUNCIL MEMBERS RYAN HUTCHINSON. PRESENT. CHRISTINE SCOTT PRESENT AND ASHLEY STICKLER PRESENT. MADAM CLERK. ARE THERE ANY AMENDMENTS [AMENDMENTS TO THE AGENDA] OR ADJUSTMENTS TO THIS EVENING'S AGENDA? NO. MR. MAYOR. OKAY, THANK YOU. SO, WE'LL NOW MOVE ON TO ANNOUNCEMENTS AND PRESENTATIONS. [ANNOUNCEMENTS / PRESENTATIONS] AND THIS EVENING WE JUST HAD A BIG SPECIAL MEETING AT SIX O'CLOCK RECOGNIZING A LOT OF OUR YOUTH SPORTS, UH, PEOPLE WHO DID WELL IN THEIR, IN THEIR COMPETITION AND FOOTBALL, SOCCER, AND CHEER. UM, SO WE'LL DISPENSE. THERE ARE NO ANNOUNCEMENTS OR PRESENTATIONS, SO WE'LL MOVE ON TO PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS. [PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS] THIS BRINGS US TO THAT TIME OF PLACE FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC TO ADDRESS THE CITY COUNCIL AND FIRE BOARD ON ANY ITEM LISTED OR NOT LISTED ON THIS EVENING'S AGENDA COMMENTS ARE LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES PER INDIVIDUAL. PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS WILL NOT EXCEED ONE HOUR PRIOR TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE BUSINESS PORTION OF OUR MEETING THIS EVENING. AND IF WE DON'T GET THROUGH ALL THE SPEAKERS IN THAT HOUR, THEN YOU'LL HAVE TO WAIT TILL WE GET THROUGH THE REST OF THE CITY COUNCIL BUSINESS. UM, WE HAVE 11 SPEAKERS HERE TONIGHT, SO YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES FOR EACH PRESENTATION. THERE'LL BE A TIMER UP ON THE, ON THE BOARD THERE. THERE'S ALSO A RED LIGHT ON THE PODIUM. WHEN THAT RED LIGHT GOES OUT OR YOU FIND THAT THE SPEAKER IS NO LONGER CARRYING YOUR VOICE, IT MEANS YOU'VE REACHED THAT TIME LIMIT. AND WE WILL ASK YOU TO CON WRAP UP YOUR, YOUR COMMENTS. OKAY. SO WITH THAT, WE WILL START OFF WITH OUR FIRST SPEAKER, PITA ATWOOD, FOLLOWED BY RABBI SHALOM HARLE. WELL, I WAS, I WAS WANTING TO GO LATER, UH, AFTER, UH, MY, UH, MY COLLEAGUE HERE. COULD YOU LET HER GO FIRST? NO, SIR. I'VE GOT YOUR, JUST GO AHEAD AND WHAT, WHAT, WHO'S YOUR COLLEAGUE? UM, ANTOINETTE RIGHT THERE IN THE BLACK. WHY DON'T YOU LET HER GO FIRST? BECAUSE WE WERE GONNA TALK TOGETHER, BUT SHE, UM, BUT I WAS GONNA FOLLOW ON HER. IS THAT OKAY? OKAY. I'LL LET THIS HAPPEN. BUT THAT'S, THAT'S GONNA BE THE LAST ONE. UM, WHAT'S YOUR NAME, MA'AM? AGAIN, MA'AM. MS. JENSEN, WOULD YOU COME FORWARD PLEASE? THANK YOU. ANTOINETTE JENSEN? YES. OKAY. I AM NEED TO BRING TO YOUR NOTICE THAT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT'S MISUNDERSTANDING OF ITS DUTIES THE POLICE ARE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT AND TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO CANNOT DEFEND THEMSELVES. HERE MEANS THE SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS THAT I SERVE. AS AN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION TEACHER WITH TWO PARAPROFESSIONALS, A REPORTED ABUSE BY THE SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER IN OUR CLASSROOM, INCLUDING SLAMMING A 4-YEAR-OLD IN HIS CHAIR, SCREAMING IN STUDENTS' FACES, DRAGGING AND CARRYING THEM FORCIBLY. RESEARCH ABUNDANTLY SHOWS THAT SUCH ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EVENTS INFLICTING SUCH TRAUMA ON SMALL STUDENTS ACTUALLY REDUCES LIFE EXPECTANCY AND INCREASES RISK OF LATER HEALTH PROBLEMS, SUCH AS SUICIDE OR IMPRISONMENT. BUT THE POLICE WERE VERY RELUCTANT TO INVESTIGATE IT ALL, DOING ONLY UNDER PRESSURE AFTER INTERVIEWING WITNESSES TO THESE THINGS DECIDED NOTHING CRIMINAL HAD OCCURRED. THE POLICE KNEW BEYOND DISPUTE THAT THE PRINCIPAL AND THE ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL, ALONG WITH UTTER TWANDA DISTRICT OFFICIALS, THAT ALL MANDATED REPORTERS HAD VIOLATED THEIR DUTY AS MANDA REPORTERS. BY INVESTIGATING THIS THEMSELVES, INSTEAD OF REPORTING IT, THEIR REASONABLE SUSPICION OF CHILD ABUSE TO THE POLICE WITHIN 24 HOURS IS REQUIRED. THEY HAD REASONABLE SUSPICION AS PROVEN BY THEIR DECISION TO DO ONLY THEIR OWN SCHOOL DISTRICT INVESTIGATION. THE FAILED TO REPORT IS A CRIME DESCRIBED IN PENAL CODE 1, 1 1 6 6. NO AND BEYOND ANY DOUBT THAT ALL MANDATED REPORTERS ARE REQUIRED TO REPORT, [00:05:01] IT HAS COME TO MY ATTENTION. ANOTHER DEPARTMENT ON SITE HAD WITNESSED ABUSE FROM THE SAME PERSON THAT I HAD REPORTED. THEY WERE AFRAID OF RETALIATION AND THEY DID NOT WANNA COME FORWARD. I AM ENCOURAGING ANYONE WHO HAD HAD WITNESSED ABUSE TO MY STUDENTS TO PLEASE COME FORWARD AND MAKE A LEGAL MANDATED REPORT. KIDS ARE NOT SAFE. WHEN MANDATED REPORTERS ARE AFRAID OF RETALIATION, I ENCOURAGE THE POLICE DEPARTMENT TO TAKE EVERY REPORT SERIOUSLY AND INVESTIGATE PROMPTLY MY ORIGINAL REPORT TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT WAS SENT TO A POLICE RESOURCE OFFICER. WITHOUT SPEAKING TO MY COWORKERS WITHIN THE CLASSROOM, PLEASE CORRECT THIS CONDUCT SO THAT OUR KIDS CAN BE FREE FROM ABUSE AND TRAUMA IN THE CLASSROOM. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. PETER ATWOOD, FOLLOWED BY RABBI SHALOM HARLEY. YEAH. FOLLOWING UP JUST BEFORE WE GOT HERE, THE DISTRICT ACTUALLY SENT AN EMAIL TO ONE OF THE THREE IN QUESTION WHO'D BEEN RETALIATED AGAINST FOR MAKING THEIR REPORTS, ACCUSING HER OF NOT HAVING MADE HER REPORT LIKE SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO. WELL, THE LAW DOES PROVIDE THAT MANDATED REPORTERS CAN MAKE A GROUP REPORT, WHICH IS IN FACT, WHAT THEY DID HERE. SO SHE DIDN'T DISOBEY THE LAW. BUT THE VALUE OF THIS MEMO, WHICH I THINK WE SHOULD SEND TO YOU, IS THAT THEY KNOW PERFECTLY WELL WHAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO DO. THAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO MAKE THEIR MANDATED REPORTS. THE SUPERINTENDENT, WHO'S A MANDATED REPORTER, DID NOT REPORT THE PRINCIPAL. KIM P*****K, WHO'S A MANDATED REPORTER, DID NOT REPORT, UH, APODACA, THE VICE PRINCIPAL ALSO DID NOT MAKE HER REPORT. AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT THE POLICE KNEW ABSOLUTELY BEYOND ANY DOUBT AT ALL, THAT THOSE PEOPLE COMMITTED THE CRIME, IF NOT MANDATE, NOT REPORTING AS THEY'RE REQUIRED TO. AND THEY STILL DIDN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. SO IT'S NOT SURPRISING WHEN THEY KNEW THAT A CRIME WAS COMMITTED, THERE WASN'T ANY QUESTION ABOUT IT WHATSOEVER, THAT THEY DIDN'T WANNA DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT, THAT THEY DIDN'T WANNA, UH, ALSO LOOK INTO THE OTHER, UH, SOMEWHAT QUESTIONABLE, AT LEAST IT DESERVED INVESTIGATION THAT THEY DIDN'T WANNA LOOK INTO. THAT IS NOT SURPRISING WHEN THEY SAW THESE CRIMES BEING COMMITTED, KNEW ABSOLUTELY THAT THERE WAS NO DISPUTE ABOUT IT. AND THEY DIDN'T WANT TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT THAT EITHER. NOW, THEY ARRESTED THE PRINCIPAL, THE PRINCIPAL AT ROOSEVELT HIGH SCHOOL, THE CORONA COPS DID, BECAUSE HE DIDN'T MAKE HIS MANDATED REPORTS. SO EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT WHEN PEOPLE DON'T MAKE THEIR MANDATED REPORTS, THAT'S A CRIME THAT EARNS YOU A $1,000 FINE IN SIX MONTHS IN JAIL. AND THERE'S A GOOD REASON FOR THAT. IT'S REAL MORAL TURPITUDE TO SEE THAT KIDS ARE BEING ABUSED, HELPLESS, KIDS ARE BEING ABUSED, AND TO KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT. IT ISN'T JUST, YOU KNOW, SOME KIND OF A TECHNICALITY. IT'S REALLY, IT IS REALLY VILE. IT'S REALLY EVIL. AND, AND THIS IS WHAT THEY TOLERATE AND COVER UP AND GO ALONG WITH. THAT'S NOT OKAY. THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT AND TO SERVE THE KIDS. THEY'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO PROTECT AND TO SERVE THE ABUSERS, WHICH IS WHAT THEY'VE DONE IN THIS CASE. THANK YOU RABBI SHALOM HARLEY, FOLLOWED BY JOSEPH ALMAN. UM, GOOD EVENING EVERYBODY, AND THANK YOU. I CAME FIRSTLY AS A RABBI IN THE COMMUNITY HERE FOR OVER 35 YEARS, DEALING WITH ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES AND INLAND EMPIRE TO THANK VERY MUCH EACH. I DON'T, IT'S TOO MUCH TIME TO SAY I ONLY HAVE THREE MINUTES TO SPEAK, SO I CAN'T SAY EVERYBODY'S NAME AND CITY COUNCIL. BUT I WANT TO THANK EACH ONE OF YOU FOR THE EXCELLENT SERVICE YOU DO TO THE CITY AND FOR THE ALL, EVERYBODY AND FOR THE CITIZEN. AND ALSO WANT TO ALWAYS THANK FOR THE CITY'S STAFF FOR MANY YEARS. WE HAVE A BEAUTIFUL MANURE LIGHTING HERE, AND I KNOW ALL THE OTHER GOOD THINGS YOU DO THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE YEAR. I ALSO WANNA TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO THANK VERY MUCH THE SHERIFF AND THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND EVERYBODY ELSE THAT'S HERE AND MAY CONTINUE DOING ALL THE GOOD WORK THAT YOU DO FOR ALL THE CITIZENS FROM ALL DIFFERENT KIND OF BACKGROUNDS. SO I JUST WANT TO BRING UP ONE THING. AS A RABBI IN THE COMMUNITY, WE HELP ALL PEOPLE FROM ALL KINDS OF BACKGROUNDS. NOT ONLY RANCHO, BUT THROUGHOUT ALL THE SURROUNDING CITIES. WE DON'T ASK THEM WHAT RELIGION THEY ARE, WHAT BACKGROUND THEY ARE. WE HELP EVERYBODY WITH ALL THEIR NEEDS. BUT IT'S BEING BROUGHT TO OUR ATTENTION NOW THAT SOME PEOPLE TONIGHT WANNA BRING FOR THE CITY COUNCIL THAT WE SHOULD GET INVOLVED WITH STUFF FOR THE MIDDLE EAST IN ISRAEL AND ABOUT AS CEASE FRIDAY, THE ONE YOU SHOULD TALK ABOUT. AND THERE'S SO MANY PROBLEMS IN THE WORLD FROM UKRAINE AND AFRICA AND ASIA, AND AS THE CITY IS ONLY MEANT TO HELP PEOPLE LOCALLY AND WHATEVER WE DECIDE AS CITY COUNCIL, THEY, IT WON'T CHANGE ANYTHING IN THE MIDDLE EAST. SO WE SHOULDN'T TAKE ANY REALLY CITY RESOURCES THAT WE COULD DEAL WITH, THE HOMELESS PROBLEMS, EVERYTHING ELSE. THAT'S WHO WE SHOULD DEAL, DEAL WITH REALLY, AND NOT [00:10:01] THINGS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD. AND AS WE DON'T BRING ALL OVER THE WORLD. AND THE REASON WHY IS THE RABBI, I'M SPEAKING ABOUT IT TONIGHT EVEN MORE. 'CAUSE I DO SEE IN ALL THE SURROUNDING CITIES IN THE INLAND EMPIRE, THERE'S A RISE OF ANTISEMITISM AND WE'RE LOOKING TO UNITE ALL THE PEOPLE FROM ALL THE DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS, NOT REALLY TO DIVIDE US ALL. AND IF THE CITY BRINGS THIS UP FOR MEETING TONIGHT ABOUT A CEASEFIRE EVERYBODY WANTS, THIS SHOULD BE ONE. BUT FIRST YOU HAVE TO FREE HOSTAGES. WE CAN'T GET INVOLVED REALLY WITH ALL THAT. 'CAUSE THAT WILL ONLY HELP THE COMMUNITY BEING MORE DIVIDED. AND WE'RE TRYING TO UNITE EVERYBODY AND NOT REALLY MIX IN. WE SHOULD JUST STICK FOR LOCAL AND DEAL WITH THE HOMELESS PROBLEMS, HOUSING PROBLEMS AND ALL. EACH ONE OF, YOU'RE DOING SUCH A GREAT JOB, AND I WANT TO TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO THANK EACH ONE OF YOU AND BLESS EACH ONE OF YOU FOR ALL THE GOOD WORKS THAT YOU DO THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE TIME. BUT MOST PEOPLE ARE NOT EVEN AWARE OF. AND YOU, GOD SHOULD BLESS YOU, EACH ONE OF YOU SHOULD HAVE SUCCESS WITH THAT. MORE THAN A HUNDRED PERCENT. WHAT DOES IT MEAN? MORE THAN A HUNDRED PERCENT? EVEN THINGS YOU DON'T PRAY ABOUT, EVEN THINGS THAT YOU NOT ASKING, BUT GOD TO GIVE YOU. GOD SHOULD GIVE YOU THAT TOO. YOU SHALL BE HEALTHY AND WELL. AND I'LL FINISH WITH THE SONG GOES LIKE THIS, HE NAMED, AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH ALL YOUR HELP AND LET'S HOPE ANTISEMITISM DOESN'T RISE ANYMORE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP. THANK YOU JOSE. I, I I'M GONNA BOTCH THIS ABDEL MORNING. YEAH, ABDEL. OKAY. GOOD AFTERNOON, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. MR. MAYOR, MR. TEAM, COUNCIL MEMBERS AND FELLOW CITIZENS, I STAND HERE WITH YOU TODAY AS A COLLEGE STUDENT SEEKING TO FIND HUMANITY IN YOU. SINCE THE 7TH OF OCTOBER, 2023, THE ISRAELI MILITARY HAS MURDERED OVER 35,000 PEOPLE, WHICH IS NEARLY HALF OF OUR CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 18. MR. MAYOR, I'VE BEEN A RESIDENT OF THE CITY FOR MOST OF MY LIFE, AND I DON'T IMAGINE MYSELF LIVING ANYWHERE ELSE. I'VE LEARNED A LOT ABOUT DIFFERENT GENOCIDES IN SCHOOL, BUT THE ONE WE'RE WITNESSING RIGHT NOW IS THE MOST DOCUMENTED ONE IN HISTORY. AND WE STILL FIND IT HARD TO ACT UPON IT, TO DO SOMETHING AND CHANGE IT. ALL OF US SITTING IN THIS HALL TODAY ARE SO, SO BLESSED THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT OUR NEXT MEAL IS GOING TO BE, WHILE OTHERS IN ZEL ARE STARVING TO DEATH BECAUSE ISRAEL HAS CUT OFF ACCESS TO FOOD AND WATER, TO THE PARENTS IN THE HALL, YOU SHOULD APPRECIATE HOW BLESSED YOU ARE THAT YOU'RE NOT, THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF YOUR CHILD BEING KILLED BY AIRSTRIKES OR BEING BURIED UNDER THE RIVER OF WHAT USED TO BE HIS HOME. BECAUSE ISRAEL'S NOT CONSTANTLY ATTACKING US DAY AND NIGHT TO PUT IT INTO PERSPECTIVE. AM I TOO LOUD? I'M SORRY. I DON'T KNOW IF I'M TOO CLOSE TO THE MIC TO PUT IT INTO PERSPECTIVE. I WANNA PAINT A PICTURE FOR EVERYONE IN THE HALL, AND I'M SURE WE'VE ALL HAD SOMEONE WE'VE LOVED ATTEND THE HIGH SCHOOL BEFORE. NOW IMAGINE THIS MR. MAYOR AND DEAR COUNCIL MEMBERS, WE HAVE FOUR PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOLS IN THE CITY OF RANCH CUCAMONGA, WITH AN ESTIMATED AMOUNT OF STUDENTS TO 12,000. IN THE PAST FIVE MONTH, ISRAEL HAS MURDERED OVER 13,000 CHILDREN. SO EVERY SINGLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT IN THE CITY OF RANCH CUCAMONGA DEAD OFF THE PLANET JUST IN THE PAST FIVE MONTH. AND WE DON'T FIND IT IN US TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT THAT. AS SOMEONE WHO SAT IN THESE HIGH SCHOOL CLASSROOMS LEARNING ABOUT THE POWER OF COMMUNITIES AND MAKING A DIFFERENCE, I AM FUELED BY AN INSANE AMOUNT OF EMOTION TO STAND UP HERE AND CALL ON YOU GUYS TO TRY TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. IN 20 YEARS FROM NOW, GOD WILLING, THIS GENOCIDE IS OVER. I WANT OUR HISTORY TEACHERS TO BE ABLE TO STAND IN THEIR CLASSROOM HEAD HIGH AND PROUD AND SAY THAT THE CITY OF RANCH CUCAMONGA WAS ONE OF THE CITIES TO TAKE ACTION TO MAKE THIS GENOCIDE COME TO AN END. NOW, YOU MAY ASK, HOW CAN THE CITY OF RANCH CUCAMONGA TAKE ACTION TO HELP THIS GENOCIDE COME TO AN END, WHICH IS BY SIMPLY ADDING AN INVESTMENT RESOLUTION TO YOUR AGENDA, MR. MAYOR, A INVESTMENT RESOLUTION WOULD STOP THE CITY OF RANCH CUCAMONGA FROM INVESTING INTO GENOCIDAL SUPPORTING COMPANIES. THERE'S, I THINK TWO OF THEM IN THE CITY OF RANCH CUCAMONGA. WE'RE NOT HERE TO BRING PROBLEMS FROM THE OUTER WORLD INTO OUR CITY LIKE THE RABBI SAID, WHICH I HAVE ALL RESPECT FOR. BUT WE ARE HERE TO DISCUSS FA LIKE PEOPLE THAT ARE DYING ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PLANET. AND I THINK IT WAS OUR ROLE TO TRY AND DO OUR BEST TO BE ABLE TO HELP THEM. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. HOOT AND SLUMAN SOUND PROBABLY OKAY, , UH, SORRY. I HAVE CHICKEN SCRATCH. I DON'T BLAME YOU. I CAN BARELY READ MY HANDWRITING HALF THE TIMES. EITHER A GOOD EVENING MAYOR, UH, CITY COUNCIL, AS WELL AS, UH, CITIZENS OF RANCH CUCAMONGA. AND HATS OFF TO THE, UH, YOUNGER FOLKS HERE WHO ARE EXERCISING THEIR, UH, ETHICAL, MORAL AND CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY. UH, CITY COUNCIL AND MAYOR, CURRENTLY THE CITY OF RANCH, CUCUMONGA, UH, CUCAMONGA INVESTED ABOUT 1.2 PERC 1.25%, UH, OF THEIR INVESTMENTS IN, UH, COMPANIES THAT ARE EITHER COMPLICIT OR MATERIALLY BENEFIT FROM GENOCIDE, APARTHEID, AND OR ETHNIC CLEANSING. AND TO CLARIFY ON THESE GENOCIDE, THERE HAVE BEEN NEARLY 40,000 [00:15:01] PALESTINIANS KILLED IN THE PAST FIVE MONTHS. AND TO PUT THAT IN PERSPECTIVE OF RANCH CUCAMONGA, I WANT YOU TO PICTURE ABOUT ONE FIFTH OF THE, UH, CITIZENS OF RANCHO CUCAMONGA REMOVED. THAT'S ABOUT HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE BEEN AFFECTED BY THIS GENOCIDE, HAVE BEEN MURDERED BY THIS GENOCIDE. AND THEN SPEAKING ABOUT ETHNIC CLEANSING, ABOUT 2 MILLION PALESTINIANS OVER 2 MILLION PALESTINIAN PALESTINIANS HAVE BEEN DISPLACED FROM THEIR HOMES IN GAZA. NOW, AGAIN, TO TRY TO PUT THAT IN PERSPECTIVE, IF YOU GO FROM RANCHO TO REDLANDS DOWN TO CORONA, DOWN TO SAY CHINO, THAT STILL DOESN'T ENCOMPASS ALL THE PEOPLE DISPLACED. I MEAN, THAT NUMBER IS JUST STAGGERING. AND ON THE TOPIC OF APARTHEID, NOT SURE IF YOU GUYS ARE AWARE OF WHAT APARTHEID IS, BUT THAT'S LITERALLY A SET OF LAWS THAT ARE DIFFERENT SIMPLY BECAUSE OF THE COLOR OF YOUR SKIN. FOR EXAMPLE, ON AND I, I WAS JUST THERE THIS PAST SUMMER AND I GO THERE QUITE OFTEN. THERE ARE ROADS THAT I SIMPLY CAN'T TRAVEL ON BECAUSE OF MY SKIN COLOR. THERE ARE SCHOOLS THAT I CAN'T ATTEND BECAUSE OF MY SKILL, UH, SKIN COLOR. THERE'S PARKS THAT I CAN'T ATTEND JUST BECAUSE OF MY SKIN COLOR. AND THESE ARE ALL INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED CRIMES. THERE'S NOTHING SUBJECTIVE HERE, AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO TAKE MY WORD FOR IT. UM, YOU CAN LISTEN TO THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE, YOU CAN LISTEN TO THE UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHT WATCH AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL, AS WELL AS BET SELEM, WHICH IS EVEN AN ISRAELI, UH, HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATION. AND THE ASK HERE IS QUITE SIMPLE. IT'S JUST TO DIVEST FROM THOSE COMPANIES THAT ARE COMPLICIT OR MATERIALLY BENEFITING. AND, UH, AS I ALREADY STATED, THERE'S ONLY TWO COMPANIES THAT, UH, IS IN THE INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO OF BRANCH CUCAMONGA. IT'S, UM, I I BELIEVE SOMEWHERE AROUND $4 MILLION. UH, IT'S, IT'S VERY ROUTINE TO, UM, SELL AND REINVEST IN COMPANIES THAT ARE NOT COMPLICIT IN THESE INTERNATIONAL, INTERNATIONAL RECOGNIZED WAR CRIMES. UH, MAYOR, I'D LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR ACCEPTING A MEETING WITH ME IN TWO WEEKS TO DISCUSS THIS. HOWEVER, I'D STILL LIKE TO MEET WITH THE REMAINING CITY COUNCIL, BUT EVEN IN LIEU OF A MEETING, AGAIN, THIS IS A VERY CUT AND DRY TOPIC. I'VE EMAILED, UM, YOU GUYS PROPOSED AGENDAS, AND I EVEN, I WILL, UH, HAND OUT INFORMATION AGAIN, UH, REVIEW ON WHAT I STATED AS WELL AS REFERENCES TO EVERYTHING I SAID. UM, BUT THERE ALSO IS A PROPOSED AGENDA, OR I'M SORRY, PROPOSED A RESOLUTION FOR THIS, UM, FOR THIS DIVESTMENT. THANK YOU GUYS VERY MUCH. AND I'LL HAND THIS TO THE, UH, CLERK IF SHE CAN HAND THEM TO YOU GUYS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU, SIR. DR. SHANNON LYNN STEIN, FOLLOWED BY GABRIEL COTEN. THANK YOU. HELLO, MAYOR MICHAELS, RANCHO CUCAMONGA CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS AND CITY CLERKS. AS A MEMBER OF POMONA'S TEMPLE BETH ISRAEL AND KABAD, I AM WELL AS OTHER JEWISH MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY COULD BE DEEPLY AFFECTED BY THE GROUPS CALLING FOR THE CEASEFIRE BY ISRAEL AND MUNICIPAL CITIES. AND I'VE ATTENDED A FEW OF THEM AND I'VE SEEN WHAT'S GOING ON. PLEASE NOTE THAT MY FAMILY AND I HAVE LIVED IN RANCHO CUCAMONGA FOR 22 YEARS, AND I'VE NEVER WITNESSED SEEN OR OBSERVED SUCH UNCONSCIONABLE HATRED BY THE PRO GROUP OR ANY GROUP FOR THAT MATTER. MOSTLY YOUNG AND UNINFORMED STUDENTS OR FRIENDS OF THE PALESTINIANS SYMPATHIZERS THESE PROTESTS EXACERBATE, ENCOURAGE, AND CREATE DARK RACIAL DIVISIONS IN ANY CITY THEY HAPPEN IN. AND I WOULD HOPE ANY CITY THAT I HAVE ATTENDED SUCH AS CLAREMONT DID NOT ADOPT A RESOLUTION FOR CALLING OF A CEASEFIRE BECAUSE THEY'RE PAYING ATTENTION MORE TO CITY ISSUES RATHER THAN POLITICAL AND SOCIAL ISSUES. CITIES SUCH AS RANCHO CUCAMONGA SHOULD FOCUS ON LOCAL ISSUES, NOT ADOPTING POSITIONS ON THESE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ISSUES ABOUT A WAR IN ISRAEL THAT BEGAN BEYOND, BEGAN WITH THE BEYOND HORRIFIC BARBARIC MASSACRED SLAUGHTER ON OCTOBER 7TH, 2 20 23, WHICH BY THE WAY, ISRAEL HAS BEEN ENDURED SINCE THE STATE OF ISRAEL'S BIRTH IN 1948. ALWAYS BY ITS NEIGHBOR, ISRAEL HAS A NIGHT RIGHT TO DEFEND THEMSELVES. AND WHERE IS THE DENUNCIATION FROM THE EMANS, IMAN AND ISLAMIC LEADERS FOR THESE OPPORTUNISTS AND PRO CEASEFIRE GROUPS. PLEASE ALSO NOTE THAT TWO WEEKENDS AGO, A LOCAL FEMALE AND RABBI, A RABBI AND CLAREMONT WAS LOUDLY HARASSED, UM, AT THE CLAREMONT FARMER'S MARKET. THE SAME HAS ALREADY HAPPENED AT VICTORIA GARDENS. THREE WEEKS AGO I WAS THERE AND IT WAS DISTURBING TO SAY THE LEAST. AND IN MY CAR WHEN I WAS TRYING TO LEAVE, I DON'T EVEN WANT TO SAY THE THINGS THAT THEY WERE YELLING AT, AT THE CARS ON THE CORNER OF DAY CREEK AND FOOTHILL, THIS IS THE CASE WITH MANY TERRORIST PRO HAMAS GANGS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, AND THEY'RE HAVING NONSTOP CELEBRATIONS OF THE SLAUGHTER ISRAELI JEWS. NO LOSS OF LIVES SHOULD BE JOYFULLY CELEBRATED. NONE. PLEASE ALSO NOTE, I FELT THE HATE WAITING IN LINE TO SPEAK LAST WEEK IN CLAREMONT, WHO BY THE WAY, DID NOT ADOPT ANY CEASEFIRE RESOLUTION. THEY BELIEVED TO STAY OUTTA SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ISSUES. I BELIEVE THE WORLD WILL TAKE CARE OF ITSELF CONSIDERING THE FACT THAT ISRAEL HAS BEEN ATTACKED SINCE THE DAY OF ITS INCEPTION IN 1948 AND IS NOT STOPPED TO THIS DAY. LAST NIGHT AT SENATORIAL CANDIDATE ADAM SCHIFF'S ACCEPTANCE SPEECH IN LOS ANGELES. ITS UNCONSCIONABLE THAT THIS PROTEST GROUP OF ANTISEMITES [00:20:01] BROUGHT AND ARE BRINGING VIOLENCE TO THIS COUNTRY. PROTESTING YOUR PASSIONS IS DEMOCRATIC VIOLENCE IS NOT, THIS IS NOT ABOUT A CEASEFIRE. THIS IS ABOUT HATRED OF JEWISH PEOPLE AND ISRAEL'S RIGHT TO EXIST. AND THE ANTI-SEMITIC OPPORTUNISTS, THIS PURE ANTI-SEMITIC HATING AND VIAL ACTS WHERE HAMAS PROTEST IS 742 DAYS AGO. WHY DIDN'T YOU CALL FOR A CEASEFIRE IN THE UKRAINE AGAINST RUSSIA? WHERE WERE YOU THEN? NO, THIS IS ABOUT HATRED AND ANTI-SEMITISM SHOW. ITS ITS UGLY HEAD USING CEASEFIRE AS AS, I'M SORRY, DOCTOR. BUT THAT CONCLUDES THANK YOU. THANK YOU. GABRIEL COTON, FOLLOWED BY DR. RACHEL GARCIA. GOOD EVENING. I'VE BEEN LIVING IN RANK CITY OF FRENCH CUCAMONGA FOR THE LAST 40 YEARS. MY KIDS GREW UP HERE. IT'S MY LITTLE HEAVEN. IT'S A NICE PLACE TO COME AFTER WORK. IT'S A NICE PLACE TO RETIRE. AND I'M ENJOYING MY LIFE IN THIS CITY. YOUR BUSINESS IS TO SIT, TO EAT THAT THIS CITY IS GONNA BE SAFE, AND THIS CITY IS GONNA BE BEAUTIFUL AND MAINTAIN IT AS IT IS, WHICH YOU ARE DOING AN EXCELLENT JOB DOING SO GOING TO RESOLVE PROBLEM IN THE MIDDLE EAST. NOT GONNA HELP. IT'S BEEN A PROBLEM FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF THOUSANDS OF YEARS. UH, YOU'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO, I AS AN ISRAELI, NO FAMILIES THAT WERE MASSACRED IN OCTOBER 7TH. I KNOW FAMILIES THAT THE CHILDREN, OR AT LEAST ONE OF THE DAUGHTER WAS RAPED. OKAY? AND THEN THE FATHER WAS KILLED RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE REMAINING CHILDREN. IT'S HARD FOR ME TO STAND OVER HERE AND TALK ABOUT IT. I ALSO HAVE MUSLIM FRIENDS, WHICH RESIDING IN THE CITY, WE DON'T HAVE ANY PROBLEM. WE NEVER HAD ANY PROBLEM. AND I HATE TO SEE PEOPLE FROM THE OUTSIDE COMING AND STARING THINGS IN THIS CITY TO THE POINT WHERE WE BECOME HOSTAGES OF THOSE PEOPLE, LET US MAINTAIN THE CITY HAS A TEASE AND DO A GOOD JOB IN THAT. AND THIS IS YOUR JOB. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. APPRECIATE YOUR TIME. THANK YOU. DR. RACHEL GARCIA, FOLLOWED BY RICARDO SAWYER. I THANK YOU MAYOR. CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, THANK YOU TO THE POLICE OFFICERS HERE AS WELL. THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING US ALL HERE TO SPEAK. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS LISTENING TO THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE. ACCORDING TO THE NEWEST HARVARD HARRIS POLL, 82% OF AMERICANS SUPPORT ISRAEL IN ITS WAR AGAINST HAMAS. IT IS NOT CONSIDERED A GENOCIDE. IT IS A WAR. ISRAEL WAS ATTACKED. THEY DID NOT WANT THIS WAR. THEY HAVE NEVER STARTED ANY WAR. ISRAEL ALSO WANTS A CEASEFIRE WHEN THE HOSTAGES ARE RELEASED, BUT HAMAS HAS REJECTED THE LAST SEVERAL CEASEFIRES. YOU NEED A PARTNER IN A CEASEFIRE, JUST LIKE YOU NEED A PARTNER TO HAVE PEACE. WE HAVE NEITHER WITH THE CURRENT PALESTINIAN LEADERSHIP. HAMAS IS A WELL-KNOWN TERRORIST GROUP. AND THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITIES LEADER, MAH ABBAS, BELIEVES THE HOLOCAUST WAS A FABRICATION TO DIFFERENT DEGREES. ADDITIONALLY, HAMAS SAY THEY DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW MANY HOSTAGES ARE ALIVE. THE CITY COUNCIL SHOULD AFFIRM THAT THEY WILL FOCUS ON LOCAL ISSUES FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS. AS YOU'VE ALREADY BEEN DOING SUCCESSFULLY FOR MANY A YEARS TO BE EFFECTIVE, DUTIES HAVE TO BE CARRIED OUT. IF THEY'RE ASKING FOR A SYMBOLIC AGREEMENT OR GESTURE TO STOP THE WAR IN THE MIDDLE EAST, THERE'S NOTHING TO BE CARRIED OUT HERE. IT'S NOT AN EFFECTIVE WAY TO OPERATE, TO BE EFFECTIVE. LOCAL TASKS AND GOALS ARE THE PURPOSE OF A CITY COUNCIL. TO EXTEND THE CITY COUNCIL'S DUTIES TO INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS WOULD DIMINISH THE RESOURCES CURRENTLY USED TO FOCUS ON THE COMMUNITY. FURTHERMORE, THE ISSUES IN THE MIDDLE EAST CANNOT BE SOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL. WE COULD TAKE THREE MINUTES, WE COULD TAKE THREE YEARS, WE COULD TAKE DECADES. WE'RE NOT GONNA SOLVE IT HERE TO BE EFFECTIVE. CITY COUNCILS LEGISLATE ON ISSUES RELATED TO POLICE, SCHOOLS, ORDINANCES, AND THE LIKE. TO OPERATE OUTSIDE OF THIS IS, AGAIN, TAKING AWAY RESOURCES FROM WHAT THE LOCAL CITY COUNCILS DO WELL AND ASKING YOU TO INTERVENE IN AREAS THAT ARE OUTSIDE OF PROBABLY EVERYONE'S EXPERTISE. THE CITY COUNCIL OF CLAREMONT, UNANIMOUS UNANIMOUSLY DECIDED LAST WEEK THEY WERE NOT GOING TO INTERVENE IN FOREIGN AFFAIRS. ALL FIVE COUNCIL MEMBERS DECIDED NOT TO BE INVOLVED IN FOREIGN AFFAIRS, WHICH IS THE RIGHT DECISION. FURTHERMORE, THE CITY COUNCILWOMAN JENNIFER STARK SAID, IF THE PROTESTORS ARE SEEKING A SYMBOLIC GESTURE OF A CEASEFIRE, THERE ARE BETTER WAYS TO SPEND YOUR TIME THAT WOULD RESULT IN ACTUAL NOT SYMBOLIC HELP. I AGREE. THERE ARE ACTUAL ATROCITIES OCCURRING ALL THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. SYRIA, DARFUR, IRAN, AFGHANISTAN, THERE'S A WAR IN UKRAINE. HAVE ANY OF THE ISSUES BEEN MADE TO THE CITY COUNCIL? IF NONE OF THESE HAVE BEEN MADE TO THE CITY COUNCIL AGENDA, THEN NEITHER SHOULD THE WAR HAMAS LAUNCHED UPON ISRAEL. AS I SAID, ISRAEL HAS NOT STARTED ONE WAR. [00:25:01] 19 48, 49 ISRAEL'S WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. THE BEGINNING THERE WAS AN ARAB AMBUSH OF A BUS CARRYING JEWS FROM NATANYA TO JERUSALEM. BRITISH TROOPS PREPARED TO WITHDRAW FROM PALESTINE, AND THIS CONTINUED TO ESCALATE PALESTINIAN FAIN INSURGENCY. FIFTIES AND SIXTIES, ARAB FIGHTERS INFILTRATED SYRIA, EGYPT JORDAN, INTO ISRAEL TO CARRY OUT A TAX SIX DAY WAR. JUNE 67, WAR OF ATTRITION, 67 TO 70. YOM KIPPUR WAR IS 73 AND OCTOBER 7TH, WE WERE ATTACKED. UNFORTUNATELY, WE HAVE A RIGHT TO EXIST AND FOLKS NEED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. RICARDO SAWYER, FOLLOWED BY RYAN WEST. GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS. I APPRECIATE THIS MOMENT TO SPEAK RESPECTFULLY. I AM A CHRISTIAN AND A US AMERICAN VETERAN. SOME OF YOU MAY KNOW ME FROM VETERAN AFFAIRS. UH, I AM UPSET THAT AMERICAN WEAPONS WERE GIVEN TO ISRAEL FOR, UH, DEFENSE PURPOSES, SUPPOSEDLY, BUT THE IDFU SIX US MISSILES TO ATTACK AND KILL PALESTINIANS IN AN UNPROVOKED ACTION. MANY MORE ATTACKS WERE DONE. ISRAEL HAS IN INSTITUTED CAR, SERIAL PRISON STATE POWER WITH FORCED INVOLUNTARY CONFINEMENT. PALESTINIANS ARE STUCK WHERE THEY'RE AT. THE PALESTINIANS HAVE NO RIGHT TO LEAVE, TAKE THEIR BELONGINGS OR DEFEND THEMSELVES FROM UNJUST HUMANE ACTIONS. WOULD YOU PERMIT A FOREIGN ENTITY TO ARBITRARILY CONTROL YOUR LIVES WITH NO RECOURSE OF JUSTICE? THE CITY CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS. AS WE HEARD, THE CITY HAS FOUR, ABOUT $4 MILLION AT ITS DISPOSAL. THE CITY NEEDS TO DIVEST CITY AWAY FROM THE ONGOING GENOCIDAL APARTHEID STATE OF ISRAEL, NOTHING AGAINST THE ISRAELI PEOPLE THEMSELVES. THE CITY CAN ALSO CALL FOR A PERMITTED THI FIRE BY CONTACTING RESPECTED PEOPLE ON THIS MATTER. IT IS NOT JUST A LOCAL MATTER, IT'S A NATIONAL MATTER. THEN A STRONG MESSAGE TO ISRAEL THAT WE DO NOT ACCEPT THE MURDER KILLING OF INNOCENT CIVILIANS. MORE THAN 30,000 PALESTINIANS HAVE BEEN KILLED AND OVER 70,000 WOUNDED IN THE GAZA STRIP ON THURSDAY. PALESTINIAN WITNESSES SAY, ISRAELI TROOPS OPENED FIRE ON A GROUP OF PEOPLE SCRAMBLING FOR AID IN GAZA CITY. THE PALESTINIANS DEPEND ON AID BECAUSE WHERE ELSE ARE THEY GOING TO GET IT? WILL WE LOOK THE OTHER WAY? IT'S TIME TO TAKE A STAND, DIVEST FUNDS FROM ISRAEL, DO THE RIGHT THING, INSIST ON A PERMANENT SOLUTION OF THIEF FIRE. THINK OF THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN KILLED PALESTINIANS HAVE BEEN VIOLATED THROUGH HISTORY PRIOR TO OCTOBER 7TH, 2023. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR LETTING ME MAKE A SPEECH HERE IN FRONT OF YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. RYAN WEST, FOLLOWED BY LAV RUSSIAN. HELLO? UM, MY COMMENT ISN'T AS APPROPRIATE AS I HAD HOPED IT WOULD BE, BUT I'M STILL GONNA MAKE IT BECAUSE IT'S IMPORTANT TO ME. I I'M A GRADUATE STUDENT AT UC, IRVINE, AND I'M STUDYING URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING. AND I'M HERE TODAY BECAUSE MY PROFESSORS ENCOURAGED US TO MAKE A CIVIC COMMENT AND GET INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS. AND, UM, I WANTED TO BRING UP A FEW ACTIONABLE IDEAS ABOUT OUR CITY'S BUILT ENVIRONMENT. AND I WANT TO START OFF WITH, I THINK AT, I EXAMINED THE, UM, CENTRAL PARK MASTER PLAN FAIRLY THOROUGHLY. AND I FEEL LIKE THERE'S A LACK OF HOMAGE OR PATRONAGE TO OUR NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY, UM, IN THE PLAN. AND I THINK THAT PRIOR TO THE PARKS BEING COMPLETED, I THINK THAT WE SHOULD PAY SOME KIND OF HOMAGE EITHER IN THE FORM OF SIGNAGE, PLAQUE INFORMATION, BOOTH, SOMETHING. UM, I THINK THAT WOULD BE A GOOD FIT AND A NICE WAY TO HONOR, UH, OUR HISTORY. UH, ADDITIONALLY I WOULD LIKE TO SUGGEST MORE PREVALENT BUSINESS INTEGRATION IN THE CENTRAL PARK. UM, I THINK THAT WE NEED TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE AND GIVE THEM A REASON TO BE THERE. AND I THINK GOING FOR A CUP OF COFFEE, GOING TO THE FARMER'S MARKET, FINDING SOME SORT OF BUSINESS REASON TO GET INVOLVED THERE IS VERY IMPORTANT. UM, AND IT CAN DRAW ON VISITORS. UM, ADDITIONALLY, I THINK DEDICATION OF BUSINESS SPACES IN THE PARK IS IMPORTANT. DEDICATED FARMERS, UH, MARKET STALLS, THINGS LIKE THAT SHOULD BE INCORPORATED IN THE FINAL, UM, CONSTRUCTION PROCESS. UM, AGAIN, I'VE BEEN HERE, I'VE BEEN IN RANCHO MY ENTIRE LIFE. UM, I I REALLY LIKE THE WAN NORTH ETIWANDA PRESERVE, AND I THINK THAT SOME SERIOUS CHANGES NEED TO HAPPEN TO MAKE SURE IT STAYS SAFE. UM, FROM A BUILT ENVIRONMENT PERSPECTIVE, UM, THE PARKING LOT IS VERY DANGEROUS. UM, LOOKING AT IT, IT'S CRAMPED. [00:30:01] UM, THERE'S NOT MARK STALLS. IT'S DANGEROUS FOR OUR, NOT ONLY OUR COMMUNITY, BUT OUR FIRST RESPONDERS TO GET UP THERE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY. I THINK THAT MOVING FORWARD IN DEVELOPMENT, UM, AND PRESERVING OPEN SPACE IS IMPORTANT, BUT I THINK MOVING FORWARD IN DEVELOPMENT, THAT SOMEONE NEEDS TO CREATE A SAFER PARKING LOT FOR OUR, FOR OUR VISITORS, OUR COMMUNITY, AND OUR FIRST RESPONDERS. UH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. I APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU, SIR. LEV RUSSIAN, FOLLOWED BY KADIJA ABDULLAH. NOW, SIR, BACK AT THE PODIUM, SIR. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, SIR, SIR, BACK BACK AT THAT PODIUM RIGHT THERE, . THAT'S QUITE ALL RIGHT, SIR. UH, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, ALL MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL I LIVED OKAY. NEW BRAND IS NEEDED TOO. SORRY, OBVIOUSLY RETIREMENT AFFECTED IT. UH, LADIES, GENTLEMEN, HONORABLE MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL. I GREW UP IN THE SOVIET UNION WHEN IT WAS STILL COMMUNIST DICTATORSHIP, AND I'VE BEEN LIVING IN RANCH CUCAMONGA AND WORK HERE FOR THE LAST 35 YEARS. MY KIDS GO TO SCHOOL HERE. I ENJOY LIVING IN FREE COUNTRY WITH INCREDIBLE RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE WHERE CONGRESS AND SO ON CANNOT MAKE ANY DECISION REGARDING PRACTICE OF RELIGION. UNUSUAL GIFT IN THE WORLD. UM, I SEE BELIEVE THAT A CITY COUNCIL JOB IS LOCAL, TAKE CARE OF A CITY OF PROBLEMS, DECISION OF A CITY COUNCIL, NO MATTER HOW SYMBOLIC HAS ABSOLUTELY NO REFLECTION ON THE POLICY OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. DECISIONS ON A COMPLEX, CONVOLUTED AND BLOODY HISTORY OF A MIDDLE EAST CANNOT BE DONE AT A LEVEL OF A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE, NO OFFENSE, DON'T KNOW THE HISTORY. AND EVEN DO I, EVEN THOUGH I'M SOMEWHAT INFORMED. AND I WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT FOR PEOPLE WHO SCREAM GENOCIDE AND PROTEST, IMMEDIATELY PAID ABSOLUTELY NO ATTENTION TO 600,000. SYRIANS TOOK QUARTER MILLION YEMENIS TO DAILY C MURDER OF CHRISTIANS IN NIGERIA OR TO ROLLING THEREFORE GENOCIDE, WHICH HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR PROBABLY WELL OVER 40 YEARS, AND YET WE ONLY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD CAUSES THIS VITRI AND, UM, STATEMENTS WHICH ARE NOT SUPPORTED BY FACTS. AND ISRAEL BEEN, UH, ACCUSED OF BEING APARTHEID STATE. UM, AND YET ARABS, BADIN AND CHRISTIAN MINORITIES OCCUPY ALL KIND OF, UH, THINGS THERE, BUT IT'S ALL IRRELEVANT. THE T IS THAT CITY COUNCIL, I BELIEVE, LIKE CITY COUNCIL OF CLAREMONT SHOULD DEAL WITH THE LOCAL PROBLEMS AND DON'T GET INVOLVED IN INTERNATIONAL PROBLEMS BECAUSE SOMEBODY WILL FIND SOME OTHER PROBLEM TO BRING TO COUNCIL, TAKING YOUR TIME AND RESOURCES AND CAUSING UNPLEASANTRIES. SO LET'S KEEP LOCAL POLICIES LOCAL AND LET'S NOT BRING DISCORD AND MISTRUST INTO COMMUNITY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU. KHADIJA ABDULLAH, I BELIEVE IS HOW THAT'S PRONOUNCED. HI, EVENING. UM, MY NAME IS DR. KHADIJA ABDULLAH. I AM A FIRST TIME HOMEOWNER HERE IN RANCHO CUCAMONGA. I WENT TO ED RWANDA HIGH SCHOOL. I WAS THE TOP OF MY CLASS. I SPOKE AT MY GRADUATION. I HAVE, UM, FOUR KIDS THAT ARE HERE AS WELL. UM, RANCHO CUCAMONGA IS WHAT I CALL HOME. UM, HOME IS A PLACE THAT IS SAFE. A HOME IS A PLACE WHERE WE CAN UPHOLD OUR MORALS. HOME IS A PLACE WHERE WE CAN BRING COMFORT. UM, AND THIS IS THE PLACE THAT I CALL HOME. RANCHO CUCAMONGA IS HOME. UM, MY PARENTS ARE HERE, MY SIBLINGS ARE HERE. AND AS A PLACE THAT I CALL HOME, I WANT THIS HOME TO REPRESENT A PLACE THAT STANDS FOR JUSTICE. I WANT HOME TO REPRESENT A PLACE THAT STANDS FOR HUMANITY. UM, AND TODAY, I AM NOT HERE BEFORE YOU TO CALL FOR A CEASEFIRE TO SOLVE THE MIDDLE EAST PROBLEMS OR ANYTHING. IT REALLY IS TO LOOK AT WHERE AS A CITY WE'RE SPENDING OUR MONEY, UM, AND TAKING IT AND PUTTING IT INTO PLACES THAT WE KNOW, UM, ARE SUPPORTING GOOD CAUSES. AND WE KNOW THAT ARE IN, IN INSTITUTIONS THAT ARE NOT EVEN DOUBTFUL IN WHERE THEY'RE, WHERE WHAT THEY'RE PROMOTING, AND WHAT, UM, THEY'RE SPENDING THEIR MONEY ON. AND SO I, I THINK OVER THE COURSE OF THIS MEETING OR OTHER MEETINGS, THERE'LL BE PEOPLE THAT COME SPEAKING ABOUT THIS ISSUE OR SPEAKING ABOUT BOTH SIDES AND THIS SIDE AND THAT SIDE. AND IT'S UPON EACH ONE OF US TO DO OUR RESEARCH AND HISTORY [00:35:01] AND LEARN AND, YOU KNOW, DO THAT FACT FINDING ON, ON, ON YOURSELF AND, YOU KNOW, SHARE AND CONVERSE WITH ONE ANOTHER AND HAVE DIALOGUE WITH ONE ANOTHER, ANOTHER. BUT WHEN IT COMES TO OUR FINANCES AS A CITY AND AS A TAXPAYER OF THE CITY, I WANT TO BE CONFIDENT THAT WHEREVER THAT MONEY GOES, IT IS IN A PLACE THAT IS SUPPORTING GOODNESS AND, UM, JUSTICE. AND IT'S NOT EVEN CLOSELY RELATED TO ANYTHING THAT MAY BE COMPLICIT IN ETHNIC CLEANSING OR GENOCIDE OR AN APARTHEID STATE. AND THOSE ARE TERMS THAT EVERYONE CAN DEBATE AND WHATNOT. BUT AS A CITY, WE CAN INVEST, TAKE MONEY FROM ONE THING AND INVEST IN SOMETHING ELSE. AND SO I'M COMING HERE TO YOU AS A RESIDENT LONG-TERM RESIDENT, AND MY KIDS NOW HERE, UM, ASKING FOR THAT. AND I THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SERVICE, AND I THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMITMENT TO THE CITY. UM, AND I HOPE TO ACTUALLY, HOPEFULLY GET MORE INVOLVED WITH THINGS IN THE CITY AS WELL TOO. I WANNA SECOND THAT COMMENT ABOUT, UM, SORT OF THE PARKS AND HOW WE DO SITTING PLANNING. THAT'S ALSO VERY DEAR AND NEAR TO MY HEART, SO I WANNA THANK YOU FOR THAT COMMENT. UM, AND I DO BELIEVE THERE ARE SOME OTHERS THAT WANTED TO MAKE SOME COMMENT IN TODAY'S MEETING, BUT WE'RE NOT ABLE TO GET THEIR CARDS IN. SO IF THAT'S A, IF YOU'RE ABLE TO CONSIDER THAT, UM, AS THE COUNCIL RIGHT NOW TO ALLOW MORE COMMENTS, THAT WOULD BE WONDERFUL. AND IF NOT, I'M JUST MAKING THAT REQUEST. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME. THERE ARE CARDS IN THE BACK. NO, I GUESS THERE'S SOME CARDS, BLUE CARDS BACK IN THE BACK OVER HERE ON THE, MY RIGHT. PUT IT. YEAH, WE WERE TOLD, WE WERE TOLD THAT THE SIGNUPS FOR PUBLIC COMMENT CLOSED BEFORE THE MEETING. NO, NO. IF WE HAVE SOMEBODY THAT COMES IN LATE, AS LONG AS WE'RE INVOLVED IN PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS, I WILL SAY ONE THING. UM, IF WE KNOW THAT YOU ALL, A LOT OF YOU HERE ARE TALKING ABOUT A RESOLUTION FOR A CEASEFIRE, SO WE, WE HEAR THAT LOUD AND CLEAR, AND WE'RE HEARING ALSO THAT YOU'D LIKE US TO CONSIDER DIVESTMENT. SO IF YOU DON'T NEED TO NECESSARILY REPEAT ALL THAT BECAUSE WE'RE HEARING IT LOUD AND CLEAR. UH, BUT IF YOU HAVE NEW INFORMATION, THAT'D BE GREAT. BUT YOU ALSO HAVE THE RIGHT TO SAY WHATEVER YOU WANT. SO IF YOU WANT TO REPEAT WHAT OTHERS HAVE SAID, THAT'S OKAY TOO, BUT IT JUST PROLONGS THE WHOLE EVENING. JACOB HANEY, I PROBABLY PRONOUNCE THAT LAST NAME WRONG, SIR, BUT YOU CAN CORRECT THAT HERE AT THE PODIUM, FOLLOWED BY MARYAM. THANK YOU MAYOR. COUNCILMAN. UH, GOOD EVENING. UM, YOU SAID THE NAME. WELL, JACOB AVI, I'M A SURGEON THAT HAS WORKED AND LIVED IN THIS COMMUNITY FOR OVER 23 YEARS. I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF TREATING PATIENTS IN NEED REGARDLESS OF THEIR BACKGROUND, RELIGION, RACE, OR COLOR. AND I'M DEEPLY CONCERNED OF THE PROPOSAL BEFORE US. SIMILAR PROPOSAL HAVE BEEN BROUGHT TO ADJACENT CITIES AND HAVE BEEN TURNED DOWN BY CHINO HILLS AND CLAREMONT. THE PRO, THE PROPOSAL AND IT FACE SEEMS TO BE HARMLESS, BUT IT IS PART OF A WIDER PLAN TO DESIGNATE ISRAEL AS AN APARTHEID STATE, AS YOU HEARD ALREADY, AND IMPLEMENT POLICIES PROMOTING BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT, AND SANCTIONS. THESE TYPES OF POLICIES CREATE NOTHING BUT DIVISION WITHIN THE CITY. THEY HEARD LOCAL BUSINESSES AND THE PEOPLE THAT THEY SUPPORT WITHIN THIS COMMUNITY. LET ME ASK YOU, WHICH IS AN APART STATE, IS IT ISRAEL OR THE PALESTINIANS OR GAZA? THERE ARE OVER 2 MILLION PALESTINIANS LIVING IN ISRAEL THAT ARE CITIZENS OF ISRAEL THAT HAVE EVERY RIGHT THAT THE ISRAELIS DO, AND THEY DON'T HAVE TO SERVE IN THE ARMY. THEY ARE DOCTORS, ENGINEERS, NURSES. I'VE WORKED WITH THEM, JUDGES, INCLUDING A SUPREME COURT JUDGE. THERE ARE NO JEWS LIVING IN GAZA EXCEPT THE 130 HOSTAGES THAT THEY'RE HOLDING RIGHT NOW. THE MISSION OF THE CITY, AS STATED, IS TO CONTINUOUSLY ENSURE AND ADVANCE THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR THE COMMUNITY THROUGH INCLUSIVE DECISION MAKING. WHILE THIS RESOLUTION IS CONTRARY TO THAT MISSION, IT'S NOT INCLUSIVE AT ALL. FURTHERMORE, IT PROMOTES ANTISEMITISM WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY. I'M SORRY TO SAY, BUT I HAVE WITNESSED IT PERSONALLY. MY KIDS HAVE WITNESSED IT IN THEIR SCHOOLS. THEY HAVE GOTTEN ANTISEMITE TEXT BY OTHER CHILDREN IN THEIR SCHOOL. ANTISEMITISM HAS GROWN GLOBALLY SINCE OCTOBER SEVEN. ATROCITIES COMMITTED BY HAMAS. NO ONE LIKES WAR. I'M AGAINST WAR. I WOULD LIKE A CEASEFIRE. ISRAEL HAS BEEN TRYING TO NEGOTIATE A CEASEFIRE FOR THE PAST NUMBER OF MONTHS, BUT HAMAS [00:40:01] HAS REJECTED ALL LAST THREE PROPOSALS. THEY REFUSE TO EVEN ACKNOWLEDGE WHO'S ALIVE AND WHO'S DEAD. CEASEFIRE INVOLVES AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN TWO PARTIES, AND IT HAS BEEN REPEATEDLY DEMONSTRATED BY HAMAS THAT THEY ARE NOT INTERESTED IN A CEASEFIRE. THEY ARE SWORN TO THE DESTRUCTION OF ISRAEL PER THEIR CHARTER. AND A VOW TO REPEAT THESE ATROCITIES OF OCTOBER 7TH AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN. BIDEN STATED, YES, YESTERDAY, CEASE FIRE IN GAZA, IN THE HANDS OF HAMAS. THE PROPOSAL SHOULD BE DIRECTED AT HAMAS THAT IS HIDING BEHIND ITS CITIZENS, STEALING THEIR HUMANITARIAN AID AND REFUSING TO RETURN THE HOSTAGES. IT IS NOT THE JOB OF THIS. THANK YOU, SIR. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. MARI NAM, FOLLOWED BY PHILLIP WALKER, YOUR HONORABLE COUNCIL MEMBERS. I'M WRITING, I'M I'M HERE TODAY. UM, AS A BUSINESS OWNER IN THE CITY OF RANCHO CUCAMONGA OVER 20 YEARS, WHO HAS SEEN THE GROWTH AND PROSPERITY OF THIS BEAUTIFUL COMMUNITY SINCE OCTOBER 7TH, MASSACRE OF INNOCENT WOMEN, CHILDREN, AND MEN IN ISRAEL, THE RATE OF ANTISEMITISM HAS RISEN OVER 800% IN THE UNITED STATES AND WORLDWIDE. THE RESULT OF THE SURPRISE ATTACK BY HAMAS ON INNOCENT CIVILIANS, UM, HAS TRIGGERED, UH, MANY GROUPS, INCLUDING STUDENTS, UNIVERSITIES, AND OTHERS WHO HAVE TRIED TO USE THAT AS A WAY TO DISPLAY THEIR ANTI-SEMITIC IDEOLOGY AND HATE TOWARDS THE JEWISH PEOPLE. I AM ORIGINALLY FROM IRAN. WE HAD TO LEAVE EVERYTHING BEHIND BECAUSE WE WERE SUBJECTED TO ANTISEMITISM ON A DAILY BASIS. WE WERE THREATENED, WE WERE HARASSED, WE WERE OPPRESSED. WE MOVED HERE BECAUSE OF THE FREEDOMS THAT THE UNITED STATES OFFERED THAT WE DID NOT HAVE BACK IN IRAN. I'M TRULY SADDENED AND OUTRAGED AND SCARED TO SEE THIS RISE OF ANTI-SEMITISM. NOT ONLY IN THE US, ESPECIALLY IN THIS CITY AND SURROUNDING INLAND EMPIRE COMMUNITIES. THERE HAS BEEN INCIDENTS OF ANTI-SEMITIC TEXTS, NAZI SALUTES SWASTIKAS DRAWN ON DESKS AND NOTEBOOKS OF JEWISH KIDS IN MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOLS, INCLUDING ONE OF MY OWN CHILDREN. JEWISH RESIDENTS ARE TAKING OFF THEIR YAMIKAS AND MEAS FROM THEIR DOORS. WE'RE BEING HARASSED ONLINE AND IN PERSON BECAUSE OF OUR FAITH. JUST TURN TO ANY OF THE SURROUNDING CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS RECENTLY. GO ON THEIR YOUTUBE AND WATCH WHERE JEWS HAVE BEEN SUBJECTED TO HATE HARASSMENT AND MORE ANTI-SEMITIC ATTACKS. CLAREMONT, SANTA ANA. MONTCLAIR, MY QUESTION TO YOU IS, WHAT IS THIS CITY DOING TO PREVENT HATE TOWARDS CERTAIN MINORITY GROUPS SUCH AS JEWISH RESIDENTS IN RANCHO CUCAMONGA? WHAT IS THE CITY DOING TO PREVENT HARASSMENT AND ATTACKS IN THE SCHOOLS AGAINST STUDENTS, JEWISH STUDENTS? I URGE YOU TO PROTECT THE JEWISH COMMUNITY AND THE JEWISH CHILDREN BY NOT PASSING ANTI-ISRAEL RESOLUTIONS. AS THIS WILL CREATE FURTHER DIVISION AMONGST THE COMMUNITY, AS WELL AS SUBJECT YOUR JEWISH CONSTITUENTS TO FURTHER ANTISEMITISM THE GROUPS BRINGING THESE UP, BRINGING UP THESE CEASEFIRE RESOLUTIONS AND ARE DOING IT AS A HATE AGAINST THE JEWS. THEIR FIGHT WILL NOT END EVEN IF THERE IS A CEASEFIRE. THEIR MAIN GOAL IS TO GET DIVESTMENT AND BOYCOTT, AS YOU HEARD, TO JEWISH BUSINESSES COMPANIES, AND PREVENT THE COMMUNITY FROM ENGAGING WITH THOSE BUSINESSES. THIS GOES AGAINST THE RANCHO CUCUMONGA CORE VALUES OF GROWTH, PROSPERITY FOR ALL, AS IT'S NOTED ON YOUR WEBSITE. SO WHAT IS NEXT? THEY WILL BOYCOTT JEWISH OWNED BUSINESSES. I URGE YOU, IF YOU WANNA MAKE A RESOLUTION, YOU SHOULD CONDEMN. THANK YOU, MA'AM. PHILIPPI WALKER, FOLLOWED BY STEPHANIE. THANK YOU FOR SEEING ME CITY. I AM PHILIPPI WALKER, A NEAR 10 YEAR RESIDENT OF RANCHO CUCAMONGA, EMPLOYED AS FULL-TIME HOLLYWOOD TALENT. UH, SEVERAL COUNCIL MEETINGS AGO. I MENTIONED TO YOU THAT TWO PRODUCERS WERE, UH, VYING FOR MY, UH, SERVICES. THE PRODUCER THAT WON OUT ENDED UP PUTTING ME IN MY 100TH MUSIC VIDEO. BUT I'M NOT HERE TO TALK ABOUT MY CAREER. AS YOU PROBABLY KNOW, I'M HERE TO TALK ABOUT MY PASSION, WHICH IS TO ESTABLISH IN THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF THE WORLD THAT SHORT FILMS COME FROM RANCHO CUCAMONGA. UH, I'M VERY [00:45:01] EXCITED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT, UM, THE FILM THAT OUR RESEARCH TELLS US, THAT IS THE MOST POPULAR FILM THAT HAS EVER BEEN CREATED TOTALLY INSIDE OF RANCHO CUCAMONGA. SWEDISH VACATION IS HAVING. ITS, UM, ITS UH, UH, UH, PAKISTANI PREMIER ON THIS WEEKEND AND ON PALM SUNDAY, WE WILL HAVE ITS NEW YORK PREMIERE. WE'RE VERY EXCITED. I'M NOT GOING TO PAKISTAN. I WILL GO ONLINE, BUT I AM GOING TO NEW YORK AND SEE WHAT I CAN DO TO ESTABLISH IN THAT CITY THAT WE ARE THE PLACE WHERE SHORT FILMS COME FROM. UH, ON TONIGHT THERE WAS PUBLISHED AN INTERVIEW OF MY WORK IN SHORT FILMS AND MY COMING TO NEW YORK CITY. UH, I'M VERY EXCITED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT, THAT, UH, INTERVIEW MENTIONED OUR CITY THREE TIMES, HAD A LINK TO THE GOVERNMENT WEBSITE. AND THE ONLY QUOTE THAT WAS IN THAT INTERVIEW WAS BY MY OWN COUNCILWOMAN COUNCILWOMAN SCOTT. UH, YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THAT INTERVIEW AT, LET ME SEE IF I CAN GET IT RIGHT. NEW YORK MOVIE. OH, I CAN'T REMEMBER THE THIRD WORD. NEW YORK MOVIE. OH, I'LL GET IT. UH, ANYWAY, I I HOPE THAT YOU WILL HAVE A LOOK AT THAT INTERVIEW AND I THANK YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH FOR CREATING AN ENVIRONMENT THAT ALLOWS THE SHORT FILM TO GROW. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU, SIR. STEPHANIE, FOLLOWED BY HIND IFF. UM, HELLO, GOOD EVENING CITY COUNCIL. UM, I MAINLY WANTED TO COME UP TO ALSO ADDRESS SOME OF THE PREVIOUS COMMENTS THAT WERE MADE. UM, MANY PEOPLE WILL TELL YOU THAT THERE ARE PROBLEMS ALL AROUND THE WORLD. UM, ACTUALLY, LET ME PREFACE, UH, RANCHO CUCAMONGA IS AND HAS BEEN MY HOME AS WELL. SO I'M NOT SPEAKING AS JUST AN OUTSIDER. UM, THERE ARE PROBLEMS ALL AROUND THE WORLD. UM, PEOPLE WILL SAY THAT. AND, UH, HOWEVER, WHEN WE RECOGNIZE THAT WE ARE COMPLICIT, WE HAVE A DUTY TO ACT, IT'S OKAY IF THIS IS NEW INFORMATION. IT'S OKAY IF THE COMPLICITY OF THESE COMPANIES IN WHICH RANCHO HAS INVESTED IN IS NEW INFORMATION. BUT WHEN WE RECOGNIZE THAT WE ARE COMPLICIT, WE HAVE A DUTY TO ACT. UM, AND PEOPLE WILL, AGAIN, PEOPLE WILL SAY THAT THERE ARE PROBLEMS ALL AROUND THE WORLD. WHY AREN'T WE TALKING ABOUT THIS? AND THAT MANY OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE ADVOCATING FOR PALESTINE ARE ADVOCATING FOR DARFUR, ARE ADVOCATING FOR YEMENIS, ARE ADVOCATING FOR SYRIA. UM, WHY ARE WE BRINGING THIS ISSUE TO CITY COUNCIL? WHY ISRAEL? WHY PALESTINE MORE CHILDREN HAVE BEEN KILLED IN GAZA THAN IN CONFLICT ZONES AROUND THE WORLD. UM, THE RATE, THE SCALE OF THE VIOLENCE IS ENORMOUS. WE HAVE A DUTY TO ACT. UM, UH, ALSO IT IS A LOCAL ISSUE. WHEN OUR CITIES, WHEN OUR CITY'S FUNDS ARE BEING USED FOR COMPANIES THAT ARE CON COMPLICIT, IT IS UNDENIABLY A LOCAL ISSUE. UM, AND, UM, THIS IS ALSO NOT ONLY A SYMBOLIC ACT. THIS IS ACTUAL MATERIAL ACTION THAT CAN TAKE A STAND AGAINST, AGAINST THE GENOCIDE AND AGAINST THE KILLING. UM, OTHERS HERE HAVE SPOKEN ABOUT FEELING UNSAFE OR, UM, WORRYING ABOUT INCREASED ANTI, ABOUT, UH, A DIVESTMENT OR A CEASEFIRE RESOLUTION, INCREASING ANTISEMITISM. UM, HOWEVER, NO ONE HERE TONIGHT HAS MADE NEGATIVE COMMENTS TOWARDS JEWISH PEOPLE. THIS IS NOT AGAINST JEWISH PEOPLE. THIS IS ABOUT THE STATE OF ISRAEL, THE STATE OF ISRAEL, AND THE MASSIVE VIOLENCE AGAINST PALESTINIANS THAT IS CONTINUING. IT'S, YOU CAN TELL IT'S DISPROPORTIONATE. I USE THE WORD GENOCIDE. I DON'T KNOW WHAT WORD YOU WOULD USE, BUT CERTAINLY YOU RECOGNIZE THAT IT IS DISPROPORTIONATE. AND ALSO, UM, NO, HERE HAS MADE NEGATIVE COMMENTS TOWARDS JEWISH PEOPLE. HOWEVER, A PREVIOUS SPEAKER REFERRED TO PRO CEASEFIRE, PRO CEASEFIRE PROTESTORS AS TERRORISTS. THAT IS DIVISIVE. THAT IS PART OF THE RACIST LANGUAGE THAT WE ARE TRYING TO OPPOSE. UM, [00:50:02] THANK YOU AGAIN. THERE'S PROBLEMS ALL AROUND THE WORLD. MORE CHILDREN HAVE BEEN KILLED IN GAZA THAN ALL CONFLICT ZONE. THANK YOU. NALE, OR EXCUSE ME, HE MA MY SL MIFF. YEAH. HELLO, UH, MR. MAYOR. HELLO, HONORABLE COUNSEL. I, I WAS NOT PLANNED TO COME OVER HERE. PROBABLY YOU SAW ME EARLIER AT SIX O'CLOCK. I CAME WITH MY SON'S TEAM, MY SON, HE'S NINE YEARS OLD. I'M PALESTINIAN. I GREW UP IN PALESTINE. I, MY PLAN TONIGHT WAS NOT TO STAND OVER HERE. IT'S MY FIRST TIME IN A CITY HALL. BUT WHEN I SAW SOMEONE LAUGHING BEHIND ME, WHEN SOMEONE MENTIONED, MR. JOSE MENTIONED THAT THERE'S ROADS, WE HAVE SEPARATE ROADS THAN THE PEOPLE IN ISRAEL. I LIVED THAT. I NEVER MET AEW IN MY LIFE GROWING UP IN PALESTINE, BECAUSE WE LIVE IN A APARTHEID STATE. WE LIVE IN SEPARATE WALLS. THERE'S WALLS BETWEEN US. WE HAVE SEPARATE ROADS. IT'S NOT LAUGHABLE. MY SON, MY 9-YEAR-OLD SON, IF IT'S A DIFFERENT DESTINY, HE'LL BE THE ONE UNDER THE APPLES. I WAKE UP EVERY DAY WATCHING THEM. YOU SEEING CRYING MOMS. AND IT COULD BE ME. IT COULD BE ME. DO YOU KNOW THE GUILT? I FEEL EVERY DAY THAT I'M SO, SO THANKFUL. I'M THAT GRATITUDE I HAVE THAT I LIVE IN THE UNITED STATES. WHEN I MOVED OVER HERE 14 YEARS AGO, MY HUSBAND WHO'S WHO GREW UP IN THE STATES, WHO'S AMERICAN, HE WANTED TO SHOW ME, UH, LIKE THE CITY AND VEGAS AND CALIFORNIA AND LA AND HOLLYWOOD. I WAS NOT IMPRESSED BY THAT. I WAS IMPRESSED BY ME ABLE TO DRIVE A WHOLE HOUR WITHOUT A CHECKPOINT STOPPING ME. I WAS ABLE THAT THE BEACH I USED TO LIVE IN A VILLAGE. IF I DRIVE FROM MY VILLAGE TO THE BEACH, IT WOULD'VE BEEN 30 MINUTES. I NEVER SEEN THE BEACH IN MY CO MY COUNTRY. I WAS IMPRESSED JUST TO DRIVE AND NO ONE WOULD POINT A GUN AT ME. I GREW UP IN APARTHEID STATES WHEN I WAKE UP IN THE MORNING WHEN I USED TO GO TO ELEMENTARY. SO I WAS DEPRIVED FROM GOING TO A PRIVATE SCHOOL BECAUSE THERE WAS CHECKPOINTS. I COULD NOT GO TO MY PRIVATE SCHOOL. I HAD TO GO MY VILLAGE SCHOOL BECAUSE THE CHECKPOINTS WOULDN'T LET ME GO. I WOULD WAKE UP IN THE MORNING. I WAS NOT ABLE TO GO TO SCHOOL. THERE'S A LOT THINGS. IT'S, YOU SEE THE TRAUMA AFTER YOU GIVE A SAFE SPACE. RANCHO CUCAMONGA IS THE SAFE SPACE FOR MY KIDS, AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD FOR YOU. GUIN SAID, FOR TRUTH AND JUSTICE, WE ARE, WE WANT JUST JUSTICE FOR HUMANITY. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LISTENING TO ME. THANK YOU. UM, ZULI JAMMA JAM. DON'T WORRY, THE CLERK'S GONNA SAY IT. IT'S AFTER SEVEN. UH, GOOD EVENING. I JUST WANTED TO, UH, MENTION I'M A PHYSICIAN, UM, WHO PRACTICES IN THE AREA. UM, THANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO OUR COMMENTS TONIGHT. UM, JUST TO BRING YOUR ATTENTION TO, UM, SOME OF THE HEALTHCARE INFRASTRUCTURE ATTACKS HAPPENING IN GAZA. UM, MOST OF THE HOSPITALS THERE ARE CURRENTLY NON-FUNCTIONAL. UM, AS YOU WELL KNOW, OVER 30,000 PEOPLE HAVE BEEN KILLED. THE AMBULANCES HAVE BEEN DESTROYED. THE TELECOMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, UM, ARE ESSENTIALLY NON-FUNCTIONAL, WHICH MEANS THAT WHATEVER SERVICES ARE SOMEWHAT OPERATIONAL CAN'T COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER. IT MAKES IT VERY DIFFICULT TO TRY TO RESCUE PEOPLE ON THE GROUND. UM, THE PICTURES OF PEOPLE COMING FROM THE NORTHERN AREA OF ZA WHERE I THINK PEOPLE THOUGHT THAT THEY HAD EVACUATED ARE JUST TRULY HORRIFIC SKELETAL CHILDREN. UM, PEOPLE DYING OF MALNUTRITION, WHICH IS REALLY AN ATROCITY THAT IN THIS CIVILIZED WORLD, UH, PEOPLE DIE OF MALNUTRITION. SO THIS IS WHY MANY PEOPLE TONIGHT ARE CALLING FOR A CEASEFIRE. AND, UM, IT IS JUST MIND BOGGLING HOW A CALL FOR PEACE THREATENS ANYBODY. IF THAT'S THREATENING SOMEBODY, THEN YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT THAT STATE THAT IS NOT, THAT IS NOT A VIABLE AND A FEASIBLE STATE. THAT CAN ONLY EXIST WHEN WAR EXISTS, AND WE SHOULD NOT SUPPORT THAT AS A CITY. ALSO, I'D LIKE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CITY IS AWARE THAT ISLAMOPHOBIA IS RAMPANT. EVERY TIME I WALK BY, I'M CALLED A TERRORIST. UM, EVERY TIME I EXPRESS MY, UH, I JUST EXPRESS MY VIEWS FOR THE HUMANITARIAN PLIGHT. UM, IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE PEOPLE OF PALESTINE, I'M CALLED A, A TERRORIST. UM, I DON'T THINK THAT IT WAS RIGHT WHAT HAPPENED TO JEWISH PEOPLE IN WORLD WAR II. I DON'T THINK IT'S CONDONE THAT ANYBODY SHOULD USE, UH, NAZI INNUENDO AGAINST [00:55:01] ANY GROUP OF PEOPLE TODAY. UH, AND I'M NOT SURE WHY, UM, PEOPLE ARE VIEWING ALL MUSLIMS RIGHT NOW AS TERRORISTS BECAUSE WE WANT, UH, PEOPLE IN GAZA TO LIVE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ANA WILLIAMS, FOLLOWED BY NO TIA. UM, HELLO, MR. MAYOR AND FELLOW COUNCIL MEMBERS. UM, MY NAME IS RIHANNA WILLIAMS. I AM A RESIDENT OF RANCH CUCAMONGA AND HAVE BEEN MY ENTIRE LIFE. UH, I WENT TO SCHOOL HERE, MY CHILDHOOD WAS HERE, AND 200 OF MY PALESTINIAN FAMILY MEMBERS LIVE HERE AS WELL. UM, I JUST WANT TO SAY I'M VERY DISAPPOINTED IN THE CLIMATE OF THE CITY RIGHT NOW. UH, I DON'T KNOW HOW PEOPLE CAN STAND HERE AND SAY THAT THE AFFAIRS IN THE MIDDLE EAST HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH US. WHEN $4 MILLION OF OUR MONEY WITH 4 MILLION DO 4 MILLION, $4 MILLION WENT TO A FOREIGN ENTITY AND FUNDED A GENOCIDE THAT KILLED OVER 40,000 CIVILIANS. I MEAN, LOOK AT OUR ROADS AND OUR SCHOOLS SO MUCH COULD HAVE GONE TO FUND A BETTER FUTURE. UM, YET HERE WE ARE SITTING FUNDING AND BEING COMPLICIT IN A GENOCIDE. UM, UM, I HEARD A LOT OF PEOPLE COME UP HERE AND SAY THAT IT'S NOT A CITY ISSUE, BUT I THINK IT IS MOST DEFINITELY OUR ISSUE BECAUSE OUR TAX DOLLARS ARE GOING TO FUND A GENOCIDE. AND IF YOU ARE OKAY WITH THAT, THEN, UM, I DON'T KNOW. I DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT TO SAY. UM, AND SOMEONE PREVIOUSLY HAD MENTIONED THAT CEASEFIRE IS ANTI-SEMITIC. AND, UM, IT NEVER OCCURRED TO ME THAT BEING ANTI THAT BEING PRO CEASEFIRE, BEING PRO-LIFE WAS ANTISEMITIC. UM, ANYWAYS, I JUST WANNA THANK EVERYBODY FOR GIVING ME THE TIME TO SPEAK UP HERE. AND, UM, YES, HAVE A GOOD NIGHT. THANK YOU. NO TAA I'M NOT SURE IF I'M PRONOUNCING THAT CORRECT, SO PLEASE CORRECT THAT PRONUNCIATION, MA'AM. FOLLOWED BY NO ABDULLAH. OKAY, GO AHEAD. STAY RIGHT THERE. MR. MAYOR. COUNCIL MEMBERS, THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK. I'M A PALESTINIAN AMERICAN WHO HAS LIVED HERE IN RANCHO CUCAMONGA FOR THE BETTER PART OF 15 YEARS. THIS IS A COMMUNITY WHERE COUNTLESS PALESTINIAN FAMILIES HAVE RESIDED IN FOR YEARS. LIFELONG FRIENDS OF MY PARENTS HAVE HAD OUR GENERATIONS, HAVE HAD GENERATIONS OF FRIENDS RELOCATE TO THE CITY FORCIBLY. I'D FIRST LIKE TO ADDRESS THE AUDIENCE BECAUSE IT SEEMS AS THOUGH THEY ARE CONFUSED. IT SEEMS AS MOST OF YOU ARE NOT FROM RANCHO AND ARE ATTEMPTING TO SPEAK ON OUR BEHALF, WHICH IS OBVIOUS IN THE FACT THAT YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT WE'RE HERE FOR. WE'RE NOT HERE FOR A CEASEFIRE RESOLUTION. WE ARE HERE FOR DI FOR DIVESTMENT. MR. MAYOR, MYSELF AND ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS HERE TODAY HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET YOU A FEW YEARS BACK. NOT SURE IF YOU REMEMBER US, BUT THAT DEFINITELY HAPPENED. UM, WE HOSTED YOU FOR DINNER WITH ABOUT THREE DOZEN OTHERS. WE SHOWED YOU OUR CULTURE AND WELCOMED YOU INTO OUR COMMUNITY. YOU EVEN HAD THE HONOR FLIPPING OUR TRADITIONAL PALESTINIAN DISH OF UBA. YOU HAVE FIRSTHAND WITNESSED THE WARMTH THAT IS PALESTINIAN CULTURE. THE WORLD IS CURRENTLY WITNESSING THE AMERICAN BACKED ISRAELI EFFORT TO RACE OUR CULTURE. 30,000 PALESTINIANS HAVE BEEN MURDERED BY ISRAEL. THIS IS GENOCIDE AND THAT IS OUT OF QUESTION. HOWEVER, WE'RE NOT HERE TO DEBATE OR TALK ABOUT THAT. WE ARE HERE TO ASK YOU, MR. MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS, WHETHER OR NOT YOU WANT RACHEL COOK MUNGO'S NAME TO BE FOREVER ASSOCIATED WITH THAT. THERE'S A CHOICE HERE FOR YOU TO MAKE AND IT'S TO DIVEST FROM COMPANIES THAT HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN THIS MATTER. YOU GET TO DECIDE IF RANCH MUNGO WILL FOREVER BE FINANCIALLY LINKED TO A GENOCIDE. WE ARE NOT ASKING THAT YOU DIVEST FROM JEWISH COMMUNITIES AND BUSINESSES. ALL OF THESE PEOPLE SPEAKING HAVE CONVENIENTLY CHOSEN TO LEAVE OUT THE PLETHORA OF JEWS ADVOCATING FOR PALESTINE. AND ALSO THE FACT THAT THERE ARE PALESTINIAN JEWS. THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH JUDAISM. WE ARE ASKING YOU TO DIVEST FROM VIOLENCE. WE AS A CITY OF RANCHO CUCAMONGA HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE BY DIVESTING FROM VIOLENCE. WE ONLY HAVE THINGS TO GAIN. WE'LL ONLY GAIN A GUILT-FREE CONSCIENCE AND COMFORT FOR OUR PALESTINE COMMUNITY IN RANCHO MUNGA, KNOWING THEIR CITY IS NOT TAKING PART IN THE MURDER OF THEIR OWN PEOPLE. IN TERMS OF PEOPLE SAYING THAT THIS IS NOT A MATTER THAT INVOLVES OR AFFECTS THE COMMUNITY, I DISAGREE TO THE FULLEST EXTENT. PLENTY OF THE PEOPLE HERE TODAY, AND PEOPLE I KNOW PERSONALLY HAVE TAKEN TRIPS TO PALESTINE TO VISIT THEIR FAMILIES OVER THE YEARS. WE HAVE FIRSTHAND EXPERIENCE APARTHEID. WE HAVE WITNESSED THIS. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE WILL NEVER, EVER, EVER FORGET. IT'S SOMETHING THAT UNPACKS US DEEPLY EVERY DAY AS PALESTINIANS IN THE DIASPORA. WE ARE THE ONES THAT MADE IT OUT. WE ARE INCREDIBLY LUCKY TO BE STANDING HERE IN FRONT OF YOU TODAY AND TELLING YOU ABOUT OUR STRUGGLES. WE'RE ASKING THAT YOU MAKE THE CHOICE ON OUR BEHALF TO REMOVE YOURSELVES, TO REMOVE THE CITY FROM A VIOLENT MATTER. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. NOR NO . IS THERE ANOTHER NO IN THE HOUSE WHO LIVES ON SHAW STREET? HELLO. [01:00:01] OKAY. I APPRECIATE THE, UH, STREET NAME . HOPEFULLY NO ONE COMES AFTER ME. UM, JUST, JUST JOKING, JUST JOKING. . UM, BUT IN ALL SERIOUSNESS THOUGH, UH, WHEN MY FATHER CAME FROM SYRIA TO GO TO COLLEGE IN KANSAS, HE WENT TO KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY. HE HAD A PROJECT IN HIS CLASS TO TALK ABOUT ANYTHING. AND HE TALKED ABOUT THE OPPRESSION OF THE PALESTINIANS BECAUSE HIS MOTHER, MY GRANDMOTHER WAS KICKED OUT OF PALESTINE WHEN SHE WAS EIGHT YEARS OLD AND SHE WENT TO SYRIA. AND WHEN MY FATHER TALKED ABOUT THIS IN KANSAS, WHAT DID THEY SAY IN CLASS? WHAT DID PEOPLE SAY? THEY CALLED HIM ANTI-SEMITIC. JUST FOR TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR GENERATIONS AT THIS POINT. AND IT'S STILL KILLING SO MANY INNOCENT PEOPLE TODAY. OKAY? THEY CALL HIM ANTI-SEMITIC. THE TRUTH IS, IS THAT WE ARE SEMITIC PEOPLE, OKAY? WE'RE ALSO SEMITIC PEOPLE. WE HAVE LIVED THERE IN THAT AREA IN BELA, IN THE LAVANT FOR SO, SO LONG AND WE DON'T KNOW ANYWHERE ELSE. AND IT'S THIS, UM, BASICALLY VIOLENCE AND INSTABILITY THAT HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR THE PAST LIKE A HUNDRED YEARS OR SO THAT HAS REALLY DISPLACED A LOT OF PEOPLE. AND MY FATHER ENDED UP IN KANSAS AND HE HAD TO BASICALLY HEAR THAT, YOU KNOW, HE'S, UM, ANTI-SEMITIC, I GUESS JUST FOR, YOU KNOW, SPEAKING HIS, HIS TRUTH. THE TRUTH, OKAY? NOT JUST HIS TRUTH, IT WAS THE TRUTH. ALRIGHT? AND WE'RE STILL DOING IT TODAY. AND YOU KNOW, WHEN WE HAVE KIDS AND IT'S GONNA KEEP CONTINUING, UH, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE OUR KIDS DO THE SAME THING TOO, RIGHT? AND IT'S JUST GONNA KEEP ON GOING, UM, UNTIL IT GETS BETTER, I GUESS. UM, BUT BASICALLY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALL VERY TIRED OF THIS AND WE SHOULD, YOU KNOW, STAND UP FOR JUSTICE. UM, YOU KNOW, IT DOESN'T TAKE A GENIUS TO REALIZE THAT YOU CAN KEEP KOSHER WITHOUT HAVING TO KILL PALESTINIAN CHILDREN. OKAY? SO LET'S JUST ACCEPT THAT TRUTH BLUNTLY, ALRIGHT? AND, UM, YOU KNOW, LET'S JUST BE GOOD HUMANS WHO CAN TOLERATE EACH OTHER AND NOT HAVE SUPREMACIST IDEOLOGY THAT ENDS UP HAVING PEOPLE STUCK IN A WALL, ALL RIGHT? WHICH IS WHAT GAZA IS FOR THEIR WHOLE LIVES. ALRIGHT? RIGHT? LET'S NOT DO THAT. OKAY? LET'S, UM, BE GOOD DECENT PEOPLE. UM, LET'S ACCEPT PEOPLE'S HOMES FOR WHAT THEY ARE. AND LET'S LET ARAB AMERICANS GO TO, UM, PALESTINE AND ISRAEL FOR MORE THAN TWO WEEKS. ALRIGHT? AND LET'S NOT HAVE ANYONE JUST CLAIM THAT THERE A CERTAIN RELIGION AND THEN GO MOVE SOMEWHERE. LET'S NOT GIVE A BUNCH OF MONEY TO THIS COUNTRY. LET'S NOT BASICALLY BE, UM, YOU KNOW, USED BY A DIFFERENT COUNTRY. WE'RE OUR OWN COUNTRY. OKAY? SO LET'S BE PROUD OF OURSELVES. WE'RE AMERICANS. I'M PROUD TO BE AMERICAN. I WAS BORN AMERICAN AND I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ELSE. SO LET'S JUST, UM, ACCEPT THAT NONSENSE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. THE ONE HOUR COMMENT PERIOD HAS ENDED. THANK YOU, MA'AM. APPRECIATE THAT. UM, WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO, WE HAVE RIGHT NOW, UM, FOUR MORE SPEAKERS. WELL, THERE WAS FOUR MORE SPEAKERS. UM, SIX MORE SPEAKERS. SO WE'RE GONNA PAUSE WITH PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS. AS I SAID AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MEETING, WE WILL NOW MOVE INTO THE BUSINESS [CONSENT CALENDARS ] PORTION OF OUR MEETING AND CONDUCT THAT BUSINESS. AND THEN WE WILL BE BACK TO CONCLUDE PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS. OKAY, SO WE'LL NOW MOVE FORWARD WITH, UM, OUR CONSENT CALENDAR AND CONSENT CALENDARS ARE EXPECTED TO BE ROUTINE AND NON-CONTROVERSIAL. THEY'RE GONNA BE ACTED UPON IT ONE TIME WITHOUT, WITHOUT DISCUSSION, UNLESS A CITY COUNCIL MEMBER OR FIRE BOARD MEMBER WISHES TO REMOVE SUCH AN ITEM. AND, UM, SO DO WE HAVE ANY MOTION, MR. MAYOR, NEED TO ABSTAIN FROM ITEM D THREE DUE TO, UH, POSSIBLE CONFLICT OF INTEREST AS SOCALGAS IS MY EMPLOYER. VERY GOOD. ABSTENTION IS NOTED. DO I HAVE A MOTION FOR THE CONSENT CALENDAR? SO, MOVED A SECOND. SECOND, PLEASE. VOTE. MOTION CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY. THERE ARE NO CONSENT ORDINANCES [CONSENT CALENDAR ORDINANCE(S) - SECOND READING/ADOPTION] OR ADMINISTRATIVE OR ADVERTISED PUBLIC [ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING ITEM(S)] HEARINGS. WE HAVE NO CITY MANAGER STAFF [ADVERTISED PUBLIC HEARINGS ITEM(S) - CITY/FIRE DISTRICT] REPORTS, SO WE'LL [CITY MANAGER'S STAFF REPORT(S)] MOVE ON TO COUNCIL BUSINESS. WE HAVE COUNCIL ANNOUNCEMENTS. ANY ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS, [COUNCIL BUSINESS] IF NOT ANY AGENCY UPDATES, ANY CITY ATTORNEY ITEMS? UH, YES, MR. [CITY ATTORNEY ITEMS] MAYOR, ON ITEM D TWO OF THE CLOSED SESSION AGENDA, THE COUNCIL, THE CITY, AND THE PLAINTIFF IN THAT CASE HAVE, UH, AGREED UPON A SETTLEMENT FOR A WAIVER OF COST, WHICH IS A POSITIVE OUTCOME FOR THE CITY. VERY GOOD. THANK YOU, SIR. APPRECIATE THAT VERY, VERY MUCH. [01:05:01] ANY IDENTIFICATION FOR OUR ITEMS FOR OUR NEXT MEETING, WHICH IS MARCH 20TH? [IDENTIFICATION OF ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING] IF NOT, WE WILL RETURN TO PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS. [PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS (#2)] BEFORE WE ADJOURN OUR MEETING THIS EVENING, OUR NEXT SPEECH SPEAKER IS SAMIA ALCHEM. GOOD EVENING, MR. MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS. UM, MY NAME IS SAMYA AND I'VE BEEN LIVING IN RANCHO CUCAMONGA FOR OVER SEVEN YEARS AND I'M REALLY PROUD TO LIVE HERE. I'M ALSO A STUDENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE, AND I AM CURRENTLY DOING MY PHD THERE IN POLICY. UM, THE REASON WHY I SHARE THAT IS BECAUSE, CAN YOU HEAR ME? EVEN IF I DON'T LEAN IN, WE CAN HEAR YOU IF I YEAH, TOO CLOSE. YOU GET A LOT OF FEEDBACK. TOO CLOSE. ALRIGHT. UM, SO THE REASON WHY I SHARE THAT IS BECAUSE LAST WEEK, UC RIVERSIDE BECAME THE THIRD COUNTRY IN THE NATION TO VOTE TO DIVEST FUNDS FROM ISRAEL. SO NOW THE $1 MILLION THAT IS YEAR THANK YOU, $1 MILLION THAT IS USUALLY ALLOCATED TO THE STUDENT, OR THAT IS USUALLY ALLOCATED TO THE STUDENT. GOVERNMENT IS NO LONGER ABLE TO BE USED ON ANY COMPANIES THAT ARE COMPLICIT IN ISRAELI GENOCIDE. AND I WISH YOU WERE ABLE TO SEE THE SITES. UM, DURING THAT SENATE MEETING WHERE THEY DECIDED TO VOTE FOR DIVESTMENT, OVER 600 UC, RIVERSIDE STUDENTS SHOWED UP IN SUPPORT OF DIVESTMENT AND REPRESENTED THERE WERE MULTIPLE MEMBERS OF JEWISH VOICE FOR PEACE. MY FRIEND LINTON WAS THERE. UM, SHE IS THE GRANDDAUGHTER OF HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS, AND SHE SPOKE IN DETAIL ABOUT WHY, UM, THIS TOPIC IS SO, UM, MEANINGFUL TO HER, AND IT'S BECAUSE SHE DOESN'T WANNA SEE ANOTHER GENERATION OF CHILDREN, UM, GROW UP SEEING THE SITES THAT THE, THE CHILDREN OF THE HOLOCAUST GREW UP SEEING. UM, AND SO WITH THAT, I JUST WANTED TO EMPHASIZE WHY DIVESTMENT ISN'T SOMETHING THAT IS UNREALISTIC FOR RANCHO CUCAMONGA. THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE IN THE INLAND EMPIRE THAT SUPPORT DIVESTMENT AND DON'T WANT THEIR FUNDS TO HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH GENOCIDE. AND I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM ARE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THE WORD GENOCIDE, UM, BEING USED TO DESCRIBE WHAT'S GOING ON. BUT THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE HAS SAID THAT ISRAEL IS, UM, HAS DONE MULTIPLE ACTIONS THAT COULD BE, UH, THAT COULD BE LABELED AS OR CLASSIFIED AS GENOCIDE. UM, JUST THE FLOWER MASSACRE ALONE, WHICH I WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO LOOK INTO, IS THE CLEAREST CUT CASE OF GENOCIDE. THERE WERE HUNDREDS OF CHILDREN, MEN AND WOMEN THAT WERE, UM, WAITING ON RASHID STREET WAITING FOR, UM, ANY KIND OF FOOD AID THAT COULD, THEY COULD POSSIBLY GET. AND ISRAELI FORCES OPENED FIRE ON THEM. NOW, THE $4 MILLION THAT THE CITY OF RANCHO CUCAMONGA HAS DECIDED TO INVEST IN ISRAELI COMPANIES, UM, HAS HONESTLY PUT BLOOD ON OUR HANDS. AND IN ORDER FOR US TO WASH OUR HANDS OF THE BLOOD THAT ISRAEL HAS FORCED UPON US, UM, THROUGH THEIR GENOCIDAL PRACTICES, IT'S TIME THAT WE DISINVEST FROM THESE COMPANIES. AND IT'S DECIDE IT'S TIME THAT WE JOIN. UM, IT'S TIME THAT WE JOIN UC, RIVERSIDE, AND CALLING FOR A DIVESTMENT. IT'S TIME THAT WE JOIN, UM, THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA CRUZ. IT'S TIME THAT WE JOIN UC, IRVINE, UCLA. ALL OF THE UCS ARE CURRENTLY PASSING DIVESTMENT, UM, DIVESTING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS FROM ISRAEL AND RANCHO CUCAMONGA SHOULD FOLLOW SUIT. THANK YOU SO MUCH AND GOOD EVENING. THANK YOU. DANIA ALCOM, FOLLOWED BY ISTO DENAI. GOOD EVENING YOU GUYS. MY NAME IS DANIEL. I'M A RESIDENT OF RANCHO CUCAMONGA. I ATTENDED RANCHO CUCAMONGA MIDDLE SCHOOL AND ALOMA HIGH SCHOOL. I'M PROUD TO BE FROM THE CITY, BUT I'M ALSO DEEPLY DISAPPOINTED THAT RANCHO CUCAMONGA SENDING $4 MILLION TO A FOREIGN ENTITY TO FUND GENOCIDE. 30,000 PLUS PEOPLE HAVE BEEN MURDERED IN ZA AND THERE'S NO REASON WE SHOULD BE FUNDING A GENOCIDE WHEN THAT MONEY CAN BE REDIRECTED TO FURTHER SUPPORT RANCHO CUCAMONGA RESIDENTS. A LOT OF THE PEOPLE HERE STATED THAT RANCHO CUCAMONGA CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS SHOULD NOT DELVE INTO FOREIGN AFFAIRS. I AGREE. SO WE DEFINITELY SHOULD NOT BE SENDING MONEY TO ISRAEL'S MILITARY TO SUPPORT THIS GENOCIDE. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH US. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ISTO DANYE, PLEASE CORRECT YOUR PRONUNCIATION, MA'AM. GOOD EVENING EVERYONE. THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK. UM, I JUST WANNA ADDRESS, LIKE THE COMMENTS ABOUT THIS HAS, NONE OF OUR BUSINESSES HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH US, BUT AS SOME OTHER SPEAKERS WERE SAYING, IF WE'RE INVESTING MONEY IN A FOREIGN GOVERNMENT, WHICH I DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND WHY WE'RE DOING AS A SMALL CITY, RANCHO CUCAMONGA, THAT MONEY SHOULD BE GOING TO THE PEOPLE OF RANCHO CUCAMONGA. IF WE ARE INVESTING IN A FOREIGN GOVERNMENT, THEN OBVIOUSLY THIS DOES HAVE TO DO WITH US. AND I THINK THAT IT'S THE ONLY MORAL POSITION, THE ONLY CORRECT POSITION TO TAKE THAT MONEY AWAY FROM A FOREIGN GOVERNMENT THAT'S PERPETUATING A GENOCIDE AGAINST PALESTINIAN PEOPLE, INNOCENT PEOPLE, INNOCENT CHILDREN, INNOCENT FAMILIES, INNOCENT WOMEN AND MEN. UM, IT'S ONLY RIGHT TO TAKE THAT MONEY OUT OF INVESTING [01:10:01] IN COMPANIES THAT ARE FUNDING THAT GENOCIDE. SO I HOPE THAT YOU GUYS CAN LISTEN TO WHAT WE'RE SAYING AND REALLY LIKE THINK ABOUT THE FACT THAT WE SHOULD BE REMOVING OUR MONEY FROM ISRAELI COMPANIES BECAUSE THEY'RE FUNDING A GENOCIDE. SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ABBE BERG, FOLLOWED BY ZAINAB KHAN. THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME THE CHANCE, UH, TO SPEAK TONIGHT. UH, I'VE BEEN LIVING IN RANCHO CUCAMONGA FOR THE LAST 23 YEARS. UH, I GOT MARRIED HERE. I HAD FAMILY, AND HONESTLY, I LOVE THE CITY, BUT AT THE SAME TIME I LIVED IN RANCH IN, UH, IN PALESTINE, IN THE WEST BANK FOR 19 YEARS. LET ME JUST GIVE YOU JUST A PICTURE ABOUT HOW, UH, HOW BAD BEING TO BE LIVING IN, IN THE WEST BANK. UH, AS ONE OF THE SPEAKERS MENTIONED, JUST TO GO TO THE BEACH, IT'S A DREAM OUT THERE. I LIVED THERE FOR 19 YEARS. I NEVER SEEN THE WATER IN MY LIFE. THE FIRST TIME I SAW THE WATER, IT WAS NEWPORT BEACH. THAT'S THE FIRST TIME I SAW THE WATER IN MY LIFE. UH, JUST TO GO TO, TO GO PRAY IN JERUSALEM AS IT'S A HOLY CITY, THAT EVERYBODY HAS A RIGHT TO GO PRAY THERE. IT'S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE. YOU HAVE TO GET A PERMISSION AND 99% OF THE TIMES YOU GET REJECTED. THAT'S HOW BAD IT IS. THE, THE FIRST TIME, UH, I WENT TO JERUSALEM, I THINK I WAS SEVEN OR EIGHT YEARS OLD BECAUSE I WAS YOUNG. BUT AFTER THAT I WASN'T ABLE TO GO THERE. UH, WHY WE SHOULD DIVEST, UH, ANY INVESTMENT, UH, FROM, FROM ISRAEL BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE DYING OUT THERE. I SAW A PICTURE TODAY OF A DOG. YOU SEE A SKELETON ON THE DOG. AND THE REASON WHY, BECAUSE PEOPLE HAS NO FOOD TO FEED, TO FEED THE DOG. SO IMAGINE THE PEOPLE. HOW ARE THEY LIVING OUT THERE? SITUATION IS TOUGH. SO LOOK AT THE SITUATION AS A HUMAN BEING, NOT AS A BUSINESS. PEOPLE ARE DYING THERE. SO PLEASE HELP THEM AND DIVEST THE MILLIONS THAT WE'RE SPENDING THERE WITH ISRAELI COMPANIES. AND THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU ZAB KHAN. GOOD EVENING, COUNCIL MEMBERS AND MAYOR. UM, I WANT TO START BY SAYING THAT I'VE BEEN LIVING IN THIS COMMUNITY FOR MANY YEARS. I'M ACTUALLY, UM, A STUDENT RIGHT HERE AT CHAFFEE COLLEGE. UM, BUT THE REASON THAT I'M HERE IS BECAUSE I WANT TO URGE THE COUNCIL MEMBERS TO VOTE TO DIVEST FROM COMPANIES THAT SUPPORT APARTHEID AND GENOCIDE. WE WANT TO STAND UP FOR WHAT'S RIGHT. WE'VE SEEN THE ONGOING GENOCIDE LIVE IN PALESTINE, AND IT'S ABSOLUTELY HEARTBREAKING. ISRAEL HAS DISPLACED OVER 2 MILLION PALESTINIANS IN, IN EZA AND DESTROYED OVER 360,000 HOMES. SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THIS MONTH. APPROXIMATELY 40,000 PALESTINIANS HAVE BEEN MURDERED BY ISRAEL, AND THIS NUMBER INCLUDES MORE THAN 14,600 CHILDREN AND MORE THAN 8,000, UH, AND MORE THAN, UM, 8,000, UH, 800 UM FAMILIES. 90% OF GAZA'S POPULATION IS FACING ACUTE FOOD INSECURITY IN JUST ABOUT ALL HOUSEHOLDS ARE SKIPPING MEALS EVERY DAY. WE DON'T NEED TO BE DIRECTLY SUPPORTING THESE TRAGIC MURDERS AND THIS GENOCIDE BY FUNDING ISRAEL WITH $40 MILLION BY DIVESTING FROM ISRAELI PRODUCTS AND INVESTMENTS. WE'RE SENDING A MESSAGE THAT WE DON'T SUPPORT THE VIOLENCE AND AGGRESSION THAT'S HAPPENING. FURTHERMORE, IT'S ABOUT BEING RESPONSIBLE WITH OUR MONEY. WE SHOULDN'T BE INVESTING IN COMPANIES THAT PROFIT FROM HUMAN RIGHT FROM HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS. IT GOES AGAINST OUR VALUES AS A COMMUNITY. THERE'S ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ANTI-SEMITIC ABOUT NOT SUPPORTING APARTHEID AND GENOCIDE. AS SOME PEOPLE TODAY HAVE COMMENTED, IT IS SIMPLY STANDING UP FOR HUMANITY AND JUSTICE. SO I REALLY HOPE, UM, THE CITY WILL DO THE RIGHT THING. LET'S DIVEST FROM PRODUCTS AND INVESTMENTS THAT ACTIVELY SUPPORT GENOCIDE AND SHOW THAT RANCHO CUCAMONGA STANDS ON THE RIGHT SIDE ON THE SIDE OF JUSTICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS. THANK YOU FOR GRANTING ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK. THANK YOU. MY LAST CARD HERE JUST SAYS SOMETHING ABOUT DIVESTMENT FROM ISRAEL, BUT THERE'S NO NAME ON IT. SO MY NAME SIR, I BELIEVE, DID YOU SPEAK EARLIER, SIR? I DID, YEAH. I CAN'T ALLOW YOU TO SPEAK AGAIN. I'M SORRY. JUST A COUNCIL POLICY. OKAY. BUT THANK YOU. UH, FAHEMA KHAN. FATIM. FATMA KHAN. GOOD EVENING, HONORABLE COUNCIL MEMBERS. UH, MY NAME IS FATIMA AND I HAVE LIVED IN THIS COMMUNITY FOR ALMOST 10 YEARS NOW. I'VE COME HERE TODAY TO URGE YOU TO VOTE IN FAVOR OF THE DIVESTMENT RESOLUTION. I AM URGING YOU TO STOP PUTTING THE TAX DOLLARS OF HARD WORKING RESIDENTS OF THE CITY, MANY OF WHOM ARE PALESTINIAN, AND INTO FIGHTING INTO FUNDING COMPANIES AND BUSINESSES THAT ARE SUPPORTING THE CRIMES THAT ISRAEL IS CURRENTLY COMMITTING AGAINST THE PEOPLE OF PALESTINE. ISRAEL [01:15:01] HAS NOW MURDERED OVER 30,000 INNOCENT PALESTINIAN CIVILIANS, HALF OF WHOM ARE CHILDREN. YOU MAY HAVE READ THE STORY OF HAMARA, WHO IS SIX YEARS OLD, WHO WAS SHOT BY THE IDF ALONG WITH MANY MEMBERS OF HER FAMILY. THESE ARE THE KINDS OF ATROCITIES THAT ISRAEL IS COMMITTING EVERY SINGLE DAY AGAINST THE PEOPLE OF PALESTINE. AND OUR CITY IS FUNDING COMPANIES THAT ARE SUPPORTING THIS GENOCIDE. MILLIONS OF OUR DOLLARS ARE CURRENTLY GOING TOWARDS KILLING INNOCENT PALESTINIAN CIVILIANS, AND IT NEEDS TO STOP IMMEDIATELY. MANY OF THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE COME HERE TODAY HAVE CLAIMED THAT SUPPORTING A DIVESTMENT A DIVESTMENT RESOLUTION IS ANTI-SEMITIC. BUT I ASSURE YOU NONE OF THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE COME HERE TODAY HAVE ANY ANTI-SEMITIC FEELINGS IN THEIR HEART WHATSOEVER. ALL WE WANT IS AN END TO THIS GENOCIDE, AN END TO THE KILLING OF INNOCENT PALESTINIAN PEOPLE. WE DO NOT WANT OUR MONEY GOING INTO SUPPORTING THIS GENOCIDE ANY LONGER. ISRAEL IS USING ILLEGAL METHODS SUCH AS WHITE PHOSPHORUS TO KILL PALESTINIANS. THEY ONE IN SIX CHILDREN IN GAZA ARE CURRENTLY FACING SEVERE MALNUTRITION. FAMILIES ARE BEING TORN APART DAILY, AND YET OUR OUR CITY CONTINUES TO SUPPORT THESE COMPANIES THAT ARE FUNDING THIS GENOCIDE AND IT NEEDS TO END IMMEDIATELY. THANK YOU. OKAY. THAT CONCLUDES OKAY. THIS COULD BE OUR LAST SPEAKER. YOU CAN COME RIGHT UP HERE, MA'AM. GENEVIA? YEP. HI. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME AND GIVING ADDITIONAL TIME TO EVERYONE ON SUCH HOT TOPIC. UM, I, I AM SPEAKING IN A POSITION TO THE CEASEFIRE RESOLUTION OF BDS RESOLUTION. UM, I UNDERSTAND THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE HERE COME FROM THE REGION, UM, AND HAVE TIES AND A LOT OF PAIN, AND IT'S VERY UNDERSTANDABLE. THIS CONFLICT IS VERY DIFFICULT AND PERSONAL. UM, IT IS PERSONAL ON BOTH SIDES. THIS MATTER IS, UM, NOT THIS MATTER IS HARD TO DECIDE OR IMPOSSIBLE TO DECIDE LOCALLY. I WOULD URGE COUNCIL NOT TO GO AND TRY TO ADOPT, UM, MEDIA'S RESOLUTIONS, UM, BY ANY MEANS EITHER. THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF THIS IS TO BRING DOWN STATE OF ISRAEL ECONOMICALLY, WHICH IS NOT GONNA BENEFIT ALL LIVES OF THE STATE ISRAEL, WHICH ARE MUSLIM COUNTRIES IN THE REGION, UM, THAT CAN SUPPORT AND DO SUPPORT PALESTINIANS AS WELL. SO IT WOULD HURT ARAB MUSLIMS IN THE REGION, IN THE STATE OF ISRAEL AND OTHER MUSLIMS IN THE REGION AS WELL, AND WOULD NOT SERVE CITY OF THE RANCH OF CUCAMONGA EITHER. UM, ISRAEL PRODUCED AND IT'S BEHIND A LOT OF INVENTIONS. IF YOU START WITH DIVESTMENT, YOU SHOULD STOP USING YOUR COMPUTERS WITH INTEL CHIPS, YOUR APPLE IPHONES, THROW THEM AWAY, YOUR SAMSUNG IPHONES WITH INTEL CHIPS, THROW THEM AWAY AS WELL. UM, CHERRY TOMATOES THAT YOU BUY IN THE STORES, PLEASE STOP USING THEM. THE TECHNOLOGY WAS STARTED IN ISRAEL, SO PLEASE DON'T GO THAT WAY. ISRAEL IS BEHIND A LOT OF INVENTIONS. LET'S NOT MEDDLE INTO THIS. LET'S KEEP OUR CITIES LOCAL. OUR CITY COUNCILS PUT A LOT OF, UM, EFFORT INTO MAKING OUR CITIES GOOD FOR OUR CITIZENS AND ALLOWING REFUGEES FROM DIFFERENT COUNTRIES, FORMER SOVIET UNION, IRAN, UM, GAZA, WEST BANK TO PEACEFULLY COEXIST. UM, SO LET'S KEEP IT THIS WAY. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION AND CONSIDERATION. THANK YOU. OKAY, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE WANT TO THANK YOU FOR COMING HERE TONIGHT, SHARING YOUR OPINIONS WITH US. UM, WE TAKE YOUR COMMENTS SERIOUSLY AND, UH, WE HAVE DECISIONS THAT WE HAVE TO MAKE OF COURSE. AND, UM, WE WILL BE CONTINUING TO DEAL WITH THIS ISSUE. SO AT THIS POINT, WE ARE NOW [ADJOURNMENT] ADJOURNED. THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING THIS EVENING. I APPRECIATE YOUR ATTENDANCE. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.