Emeryville's Priest: City Council Majority is Wrong on Gaza War Issue

Gaza Ceasefire Refusal Puts Emeryville City Council "On the Wrong Side of History" Says Local Catholic Priest 

Reverend is "Shocked" at the City Council's Loss of Rectitude

The Reverend Aidan McAleenan
of St. Columba Catholic Church
"War leads to war and revenge to revenge. 
We must sit down, talk and listen. 
There is no other way.
We are called to love, that's why
we must call for a ceasefire in Gaza."

Emeryville's City Council majority, continuing on their steadfast refusal to resolve for a ceasefire in Gaza, threatens to condemn the City in the eyes of neighboring municipalities in the Bay Area as an unprincipled city, "on the wrong side of history" as the Reverend Aidan McAleenan of Saint Columba Catholic Church on Emeryville's Oakland border says.   In the six months since the Council majority led by then Mayor John Bauters voted to reject even to discuss the merits of a ceasefire resolution (4-1, Priforce dissenting), most of the nation (minus the Republican Party) has moved on, and now even the famously reluctant President of the United States is calling for a ceasefire.  Emeryville however, has dug in their heels on the issue.

The Israel-Hamas War has so far claimed the lives of more than 37,000 Palestinian people, mostly women and children, almost 1,500 citizens of Israel as well as 105 journalists and over 224 humanitarian aid workers, including 179 employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).  With no end in sight for the war and with each passing day, the calls for a ceasefire in the bloody conflict become less and less controversial.

The Saint Columba Church, located on San Pablo Avenue at 64th Street, one block from the Emeryville border, serves as Emeryville's Catholic church.  As the Reverend explains, "Our parish encompasses all of Emeryville and a little of Oakland & Berkeley.  So Emeryville is in our parish."  And that is likely an extra reason why he is pained to see the City Council's recalcitrance on the issue of a Gaza ceasefire.   "It shocks me to the high heaven that those who supposedly represent us all on the Emeryville City Council would vote against calling for a ceasefire [except Council member Kalimah Priforce], he told the Tattler. 

St Columba Church, noteworthy for its quest for "radical inclusivity" as Father Aiden puts it, is unafraid of practicing what is preached.  The church is identified with its yearly growing collection of wooden crosses alongside San Pablo Ave representing those killed by gunfire in Oakland, a large 'Racism is Sin' banner and now a banner calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.  Other churches in the Emeryville area have also loudly called for a ceasefire in Gaza, among them the Berkeley Methodist United Church on Carlton Street.  That church, led by Emeryville resident Pastor Pamela Kurtz had, until recently, a banner out front proclaiming "Love Demands Permanent Ceasefire Now' (since vandalized). 

Banner at the Berkeley Methodist Unified Church
A few blocks from Emeryville.

                  

The City Council moved to refuse even a discussion of a ceasefire resolution in December, a few months after they unanimously approved a resolution calling out Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, a fact not lost on Council member Priforce who invoked it when he made his Gaza resolution discussion presentation to his colleagues.  Noteworthy is that none of the other four Council members, including Mr Bauters will comment publicly why Ukraine is good for the City to opine on but not Gaza.  For the record, there is a large Ukrainian solidarity flag flying on the front of St Columba Church.  Council member Sukhdeep Kaur did ask Mr Priforce at the December 5th meeting how supporting a ceasefire could be seen as unifying for Emeryville citizens after calling it "polarizing".  Mr Priforce explained that by its nature, a resolution IS unifying but he added, "We can choose language that best reflects Emeryville".  That was not enough to sway Ms Kaur and she quickly voted NO along with Mayor Bauters and Council members Courtney Welch and David Mourra.

A moral counterweight to the overly circumspect Emeryville City Council majority, the Reverend McAleenan noted over 140 countries have called for a ceasefire in Gaza.  "Speaking as a northern Irish man who grew up in war and was a second class citizen as a Roman Catholic, I hurt with those who hurt and those who are 'othered'.  Ceasefire is the only way." he said.  Suggesting the City Council majority may be too timid, the Reverend added, "Criticizing Israel is not anti semitic.  We are called in our humanity to call out inhumanity everywhere.  Israel is not the Jewish faith.  All governments need to be held accountable, including our own."

Council member Priforce is an active parishioner at St Columba Church.  

Council member Bauters is running for the position of Alameda County District 5 Supervisor in November and will give up his Emeryville City Council seat no matter the election outcome.  

Mr Bauters and the other Council members against the ceasefire resolution discussion were asked but did not comment for this story.

Emeryville's St Columba Catholic Church
Located at 6401 San Pablo Avenue in Oakland.

Councilman Priforce's Gaza Ceasefire Resolution Idea Fails For Lack of a Second

 

Emeryville City Council Majority Says YES to Ukrainian Children but NO to Palestinian Children

After passing a City Council resolution in support of the people of Ukraine some months ago, Emeryville’s City Council majority said a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza in support of ending the mass killing of innocent civilians, was not something they would be willing to consider.  The vote (4-1 Priforce dissenting), came in the form of a refusal to even discuss the merits of the resolution that had been brought to the table by Council member Kalimah Priforce Tuesday night.  The action by John Bauters, who as mayor, led off the opposition by refusing to provide a second to Mr Priforce’s motion, was notable for being his last official act in his two year mayoralty. 

These dead children are not Ukrainian and so the 
Emeryville City Council majority cannot see them.

Council member Priforce’s idea of a ceasefire in Gaza is not a radical idea as it has been taken up by centrists and progressives all across America.  Since Israel’s attack on Gaza after October 7th, over 18,000 Palestinian civilians have perished by many estimates, including some 10,000 children.  The slaughter has brought millions of Americans, over 66%, to demand Israel stop the bombing and for both sides to recognize a ceasefire.   Indeed, most Americans outside of the Emeryville City Council majority can see the humanity of Palestinian children.  The words of current presidential hopeful Dr Cornel West, “A Palestinian baby has the same value as an Israeli baby” has been taken up by large majorities of Americans.  By their vote however, the Emeryville City Council (minus Mr Priforce), can only see the suffering of the Ukrainians at the hands of Russia.    

Hinting he may yet bring the idea back for a future vote before his Council colleagues, Mr Priforce put the resolution idea in moral terms, "To draft a resolution that acknowledges that a ceasefire would save the lives of children in Gaza and Israel reflects the character of our city and our strive towards inclusivity and equity. My proposal is simply that we join our regional neighbors in being pro-active rather than burying our heads in the sand - just as we did when we drafted a resolution over the war in Ukraine”, he said.

After Mr Bauters led his drive to kill the resolution in support of Palestinian children from lethal violence and perhaps as an unintentional counter factual, former Councilwomen and current Planning Commissioner Dianne Martinez approached the podium, calling John Bauters, “The best mayor in the United States of America”.