On Tuesday, the Brentwood City Council unanimously agreed to move forward with a proclamation to support peace and condemn Islamophobia.
At its November 14 meeting, Mayor Joel Bryant and councilmember Pa’tanisha Pierson each made formal requests for a proclamations. Meanwhile, councilmember Jovita Mendoza has since withdrawn her request for a ceasefire proclamation.
Council Discussion Tuesday Night
After nearly an hour of public comments, the council shared their reasons behind the proclamation while citing they received many template emails and letters—and they wanted to hear from Brentwood residents, not outsiders. The council also called out the tone and demands within the letters.
Mayor Joel Bryant highlighted there had been a lot of assumptions made by speakers tonight but was still recommending the original recommendation noting he has been to Gaza and knows what its like to pick up bodies.
“What amazes me is that there has not been a single call for the destruction and disbanding of Hezbollah or Hamas. There was a ceasefire last week, Hamas sent hundreds of rockets into Israel to end the ceasefire,” stated Bryant. “I have put my life on the line to protect humans of every ethnicity around the world, I’ve taken an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States and every member of Brentwood I will protect and defend.”
Bryant took offense to one of the callers who defended the actions of Hamas on October 7, stating he is actively working on a commission to release hostages—some were released noting he has spoken to families who are victims of Hamas who disemboweled family members.
“I’ve seen the video captured from Hamas phones of what was going on,” stated Bryant. “I do not believe that any ethnicity, any culture, can be or should be covered in a blanket description or definition of what an extremist is in any society, culture or any nation. But while we had a ceasefire, there hasn’t been a single call, I’ve listened to the meetings around the country and around the Bay Area, no one is calling for steps to taken against Hamas.”
Bryant, who was interrupted by members in the audience, continued stating he is someone who doesn’t know what was going on, but rather he has been there and was astonished that no one was speaking out against Hamas.
Hecklers in the audience continued to interrupt Bryant, who then called for a 5-minute recess.
Upon returning from the recess, Councilmember Pa’tanisha Pierson shared some of the emails she received were “quite frightening and demanding” noting some of them stated “we will not accept less than” or “this is what has to happen” and stated that is not how government works but was happy to listen to all the constituents.
“I am comfortable to make a proclamation that supports peace in the middle east and condemn Islamophobia,” stated Pierson. “There were comments that were mentioned that we intentionally or unintentionally left out antisemitism, no, antisemitism we have made proclamation and at that time there were no statements where we needed to add anti-Islamophobia. So here, I specifically wanted to spend time on Islamophobia specifically as its own separate issue.”
Pierson further explained the council already stands strong against antisemitism and stands strong against Islamophobia.
“What I am proposing is peace in the middle east and a proclamation for anti-Islamophobia The proclamation for ceasefire has been withdrawn by another councilmember,” stated Pierson.
Vice Mayor Susannah Meyer shared she believed there was nothing they could say to please everyone and they were getting inundated by people wanting to speak their voice.
“In the end, we want all our residents in Brentwood to feel safe, respected and heard,” said Meyer. “I am in support of what the mayor and Pierson are recommending… I would stand against terrorism, I would stand against Hamas, I would stand against genocide of anyone. Those are all horrible things. The ceasefire for me, say what you will, those are the ones that are most controversial. My opinion right now, I would love to stand for peace, I would love to stand for you feeling safe and heard and care for in your own community. I would stand next to any of you if you feel unsafe walking down the street. What I wont do, is vote to support something that other people have told me is very hurtful to them.”
Meyer further shared that taxpayer dollars in Brentwood are not going toward what is going on overseas and its not how the funding works.
“We did receive emails that were very demanding. We received a lot of template emails. I definitely prefer hearing from people from Brentwood and hearing from people why they feel a certain way rather than using a template,” said Meyer noting when they hear someone’s story it has more impact versus a “very aggressively demand” that is a template.
Councilmember Tony Oerlemans shared he supported the proclamations and wished he could have the power to create world peace.
“I will not vote for a ceasefire for how it will make other people feel. I will 100% support the proclamation before us,” said Oerlemans who added they wanted to make Brentwood residents feel safe. “This is not a Brentwood government issue, this is a federal government issue. Please bring it up to the Federal Government.”
Councilmember Jovita Mendoza believed they had to think about the City of Brentwood and wanted peace in the town, peace in the middle east, and no wars anywhere.
“I don’t want anyone hurt anyone of the Muslim religion in Brentwood. That is not acceptable to me, any religion. We stood by our Jewish neighbors, I stand by you,” stated Mendoza. “What we can do is tell people that in Brentwood we accept each other, and we stand by each other.”
Prior to the vote, Mayor Bryant offered additional commentary stating he loved everyone but was frustrated by some of the commentary.
“A call for a ceasefire, if it worked, if a ceasefire would work and cause peace, we would have had it,” stated Bryant. “There has been many ceasefires, some lasted longer than others but they don’t last. Until we can remove those full of hate that don’t care about their own people, they don’t care about other people. They want what they want and only what they want, if there was something we could do about that I would be happy to do it. I would be happy to go there again and try and make it happen. But in the City of Brentwood, we have many families, many ideas, many cultures, its what makes our community wonderful and we want peace here and will have peace here, but I cannot move forward with wording for anyone that is going to make someone afraid to go outside, to school, afraid to walk in their neighborhood. I am happy to support the wording that we have. But I cannot support the wording for a ceasefire.”
The council then voted 5-0 on the proclamation for peace in the middle east and the condemnation of islamophobia.
Related Story:
- Dec 12 – CAIR-SFBA Urges Bay Area Residents to Advocate for Ceasefire Resolution
- Nov 14 – Brentwood to Work on Resolution Calling for a Ceasefire and Peace
- Oct 25 – Richmond City Council Passes Resolution to Support Palestinians in Gaza
38 comments
Bunch of Virtue-signaling Clowns. This council is fast encroaching on the title of worst city council ever. Right behind Carpentersville, Illinois, the wife-beater capital of the world
Well… as I understand it, at least they prudently did NOT include a request for a ceasefire. And I applaud the comments made by Mayor Joel Bryant.
I hope that it is indeed true that “…the council already stands strong against antisemitism…”. Was that sentiment expressed in some prior council Proclamation?
Yes calling for the end of a genocide funded and supplied by our government would be so imprudent. Anti-semitism was spoken about in previous meetings and requested to be included in this resolution.
As someone from the community who was pushing for a ceasefire I must say this is a laughable proclamation at best and we need to do more. We must do more. There is an on going genocide and a call for peace without calling for a permanent ceasefire is just a call to let the genocide continue. The eradication of a freedom fighter force is not justifiable cause for a genocide on an ethnic group. We said never forget, we have forgotten. From the river to the sea Palestine will be free.
That “freedom fighter force” is a terrorist organization. “From the river to the sea” translates to “destroy Israel.” Some peace lover you are.
There was peace before Israel came along in 1948 and kicked out people from their homes and massacred them. Palestinians have a right to freedom on their own land.
Jews have been living in the Middle East with Arabs for thousands of years since Biblical times. Nice try with the Trotsky like 1948 answer.
Exactly, they were living in peace in Palestine prior to Israel’s establishment in 1948. . satis dictum.
Nelson Mandela was also deemed a terrorist when it was convenient for the world leaders to suppress his fight against apartheid. The IDF has committed far far more atrocities in the past two months than Hamas in their entire history. We’re calling for an end to that being financed by our tax dollars and government support. Opposing this is actually opposing peace, so if you love peace so much you should study it a bit deeper.
Comparing Mandela to Hamas is absurd. Satis dictum.
Your opinion, but weird because he himself said in 1997 “We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians”
Do you know that the saying from the river to the sea Palestine will be free is a Hamas declaration to end the existence of Israel and exterminate the Jews?
Tell that the the Jewish Rabbi’s and community who chant it as well: https://youtube.com/shorts/HH0Lr2nM2qY?si=YtLhVXks2rQEdCip
This chant means Palestine will be free from the Zionist, apartheid Israeli occupation, not free from Jews. Muslims, Christians, and Jews have lived for hundreds of years in peace in Palestine and surrounding countries in the region. Conflicts only started with the declaration of the state of Israel that forcefully displaced 750,000 Palestinians out of their homes, committed massacres like Der Yassin, Tantura, and others, followed by occupying parts of surrounding countries including Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon.
Jovita is a Fing idiot!
All this time foolishly wasted and divisiveness unnecessarily stirred up when they could be devoting it to actual legitimate city business…
Strange how calling for end to genocide is divisive these days and seen as a waste of time. Sad world.
Nice of you to cherry pick what you considered “genocide” when Hamas slaughtered 1,500 Israeli civilians. You’re willful naivete is deafening.
Your (not you’re) willful ignorance of what is currently happening is the only deaf and naive behavior here, you’re the one obsessed with cherry picking Oct 7 and ignoring the following 70 days of onslaught, but I imagine you can’t help it when you are used to listening only to mainstream media and their narrative. Escaping brainwashing is hard but worth a try. First your numbers are wrong, it was never 1500 it started at 1200 but keeps decreasing (now to barely 700 with overwhelming evidence the civilian deaths were perpetrated by IDF itself-this from Israeli sources, go read into it). Is Hamas carpet bombing right now and committing a genocide or are they defending their own country from IDF invaders? Is collective punishment of babies (average age of strike victim to die is 5) your idea of justice or is it actually a genocide?. Israel is targeting schools, hospitals, residential areas, and refugee camps with full knowledge that they will kill only civilians. We’re close to 20,000 now, double that with debilitating injuries, loss of limbs, and burns. Supplies such as medicine, food, electricity, and water cut off by Israel (a war crime). Why is this so hard to see. Hamas or no Hamas, what Israel is doing IS a genocide, ethnic cleansing, and THEIR ultimate goal is complete takeover even beyond Palestinian borders (from their own mouths). Ceasefire would bring home remaining hostages, who are being protected by Hamas from Israeli bombings and all of whom released testified to good treatment, unlike thousands of child and minor hostages held captive by Israel. Let’s not even get into the thousands who have been killed, tortured, and displaced by Israel for the last 75 years. You naively act as if Oct 7 happened in a bubble rather than after years of oppression and takeover of their own land. Google Nakba.
As one Palestinian quoted: “ We aren’t dying because Hamas attacks Israel. We are dying because we are under occupation. Hamas exists because we are under occupation, but even if Hamas didn’t exist, we would still be getting killed, and we are getting killed all year around but you only hear about it when Hamas attacks. The occupation is 73 years old, Hamas is 33 years old. Long before Hamas came into being we were OCCUPIED by a SETTLER COLONY whose existence is build on our extermination. That’s a fact the American administration keeps ignoring on purpose. ”I’m afraid I’m just going to have to stop beating a dead horse, someone who wants civilians to continue to be killed by Israel rather than simply calling for peace is not really worth debating with. How do you debate bombing kids in Gaza? I don’t think debate is the answer. I think it’s no longer tolerating insanity. Build alternatives and disassociate. Talking with brainwashed genocidal people only strengthens their delusions. Carry on if you like and face your Lord with your anti-peace, pro-child killing stance that you insist on.
The mothers digging their children from the rubble who have asked us to speak out on their behalf, as well as this Orthodox Priest from Jerusalem don’t seem to think it is time foolishly wasted. I’m sure if it were your children being dismembered and burned with white phosphorous you would appreciate any voice that would be brave enough and take from their “precious time” to speak up for you.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cy1KPMBIEld/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Unfortunately civilian lives become expendable to sub humans like Hamas. Look up the Dresden firebombing in WW2 if you want to see how fanatics disregard their civilian population.
Dresden=straw man, irrelevant. Hamas is not killing their civilians, IDF is, and their attacks are targeted and fully aware of who they will be hitting. IDF itself uses Hannibal Directive to allow killing of their own. They just killed 3 of their own hostages who were holding white flags. So who is subhuman? Much of the Oct 7 propaganda has been debunked or shown that it was IDF hitting their own. The damage to cars at the festival wouldn’t even be possible with Hamas weapons. One of the IDF even admitted to targeting an Israeli house knowingly. This comes from Israeli media themselves. By and large, Hamas targets the IDF and military outposts and personnel, unlike the IDF who has been carpet bombing civilians for 70 days now, but yes please Hamas Hamas Hamas. Please do yourself a favor and read news outside of the mainstream media.
I’m sure a little city like Brentwood or any other American city council is going to have little effect in influencing international affairs by issuing proclamations. I agree with others… it’s wasted time, they need to focus on what they were elected to do, and that is address the issues of their own city.
All these virtue-signalling, these feel good proclamations are only good for council members using them for campaign fodder accomplishment statements to say “I supported x by voting yes” or ” I voted for x” (aren’t I wonderful, vote for me).
The mothers digging their children from the rubble who have asked us to speak out on their behalf, as well as this Orthodox Priest from Jerusalem don’t seem to think it is time foolishly wasted. I’m sure if it were your children being dismembered and burned with white phosphorous you would appreciate any voice that would be brave enough and take from their “precious time” to speak up for you. You can make accusations of virtue signaling all you want but at least some people stand for what is actually virtuous even when it is “inconvenient” according to others.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cy1KPMBIEld/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Our city council was voted to run our city, not comment on world affairs. They just mentioned Islamophobia, but left out anti-Semitism. I’m tired of officials being pushed by the fringe to do things like this they do not speak for all Of Brentwood and this should not even have been brought up. We will work to out these people next election. It was disgusting to hear last month speakers say from the river to the sea Palestine will be free. This is a Hamas chant for the elimination of Jews and Israel. Young people these days know nothing about what is going on and live in their own little world. Most of them think the attack in October did not happen. It’s just really sad. It has no place in Brentwood politics.
What you call a fringe is actually hundreds of concerned citizens from all faith backgrounds, including Jewish and Christian, which if you view the meeting you would see for yourself.
And actually it is the youth who are hearing and seeing from people on the ground in Palestine via social media as opposed to being brainwashed and spoonfed propaganda by the mainstream media. They are the ones out educating themselves about what is going in rather than falling for the false narratives that have fooled so many in the past. And you keep repeating this line about the phrase “from the river to the sea” as if this makes it true. I’m afraid you don’t truly understand the phrase and are sorely in need of investigating this matter further.
First, I am shocked that the article is only reporting what City Council Members said, with no mention of public hearing comments (as a summary with representative quotes) from local Brentwood community members from all faiths and ethnic backgrounds who overwhelmingly called for a ceasefire. The City Council Members were blatantly dismissive of everything they heard during public hearing and the tons of email communications from local Brentwood community residents, and this article is equally dismissive of the public opinion.
The Council Members keep hammering on irrelevant issues like template emails and demanding language. Well, it is our right to demand respectfully and firmly what we want to see in a resolution, and they are in these positions to serve our local community and represent our voices. They are “supposedly” mature professional politicians and not kindergartners to take offense by a demanding language. There were multiple personalized non-template emails that they received, and as I told Mayor last night, he didn’t even respond to any of our emails – which is a continuation of his dismissive nature to the public opinion and only going with his agenda. Then they claim other local people have opposing opinions to ceasefire – where are these people and why they did not show up in the local public hearing?
It is all nonsense, the short story is that we have a Mayor whose strong ties and former trainings in Israel are well-known. It is amazing how he went on an entirely unprofessional rant with irrelevant IDF narratives and non-evidenced lies with a couple of crocodile tears, reprimanding the public for what we had to say in his opinion, and forgot that he is on this Chair to represent the public not his own whims and wishes based on his Zionist bias and inclinations. And of course, equal disrespect to each City Council Member who just followed through the Mayor and turned a blind eye to what the public has asked for, that is ceasefire – as anyone with basic humanity and half a brain would recognize that killing more innocent children, women and civilians will only create more hate and revenge for years to come, similar to what the brutal occupying state of Israel has been creating for over seven decades by killing tens of thousands of civilians, mass displacing Palestinians and expanding illegal Israeli settlements that resulted in 4.5 million Palestinian refugees according to the UN, attacking healthcare facilities, schools and places of Muslim and Christian worship, and creating an apartheid regime that controls basic needs of food, water, and medicine for the people of Gaza and Palestinians at large.
Peace to all our Muslim, Christian and Jewish neighbors in the community. We are NOT against Jews in any shape or form, in fact major support for this cause comes from our Jewish fellows. We are against the unjust, apartheid, genocidal occupying state of Israel and their genocidal atrocities. We wish that Palestine returns to one country where we live altogether in peace, exactly like how we used to live in peace as Muslims, Christians and Jews for centuries before the the inception of the Zionist state of Israel in 1948.
I rarely include public comments in my recaps and its been that way for a decade. Anyone is welcome to submit a letter to the editor at [email protected]
You can “demand” local government resolutions all you want but there is no “right” to have city councils pass them just because you wish it so. How clueless can one be to actually think that a “resolution” or “proclamation” is going to change the reality in the Middle East? It only generates more counterproductive conflict. If you think the U.S. government has a role to play there, you need to communicate with the White House and Congress – not city councils.
I hope you know that a City attorney is part of these City Council Meetings, if these types of proclamations are not part of our “right” he’d have noted that and said it is against our procedures and bylaws – and indeed City attorney never noted that. This, along with the fact that similar proclamations and resolutions are being released at many City Councils, tells you that it is in compliance with the scope of City Councils and indeed part of our “rights” as city residents.
If you are doubting the influence of such proclamations/resolutions, this is debatable. In addition to communicating with our representatives, of course it is more powerful to utilize our “right” to express our opinion at every possible avenue that represents us, including the City Council, and call for proclamations/resolutions to declare our stand on these issues that directly and indirectly impact us as citizens and city residents in the short- and long-term. When a growing number of cities issue these proclamations it becomes more visible at the state level. Subsequently, when a state then more states take a stand, it represents another level of promoting people’s voice to the federal level.
Fred, I think you misinterpret my “right” statement. I merely point out that one’s desire to have the city council pass a proclamation/resolution does not create a legal “right” to the individual that mandates the council to do so. It is not a ballot measure.
It was disgusting to hear all the young people at the city council meeting saying from the river to the sea Palestine will be free. This is a hamas chant calling for the elimination of Israel and extermination of Jews. Get a clue
The chant you are alluding to means Palestine will be free from the Zionist, apartheid Israeli occupation, not free from Jews. Muslims, Christians, and Jews have lived for hundreds of years in peace in Palestine and surrounding countries in the region. Conflicts only started with the declaration of the state of Israel that forcefully displaced 750,000 Palestinians out of their homes, committed massacres like Der Yassin, Tantura, and others, followed by occupying parts of surrounding countries including Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon.
What you call a fringe is actually hundreds of concerned citizens from all faith backgrounds, including Jewish and Christian, which if you view the meeting you would see for yourself.
And actually it is the youth who are hearing and seeing from people on the ground in Palestine via social media as opposed to being brainwashed and spoonfed propaganda by the mainstream media. They are the ones out educating themselves about what is going in rather than falling for the false narratives that have fooled so many in the past. And you keep repeating this line about the phrase “from the river to the sea” as if this makes it true. I’m afraid you don’t truly understand the phrase and are sorely in need of investigating this matter further.
We live in a place where you allegedly have freedom of speech and proudly celebrate our own freedoms but saying “Palestine will be free from the river to the see” is (falsely) seen as a genocidal threat, but carpet bombing an entire society, murdering them at a rate of 10,000 per month, & starving their children is celebrated & rewarded w/$billions in weapons? Much of the information about Oct 7 has been debunked as lies and or as killings by “friendly fire” by the IDF themselves, and NONE of it gives Israel a free pass to commit genocide against the indigenous people of Palestine. The Hamas charter itself (freely available online) indicates no issue with Jews themselves, only with a brutal takeover of Palestinian peoples’ lands, displacement, and an apartheid system. Jews, Christians, and Muslims lived in peace for centuries before the creation of Israel. You need to educate yourself on this subject. Your interpretation of this phrase is so far off and your obsession with this phrase in the midst of an actual genocide is laughable.
I guess the morons in Brentwood learned nothing from the morons in Antioch.
I thought we were a democracy and government leaders were to work for the will of their people? So no, our so-called “leaders” should not ignore what the majority has to say in favor of their own biased opinions or for whatever political clout they may gain from it.
What exactly is so controversial, divisive and conflicting about presenting a unified voice at the city level, then state level, then federal level, as is our RIGHT, to call for our government to stop financing and providing military aid and support for a genocide which thus far has killed 1% of the population of Palestine-including thousands of women and children? This makes me wonder about what is left of humanity. It’s a strange world where people would be against using our collective voices to speak against genocide. I guess it’s better just to stay silent and watch people be massacred day in day out and not try to do anything about it, because we are just a sham democracy where the people have no say anyway.
Dresden=straw man, irrelevant. Hamas is not killing their civilians, IDF is, and their attacks are targeted and fully aware of who they will be hitting. IDF itself uses Hannibal Directive to allow killing of their own. They just killed 3 of their own hostages who were holding white flags. So who is subhuman? Much of the Oct 7 propaganda has been debunked or shown that it was IDF hitting their own. The damage to cars at the festival wouldn’t even be possible with Hamas weapons. One of the IDF even admitted to targeting an Israeli house knowingly. This comes from Israeli media themselves. By and large, Hamas targets the IDF and military outposts and personnel, unlike the IDF who has been carpet bombing civilians for 70 days now, but yes please Hamas Hamas Hamas. Please do yourself a favor and read news outside of the mainstream media.
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