Bar mitzvah boy donates ambulance to Israel

In spite of heavy  pressure from the anti-Israel lobby, in August the Sacramento City Council voted unanimously  to designate Ashkelon as Sacramento's 10th sister city. Ashkelon sits about eight miles from Israel's border with Gaza.and has been the  target of rockets from the Gaza  for years.

In a gesture that truly defines the people to people nature of the sister city relationship, a 13 year old boy Robert Leeds, asked his bar mitzvah guests to donate money to buy an ambulance for Ashkelon, in lieu of gifts.

 The ambulance was presented at a  press conference  held today in Sacramento.  Watch it here

Instead of bar mitzvah gifts, boy buys ambulance | News - KCRA Home

"It's about Building Bridges." Ashkelon is Sacramento's newest Sister city

By unanimous decision of the City Council, Ashkelon in Southern Israel is now the newest Sister City of Sacramento, honoring a commitment they had made in 2009. Though hundreds filled the Council chambers, it was clear that the vast majority of the large and diverse crowd had gathered in support of Israel.






The few anti-Israel activists clutched goldenrod colored signs stating "No rights, no sisters". Many refused to stand during the opening pledge of allegiance. They listened to a presentation outlining plans to encourage trade with Sacramento by establishing a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese city of Chongqing and not a single one uttered a word of concern about China's egregious human rights record.

Some human rights activists.

One of Sacramento's finest- Bodie, a magnificent German Shepherd made an appearance at the hearing. Bodie was shot in the line of duty through his jaw and paw in May, and was honored by the council. He and his police companions also received a standing ovation- and once again, much of the anti-Israel crew sat it out.

Bodie and Chongqing were just the appetizers. The main course of the evening was a heaping platter of Israel bashing. Three activists identifying themselves as Jewish Voice for Peace members (Pssst. Didn't you get the memo, David? Ashkelon is well within the Green line) testified, as did local Palestinian activists. And again, as we've seen over and over, the testimony was heavy with name-calling and hyperbole, and oh so short on truth.

On the side of justice and light, State Senate pro Tem Darrell Steinberg reminded the Council that the purpose of the Sister city program was to "build bridges", stating "We expect people with different points of views to talk to one another. That's what the sister city movement is all about."





The anti-Israel team weren't quite able to spin this loss. They wrote:

"Despite our having met with almost every member of the Sacramento City Council and the outstanding presentations of 14 Palestinian-Americans, members of Jewish Voice for Peace and other Sacramento human rights activists, the Council voted On August 14, 2012 with the Israel lobby and approved Ashkelon as a discriminatory, human rights-violating sister city for Sacramento.

Those addressing the Council in favor of discriminatory Ashkelon included CA State Senator Darrell Steinberg, who is part of a group of California legislators that call themselves the California Capitol Knesset. Representatives of Stand with Us and Christians United for Israel also spoke in support of Ashkelon"

The "Israel lobby" included such diverse speakers as:

-State Senator Pro Tem Darryl Steinberg
-Ray Trethaway, former Sacto City Council Member
-Gail Rubin, area rep for StandWithUS, who presented a petition signed by approximately 3,500 signatories
-Pastor Dumisani Washington,
-Barry Broad, Sacto J, Fed. Board member and Sister city Chair
-Dan Gorfain, Israeli-U.S. citizen
-Alex Eng, from the Asian community
-David Siegel, physician and Davis resident
-Alan Edelstein, resident of Sacto and Jerusalem
-Randy Neal, CUFI West Coast Director
-Norm Gold, Sacto resident
-Tim Boyd, Sacto Resident

Ashkelon Mayor Benny Vaknin didn't know his city was a den of apartheid policies until the good people of Sacramento told him so.

From an article in the Jewish press by Lori Lowenthal Marcus

While the Israeli city of Ashkelon has been physically assaulted by rockets and bombs hurled by Israel’s haters in Gaza, haters abroad are doing their best to assault Ashkelon in other ways.

There is a battle now taking place to prevent the city of Sacramento, California, from becoming a sister-city to Ashkelon, Israel. The battle is being waged on the internet and phone lines, in the lead-up to a Sacramento City Council meeting on the topic which will take place on August 14.

Radical anti-Israel activists are distributing hate literature portraying Arabs who live in Ashkelon as second-class citizens “without the same rights, benefits or access to land as Jewish Israelis.”

Barry Broad was the chair of the Sacramento Jewish Community Relations Council in 2009 when Bethlehem became a sister City to Sacramento, in an initiative supported by the Jewish Community in hopes of creating broader outreach and multi-cultural understanding. When the Sacramento City council approved the Bethlehem initiative, they also made a commitment that they would establish a sister-city relationship with a town in Israel. The meeting on Tuesday August 14 will determine if the Sacramento intends on honoring this earlier commitment.

The article continues:

Broad says he isn’t trying to have a battle over the Arab-Israeli conflict, “they have enough of that over there.” The concept of establishing sister-cities is to “reach out to other people, to create people to people contact,” and Broad believes that will happen between people in Sacramento and the people in Ashkelon. He is far less hopeful that the pro-Palestinian activists want anything like that with the pro-Israel groups even within Sacramento.

“I was in the room when leaders of the Bethlehem Initiative, some of whom are also in the vanguard of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions groups, pledged in front of several City Council members that they would engage in dialogue and open communications with the Sacramento Jewish community,” recalled Broad. “They have refused.”

What can you do to help? Start by signing this petition
And please consider coming to the City Council meeting, Tuesday Aug 14, in Sacramento.

This is more than a local issue- this is about the continued demonization of Israel in the public sphere. Its incumbent upon all of us to fight back.

An Open letter to the Sacramento City Council

On August 14 the Sacramento City Council will consider a proposal to form a Sister City relationship with Ashkelon. The BDS cru has been going into overdrive to prevent this from happening. And people are fighting back.

From the Blog Random thoughts. An open Letter to the Sacramento City Council:

Dear Ashkelon City Council Members:
I am a proud citizen of both the U.S.and Israel. I grew up in Sacramento and love it, and I now reside part of the year in Sacramento and part in Jerusalem.

I understand that you are considering a Sister City relationship with the City of Sacramento, in the State of California, USA. I think that’s a great idea. However, I wanted to be sure that you know all about Sacramento’s history before you vote on the proposal.

The United States of America expanded into the West pursuant to a doctrine called “Manifest Destiny.” Manifest Destiny, which occurred in the 1800’s, involved the systematic destruction and dispersion of Native Americans and the settling of Europeans on their lands. In short, the Europeans occupied the lands of the Native Americans. These Native Americans were relegated to “reservations” and have been seeking fair remedies ever since.

Sacramento and its surrounding areas were home to several American Indian tribes who lived peacefully and in harmony with the land for centuries. In the mid-1800’s, when gold was discovered within miles of Sacramento, the area became the focus of intense settlement by Americans and European.

The Americans and Europeans settlers colonized the territory, setting up encampments and mining facilities with no regard whatsoever for the native populations. The Native Americans lost their land, their holy places, their grazing lands, and much of their culture.

As part of the Gold Rush, Asians were brought to California. Their labor was exploited and they were treated harshly. They had virtually no rights. When the famous Transcontinental Railroad was built, Chinese laborers were brought to California and were basically treated like slaves.

Among other areas, the Chinese workers worked on the right-of-way over Donner Pass. The elevation on the Pass is about 7,000 feet. They worked in the harshest winter conditions. They received inadequate shelter, little food, and were subject to terrible cold. Many were injured and died.

But for war, Sacramento would be part of Mexico today. The United States won a war against Mexico in the 1840’s. In the Treaty of Guadalupe, which Mexico was forced to sign after the war,California became part of the United States and was occupied by it.

During World War II, Japanese American citizens were treated like alien enemies. Despite the fact that they were loyal citizens and many of their sons bravely fought in the U.S. Army, they were rounded up and imprisoned in camps for the duration of the war.

The camps were in desolate parts of the American West, and the conditions were primitive. The internees were completely deprived of their rights as American citizens. There was a sizeable population of Japanese American citizens in the Sacramento area. They lost their homes, their businesses, and their farms.

Like Ashkelon, Sacramento today has a diverse population and a commitment to diversity, tolerance, and understanding. Occasionally, however, ethnic tensions come to the surface. Sacramento experiences occasional hate crimes. In fact, a number of years ago three synagogues in Sacramento were subject to arson attacks.

I am happy to report that, just like in Ashkelonand the rest of Israel, Sacramento’s community leaders act firmly against such bigotry.

You should know that Sacramento has Sister City relationships with cities in some countries with questionable behavior. For example, it has a relationship with a city in China, a country with a human rights record that has been condemned by many and that has occupied Tibet for over 50 years, with disastrous consequences for Tibetan freedom and culture.

I should point out the obvious: this is my version of the history of and the current situation in Sacramento. Others see the history of Sacramento,California, and the U.S.from different perspectives and with different emphases. There is always room for debate and discussion. As you well know, there is usually plenty of blame to go around in any dispute.

The bigger issue than arguing over the history is dealing with the present. The question when it comes to your decision whether or not to agree to a Sister City relationship with Sacramento is whether we should dwell on and become entangled in debates and bitterness over Sacramento’s past or whether we should reach out and try to embrace people today. The question is whether building relationships and understanding and friendships through a Sister City relationship is preferable to arguing over past grievances and alleged transgressions.

I can tell you that Sacramento today is full of warm, well-intentioned, decent people, much like the residents of Ashkelon. I am sure that Sacramento still makes mistakes. What community does not? But I can assure you that Sacramento is a beautiful city doing many positive things.

I think Ashkelon would gain much from being connected to the City of Sacramento and its people. Ashkelon would learn from Sacramento and Sacramento would learn from Ashkelon.

So, despite the fact that Sacramento’s past is not without its controversies, I strongly recommend that Ashkelon agree to a Sister City relationship with Sacramento. I think the people of both communities and the regions they are in will benefit greatly.


Sincerely,
Alan Edelstein

******************

Reminder: What you can do
Please email or call

Mayor Kevin Johnson
email c/o Council Operations Manager, Lisa Serna-Mayorga, serna@cityofsacramento.org

Council Members:
- Vice-Mayor Angelique Ashby, 916-808-7001, aashby@cityofsacramento.org
- Sandy Sheedy, 916-808-7002, ssheedy@cityofsacramento.org
- Steve Cohn, 916-808-7003, scohn@cityofsacramento.org
- Robert Fong, 916-808-7004, rkfong@cityofsacramento.org
- Jay Schenirer, 916-808-7005, jschenirer@cityofsacramento.org
- Kevin McCarty,916-808-7006, KMcCarty@cityofsacramento.org
- Darrell Fong, 916-808-7007, dfong@cityofsacramento.org
- Bonnie J. Pannell, 916-808-7008, bpannell@cityofsacramento.org

And if you are in Northern California, please consider showing up at the hearing on August 14th