Across the US, pro-Palestinian activism is gaining ground – Technologist

With a population of 7,500, the small town of Ojai, 100 kilometers north of Los Angeles, never expected to become the media epicenter of pro-Palestinian protests in California. But that was underestimating the determination of a small group of local activists, led by landscape gardener Cyrus Mayer, 29, a local resident for the past two years.

Dressed in a keffiyeh and draped in a cloth covered in red ink, the young man burst into the City Council chamber on February 13, where advisers were debating the untenable proliferation of short-term rentals. “Help!” he shouted. “Cease fire! Cease fire!” Then he collapsed to the ground and froze, as if struck by a fatal blow. Members of the group grabbed the microphone and read out the names of Palestinian children killed in Israeli bombardments. One woman user her phone to play recordings of the victims’ cries found social media. “Why doesn’t anybody care? Why won’t people help?” she shouted.

Since the fall of 2023, activists in Ojai have been coming to every City Council meeting to demand consideration of a resolution in support of the people of Gaza. “It’s the most realistic action we can take,” explained Mayer, interviewed by telephone. “Trying to put pressure on the local authorities to call for a ceasefire.” The activist is the son of an Ashkenazi Jewish mother and an Iranian father. Having seen “poverty and police brutality” in Oakland, California, where he grew up, the activist “became aware of injustices” from childhood, he said. The other members of the group – young and older people, Muslims and non-Muslims alike – were brought together by their sense of powerlessness in the face of an increasingly unbearable situation. “The images have a huge effect on popular support,” said Mayer.

In addition to the City Council, the group has targeted a luxury hotel that attracts Hollywood celebrities, Ojai Valley Inn, a 350-room, $750-a-night complex. The property is owned by the Chicago-based Crown family, one of America’s 400 wealthiest, according to Forbes. The Crowns are also one of the main shareholders in General Dynamics, a military equipment manufacturer that makes bombs used by Israel. Activists are holding rallies outside the Spanish colonial-style entrance. “City Hall claims that the conflict in Gaza is outside municipal jurisdiction and that we have no business getting involved. But Ojai collects taxes from a tourist complex whose owner makes a profit from the genocide of Palestinians,” argued Mayer.

The action “succeeded,” said the activist with satisfaction. Most importantly, he believes, was the publicity generated about a luxury hotel whose visitors were unaware of the owners’ links with Israel. On February 26, the question of the ceasefire was added to the agenda for the Council meeting. More than 60 residents took the floor – a midwife, a student, a retired UN official, a rabbi, etc. – reflecting the tension that has built up in the area and the divisions that have arisen in the Jewish community. After four hours of debate, the council adopted the call for a ceasefire by three votes to one. “To reduce suffering as much as possible,” explained Mayor Betsy Stix.

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