“Stop sending military arms to Israel! Stop the genocide in our name!” exclaimed Joan Simon, the coordinator of the San Jose Peace and Justice Center, as she spoke before a crowd on Oct. 6 in front of City Hall. Simon and other South Bay community members have been fighting for over a year for a ceasefire in Gaza and a divestment of city resources from Israel.
The City of San Jose has yet to issue a ceasefire resolution, however, with council members only mustering the courage to sign a letter concerning the war.
According to CeasefireDemocrats, a total of 158 cities, 23 counties, and 45 local and state parties have passed a ceasefire resolution. Why has San Jose failed to pass one?
In December 2023, some 200 activists showed up to the council meeting demanding a ceasefire resolution. Denying the resolution, Mayor Matt Mahan cited City Resolution 0-11, which states that the City of San Jose cannot take a position on foreign policy.
The only exception is that the City can take a position if the matter at hand directly affects the citizens of San Jose. The rule states that the city council can then write a letter, which “does not take official positions on such matters.”
Based on past behavior, though, citing City Resolution 0-11 doesn’t stand up as an excuse for not supporting a ceasefire in Gaza.
That’s because San Jose City Council has routinely ignored Resolution 0-11 since its passage in 1979. One example is San Jose’s sister-city relationship with Tainan City, Taiwan.
The Shanghai Communiqué of 1972 between the United States and the People’s Republic of China states the U.S. government will acknowledge only one China, with Beijing as its capital. San Jose’s relationship with Tainan, which was renewed in 1991, is arguably a direct violation of that agreement. Forging a city-to-city diplomatic relationship with an entity in Taiwan indicates a clear position on foreign matters and could be seen as undermining U.S. foreign policy.
San Jose has continued this relationship with Tainan City, receiving a $25,000 gift at one point and sending former Mayor Sam Liccardo and former council member Johnny Khamis on two official visits.
Any visit to Taiwan or business dealings with its cities, it can be argued, constitute an outright violation of the Shanghai Communiqué. In this case, city leaders don’t seem to have a problem taking a position on foreign matters, even if it risks alienating China.
In 1985, the City officially divested from apartheid South Africa, blatantly contradicting Resolution 0-11 – and for a very good reason. San Jose residents, unions, and community leaders had built a movement demanding divestment from apartheid South Africa; city officials listened to their constituents and acted accordingly.
The City was also willing to comment on foreign matters when it banned the flying of the official flag of Vietnam in 2018 and decided to honor Ukraine in 2022. While these events happened under Mayor Matt Mahan, several present-day city council members were in office at that time.
The people of San Jose have taken a clear position. Several unions, like SEIU, CFA, the IFPTE, CWA, and others have declared support for a ceasefire. They cite that their own members are personally affected by the violence. They want to reunite families. They want to restore basic rights. They condemn hostility and displacement.
An April 2024 citizens’ petition called for a ceasefire, explaining how the city could benefit from the re-allocation of funds to address housing, infrastructure, and education if the U.S. government did not send public tax dollars to support and enable genocide.
With the new city leadership, residents need to make it clear San Jose is a city that stands for peace and justice, not one that watches human horrors in silence.
As with all op-eds published by People’s World, this article reflects the views of its author.
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