PREVIOUSLY

• End the War: Arcata City Council to Decide on Adopting a Resolution Condemning the Iran War

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The Arcata City Council passed a resolution last night condemning the ongoing war in Iran and demanding its end.

The resolution points out the high cost of the war (almost $1 billion daily), the likelihood of significant, deadly escalation, and the potential illegality of the attacks as reasons they oppose it. It asks that the U.S. end the attacks, stops supplying weapons to Israel, that Congress invokes the War Powers Act, and that normal diplomatic negotiations resume immediately with Iran.

Councilmember Sarah Schaefer suggested the idea, she said, with councilmember Meredith Matthews’ support. Neither of them was under any illusions about Arcata affecting the war’s course at all (Matthews said she wasn’t expecting to wake up tomorrow and see Arcata credited with ending the war), but they said it felt important to speak out. The council had been buffeted by requests from community members to put a resolution on the Iran war on the agenda, and to do so quickly. 

“Do I think this is going to end any war?” Schaefer asked. “No. I don’t believe that. This is largely, in my opinion, a performative action, but I think performative actions like this are important because it provides a temperature check for the public and for us on where we stand on these issues that are gravely important to people.”

“I also think that it is a local issue,” she continued. “As we’re seeing our government pulling away all our grant money for different projects, as people are losing health care and benefits are being taken away from people, we’re still spending billions and billions of dollars on what is not even now called our defense budget; it is our Department of War’s budget, and it is a war budget…Rising militarism is a key sign of a slide into fascism, and we are doing it constantly.”

Schaefer credited former Arcata mayor Dave Meserve with helping her with the resolution’s draft. In the early 2000s, Meserve attracted the attention of the national media by backing a city council resolution calling for the impeachment of President George W. Bush and an end to the war in Iraq. 

“War is always wrong, as far as I’m concerned,” Meserve said during the public comment period at last night’s meeting. “But when you have a totally unprovoked attack, with no real threat against the United States from Iran, and in total violation of the UN charter, of all international law, and of the U.S. Constitution because it was never considered by Congress — then there’s just no way this war can go on.”

Most of the dozen commenters were in favor of the resolution’s passage, though there were a few that called it “antisemitic.” 

“I do not support war,” local pro-Israel activist Tamar Krigel said. “I believe that conflict is not resolved through violence, but through agreement, dialogue, and peaceful solutions. But I will not accept a resolution that describes division and misinformation as a call for peace. The resolution is not a natural or thoughtful statement. It is a politically motivated document, driven by individuals who present themselves as advocates for peace, but whose actions consistently tell a different story.”

“I’ve heard a couple people say, already, ‘Oh, this war is funding Israel’s genocide,’” a Zoom commenter said. “This is just a foil for people to slander the Jews.”

The resolution passed unanimously.