La Migra: Our Leaders United

October 13, 2023 BenIndy

By Sheri Leigh, October 13, 2023

I wanted to get a feel for where Benicia’s elected officials stood on the issue of the La Migra game. I met with Benicia Mayor Steve Young and Vice-Mayor Terry Scott together one afternoon in Mayor Young’s office at City Hall. I spoke to City Council member Kari Birdseye, whom you have already read about. Over the last few weeks, I interviewed three more Benicia officials (past and present) – Benicia Unified School District (BUSD) Board Trustee Amy Hirsh and former Benicia Council Member Lionel Largespada at Rrag’s Coffee Shop (at separate times), and BUSD Board Chair Sheri Zada, who graciously offered her home as our meeting point. If you know your politics, you know that the policies and principles of some of these individuals are more conservative, and some more liberal. Their platforms are sometimes polar opposites. However, it is clear to me that all of them care deeply about this community. All of them were pleased to share their perspective with me, and all of them were very concerned about the impacts of the La Migra game on our public safety, on our young people, and on the racist implications of the game. I was impressed! The question now is what can our community leaders do to help our young people make better decisions?

Benicia Mayor Steve Young remembers first hearing about the La Migra game about two and a half years ago, when there was a news report citing its controversial nature. Vice-Mayor Terry Scott had a more recent indoctrination, learning about the game when a town hall meeting was called in late spring of 2022, after a particularly brutal, La Migra game–related harassment event occurred involving a truck full of junior and senior high school students and two non-participating and unaware young people. Both the mayor (who was in office at the time) and the vice-mayor (who was not yet in office) were present at the town hall in question and both are greatly concerned about the impact of the game.

When I talked about the need for more opportunities for young people to have outlets for their energy and creativity, they agreed. Vice-Mayor Scott talked about a challenge his small childhood town faced years ago when teens were stealing family pumpkins from porches and smashing them before and during Halloween, and how the town responded by creating a seasonal pumpkin smashing game – intentionally adjusting the focus from seasonal vandalism to healthy competition.

Although the La Migra “game” targets individuals rather than pumpkins, in both situations teens are seeking adventure, and some become the perpetrators of harm as they do so. Can we find a similar solution for Benicia?

We talked about expanding community awareness and cultural celebration, particularly for the Latinos who make up a significant portion (~13%) of our population. They were open, and even enthusiastic, about the possibilities. Both agreed that there are very few City-sponsored cultural events, and those that we do have, such as Benicia Black Lives Matter’s Annual Juneteenth Festival and Benicia Performing Arts Foundation’s Diversity Festival, exist mostly due to the tireless efforts of organizations operating with volunteer support and community funding.

We could certainly do more.

At one point in the conversation, Mayor Young asked me pointedly, “If there was no racist component to this game, would you still be passionate about it?”

It only took me a moment to respond. Yes, the racial implications are offensive and particularly triggering to certain groups of people, but there is a lot more at stake. Among other issues, the game invokes hazing and bullying. Individual and public safety is at great risk. Mayor Young agreed.

Our discussion closed with ideas, opportunities, and commitments. Mayor Young and Vice-Mayor Scott intend to follow up with more public communication as the game’s date draws nearer, and be open to alternative cultural celebrations to proactively provide opportunities for appreciating, participating in, and understanding the traditions and values of our Mexican and Latin American friends, families, and fellow residents.

Both BUSD Board trustees Sheri Zada and Amy Hirsh were quite aligned in their opinions, even though I interviewed them separately. They believe the school district, although legally unable to take disciplinary action against students participating in the games, has a responsibility to introduce and educate students about racial sensitivity and cultural awareness. They agree that the families in this district should be made aware of the game through school channels and learn how it impacts our community.

They both strongly support the efforts of BUSD Superintendent Damon Wright to diminish the game’s power by working in tandem with the police and other City agencies, educating and empowering school staff, informing school district families of the game’s dangers (multiple times!), enlisting the aid of the students who understand the potential harm, and personally attempting to discourage students from participating.

When I suggested that the schools could possibly do more to educate the students about the challenges of modern day immigration and to offer more opportunities for young people to develop a sense of community and purpose, both Chair Zada and Trustee Hirsh committed themselves to take a closer look at the curriculum and do what they could to expand discussion on this topic.

When I interviewed Lional Largespada, former City Council member, I learned that he is a first-generation American from a family of Latin Americans. He offered strong opinions about how damaging this game is to our community. His perspective is more focused on family values and the role families play in shaping the activities of our children. Because I haven’t yet fully covered that perspective, I will be dedicating an entire upcoming article to my interview with former Council Member Largespada.

I am very grateful to report that we have a strong contingency of leaders in this community who care about public safety, underlying and blatant racism, diversity, and treating one another with respect and kindness. They are mobilizing to find solutions to fill the gaps in our community activities and education that will inspire more sensitivity, awareness, and most importantly, respect and concern for one another. The response of our leaders to this particular concern of the La Migra game”restores my faith in the commitment of those elected and the potential of our local government to resolve the endless challenges that threaten the well-being of our community.

Share your story

If you would like Sheri to hear and share your perspective on the ‘La Migra Game,’ please contact her through the Benicia Independent. Remember that it is your story that is critical for others to hear, not your name, unless you would like to be identified.

Reach out to Sheri: benindy@beniciaindependent.com

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Gaza, Hamas, Israel, Palestine

Gaza, My Lost Home

October 13, 2023 Roger Straw

There are no sides in this war. There is only mourning.

[Note from BenIndy contributor Roger Straw: The article by Yasmine Mohammed below is moving, sad, and most likely prophetic – a must read. As of this writing, the New York Times reports that residents in the north of Gaza are abandoning their homes and fleeing south under threat of an Israeli ground invasion. “The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said on Friday that airstrikes had killed at least 70 Palestinians and wounded 200 others who were attempting to flee northern Gaza by car on a main highway. And an ongoing siege pushed Gaza’s medical system to the brink of collapse.” The article below was distributed by a Benicia friend who is Jewish. Another friend read it and commented, “Innocent people are innocent, regardless of their nationality or religion. Terrorists and war criminals should be held accountable, regardless of what flag they commit their crimes under. I’m terrified that we are witnessing the beginning of genocide against Palestinians. I so hope that is not the case.” Do read on….]

Gaza, My Lost Home – There are no sides in this war. There is only mourning.

Tablet, by Yasmine Mohammed, October 11, 2023

Palestinian women harvest olives in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, two days before Hamas’ attack on Israel | YOUSEF MASOUD/SOPA IMAGES/LIGHTROCKET VIA GETTY IMAGES

My father lived his whole life with the hope that there might be a peaceful two-state solution. He spent his last years making YouTube videos on the topic and telling anyone who would listen about his family’s olive groves in Gaza. I am actually kind of relieved that he left this earth before he had to watch Hamas slaughter his dream on video, for all the world to see. Hamas has ensured that there will be no more Palestine, and no more hope for an independent state.

People send flippant messages to me asking “are you pro-Israel or pro-Palestine,” as if we are all watching a football match. Are you wearing a blue jersey or red? I am wearing neither. I am in black. I am in mourning for the lost Israeli and Palestinian lives. I am in mourning for the Palestine that could have been. With a gorgeous waterfront overlooking the Mediterranean Sea that was recently made safe to swim in, with fertile soil that once sustained ancient olive groves. With land rich with resources for success.

It also had the funding. Generous governments, corporations, nonprofits, and individuals have been flooding the area with billions of dollars for decades. But instead of focusing on a potential tourist industry or building hospitals and schools and helping the Gazan people thrive on the land, the area was overrun by terrorists.

The world knows Hamas now as terrorists who have committed depraved atrocities that would even make ISIS blush. But the people of Gaza already knew them. They have been suffering in relative silence under these monsters for years. Anytime a Gazan dares to raise their voice in criticism, their throat is slit immediately, making it brutally obvious that it’s best to keep quiet. Even those who hated Hamas chanted their allegiance to them loudly, in fear of their lives and their family’s lives.

Fellow Islamic regimes like Iran and Afghanistan are reveling in the rivers of Israeli blood. They do not see Jewish people as humans. They see them as things that need to be eradicated, as per the Hadith by their Prophet Muhammad which instructs them that Muslims must kill Jews until not one Jew is standing. Even the rocks and the trees will work with the Muslims against Jews, Muhammad teaches, calling out, “Oh Muslim, there is a Jew hiding behind me! Come kill him!”

Even in Egypt, a supposedly more progressive Muslim majority country, a police officer took it upon himself to murder two Israeli tourists who were visiting ancient ruins in Alexandria. He killed their guide too, who was probably trying to protect them. The tourist industry has been relatively nonexistent in Egypt due first to the revolution and then the pandemic. Now the country is suffering greatly under soaring inflation that is threatening lives daily. And yet, killing Jews was more important.

I never shared my father’s optimism. I never could imagine the two states living side by side. The past 75 years have been delaying the inevitable. These two Abrahamic faiths hate each other, and the only way there could have ever been hope is if both groups progressed beyond their ancient books. But both sides did the opposite. Israel has been pulled further and further into the Orthodox right wing and Gaza has become more and more extremist, electing terrorists who follow a literal interpretation of the ancient scriptures. There could have been hope 70 years ago, when Israel was being founded by secular hippies and terrorists had not yet overrun Gaza, but the writing has been on the wall for a long time now, and the mercury has been rising for decades.

Almost all of my father’s family is scattered across the globe, like most Palestinians. There are second and third generations being born in the diaspora with no connection to the land anymore. This is not new for the Middle East: Jewish people with roots in every country from Algeria to Yemen have been all but eradicated from their homelands; Egypt has very few people remaining from the hundreds of thousands who once thrived there. Hopefully a few Gazans will remain in Gaza. Maybe someday they’ll be able to live on their homeland without fear.

I have never been to Gaza, and my children have never been to Gaza. Maybe my grandchildren might go one day and read a plaque on some ancient monument that describes how this used to be the land of a people who called themselves Palestinians. They had a rich culture. Delicious food. Beautiful, bright clothing. Now they do not have a homeland anymore because they chose violence over peace. Despite the abundance of olive branches in Gaza, they chose to extend a knife instead.

A human rights campaigner, Yasmine Mohammed advocates for the rights of women living within Muslim majority countries, as well as those who struggle under religious fundamentalism anywhere. She is the author of Unveiled: How Western Liberals Empower Radical Islam and the President of the nonprofit organization Free Hearts Free Minds.

Biofuels, Contra Costa County, Contra Costa Health Services - Hazardous Materials Programs, Keeping Watch on Earth News, Martinez CA, Phillips 66

Judge halts major Bay Area refinery project for state environmental review

October 12, 2023 BenIndy

The Phillips 66 San Francisco Refinery in Rodeo. | Photo By Dreamyshade, Wikimedia Creative Commons.

Phillips 66 cannot begin operations at a new California biofuel refinery until Contra Costa County fixes flaws in an environmental analysis of the project.

MARTINEZ, Calif. (CN) — Phillips 66 must halt a plan to start operating a new biofuel refinery in Rodeo, California, after a San Francisco Bay Area judge said the county that approved it must fix legal issues with the project’s environmental report card.

Contra Costa County Superior Court Judge Edward Weil ordered Phillips 66 to put on hold what would be one of the world’s largest biofuel refineries, to produce some 800 million gallons of biofuel products per year. The county must show that the project fully complies with environmental review requirements which he found had been violated when authorities first approved it.

Petitioners Communities for a Better Environment and the Center for Biological Diversity asked Weil to vacate his prior judgment and prohibit operations while the county works on the known legal flaws in its environmental analysis of the project. They said Weil’s prior judgment allowed the project’s land use permit to remain in place and failed to enjoin operations while the county proved its compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act — the state’s bedrock environmental protection and community right-to-know law.

The judge said in a tentative order that his prior judgment’s purpose was to allow for construction, not operations, while environmental legal issues are considered. He said that he must consider whether there is any conflict between the statement of decision and the judgment.

“There is, however, a potential conflict between the statement of decision and the judgment because the court allowed the land use permit to remain in place but did not specifically enjoin project operations,” Weil said. “Therefore, the court grants petitioners’ motion to vacate the judgment and to issue a new judgment that specifically enjoins project operations until further order of the court.”

Weil ruled from the bench Thursday to execute the tentative order as his official judgment.

Attorney Kurtis Keller, representing Contra Costa County, declined to comment on the ruling Thursday.

Hollin Kretzmann, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute, lauded Weil’s decision. She noted that construction on the refinery can continue.

“Counties are required to evaluate, disclose and reduce the environmental harms of a project before approving it,” Kretzmann said. “Communities long suffering from refinery pollution have every right to demand maximum protections against toxic emissions and foul odors, and the county needs to secure them.”

The planned refinery is near the Marathon-Tesoro biofuel refinery in Martinez, which itself could eventually produce more than 700,000 gallons per year of biofuel products and become one of the largest biofuel refineries in California. The petitioners say that the two projects would require at least 82,000 truck trips, nearly 29,000 railcars and more than 760 ship and barge visits annually.

That increases pollution, traffic and the risk of spills and accidents from the projects, while generating and processing biofuels that would worsen existing impacts on communities nearby fossil fuel processing plants. The state considers people who live near the refineries to be “disadvantaged” because of their high exposure to pollution from existing industries. The proposed refineries would cement ongoing or increased air and odor pollution for these residents for decades, the petitioners say.

“This is a huge victory for nearby residents who’ve raised serious concerns about pollution that will come from this giant refinery,” said Shana Lazerow, legal director of Communities for a Better Environment. “Allowing this project to operate before the environmental review process is complete would’ve rigged the whole decision in favor of the refinery operator.”

Sara Evall, a student attorney at the Stanford Environmental Law Clinic, said Thursday: “The county is obligated to reassess the project based on community members’ input and an unbiased record. Rights of the public to informed democratic decision-making come before Phillips 66’s bottom line.”

The judge’s prior order, which found that the county had violated the California Environmental Quality Act by approving the biofuel refinery without properly assessing major components or adopting mitigation for odor impacts on local communities, came down this past July.

Gaza, Hamas, Israel, Palestine

Among American Jews, ‘You See a Lot of Broken Spirits’ After Attacks

October 12, 2023 Roger Straw

A community with diverse views and opinions on Israel appeared to be largely united in shock and anger at the violence by Hamas.

Some Jewish leaders in the United States said the attack on Israel by Hamas had brought a sense, at least for now, of unity. Credit…Irynka Hromotska for The New York Times

New York Times, by Jenna Russell, Eliza Fawcett, Vik Jolly and Robert Chiarito, October 9, 2023

The deadly attacks and kidnappings in Israel this weekend shocked Jews across the United States, leading to tightened security at American synagogues, the cancellation of some holiday celebrations and a sense of horror and helplessness amid concern for relatives and fears of more violence to come.

The brutal assault by Hamas, which killed more than 900 Israelis and prompted retaliatory strikes that have killed nearly 700 Palestinians, comes amid a disturbing stream of antisemitic speech and attacks in the United States and globally, which have put synagogues and Jewish institutions on edge.

“You see a lot of broken spirits wandering around right now,” said Jonathan Celestino, 26, an employee of the Bernard Horwich Jewish Community Center in Chicago, “because so many people are hurt, scared and concerned.”

The small but diverse Jewish community in America — numbering about 7.5 million in 2020, or 2.4 percent of the U.S. population — has long been polarized over how to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In more recent months, American Jews have also been split over the far-right Israeli government’s push to limit judicial authority.

But many Jewish leaders said the targeted killing of hundreds of civilians by Hamas and the threats to kill kidnapped hostages had brought a sense, at least for now, of unity.

At Congregation Beth Elohim in Park Slope, Brooklyn, a Reform synagogue, Rabbi Rachel Timoner has long criticized the Israeli government and its occupation of Palestinian territories. Just weeks ago, she recalled in an interview on Monday, she delivered a Rosh Hashana sermon that described loyalty to Israel as “standing with Israelis against this government.” It drew a standing ovation, she said.

But an hour before she was set to deliver another sermon on Saturday morning, reports emerged of the attack by Hamas, the Palestinian faction that controls Gaza. She quickly understood, in the midst of her horror, what her message must be.

“Now is a time to stand unequivocally with Israel and Israelis,” she recalled telling her congregants, “and to say to our Israeli family that we are grieving with them, and we are praying now that Israel will defeat Hamas.”

Rabbi Motti Seligson, a spokesman for Chabad, a global network of strictly observant Jewish congregations, said he was celebrating the Jewish holiday of Simhat Torah in Brooklyn on Saturday with visitors from Israel — some of whom had to travel home and report for military duty after the attacks.

He said it was a time for Jews to “double down on being Jewish,” and pray and light candles for Israel.

Prayer was a response across the country, including at a vigil on Monday evening in Providence, R.I., where Stephanie Hague, chief policy officer at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, said it felt like one small way to show support for Israel.

For many Jews, the distress of the attacks was heightened by connections to friends, relatives or colleagues in Israel, some still missing or unaccounted for on Monday. Credit…Irynka Hromotska for The New York Times

“It feels like one of the only things we can do,” she said. “It feels like we’re so far away.”

In Los Angeles on Sunday night, a vigil drew some 2,000 people to the Stephen Wise Temple, where attendees gripped each other’s shoulders, hugged and swayed to music in the cavernous worship hall. There was applause when speakers reminded them to stay strong and support Israel, including monetarily.

A handful of attendees cloaked themselves in the Israeli flag as the evening drew to a close.

“The people here, they want to help,” said Miriam Zlotolow, 78, a retiree who immigrated to the United States from Israel when she was 21. “They want to draw strength from each other.”

For many Jews, the distress was heightened by connections to friends, relatives or colleagues in Israel, some still missing or unaccounted for on Monday.

Rabbi David Wolpe, a visiting scholar at Harvard Divinity School, described obsessively watching the news in recent days while keeping in constant contact with friends in Israel. “I know any number of people whose kids have been mobilized and who spent nights in safe houses, who’ve lost friends or have had friends kidnapped,” he said.

Like others, he said he feared what lay ahead, and the likelihood that the toll would grow. “As a human being, and as a rabbi, the last thing I want to see is innocents dying for the decisions of their leaders,” he said.

At Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., a school founded by American Jews, the mood was solemn on Monday, said Ronald Liebowitz, the university’s president, who spent part of the day roaming the campus and talking to students. Many were grieving on behalf of a well-known emeritus professor, Ilan Troen, whose daughter and son-in-law were killed in the attack while protecting their 16-year-old son, who survived.

While he is preparing for the possibility of growing tension between campus groups that hold opposing views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Mr. Liebowitz said he sensed the usual campus debates had been placed on hold.

“Politics, at least here, seem to be set aside for now,” he said, adding: “No one I know is looking at those issues of politics now. They’re looking at the savagery of these attacks.”

Anna Betts contributed reporting.

Jenna Russell is The Times’s New England bureau chief, based in Boston.

Eliza Fawcett is a reporter for the National desk and a member of the 2022-2023 New York Times fellowship class.