Richmond becomes 2nd US city to divest from Israel after Hayward

>> AND MAYOR MARTINEZ, YES, THE MOTION PASSES WITH. >> IN A 5 TO 1 VOTE, RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL VOTED TO DIVEST FROM COMPANIES DOING BUSINESS IN ISRAEL. THE SECOND US CITY TO DO SO AFTER HAYWARD. >> ONE THING WE CAN DO ACTIVELY IS DIVESTMENT, AND THANKS TO THE STUDENT MOVEMENT, THEY BROUGHT IT UP TO OUR ATTENTION AGAIN. SO IT WAS THE RIGHT TIME. CITY COUNCIL MEMBER SUHAIL AL-BANNA COAUTHORED THE RESOLUTION. >> SHE SAYS RICHMOND HAS A POOL OF ROUGHLY $600 MILLION TO INVEST, BUT JUST A SMALL PERCENTAGE AROUND 7% IS LIKELY INVESTED IN PORTFOLIOS THAT HOLD COMPANIES. THE CITY WILL DIVEST FROM DEFENSE CONTRACTORS, AND ARM MANUFACTURERS LIKE LOCKHEED MARTIN ARE OBVIOUS EXAMPLES, BUT COMPANIES LIKE MICROSOFT AND AIRBNB ARE ALSO ON THE LIST. >> THEY HAVE UH- PROPERTIES IN THE OCCUPIED UH- REGION IN AND ADVERTISE IT AS ISRAEL. SO THAT'S WHY THEY'RE IN THE ON THE LIST. >> ISRAELI PEACE ACTIVIST DOVE BOMB SPOKE AT THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING. SHE CALLED THE VOTE HISTORIC BECAUSE IT EXPANDS THE DEBATE ON WHERE AND HOW AMERICAN TAX DOLLARS ARE BEING SPENT. >> THIS IS WHAT IT TOOK THAT, THE GENOCIDE IN GAZA IS WHAT IT TOOK FOR PEOPLE OF CONSCIENCE HERE IN THE US TO START MOVING MONEY AWAY FROM, ISRAELI OCCUPATION AND APARTHEID AND GENOCIDE. >> BANNER SAYS. WEISZMANN FACED LEGAL CHALLENGES AFTER BECOMING THE FIRST US CITY TO PASS THE GAZA CEASEFIRE RESOLUTION. CITY COUNCIL MEMBER EMAILS WERE SUBPOENAED. BARNES SAYS SHE STILL FACES PERSONAL THREATS, BUT CALIFORNIA HAS LAWS AGAINST THE BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT AND SANCTIONS MOVEMENT, OR BDS. BARNETT SAYS THIS RESOLUTION WAS WRITTEN WITH FUTURE LEGAL CHALLENGES IN MIND. >> THERE IS NOTHING ANTI-SEMITIC ABOUT RESPECTING HUMAN RIGHTS OF EVERYONE. IT'S A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT, TO GO FOR DIVEST MOMENT. AND WE ADDED THE SPECIFIC LANGUAGE THAT THIS IS NOT DISCRIMINATORY. >> EXPERTS SAY THESE TYPES OF LOCAL RESOLUTIONS ARE IMPORTANT AND MATTER EVEN MORE IN AN ELECTION YEAR WHEN VOTER SENTIMENT DOESN'T ALIGN WITH WHITE HOUSE POLICY. >> STATEMENTS LIKE THIS FROM LOCAL LEVEL GOVERNMENTS PERCOLATE UPWARD AND ARE HEARD IN WASHINGTON, D.C. AND HOPEFULLY WILL HAVE AN IMPACT ON POLICY

Channel: ABC7 News Bay Area

Views: 1,677

Keywords: news, abc, abcnews, newsstory, israel, richmond, hayward, gaza, palestine, politics, business, war, bayarea

Id: l2BrHH8ZwKY

Length: 2min 31sec (151 seconds)

Published: Thu May 02 2024