Nearly 100 protestors gather outside of Congressman Carbajal’s office to urge signing of Ceasefire Now Resolution

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.— About 100 people gathered outside of Representative Salud Carbajal’s office in Santa Barbara Tuesday morning to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. 

We spoke to both the protestors and Carbajal’s office to get a deeper understanding of what is being done to address the escalation of violence abroad.

Following their chants for peace in the Middle East, protestors delivered a detailed letter to Carbajal’s office urging him to to support the Ceasefire Now Resolution among other measures.

We spoke to Marcy Winograd with Jewish Voice for Peace and the Anti War Coalition last week who says the voices of our community hold tremendous power to save human life.
 
“ Here in Santa Barbara, those of us who want to see an end to the killing, to the massacres, to the bombing, to the collective punishment of Gaza. We need to call on our representatives. We need to call on our House of Representative Salud Carbajal, as well as our U.S. senators, to say, ‘Sign on to resolutions for a cease fire.’ Salud Carbajal has not done that yet,” said Winograd .

The letter addresses both the Israeli civilians and Gazan civilians killed in recent weeks, and says “Israel’s bombing and war campaigns do nothing to bring home hostages or diminish Hamas’ power.”

“There is no justification for the killing of civilian life in Israel or in Gaza. But in Gaza, what we are seeing is the leverage of collective punishment, the imposition of collective punishment on an entire population that is literally trapped and waiting for the bombs to fall. There's nowhere for them to go. This is untenable,” said Winograd.

The letter also calls for the immediate restoration of energy, water, and communication services to the Gaza strip, sending American doctors and emergency experts to the region, and a halt to all military aid to Israel.

Jewish Voice for Peace member Barbara Parmet says sending aid to Gazan civilians while still billions of dollars to Israel’s military each year is counterproductive.

“When we do send humanitarian aid, we're also sending thousands of bombs to kill the people we’re supposedly giving humanitarian aid, too. It makes no sense. Absolutely none,” said Parmet.

Carbajal’s District Director Erica Reyes says in the past Carbajal has voted to provide military aid to Israel.

Reyes says right now Carbajal has expressed to President Biden his desire that our nation will do everything it can to protect civilians.

“The Congressman believes that right now it is critical to rescue hostages still being held by Hamas, root out the perpetrators of this violence and restore peace and security for the millions of innocent people caught in the middle,” said Reyes.

Congressman Carbajal is currently in Washington D.C. anticipating the vote for the new Speaker of the House.

His staff tells us the House remains paralyzed to act because of Republican infighting.