Column: Pro-Israel volunteers needed to counter paid pro-Hamas students

By Miriam Gershenson

SAN MARCOS, Calif. — On June 25, I attended the San Marcos City Council meeting. I arrived over an hour late and still sat for hours waiting for “public comment” time on topics not on the published agenda. It was then that a crowd of Hamas supporters began to demand that anti-Israel resolutions be included in the future agenda.

In keeping with the procedure for such “public comment” opportunities, City Council members listened but did not vote. So far, no anti-Israel resolutions have been placed on the agenda for the upcoming meeting.

Upon learning that there would be a pro-Hamas demonstration, I signed up to oppose the idea. There were several others on our side. We weren’t even a fraction of the crowd they came with. But we showed up anyway because we had to show an opposing point of view. We had to debunk the lies they told.

We were four speakers against their crowd, which I think was 16 people. We each got three minutes to say our piece. They wanted the City Council to pass a ceasefire resolution, condemn Israel, and implement BDS.

The Hamas supporters were mostly college age. They are so brainwashed it is sad to see. The level of ignorance is unbelievable but unfortunately that is the world we live in.

The level of disrespect they showed the Council was astonishing. They were confrontational, calling the mayor and council members by name, accusing them of supporting genocide, racism, incompetence and much more.

They shouted at Mayor Rebecca Jones: Rebecca this, Rebecca that. I have to give Mayor Jones and all council members great credit for being able to remain calm while these kids did everything in their power to provoke a response.

I thought about the fact that the pro-Hamas forces are so large. Since when do college kids want to sit through hours of boring meetings? Then I found out they get paid to be “activists.” Amnesty International is one such employer, as this ad in Seattle, Washington, shows. Advertising the position as flexible and ideal for college students, it offers up to $30 an hour, which is a lot of money for any college student.

This is both good and bad. On the one hand, it’s nice to know that they have to spend money to make people care about their cause. On the other hand, money talks and makes people show up. We have to stand up to them and I think it says a lot that we don’t have to make money to stand up to them.

I ask every Jew and pro-Israel ally to come! This is important. Stand up for all of us. Show the other side and present the truth and facts. If you are in the greater San Diego area and ready to take action, let me know and I will gladly add you to the group.

If you’re a reader from somewhere other than San Diego County, if there isn’t a people’s group you can join, create one. As they say, if you build it, they will come. And if you need help, let me know, I can share resources with you.

*
Miriam Gershenson is a freelance writer based in Escondido, California.