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Palo Alto residents urge city action after gun attack in Washington, D.C.; call for permit enforcement and rejection of hateful slogans
Summary
Multiple residents used the council’s public‑comment period to decry recent anti‑Jewish violence in Washington, D.C., to demand enforcement of permit rules for public events, and to ask city leaders to reject slogans and rhetoric they said amounted to antisemitic incitement.
Palo Alto — Several residents used the May 27 council meeting public‑comment period to express alarm about recent murders in Washington, D.C., and to ask the city to take stronger steps to enforce permit conditions and to speak out against rhetoric they said had helped fuel violence.
Members of Palo Alto’s Jewish community and other speakers recounted national incidents and linked them to local demonstrations, asking the city to enforce time‑place‑and‑manner restrictions, require permit holders to abide by event terms and to avoid sponsoring events connected to groups that promote or tolerate hate.
What commenters said
Sarit S. told the council that a gunman murdered two people at the Capitol Jewish Museum and that slogans heard at some demonstrations — for example, references to globalizing an ‘intifada’ — should be treated as violent calls, not harmless protest language.
“We are heartbroken and terrified,” Sarit said. “These slogans, … are not metaphors. Whether or not the people yelling them mean them that way, they are heard as a permission slip for violence against Jews.”
Robin M. said some local events have included rhetoric she described as antisemitic and cited a recent incident at a Palo Alto plaza where she said a speaker denounced Jews as violent colonizers. She urged strict enforcement of permit terms and said some groups should not be supported by city resources.
Alan C., representing another group of residents, asked the council to take three steps: enforce permit time‑place‑and‑manner rules, decline to support events tied to groups that promote hate, and publicly reject slogans that incite violence.
Why it matters
Speakers said national violence has local echoes and asked the city to be proactive in preventing incitement from turning into local attacks. Council and staff did not take action during the public‑comment period but acknowledged the comments and said the city already enforces event permit conditions and will look into enforcement questions raised by residents.
Ending
Speakers urged the council to be explicit in rejecting violent rhetoric and to ensure that event permits are enforced and monitored; several speakers said stronger action was needed to protect local Jewish residents.
