The meeting set out to discuss recent hate incidents in Davis
By YUENJO FAN — city@theaggie.org
On Feb. 27, the city of Davis Human Relations Commission (HRC) met to discuss sanctuary city policies and address issues of hate alongside a recent controversy between two commission members.
The controversy came after HRC Commission Member Amir Kol criticised fellow Commission Member Deema Tamimi at a recent city council meeting for supporting a book titled “They Called Me a Lioness: A Palestinian Girl’s Fight for Freedom.” Kol claimed that the author had voiced past antisemitic remarks while Tamimi maintained the book’s exposure of injustices toward the Palestinian people.
With the HRC already planning to address issues of hate and discrimination, this subject matter became one of the main focal points of the meeting. Tamimi provided comments backing up her stance while Kol opted to forgo any personal statements during the meeting.
“It made me sad to see that new fears and divisiveness is being sewn right in this place where we are hoping to alleviate fear and not stir up and create new fear,” Tamimi said. “I shared this book and her story, in part because I believe people need to gain a better understanding of the everyday struggles of Palestinians, but also because we are in a time of great turmoil. Here in our local communities where our rights and the rights of our neighbors, family and friends are under attack, we have a duty to speak up to protect the most vulnerable in our communities.”
Furthermore, many meeting attendees chose to voice their opinions and concerns through the public comment section of the meeting. With an audience that was larger than usual, comments ranged from an overwhelming backing of Tamimi to support for Kol, alongside public concerns for people’s ability to express themselves.
Dean Johansson, a Davis resident of over 30 years, warned of the “heckler’s veto,” a situation where people become silenced due to intimidation of being in the minority. Johansson voiced how public gatherings such as the HRC meetings must avoid this situation and allow people to exercise their freedom of speech, regardless of belief.
“We’re taught freedom of speech and first amendment rights are the bedrock of democracy, [but] the heckler’s veto is exactly what I’ve seen going on here in Davis over and over again,” Johansson said.
Public comments also went as far as suggesting that the HRC should evaluate potential consequences to Kol for his criticism toward Tamimi. UC Davis faculty member Catherine Brinkley voiced her concern for the incident, believing that Kol’s comments were harmful to both the community and the HRC.
“I hope that the Human Relations Commission carefully considers protocols for when there are interpersonal conflicts so that they are not unduly escalated,” Brinkley said. “[There are] vulnerable student voices who have come out and said that they felt personally, physically and verbally threatened, and that is problematic to have on the Human Relations Commission.”
With so many different opinions swirling around, Commission Member Edgar Wong-Chen acted as a mediator, balancing the dispute between Kol and Tamimi.
“As members, we have to be able to stand up for what we advocate for, obviously, but we also have to respect the process and the collegiality of all of us being here,” Wong-Chen said. “We have to respect that everybody’s voice matters and that we each have an opportunity to state what bothers us, but also respect the other person’s ability to sit in their seat and speak theirs.”
Wong-Chen further addressed a recurring notion brought up by public comments to potentially remove Kol from his position.
“In my opinion, asking someone to be removed from the commission is not productive,” Wong-Chen said. “So I hope we can move forward, and I hope we can build a bridge, and I hope we can continue a dialogue. […] If we can’t exist here together, then the HRC shouldn’t be here.”
Following these discussions, Kol brought forth updates on arrangements to host a Jewish American Heritage Month celebration in May. The objective of this event is to bring a sense of community to Jewish Americans living in Davis in light of concerns about antisemitism.
“We decided that a very appropriate theme would be Immigration, Resilience and Solidarity: The Jewish American Journey and Beyond,” Kol said. “We’re thinking about a community picnic in Central Park where people come together and bring food [alongside] some music and dancing.”
Currently, the event is being targeted for May 31 and is seeking an endorsement from the HRC before moving to the city council for approval.
Moreover, the HRC also expressed an increased concern for protecting Davis’ immigrant community. Following the city’s first Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest, the HRC now seeks to find ways of strengthening Davis’ sanctuary city status. Commission Member Felix Alvarez proposed adding Davis to the Welcoming Cities network, a non-profit organization that allocates further resources to assist immigrants.
“We talked about Welcoming Cities and whether this is something that the city of Davis should explore,” Alvarez said. “It’s an addition to the sanctuary city marker but comes with some more added benefits. It would be a membership that the city would have to look into and employ but it also comes with resources from the non-profit to the city. This would help us create programs to provide further assistance for those communities.”
The HRC meets on the fourth Thursday of each month in Community Chambers at the City Hall, and more information can be found on the city of Davis’ website.
Written By Yuenjo Fan — city@theaggie.org
