‘Calling Hamas a Terrorist Organization Is Ridiculous’: Oakland City Council Votes Against Condemning Hamas in Chaotic Meeting, as Speakers Denounce Jews as ‘Racist Zionists’

Speakers at a meeting of the far-left city council claimed, among other explosive comments, that ‘to hear them complain about Hamas violence is like listening to a wife beater complain when his wife finally stands up and fights back.’

AP/D. Ross Cameron
Audience members, who came in support of a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire at Gaza, were also quick to jump to the defense of Hamas, November 27, 2023, at Oakland, California. AP/D. Ross Cameron

Leading Democratic and Republican politicians are roundly condemning comments made during an Oakland city council meeting in support of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. The comments were made when a group of progressive lawmakers voted six to two against condemning Hamas. Speakers lauded the group’s contribution to “Palestinian resistance” and criticized its detractors as “racist Zionists.”

During a recent meeting, a proposed addendum to a pro-ceasefire resolution aimed at condemning Hamas was vocally condemned and voted down, with speakers rising to defend the organization that planned and carried out the October 7 terrorist attacks. Hamas, whose charter calls for the complete destruction of Israel, is designated as a terrorist organization by America and by the European Union.

“Calling Hamas a terrorist organization is ridiculous, racist, and plays into genocidal propaganda that is flooding our media,” one speaker, who was masked, said. “We should be doing everything possible to combat.” 

“As an Arab … to condemn Hamas is very anti-Arab [and] racist,” another speaker, who was wearing a keffiyeh, a traditional Arab headdress, said. 

Some attendees repeated conspiracy theories about the October 7 attacks,  including that Israel staged the killings as a “false flag” operation and pretext to invade Gaza. “There have not been beheadings of babies and rapings. Israel murdered their own people on October 7,” one woman told the city council.

Another woman claimed, “The notion that this was a massacre of Jews is a fabricated narrative. Many of those killed on October 7, including children, were killed by the IDF.”

Other speakers were clear in their positions on Hamas. Another masked speaker declared, “I support the right of Palestinians to resist the occupation, including through Hamas, the armed wing of the unified Palestinian resistance.”

“To hear them complain about Hamas violence is like listening to a wife beater complain when his wife finally stands up and fights back,” said another.

The comments, which have since gone viral, were made on Monday night at a routine Oakland city council session. The council was voting on a resolution that demanded a permanent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. 

 Oakland’s First District council member, Dan Kalb, who is Jewish, sought to add an amendment to the resolution which would have included a condemnation of Hamas for the October 7 terror attack. 

“Not even clearly mentioning the Hamas mass murder on October 7 is sending the wrong message, and an embarrassing message,” Mr. Kalb said when announcing his amendment. He was booed by spectators, with one protester in the audience calling him and his supporters “old white racists.”

The city failed to pass the addendum that condemned Hamas. The vote on the ceasefire, which Mr. Kalb supported, passed unanimously, eight to zero. 

In response to the comments, leading politicians in California of all political ideologies have spoken out in condemnation. 

“Hamas is a terrorist organization. They must be called out for what they are: evil,” Governor Newsom wrote in a caption to the public hearing on X, formerly Twitter. 

The message was echoed by a California congressman, Adam Schiff, who wrote on the social media site, “Hamas is a designated terrorist organization. Their horrific attacks, rapes, killings, and kidnappings must be condemned. It’s shocking to see people continue to downplay, deny, or even seek to justify their October 7  attacks.”

A far-left California state senator, Scott Weiner, stated on X that the comments made at the city council were “just awful.” He added in an earlier post on the site that the council’s move not to condemn Hamas was “a truly jarring decision by a public body.”

Senator Schatz of Hawaii released a statement on X, writing: “I disavow the Oakland City Council and do not think we should nominate it to be our Presidential candidate.”

Oakland is the latest American municipality to vote on a ceasefire resolution, joining the likes of Detroit, Atlanta, and Providence. Many of the cities to pass such resolutions have large Arab communities.

Oakland, in particular, has become a hotbed of anti-Israel activism. On November 14, demonstrators stormed a federal building in the city, demanding a ceasefire. The protest was organized by a far-left anti-Israel group, Jewish Voice for Peace, and featured the first ordained transgender rabbi, Elliot Kukla. 

For most Jews, the environment at Oakland and other areas in the Bay Area, known for its progressive politics, has become hostile as a result of the anti-Israel sentiment, as the Sun reported in an interview at the March for Israel with Sara Benson-Konforty of Palo Alto, California. Ms. Benson-Konforty said that Bay Area liberals had turned Israel into a wedge issue: “Many in far-left communities in Berkeley and Oakland are facing real pressure and criticism.”

“There has been a surge in antisemitism that has led us to live in real fear,” Ms. Benson-Konforty said. The Israel native said she came out to the event because she “no longer wished to hide” and because she wished to “stand in solidarity with Israel. The Jewish people, who were more progressive leftists, have realized that the attacks did not distinguish between the right and the left. We feel a sense of unity.”


The New York Sun

© 2025 The New York Sun Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used.

The New York Sun

Sign in or  Create a free account

or
By continuing you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use