Pro-Palestinian Protesters Call on Rep. Carbajal to Push for Arms Embargo on Israel

Protesters delivered a letter with more than 400 signatures to the steps of Congressmember Salud Carbajal’s Central Coast offices on Monday, October 7, opposing his support of Israel on the anniversary of the Hamas attacks that launched the Middle East into a deadly war. 

The Hamas attacks in Israel killed 1,200 people on October 7, 2023. Israel’s retaliation led to more bloodshed, killing nearly 50,000 Palestinians in Gaza over the course of the last 12 violent months. 

Carbajal has been very vocal in his support of Israel and in his stance that the United States should be involved to assist its “ally.” On Monday, he wrote on social media that Israel “must retain the ability to defend itself” and “Innocent Palestinians and peace-loving people across the region must also be able to live without fear that this war will eventually find its way into their own home.” He added that ending terrorist attacks by Hamas, Hezbollah, and other Iranian proxies is the pathway to peace and a two-state solution. 

In protest, around 30 people met in front of the congressmember’s Santa Barbara office on Monday, calling for Carbajal to “take action to end the genocide in Palestine” and stop voting to send weapons to Israel. Similar protests were held at his San Luis Obispo and Ventura offices.

The group, who called Carbajal “complicit” in “Israel’s mass murder of civilians,” also told him to support restoring the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.

Protesters, which included members of the anti-war group CODEPINK and Jewish Voices for Peace, read poems and speeches speaking of the grief they have felt in the last year and their dreams of peace. They asked for money to go to aid in the U.S. rather than “sending billions to bomb Lebanon and Syria and Gaza,” as said by Grace Benard with the Santa Ynez Valley Liberation Association.

“As constituents invested in our local and global communities, we urge you to advocate and vote for an arms embargo on Israel to enforce an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza,” the group’s letter says. 

“Supporting arms deliveries while calling for a ceasefire and humanitarian aid is a contradiction that defies logic and decency. We urge you to take a more proactive approach, prioritizing human rights and international law.”