Mideast War blowback

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A group of Northern California residents has filed a class-action lawsuit against their congressional representatives, Democrats Mike Thompson and Jared Huffman, accusing them of causing harm to local communities and to Palestinians in Gaza by voting to send billions in US military aid to Israel.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in San Francisco federal court, claims the lawmakers caused “moral and emotional/psychic injury” to taxpayers by voting for aid that, the plaintiffs allege, contributes to genocide in Gaza. Both Israel and the Biden administration reject that Israel is committing genocide in its war against Hamas in Gaza.

The Bay Area case seeks to bar Thompson and Huffman from approving future military aid to Israel and demands damages for the emotional distress caused by war, including “uncontrollable weeping, inability to sleep, distractions from work, despair for the future of their children and humanity.”

At a press conference outside the courthouse where the lawsuit was filed, Linda Helland, a Mendocino County resident and plaintiff, said the representatives’ votes make her and other constituents “complicit” in the violence. Another plaintiff, Palestinian American Tarik Kanaana of Sonoma County, said Thompson’s actions amounted to aiding in “the killing of my own people.”

Nearly two dozen plaintiffs so far
Twenty one plaintiffs are named in the lawsuit but organizers are aiming to add as many as 1,000 participants if the court allows the lawsuit to proceed. A lawyer for the plaintiffs said the lawsuit, with its focus on the rights of taxpayers, was designed differently than the one that was tossed out.

“We’re not asking the court to tell Congress to make policy,” attorney Dean Royer told the Chronicle. “We’re asking the court to say taxpayer dollars cannot be used to fund genocide.”

The positions of Thompson and Huffman reflect those of many Democratic lawmakers who back Israel’s right to defend itself from Hamas, but have called for minimizing civilian casualties. In April, they voted in favor of a $26.4 billion military aid package for Israel. Thompson and Huffman have also expressed support for a ceasefire and long-term solutions, including a two-state framework that would see a Palestinian state established alongside Israel.

A group of Northern California residents has filed a class-action lawsuit against their congressional representatives, Democrats Mike Thompson and Jared Huffman, accusing them of causing harm to local communities and to Palestinians in Gaza by voting to send billions in US military aid to Israel.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in San Francisco federal court, claims the lawmakers caused “moral and emotional/psychic injury” to taxpayers by voting for aid that, the plaintiffs allege, contributes to genocide in Gaza. Both Israel and the Biden administration reject that Israel is committing genocide in its war against Hamas in Gaza.

The Bay Area case seeks to bar Thompson and Huffman from approving future military aid to Israel and demands damages for the emotional distress caused by war, including “uncontrollable weeping, inability to sleep, distractions from work, despair for the future of their children and humanity.”

At a press conference outside the courthouse where the lawsuit was filed, Linda Helland, a Mendocino County resident and plaintiff, said the representatives’ votes make her and other constituents “complicit” in the violence. Another plaintiff, Palestinian American Tarik Kanaana of Sonoma County, said Thompson’s actions amounted to aiding in “the killing of my own people.”

Nearly two dozen plaintiffs so far
Twenty one plaintiffs are named in the lawsuit but organizers are aiming to add as many as 1,000 participants if the court allows the lawsuit to proceed. A lawyer for the plaintiffs said the lawsuit, with its focus on the rights of taxpayers, was designed differently than the one that was tossed out.

“We’re not asking the court to tell Congress to make policy,” attorney Dean Royer told the Chronicle. “We’re asking the court to say taxpayer dollars cannot be used to fund genocide.”

The positions of Thompson and Huffman reflect those of many Democratic lawmakers who back Israel’s right to defend itself from Hamas, but have called for minimizing civilian casualties. In April, they voted in favor of a $26.4 billion military aid package for Israel. Thompson and Huffman have also expressed support for a ceasefire and long-term solutions, including a two-state framework that would see a Palestinian state established alongside Israel.

A Toronto synagogue on Friday morning was vandalized for the eighth time since the October 7 massacre, the institution’s administration told The Jerusalem Post, amid a spate of attacks on Jewish sites in the Canadian city.

Two signs in front of the Kehillat Shaarei Torah – one of which called for the return of Israeli hostages held by Hamas – were defaced, Michael Gilmore, the synagogue’s executive director, said on Sunday.

Graffiti was sprayed over the slogan in such a way that the “Bring them home now” sign read: “Take their [sic] homes now” instead.

A sticker was placed over the word “standing” on the second sign so that it instead read: “Genocide with Israelis, it’s what we do."

This was the second time that the signs in front of the synagogue had been vandalized this month, with similar “genocide” decals being placed on the Jewish National Fund and the United Jewish Appeal (UJA) Federation of Greater Toronto signs on December 1.

Kehillat Shaarei Torah’s windows and doors were smashed with hammers on April 19 and May 17. On June 30, a motorcyclist threw rocks through the synagogue’s windows. Its signs were vandalized, and then on July 31, they were set ablaze, Gilmore previously detailed to the Post.
Following this, a dead raccoon had been placed on the synagogue’s groun

This house of worship was not the only Jewish site targeted on Friday in the Toronto area. The Bais Chaya Mushka Elementary School was damaged in a drive-by shooting on Friday, according to the police and the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto.

There were no injuries because the school was not occupied at the time. This was the third instance since October 7 that the school had been shot at, previously having been subjected to gunfire in October and May.