On Saturday afternoon May 8th, about 200 people crossed Alameda's Park Street bridge en masse and walked to the bay, carrying signs opposing the use of American weapons to kill children and other civilians. Such sentiments enjoy broad support in the island city, and many drivers honked their approval. However, the 200 were on leg 3 of the Interfaith Pilgrimage for Palestine, Oakland City Hall to Oakland Airport. Even here, the concept of human rights for Palestinians remains controversial.
And it must be acknowledged that the concept of a shared future for Israel/Palestine took time to gain traction within the protests against the Gaza war. This year, The Friends of Standing Together group was a notable presence on Park Street, wearing purple t-shirts calling for co-existence, and carrying a sign saying "In Gaza and Tel Aviv, All the Children Want to Live." In the past, such even-handedness would elicit double-takes, as in "are you sure you came to the right protest?" One other popular sign carried by the pilgrims had a James Baldwin quote, "The children are always ours. Every single one of them. All over the globe."
Will the Palestinian cause gain traction in Alameda too? One telling indication is the proposal that Alameda become sister cities with Wadi Foquin, a Palestinian village near Bethlehem that is brutalized by Israeli settlers. When it was last considered in March 2025, it was opposed by a letter writing campaign organized by Christians United for Israel, and council member Tracy Jensen wanted assurance Alameda's relationship with Wadi Foquin would be non-political. In the end, the council tabled the issue pending "formal engagement with the Alameda community and with Wadi Foquin’s Council." Nothing has been heard of the proposal since, and one would hope that the council takes note of the 200 who came to the island Saturday. They did not comprise a formal anything, but they did include many Alamedans willing to take up the cause of an idea whose time has come.
