Peace Pilgrims Come to Alameda

On Saturday afternoon May 8th, about 200 people crossed the Park Street bridge en masse and walked through the heart of Alameda to the bay, carrying signs opposing the use of American weapons to kill children and other civilians.  They were on leg 3 of the "Interfaith Pilgrimage for Palestine," a 12-mile march from Oakland City Hall to the Oakland Airport. Their humanitarian sentiments enjoy broad support in the island city, and many drivers honked their approval.

In the past, the pilgrimage focused on the slaughter in Gaza, and the Palestinians cut down in the West Bank. This year many pilgrims called for protecting children on all sides — in Israel and Palestine, and also in Lebanon and Iran. Many carried signs with the James Baldwin quote, "The children are always ours, every single one of them, all over the globe," and with the message "Stop killing our children, arms embargo now." The contingent from Friends of Standing Together (which promotes peace and equality in Israel/Palestine and includes many Jews and philo-semites) displayed a banner reading "In Gaza and Tel Aviv, All the Children Want to Live." And the outspoken Jewish presence on the march should be noted, with several t-shirts reading "Jews for a ceasefire" and "Not in Our Name."

Does all this mean the Palestinian cause will gain traction in Alameda? One telling indicator is the proposal that Alameda become sister cities with Wadi Foquin, a 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 needed 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." Nothing has been heard of the proposal since. One would hope that the council notes the 200 pilgrims who came to our island Saturday, with the message that we should not be supporting subjugating Palestine. They included many Alameda voters willing to take up an idea whose time is coming fast.