The Israel-Hamas War has reached its fifth month with a total of 25,000 Palestinian civilians and combatants dead, as reported by CNN, and at least 1,139 people in Israel died, according to Al Jazeera. Congresswoman Anna Eshoo released a statement on Oct. 11 declaring her full support for Israel. In response, on Jan. 4, civilians of the nearby area got together to write letters urging Eshoo to call for a ceasefire.
“I think it’s still good of her to speak out because people should know who’s representing them and what their opinions are.”
— Zoey Sherer, sophomore
“What Hamas did was terrible and caused a lot of pain. But at the same time, I don’t think that Israel’s response is okay. They have killed so many people at this point and destroyed so many people’s lives, including so many innocent people, while Hamas remains relatively unharmed. So I think that Anna Eshoo’s response oversimplifies things and doesn’t take the whole situation into account. ”
—Elise Andrade, sophomore
“Yeah, because it’s her belief. And she doesn’t need to speak for a community if she doesn’t believe in everything because everyone else has a different opinion.”
— Adeline Quan, senior
“It really depends which type of supporter she wants because it definitely brings a lot of controversy and she’ll definitely lose a lot of supporters who are pro-Palestine. I don’t necessarily think it’s the best thing because there are a lot of pro–Palestine people in this area. I really don’t think that it was like the best thing, but Palo Alto is like, a majorly Israel supporting group.”
— Emily Stell, sophomore
“Yes, I think that, unfortunately, people are very afraid to talk about issues that are uncomfortable. And, not saying that she’s right in her perspective, but in order for our country to move forward, we have to have tough conversations. And this is something that’s happening in the world. It is creating tough conversations. And the more we hide from them, the less likely we are to be able to come together and move past them.”
—Justin Cronin, history teacher
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“I think it was very brave for her to speak out for what she believes in. And I would have done the same if I felt very strongly about something like that.”
— Sarah Van Valkenburg, sophomore