Multiple residents and organizations asked the Arcata City Council Aug. 6 to place Palestine‑related items on a future council agenda, including a sister‑city relationship with Gaza City and a request for the city to push CalPERS to divest from companies tied to the Israeli military.
At the meeting, speaker after speaker urged the council to take up the issue. "I would like the city council please put on the agenda the request for CalPERS to divest," said Karpani Burns during the public‑comment period. Other commenters called for Arcata to adopt a sister‑city tie with Gaza City and to launch local divestment measures: "Please divest from CalPERS," one speaker said, and another urged, "Let's make Gaza City a sister city."
Supporters argued the requests were morally urgent and tied to the use of U.S. tax dollars and public investment. Several speakers linked local investment policies and the city's social responsibility clause to calls for divestment; one attendee cited an Arcata resolution (Resolution 245‑19) and asked why the city’s policy had not been enforced.
Opponents and some members of the public urged caution. In the meeting and on Zoom, speakers warned that sister‑city relationships typically require shared civic values such as democracy and human‑rights protections and argued that Gaza City, governed by Hamas, did not meet those criteria. One Zoom speaker said, "Gaza under Hamas has none of those" (elections, free press, LGBTQ+ rights). Another speaker on Zoom urged the council to avoid mixing local government business with foreign policy.
No council motion to agendize a sister city or to request CalPERS action appears in the Aug. 6 transcript; the requests were made by members of the public and several community groups. Several commenters said they would continue to push the council for formal consideration, and some asked the council to use its investment‑policy clause to review connections to CalPERS holdings.