Quick Take
In the latest demonstration aimed at Rep. Jimmy Panetta’s support of Israel, a local group held a weeklong vigil outside the door to his Santa Cruz congressional office. One group member likened the effort to protests that turned public opinion against the Vietnam War in the 1960s and ’70s.
Even before the Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack drew the world’s attention to the Israel-Palestine conflict, Santa Cruz County had long been home to a strain of activism focused on Palestinian justice. Pedestrians and drivers passing by Santa Cruz’s Ocean Street Starbucks on any given Saturday would be greeted with “Free Palestine” signs and at least a huddle of people in red, black and green.
As the war has intensified over the past 10 months, so has the local conversation, in ways both civil and disruptive. There have been demonstrations at local city councils and commissions — including one that verged on violence in Santa Cruz — standoffs between UC Santa Cruz students and police, large candlelight vigils for victims of the war, “learn-ins” on campus and discourse between faith leaders.
Over the past few weeks, however, a growing focus has been placed on Rep. Jimmy Panetta’s support of Israel.
When the congressman appeared in Santa Cruz less than three weeks ago to participate in a live reading of Sinclair Lewis’ play “It Can’t’ Happen Here,” the event was disrupted by protesters shouting from different seats in the theater, many focusing on Palestine and Panetta. One protester even ran toward the congressman before getting cut off by police and security.
This week, anyone wishing to visit Panetta’s office on the third floor of the county building in Santa Cruz would have been greeted by demonstrators occupying the hallway outside his door. Advertised as the Panetta Vigil for Human Rights, the group arrived each morning Monday through Thursday (and planned to continue to Friday) for an old-fashioned, though tempered, sit-in.
Panetta, however, was out of the country.
The group, led by Rick Longinotti, a well-known figure in local politics, turned the congressional foyer into part-classroom, part-parlor. Each session ran from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and followed a loose schedule of discussions with titles like “Stop Military Aid to the Philippines” and “GROK Feelings & Needs,” as well as classes such as “Palestinian Poetry as a Doorway” and “Conflict Improv.”
On late Wednesday morning, Allan Fisher shuttled back and forth across the crosswalk connecting the county building’s steps to the parking lot, waving signs directing people to the vigil. Fisher, who said his parents are Holocaust survivors, has been involved with pro-Palestine activism for “many years.”
Fisher viewed the vigil effort as part of “the long game.” He likened the effort to Vietnam War protests in the 1960s and ’70s. Americans broadly supported the war effort in the first few years, but as protests began to grow, public support waned.
“We’re not going to convince Panetta today, tomorrow or next month, but what we’re doing here is laying the groundwork to build a movement to challenge Panetta,” Fisher said. “We can’t do this if people are not aware of where he stands on these things.”
Where does he stand? In the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks, Panetta said that the U.S. would “stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Israel.” In April, he supported sending humanitarian aid into Gaza while voting to send military aid to Israel. The congressman later publicly criticized the prosecutor from the International Criminal Court who accused Israel of war crimes and put out arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant.
Panetta has also accepted significant campaign contributions from the influential American Israel Public Affairs Committee. According to OpenSecrets, Panetta received $204,700 from AIPAC in the 2023-24 cycle.
Longinotti and Fisher said each day of the vigil had brought about 20 to 30 people outside Panetta’s door. On Wednesday, 16 people, most older than 50, had rearranged the hallway’s chairs into a circle. Former Santa Cruz mayor Tim Fitzmaurice’s poetry writing workshop was followed by a class titled “Resiliency & Activism: A Spiritual Lens,” led by Ami Chen Mills, a local politico, radio host and former candidate for county supervisor.
As Chen Mills spoke of the importance of presence in activism and trying to let go of past and future thoughts, Panetta’s district director, Emmanuel Garcia, walked through the circle on his way out of the building.
Reached by phone Thursday, Garcia said he has spoken with the group and has been open to scheduling more formal meetings with its members.
“I’m happy to meet with them,” Garcia said. “We’ve definitely spoken and met with people on this topic who have been concerned about this. It’s a topic that is front and center.” Garcia acknowledged that the meetings have probably not happened at the frequency the demonstrators wished, given Panetta’s schedule and his responsibilities to a district that stretches from San Jose to San Luis Obispo.
Christian Unkenholz, Panetta’s communications director, said “when the congressman is back in the district, he is always willing to meet with constituents about the issues they care about.” Unkenholz, referencing Panetta’s calendar over the past 10 months, said the congressman has “had regular meetings with constituents to discuss the conflict in the Middle East, more than twenty engagements. The most recent series of meetings occurred on July 12th.”
Unhae Langis, who had attended each day of the vigil through Wednesday, said she feels Panetta has been unresponsive.
“We want to hear him out and be open, but we have to hear from him first,” Langis said. “We’d like to help change his views. It’s also surprising to see that he gets all that money from AIPAC? Why does he need it?”
“We want to shine a light on the gap between his position on Israel and what we think is the popular position in our community,” Longinotti told Lookout. “I don’t think we’re under any illusion that there is going to be a road to Damascus moment for Jimmy Panetta. It’s more about our community. … He’s not our enemy. He’s our brother, and we want to call our brother home. And I don’t want him to hold office while he’s on his way home.”
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