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Huffman Town Hall's Most Contentious Issue is Gaza War · KMUD News

• 0:00
  Speaker A: A town hall meeting hosted by North Coast Congressman Jared Huffman dealt with the actions of the Trump administration. But the loudest voices in the audience were those who accused him of being complicit in what they called genocide by supporting military aid to Israel. Trump's bold moves are frightening people who packed the Adorney center in Eureka on March 30 to ask Huffman questions about endangered programs and agencies, deportations, apparent rule of an oligarchy, and cuts to services. Huffman opened the town hall by saying he's worried and alarmed by a federal government that's operating, quote, unlike anything I've ever seen before and failing to correct illegality and corruption. He warned of what he described as a disturbing trend that often precedes fascism. But he fielded accusations himself. When the subject of the Gaza war was brought up, Arcata artist and activist Karpani Burns described horrific footage she'd seen of a dead Palestinian child. She asked Huffman about his sense of morality.
• 1:18
  Speaker B: I care about what's happening in Palestine. I care about the tens of thousands of people that have been murdered, and I have not yet seen one move on your part to care to do something except continue with your votes for arms to Israel. You continually say they have a right to defend themselves. They are not defending themselves. They are butchering a people, and it's called genocide. When will you find in your morality where your human being has become disconnected to your politics?
• 2:11
  Speaker A: Huffman said he opposes the scale of Israel's military actions, but he also alluded to Israel's identity as a Jewish state that's been threatened and attacked since its creation. He described it as a difficult, divisive issue.
• 2:28
  Speaker C: I'm probably in a position where I please absolutely no one on this issue, but I do believe that the state of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state should exist. I support them. And I also believe there should be a Palestinian state that has security and peace and that we should end this conflict. And I oppose annexation, I oppose settlements, I oppose the Israeli government in so many ways that I've been very active on, but I understand it's not enough for some people. I think we will just. We will disagree on some of the tales and nuances.
• 3:07
  Speaker A: The nuances mentioned by Huffman refer to the untenable situation Israel faced after the Oct. 7 massacre. Those who disagree with the genocide accusations say collateral damage is unavoidable in a highly populated urban area, and the intent of the warfare is to destroy an embedded terrorist enemy, Hamas. Huffman said he's tried to support the Palestinian people in so many ways which he said has upset many pro Israel people. Members of the audience attempted to shout him down repeating the genocide accusation which prompted pushback.
• 3:51
  Speaker C: And I look, I'm opposing that. You do know this, right? You do know that I'm opposing those actions. I'm doing it in every way I can. But you know what, maybe, maybe getting thousands and thousands people not to vote for Democrats in the last election because they weren't perfect with what you want was a dumb idea. Maybe you should have some accountability for just totally misplaced advocacy on this issue. But let's move on.
• 4:24
  Speaker A: The meeting ended on a positive note, however, with Huffman saying government can be improved but there are far better ways of doing it than what's happening now. In closing, he told the audience, thank you for a great conversation. We're going to have more of them in Eureka. For KMUT News, this is Daniel Mintz.