SANTA CRUZ >> A group of local residents and self-titled “peace advocates” held a five-day sit-in outside of Rep. Jimmy Panetta’s office this week in protest of the lawmaker’s support for the United States’ policies and funding when it comes to the war between Israel and Hamas.

Organizers of the events, staged Monday through Friday primarily in the narrow, pastel hallway in front of Panetta’s office in the county government building in Santa Cruz, said there is a gap between Panetta’s record of “enabling the Israeli military attacks in Gaza” that have come with a high civilian Palestinian death toll and demands from the public for a permanent cease-fire to the conflict.

“I’m here because I got tired of sitting in my living room watching the news and seeing the atrocities that are happening in Gaza,” said Schaefer Roemmele, one of roughly 21 demonstrators Friday morning.

“It was news to me about how Panetta has been helping funding this war and I don’t think the larger community is aware of the representative’s actions.”

The group of attendees, which numbered around 30 throughout the week according to organizers, gathered around 10 a.m. for a final day of protest and sat in chairs just outside the door to the congressman’s office chanting a song with lyrics solely composed of “shalom” and “salam” — the Hebrew and Arabic words for “peace,” respectively. Others stood on the steps of the government building holding signs, one of which read “Jimmy Panetta stop funding war. Denounce those calling for genocide.”

For about four hours every day, a variety of daily events were put on by event attendees including workshops, poetry readings, painting, nonviolent communication practices and music.

Ten months of war

The current conflict in Gaza was ignited last October when a group of Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 250 hostages many of whom are still held captive.

Israel then launched an offensive of its own that included dropping 6,000 bombs and unguided missles on Gaza within five days of the October attack, according to a report from the Associated Press. As of early June, more than 37,000 Palestinians had been killed in the conflict, including many women and children, the AP reports.

“Everybody early on, including Panetta, was saying Israel needs to do more to protect civilians,” said Rick Longinotti, one of the sit-in’s primary organizers. “But, it’s become apparent Israel didn’t really heed that advice. Words are pretty cheap. You can say, ‘Hey, please protect civilians,’ and then when it’s not happening and it’s your money that’s paying for these weapons of destruction that are killing civilians, then you got to examine your own role.”

Panetta’s record

Panetta, who has represented large swaths of Santa Cruz County in Congress since 2016, was among a group of congressional leaders that traveled to Israel days after the Oct. 7 attack to reaffirm U.S. support and meet with Israeli leadership and families. Since that time, he has consistently shared statements reiterating a commitment to stand “shoulder-to-shoulder” with Israel.

In April, Panetta, who sits on the House Committee on Armed Services, voted in favor of a $95 billion national security package that included $26 billion for Israel. The next month, he joined President Joe Biden in sharply condemning a decision by the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor to seek arrest warrants for Israel and Hamas leaders due to actions taken during the war.

He has also voiced support for diplomatic negotiations to end the conflict. In March, Panetta co-led a group of congressional representatives in authoring a letter to Biden that urged a temporary pause in the fighting to release hostages and provide aid to Gaza.

While the letter shared a hope that the negotiations would “open a path to permanently ending the conflict,” it stopped short of calling for an immediate and permanent cease-fire as many pro-Palestinian advocates had pushed for.

A spokesperson for Panetta told the Sentinel Friday that the congressman had been traveling for a diplomatic trip to Ukraine and a visit with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy all week, but said the office has offered to schedule a private meeting with Panetta.

Some among the group of protesters outside of Panetta’s office criticized the legislator for accepting large contributions from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or “AIPAC,” a pro-Israel super PAC known for its deep pockets and powerful political influence. According to a campaign finance summary from OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan financial watchdog group, AIPAC is Panetta’s top financial backer, contributing $204,700 to his campaign since 2023.

“In addition to being devastating to Palestinians, this is the most devastating thing for the Jewish people in a long time. To be engaged in this kind of violent response and I think it comes out of trauma,” said Michael Levy, one of several Jewish people at the event. “We need healing. I’m here with everyone to try to influence Panetta in the direction where we can actually have healing.”

History of protest

This demonstration, focused primarily on moving Panetta on the issue, is the latest in a number of protests across the county that have come in response to the 10-month conflict. Last November, about 150 people marched on West Cliff Drive for a “Stand With Israel” walk, followed by another rally at UC Santa Cruz in March that was met by Jewish anti-Zionist counter protesters.

A couple of months later, hundreds of UCSC students formed a Palestinian solidarity encampment in Quarry Plaza that was later relocated and eventually broken up by police at the end of the month.

Just before that in late May, more than a thousand academic workers at the campus staged a stand up strike in response to the treatment of pro-Palestinian protesters on UC campuses across the state and picketed for weeks.

As for the effort to influence Panetta, Longinotti isn’t expecting a significant change in the congressman’s stance, adding that the group is trying to build an effort to challenge Panetta in the next election cycle two years from now.

In this year’s March primary, Panetta received 51,393 votes, or 74%, in Santa Cruz County and beat out opponents Jason Michael Anderson and Sean Dougherty. He’s set to face Republican Jason Anderson in the Nov. 5 presidential election.

“The yearning is there, but our leaders are not letting us have the peace that we want,” said Longinotti.