FCD Statement on Palestine

The Foothill Community Democrats recognize that our silence on the Palestinian and Israeli crisis was a mistake. The disproportionately high number of Palestinian casualties, including thousands of maimed and killed women and children, has clarified these atrocities to be a systematic genocide brought on by the Israeli government, funded with our tax dollars, against the Palestinian people. We vehemently condemn Israel’s apartheid regime in its unrelenting, U.S.-backed genocide against the Palestinian people and prolonged occupation of Palestinian territories. The staggering number of mutilated and killed children, journalists, healthcare workers, and aid workers, along with the destruction of vital infrastructure, has resulted in the undeniable conclusion that Israel is intentionally and knowingly engaging in these war crimes. This has also exposed our own delayed education and awareness of the foreign policy crisis our own Party has contributed to creating. We must hold our elected officials accountable for their past support for Israel’s war crimes, their acceptance of campaign contributions from foreign policy interest lobbies, and demand their foreign policy positions change to reflect our Democratic constituency or risk being primaried. 

Generations of children who are subjected to ongoing occupation, military attacks, losing parents and siblings, and starvation will face severe physical and mental trauma for the rest of their lives. The thousands of chronically ill people who have had little access to health care due to our tolerance of the war crime of attacking civilian healthcare infrastructure. Israel controls all access to Gaza, including humanitarian aid distribution. Palestinians surviving in Gaza are facing unsurvivable conditions as Israel deliberately enacts tactics of mass starvation. On a daily basis, Israel’s illegal occupying force is using the moniker of “humanitarian aid” to lure innocent people desperately seeking food, water, and medicine to their deaths at the hands of the IDF.

This continued horror will lead to another generation that resents the United States and risks the safety of future generations of Americans. We understand that, to the military industrial complex, these atrocities ensure their future markets,  which is why we, as Democrats, cannot continue to tolerate the sale of weapons as a foreign policy objective. Our participation in this genocide, through our funding and direct weapon sales to Israel, has directly contributed to undermining the foreign policy interests of the United States. If the U.S. continues its support of Israel’s colonization, it will only further stain the reputation of our country as a perpetuator of genocide and ethnic cleansing. When 98% of the casualties are on one side, it is more than simply wrong not to speak out; it is a moral failure of the conscience of people who uphold liberty and freedom. 

Therefore, The Foothill Community Democrats:

• Demand an immediate embargo on all military aid, weapon shipments, and military logistical support to Israel.

• Demand the immediate end to the engineered famine and deliberate starving of the people in Gaza.

• Demand that Democratic candidates pledge to reject all campaign financing from foreign interest sources.

• Demand our representatives support recognition of the State of Palestine. 

• Adhere to the boycott, divestment, and sanctions efforts against Israeli and U.S. companies participating in the Palestinian genocide, as maintained by the Palestinian BDS National Committee’s BDS list, from all future club meetings, and call upon the Los Angeles County Democratic Party to support the BDS movement against Israel’s apartheid. 

• Demand the Democratic Party champion justice for Native Americans and the many victims of our White Supremacist history. 

• Denounce the conflation of anti-zionism and criticism of Israel with anti-semitism. 

• Call for the Democratic Party to create a Truth and Reconciliation Committee to identify and provide recommendations to correct the hypocritical application of the Party’s response to ethnic cleansing and genocide. 

Crucially, we ask our Democratic elders to listen to their conscience, their base, and the youth who are seeking an opposition party to the GOP, instead of smearing, threatening, and punishing Democratic activists for demanding justice for the victims of genocide.

We should be able to agree that what we are witnessing has been foreshadowed and warned of for years. Never Again. 

Foothill Community Democrats 

FCD Statement to CADEM E-board regarding Foreign Policy Matters

The Board of the Foothill Community Democrats (FCD) applauds and thanks the CADEM delegates for raising their voices and making it clear that the amendment would not pass as it would tie the hands of CADEM, and its affiliates, including FCD, from taking stances on foreign policy issues. 

The Foothill Community Democrats voted unanimously to oppose the proposed amendment by Andrew Lachman to limit the CA Democrats’ capacity to take foreign policy positions. By attempting to tie the California Democratic Party’s foreign policy platform with the Democratic National Committee’s foreign policy platform, Andrew Lachman sought to prevent the necessary democratic deliberation and discussion required to adapt our foreign policy platform in the presence of new evidence.  Attempting to limit our capacity to do so jeopardizes the namesake of our Party. It tarnishes our reputation amongst independent voters who are seeking an opposition to the current Christian Nationalist administration. This proposal reflects the kind of decision-making that violates our Democratic principles and continues to turn voters away from the Democratic Party.  When party leaders fear grassroots discussions on foreign policy matters, it demonstrates their lack of conviction to stand up to foreign interest lobbyists and organizations. Andrew Lachman has previously graduated from the Anti-Defamation League's Glass Leadership Program. He has been endorsed by the Israeli-American Civic Action Network (ICAN) for his steadfast support of Israel and his ongoing efforts to distort public education under the guise of “combating antisemitism”.  

We must call this proposal what it is: An attempt by Lachman to prevent the California Democratic Party from adopting a foreign policy position that threatens our alliance with Israel’s perpetration of the genocide in Gaza. Our agreement on Ukraine stems from the recognition that conquest and collective punishment are unjustifiable war crimes in the 21st century, but the party’s reluctance to hold our ally Israel accountable for similar war crimes and genocide reflects either ignorance or maliciousness behind this amendment. 

Again, the Foothill Community Democrats thanks the Delegates of the party for creating the energy needed to remove this amendment. Thank you, party leaders, for listening to the voice of the people for what is right and not seeking ways to escape denouncing this genocide through anti-democratic measures.

FCD Statement on Monrovia Home Depot ICE raid death

The Foothill Community Democrats extend our deepest condolences to the family of Roberta Carlos Montoya, who was struck while fleeing in fear from ICE’s most recent violation of the federal temporary restraining order in Monrovia on August 14th, 2025.  We condemn the use of ICE in our communities, and denounce the Home Depot for their ongoing collaboration with ICE. 
Raids like these do not keep our communities safe, instead they instill fear and put lives at risk. This death is a direct result of Trump's racist attacks on brown individuals, and the scapegoating of immigrant populations. 
Their blood is on his hands, and we call for the end to this ongoing occupation of our neighborhoods. We reject the weaponization of the immigration system to carry out the White supremacist and fascist ideals held by the Trump administration. 

To assist with the family, feel free to donate to his gofundme.

FCD Statement on ICE

The Foothill Community Democrats demand the city councils of the foothill communities of Arcadia, Duarte, Monrovia, and Sierra Madre join the city of Los Angeles’ litigation against the aggressive and dangerous tactics deployed by ICE against the residents of California. 

These unconstitutional, illegal, and immoral tactics violate the due process rights of all people residing within the US and diminishes public trust in government. These cruel strategies fail to address the ongoing exploitation of immigrant labor, the imperialist foreign policy that destabilizes the home countries of immigrants, or the black market trade of people, guns, and drugs across our border. 

Adding our cities to all future cases against ICE overreach reinforces our commitment to preserving the dignity, well-being, and safety of all residents. No city should stand by while their neighbors are left to shoulder the burden of resisting the Trump administration’s fascist tendencies alone. The Supreme Court’s recent rulings have undermined public faith and confidence that the court system will uphold the current temporary restraining order against ICE, and we call upon our local leaders to protect their communities against arbitrary arrest and brutality. 

We call upon the residents of the foothills to stand up for our neighbors and join us in contacting local leaders to demand they join the case against ICE. Let’s come together to protect our community’s safety.

Arcadia: CityCouncil@arcadiaCA.gov

Duarte:  DuarteInfo@AccessDuarte.com

Monrovia: cityclerk@ci.monrovia.ca.us
Sierra Madre: laguilar@cityofsierramadre.com