Nine months ago, as it aimed to sell its 22-acre Bel Air campus, American Jewish University (AJU) had a choice. It could sell to the international education company Education First (EF), or it could sell to Milken Community Schools, which already had a high school in the area and was looking to expand.
AJU went with EF, which they evidently deemed made a stronger offer. This triggered some hard feelings among members of the community who were hoping that the venerable campus — which includes a community mikveh, a Jewish library and multiple spaces honoring local donors — would stay in Jewish hands.
As I wrote at the time, “These are the most difficult columns to write, because I’m torn between two sentiments. On the one hand, I don’t want to feed communal anger; but on the other, I don’t want to dismiss it either.”
My dilemma was that it was a fait accompli. Feeding any communal anger about the sale would be like crying over spilt milk, on the eve of the High Holy Days. “Had the sale to Milken gone through,” I wrote, “this column would have turned from the hardest one to write to the easiest. Everyone loves a happy ending!”
So, when the dramatic news came out last week that the EF sale fell through, many saw it as a unique opportunity for the community to have that happy ending.
Will it happen?
Right now, things are up in the air. A lot has changed in nine months. I hear that interest from Milken has cooled, and that the real estate market has softened. If a deal with Milken is not revived, can AJU find a Jewish suitor at a mutually acceptable price? And if it can’t, then what?
For starters, it would mean AJU going back to square one with the chance to turn a temporary setback into a community victory. In the wake of the COVID lockdowns and the many conveniences that keep us cozy at home, Jews have never been more physically isolated. As I wrote last week:
“What we need now are physical spaces where we can gather in person. AJU can look at its Mulholland campus not as a giant burden but as a communal garden. What kind of creative, engaging spaces and events can it create that will get the Jews of LA to come together and reconnect?”
In its mission statement, AJU says it “advances and elevates the Jewish journey of individuals, organizations and our community through excellence in scholarship, teaching, engaged conversation, and outreach.”
That last word, outreach, is a crucial one. AJU now has an opportunity to reach out to the community and help heal some wounds. Over many decades, as AJU evolved into a bustling hub of communal activities, people throughout our community developed a deep, emotional attachment to the place. They don’t see this as “just business.”
Over many decades, as AJU evolved into a bustling hub of communal activities, people throughout our community developed a deep, emotional attachment to the place. They don’t see this as “just business.”
Either through selling or partnering or a combination of both, if AJU can take the lead to reimagine the campus to better serve the community, it will not just heal wounds but benefit all of us. I don’t pretend to know all the issues AJU is now working through; I’m sure there are plenty. I’m speaking solely as someone who represents the interest of a community which I love.
Several ideas are floating around. Beyond renewing the sale to Milken, a few readers brought up the idea of a JCC to serve both LA and the Valley. Other readers brought up the need for more senior housing. Rabbi Laura Geller shared a twist on that idea:
“If the campus can be rebuilt as housing it should be intergenerational. Some version of a Continuing Care Community with pods for millennials with lower rents and smaller units for families with younger kids in exchange for interaction with the older adults.”
We can expect more ideas to percolate in the next few weeks and months. A key factor for any suitor will be to work closely with the neighborhood groups to get their support.
The good news is that the community has been given a second chance, and so has AJU. As I wrote last week, “LA Jewry is now in the process of a communal conversation over the future of a magnificent space in which every member of our community has a stake.” We should support AJU’s efforts to help move this forward.
If we can come out of this difficult episode with the realization that our communal spaces belong to all of us, that will be a happy ending indeed.
