When Judith (Judy) Manouchehri was two years old, her family fled Iran in the middle of the night.
Her father had been arrested by Iran’s new Islamic regime after serving alcohol – which had been banned – at a gathering in their Tehran home. After his release, the family left the country, traveling by horse-drawn carriage through Pakistan. They spent several weeks in Spain before arriving in the United States as refugees in 1982.
In Los Angeles, they joined relatives and a growing Iranian Jewish community that started taking shape after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. For families who had arrived as refugees, there was probably no better city in the United States than Beverly Hills to be an Iranian Jew. It offered them the chance to rebuild among people who shared a similar history and understood the challenges of starting over. Judith grew up in that environment, where community and mutual support were part of everyday life.
Judith and her brother Jonathan, only a year older than she, attended Horace Mann, where Judith was elected eighth-grade class president and later, Beverly Hills High School, where in her senior year she became the Associated Student Body president.
“That’s my origin and the reason for who I am,” she said. “And I am so grateful to be living in Los Angeles, and very grateful for the opportunities that the United States has provided my family.”
Even after graduating and becoming a real estate attorney, Judith remained involved with the Beverly Hills school system, a way of giving back to the community that had given her so much. Her three children also attend Beverly Hills Unified School District (BHUSD) schools, which was one of the reasons she decided to run for a seat in 2023. Two years after joining the board, her fellow board members selected her as president of the Beverly Hills Unified School District Board of Education.
Although Judith said her own children have never reported experiencing antisemitism at BHUSD, she believes the district should be vigilant to the rise in antisemitism elsewhere in the country. For her, education is an important way to raise awareness among students and help Jewish students feel supported and confident in their schools.
“Following Oct. 7 [2023], it became very clear to me that what had happened was not only concerning and traumatizing, but that it could also be very divisive. The way to deal with that division is to talk about the issue based on facts, and what it means when we say, ‘Never again,’” she said.
In August 2025, Judith supported a BHUSD resolution titled “Combating Antisemitism through Education, Awareness, Remembrance and Support,” which outlined specific steps for the district to take. The resolution calls for May to be recognized as Jewish American Heritage Month, annual Holocaust Remembrance Day programming, and Oct. 7 to be designated as a day of remembrance for victims of antisemitic terrorism.
It also calls for age-appropriate education about Jewish history and culture, professional development for teachers and staff, and instruction to help students recognize and respond to antisemitism and hate. The resolution also adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism for educational and professional-development purposes, while stating that it would be applied consistent with the First Amendment, California Constitution and Education Code.
“Beverly Hills has a strong and vibrant Jewish and Israeli-American community, and I believe our school district has a responsibility to stand with that community, educate our students about antisemitism and its consequences, and ensure that hatred and discrimination have no place in our schools,” she said.
This resolution followed an earlier one adopted by BHUSD in October 2023, shortly after Hamas’ attack on Israel. That resolution condemned the attack, expressed support for Israel’s right to exist and defend itself and acknowledged an increase in antisemitic hate crimes and expressions of antisemitism around the world. It also pledged to protect students from antisemitism and hate and committed the district to educating students to stand against racism, hate and antisemitism.
“The first resolution was stating solidarity and understanding and compassion,” Judith said. “The second one has more depth and substance and more purpose in combating antisemitism.” She hopes the effort will show students and the broader community that standing up for Jewish students is not only acceptable but should be the norm.
“I’m very proud of BHUSD for its part in that,” she said.
For Judith, her family’s experience as refugees from Iran is part of what drives her commitment to speaking out against antisemitism and never staying silent. “We know how fragile life can be and that Jew-hate can be very strong,” she said. “That’s why it’s so important to speak up against it and support those who do.”
