September 2, 2021

Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Los Angeles hosted a webinar with various law enforcement officials on August 26 providing an overview of antisemitism in the country and law enforcement’s role in handling such matters.

ADL Los Angeles Regional Director Jeffrey Abrams began the webinar noting that there was a 40% increase in antisemitic incidents from 2016-2020 in California; more recently, there was a 115% increase in antisemitic incidents across the country from May 11-31 following the escalation between Israel and Hamas over that timeframe.

“When tensions flare in the Middle East, Jews around the world are blamed,” Abrams said. He urged social media companies and “every lever of government” to do their part in combating antisemitism.

Acting U.S. Attorney Tracy L. Wilkison and FBI Los Angeles Field Office Assistant Director Kristi Johnson then spoke, touting their respective offices’ partnership with the ADL and efforts to counteract hate crimes, such as the establishment of a Hate Crimes Task Force that includes the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), FBI and prosecutors. Wilkison pointed to the recent conviction of a man who attempted to bomb a 2019 white nationalist rally in Long Beach and also intended to target members of the Jewish community as an example of her office’s recent actions in “responding to [a] hate-motivated trend across the country.” “Antisemitic and hate crimes are unacceptable to me and we will fight them with every tool that we have,” she said.

Emily Kaufman, an investigative researcher for the ADL, later presented an overview of antisemitic incidents since 2020. California has one of the highest incident rates of antisemitism in the country; while the number of incidents have declined slightly since 2020, it’s still part of an “increasing trend,” Kaufman said. As examples, she pointed to the May antisemitic attack at the Sushi Fumi restaurant in the Beverly Grove by individuals in a Palestinian caravan, as well as an incident at a synagogue in Redondo Beach, where a note that read, “Die f—ing Jew” was received later that month.

Since May, 60% of American Jews have personally witnessed antisemitism online or in-person; by comparison 63% said that they had seen antisemitism online or in-person over the past five years. “This is particularly striking given that the timeline was three weeks,” Kaufman said. 

She also referenced instances of antisemitism from white nationalists, pointing to the man at the January 6 riot who wore a hoodie sweatshirt that read “Camp Auschwitz” and the white supremacists who blamed “Jewish mercenaries” for the deaths that occurred that day.

‘[The] pain, frustration and fear that the Jewish community has been feeling is real.’
— Emily Kaufman

“[The] pain, frustration and fear that the Jewish community has been feeling is real,” Kaufman said. “If Jews don’t feel safe then it’s not possible for anyone to feel safe.”

Orlando Martinez, the LAPD Hate Crimes Coordinator, said that they have recorded 59 antisemitic crimes thus far in 2021, an uptick from 39 the year prior, and pointed to Miracle Mile and West Los Angeles as “hotspots” for antisemitic hate crimes.  He also argued that hate crimes are being underreported because some crimes are simply considered to be “aggravated assaults” instead of hate crimes. FBI Special Agent Matt Grimes concurred that hate crimes are being underreported to the FBI because “there are a lot of communities out there that just don’t trust law enforcement” and have concerns about “language barriers” while others may be concerned about their immigration status.

Prosecutor Mack Jenkins said that successfully prosecuting hate crimes as civil rights cases are “exceedingly difficult” because prosecutors have to prove the “but for” motive, meaning that absent a defendant’s prejudice, the crime wouldn’t have occurred. Assistant United States Attorney Veronica Dragalin said that out of the 271 hate crime cases in 2015-2020, 79% resulted in a guilty plea while 21% went to trial. She argued that it was important for people to report on incidents so the FBI can stop escalating behavior, pointing to how the Chabad of Poway shooter committed arson against a mosque in 2019, a month before the shooting.

Other speakers during the webinar included Chief of the Civil Rights Section, Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Karen Ruckert and LAPD Deputy Chief Blake Chow.

In 2002, author Batya Yasgur put out a memoir, “Behind the Burqa,” about two Afghan sisters who fled their country 20 years apart to avoid persecution. During the process of writing the book, she became close to an Afghan women’s rights activist who was also the director of the Afghan Women’s Fund, a non-profit organization that advocates for the rights of women in Afghanistan and establishes vocational and educational programs for them. They build schools for girls and provide medical clinics, school supplies to students and irrigation systems and wells to villages. 

Now, with the Taliban taking over, the lives of teachers and the volunteers in AWF are in danger. One member was killed, several have been attacked, the sister-in-law of a volunteer was shot and is now in a coma and many others have fled and are in hiding. Yasgur and the AWF are raising funds to evacuate 50 women and men who are at risk and bring them to the U.S.

“The Taliban penalize everyone for the ‘offenses’ of one family member,” said Yasgur, who is on the board of the AWF and the organization’s corresponding secretary. “The 50 people [we] are seeking to bring over are not just volunteers but also their spouses and children who are in danger.”

Each petition to transport these individuals to the U.S. costs either $535 or $575, depending on the category the applicant is in. Yasgur and the AWF are hoping to raise $30,000 for the members, some of whom have family in the U.S. According to Yasgur, they’re trying to find homes for the Afghans through their U.S. volunteers and supporters, as well as through family members already in the U.S. 

So far, the group has not been successful with evacuating anyone. “[The] challenges are finding sponsors and raising money for the applications,” said Yasgur. “We will also need to have money available for airfare (assuming they are approved) and to resettle them.”

She added, “There is great danger at the airport itself and in the surrounding area.”

Yasgur is passionate when it comes to writing about Afghan women and helping the individuals who are now in danger because of her own family history. 

“My mother fled Nazi Germany in 1936, together with her parents and brothers,” she said. “Perhaps it is because of her history as a refugee that I have always had an affinity with people seeking asylum from persecution.”

Along with working with the AWF, Yasgur also offered to volunteer her services as a social worker and writer for a human rights organization called Equality Now, which advocates for the human rights of women and girls around the world.

According to Yasgur, it’s important that people support the AWF in bringing their members to the U.S. for a number of reasons.

“Our government has in part contributed to the chaos and problems besetting the Afghan people now, and I believe that it is our responsibility as Americans to do whatever we can to remedy the situation.”

“Our government has in part contributed to the chaos and problems besetting the Afghan people now, and I believe that it is our responsibility as Americans to do whatever we can to remedy the situation,” she said. “As Jews, we know all too well what it means to be persecuted and I believe that we have the responsibility to help other persecuted people. And as human beings, I believe we all have a responsibility to other human beings to open our hearts, doors and wallets to bring as many people as possible to safety.”

You can make a tax-deductible donation to the Afghan Women’s Fund on their website.

It was neither accidental nor incidental that the Consulate General of Israel in Los Angeles co-sponsored a 20-foot by 50-foot mural unveiled last month in Koreatown that portrayed a Korean young woman.

Since the pandemic began, in the United States, more than 9,000 hate crimes have been reported against Asian Americans – two-thirds of them women – supposedly faulting them for COVID-19.

The Aug. 24 ceremony took place at the Korean American Federation of Los Angeles, and the mural dedication “was born out of the fact we wanted to express our solidarity with the Asian community after the spa shooting in Atlanta last March,” said Consul General Dr. Hillel Newman. “We decided to do the mural because of the rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans.”  

Following the Atlanta massacre, where Asian women were six of the eight victims, “we approached the Asian community, and out of the talks, this event was born,” said Cambodian-born Andrew Hem of Artists 4 Israel.

Hem said he grew up in an area “where I was one of only three Asians. I never felt I belonged.” His mural shows a young Korean woman wearing a traditional Korean garb, the hanbok. The backdrop displays storm clouds below, rising to a clearer beautiful sky.  

Israel and South Korea have a special relationship, Newman said, because, “We understand their plight. They are surrounded by radicals and extremists from North Korea. We (Israelis) also are surrounded by radicals and extremists. Therefore, it is so important that we stand together.”

James An, president of the Korean American Federation, set the scene for his community.

“Since the onset of COVID, we have seen a rise in crime against Asians,” he told the Journal. “The crimes are not a foreign thing. They increased exponentially during the pandemic… something along the lines of ‘Asians brought COVID to the United States.’ The ‘China virus’ rhetoric did not help at all.

On the question of whether LA is safer for Asian Americans than other urban areas, An was unequivocal. “It is dangerous everywhere you go these days,” he said. “Northern California was experiencing a large increase in crimes against Asian Americans. Remember, these crimes are continuing to happen. They’re not going away. 

“We (leaders) are advocating hard for the community, trying to raise awareness. We are encouraging people to report these crimes because, you know, many Asian Americans don’t report crimes. They go home and they cry themselves to sleep. They pretend like everything is going to be okay.”

An said their passive approach “might be a cultural thing.

“But we are telling people, ‘you have to report these crimes so the criminals can be brought to justice. If it happens to another person because you didn’t report the crime against you, that doesn’t help the community at all.”

An recalled a conversation with Newman last March after the Atlanta murders.

‘We are with you, and we would like to help.’ -Hillel Newman, Israeli Consul General

“Hey, we are with you, and we would like to help,” Newman told An. 

“How about if we put up a mural that signifies unity and solidarity?” An asked. “Then we reached out to Hem – he’s a world-renowned muralist — and got this partnership going.”

Asian Americans are not the only beneficiaries of Israeli Consulate generosity. 

Newman’s office also oversaw the distribution of more than 100 computers in South Central to African American and Latino students who were unable to attend in-person classes because of the pandemic. 

Newman said, “We were approached by African American pastors and leaders. They said the children didn’t have computers to link to the schools. They were afraid this would escalate to crime if they didn’t study and get to participate in classes.”