Jewish Community Leaders Say ‘Our Voices Are Heard’ During Anti-Semitism Town Hall

Several Los Angeles Jewish community leaders held a town hall at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills on Dec. 18 in front of at least 400 people addressing recent anti-Semitic incidents that have occurred in the Los Angeles area.

The Israeli-American Civic Action Network (ICAN) hosted the event; ICAN California Chair Vered Elkouby Nisim started the town hall saying that it was important that everyone come together to unite behind the common cause of fighting anti-Semitism.

“Tonight we say: enough,” Elkouby Nisim said, adding: “What we ask of anyone of you here tonight is to join us as a community and to ensure that each of our voices [are] heard.”

Beverly Hills Mayor John Mirisch followed her, saying that he and other members of the Beverly Hills City Council feel like “we have a special responsibility to combat anti-Semitism because we are the only Jewish majority city outside of Israel.”

He went onto call anti-Semitism a disease that can take many forms, including in the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement. On the Nessah Synagogue vandalism on Dec. 14, Mirisch expressed anger.

“How dare anybody think they can do [this] in our city of all places,” he said.

Mirisch then announced that the suspect behind the vandalism is currently in custody, prompting applause from the audience.

“These incidents simply go to show how important Israel is,” Mirish said, arguing that Israel is a safe haven for Jews fleeing anti-Semitism.

“One thing that none of us as Jews can question is that we as Jews have an ancestral homeland that is ours,” he added.

Beverly Hills Police Chief Sandra Spagnoli proceeded to get into the details of the Nessah vandalism.

“As your police chief, I can tell you that this is one of the worst incidents that can happen to a community,” Spagnoli said, adding that “officers found the interior severely ransacked with overturned furniture, prayer racks scattered everywhere.”

She then told the audience that the suspect, who is originally from Pennsylvania, took a taxi cab from Wilshire Boulevard right after allegedly committing the vandalism and took a plane to Hawaii, causing gasps from the audience. The Beverly Hills Police Department partnered with local police to arrest the suspect in Kona.

“Now that we know that the person responsible for this crime is in custody we can begin the first steps in the healing process as a community,” Spagnoli said.

Los Angeles City Controller Ron Galperin later spoke, saying that how he felt when he first heard about the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in Oct. 2018 was similar to how he felt when he first heard about the Nessah synagogue vandalism.

“I wish I could say I felt surprised because we see this happening over and over again,” Galperin said. He added that he also felt some anxiety since his husband, Rabbi Zach Shapiro, is a rabbi at Temple Akiba in Culver City.

Galperin went onto say that anti-Semitism in all forms needs to be condemned, whether it’s at the United Nations or Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-Minn.) “It’s all about the benjamins” comments. He also suggested that the Jewish community “build bridges with other communities.”

Los Angeles City Councilmember Paul Koretz brought up how he believes there have been as many as 30 anti-Semitic incidents in his district over the past day or so, which includes “a serious number of anti-Semitic hate messages painted on the walls in Jewish day schools.”

He stressed that it’s important to focus on making sure Jewish institutions, especially Jewish day schools, have proper security.

“We’re focused on making sure we shore up our physical infrastructure in our Jewish institutions,” Koretz said.

The city councilmember also said that it’s paramount to “educate our community on how to report acts of hate and take action.”

American Jewish Committee Los Angeles Regional Director Richard Hirschhaut said that over the past year, the Jewish community has felt “an unease… we have all been off-kilter since Pittsburgh.” He also pointed out that “the vandalisms that have followed in the days since Saturday all seem to be happening around schools, all seem to be happening around youth centers.”

It is then incumbent on all of us to foster dialogue and educate the youth about hate, Hirschhaut said. “We are better than this and we will prevail,” he added.

Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced during the town hall that he will be serving as the national chairman of ICAN’s national task force to promote cross-community engagement.

“We all understand that we need to branch out,” Villaraigosa said, adding that “the best way to fight hate is with love. And understanding.”

Villaraigosa also called for more education against hate.

“Education is so critical to the ignorance that we see prevalent in our nation today and around the world,” Villaraigosa said.

Fighting anti-Semitism isn’t a partisan issue, Villaraigosa said, “it’s about the gigantic middle in America who say, ‘[Lady] Liberty was right.’”

Other speakers at the town hall included Beverly Hills City Councilmember Lili Bosse, West Hollywood Mayor John D’Amico, Los Angeles City Councilmember Bob Blumenfeld, Democratic State Assemblymember Richard Bloom, West Hollywood City Councilmember William Moulder, Anti-Defamation League Deputy Regional Director Ariella Loewenstein, and 30 Years After President Sam Yebri. Journalist Lisa Daftari emceed the town hall.