Questions for our candidates for mayor

#EndJewHatred is a grassroots civil rights movement seeking social justice for the Jewish community by making Jew-hatred unacceptable in contemporary society, empowering Jews with positivity and strength to discover and enjoy their heritage in whichever manner they choose, without fear of attack or persecution.  

Antisemitism in Los Angeles has skyrocketed in the last few years, as it has across the country and around the world. Last year saw a sharp increase in hate crimes targeting the Jewish community, including many attacks captured on video. We have seen symbols of hate defacing our schools, stores, and holy places. Fliers promoting vile Jew-hatred are left throughout our neighborhoods, and in light of all these incidents and the terrorist attack on the synagogue in Colleyville, there have been increased concerns for safety at synagogues and community centers in Los Angeles.  

Jew-hatred is increasingly systematized in daily life, and nowhere is this more obvious than in our schools. On college campuses like USC, students are being driven out of student government because of their Jewish identity, or their support for the Jewish community. The lack of response to this Jew-hatred has led some to believe that they can target Jews with impunity – for example, a USC “diversity” senator proclaimed that she wanted to “kill every motherfucking Zionist” faced no real consequences for her outrageous conduct.  

Lack of action on these issues perpetuates trauma on the Jewish community. Silence is violence, and inaction affirms that violence against the Jewish people is acceptable. This is why we are asking  what, exactly, our candidates would do as Mayor to end the violence. 

1. What concrete measures will you take, as Mayor, to end Jew-hatred in Los Angeles?

2. How, exactly, will you deal with the increase in hate crimes targeting the Los Angeles Jewish community? 

3. What steps will you take to ensure that antisemitism is rooted out of Los Angeles schools, including the LAUSD? 

4. Will you commit to adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism in the Office of the Mayor and throughout the City of Los Angeles?

5. Will you commit to establishing a task force to develop and implement actions to tangibly support Jewish and Zionist Los Angelenos?

6. Will you supplement citywide bias and harassment training protocols to specifically include antisemitism?

7. How, exactly, will you deal with the antisemitic propaganda (such as fliers) that are frequently and increasingly being distributed all over Los Angeles by groups that are well-known to authorities but spread Jew-hatred with impunity?

8. When a hate crime or other incident targeting the Jewish community occurs, will you use language unequivocally addressing antisemitism and Jew-hatred without adding language about other forms of bigotry, racism, or bias – language that minimizes and trivializes the unique pain and intergenerational trauma of the Jewish community? 

Please note that we are asking the same questions of all the candidates for Mayor, as we seek to understand the candidates’ positions on these issues of critical importance to our community. The candidates may respond by issuing a public statement or directing your answers to action@endjewhatred.com.