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Advocating for Israel and our Local Jewish Community Deborah K. Goldfarb | Interim CEO, Jewish Long Beach
Since the brutal Hamas attack on Israeli citizens on October 7 our country has seen an alarming rise in antisemitism, and Jewish Long Beach has been leading a charge to address these issues locally. College campuses are disproportionately affected, and recently our local city governments has been drawn into the trap of promoting language that has traditionally been used to demonize both Israel and the Jewish Community. We find ourselves living in increasingly hostile environments. On November 5th I found myself speaking at the Long Beach Equity and Human Relations Commission and I felt that hostility firsthand. I was heckled by over 150 Anti-Israel protestors as I tried to explain to the commission that their approach to preventing antisemitism and calling for ceasefire could actually do the opposite because of their use of ambiguous language, and antisemitic tropes related to our support of Israel. Luckily while my, and other Jewish speakers’ comments were cut short during public comment, we had facilitated a letter from community organizations
Chief Program Officer Amy Lakin and Advocacy Subcommittee Chair Ken Schlesinger representing Jewish Long Beach at the Jewish Public Affairs Committee (JPAC) Board Meeting on Dec 6.
and synagogues to the Commission and City Council explaining our concerns. Ultimately the Commission amended their recommendation, deleting most of the objectionable language, and calling on the City Council to issue their own proclamation. You can find the Jewish Community letter and the various proclamations on our website (jewishlongbeach.org/israel). The rise in antisemitism in the U.S. may not be surprising given that, according to the ADL Global 100 survey, over 1.09 billion people in 100 countries around the world harbor antisemitic attitudes. However, as a community, we have been rudely awakened to the fact that these attitudes, along with general ignorance, have recently created an environment in our own Southern California cities, that leave our Jewish community fearful and disillusioned, even in cities like Long Beach where pride in diversity is high. Jewish Long Beach led a charge, along with our local synagogues and organizations, to encourage the city to provide as equitable as possible language in their proposed proclamation. At the
We are grateful to State Senators Ben Allen and Lola Smallwood-Cuevas and Assemblymembers Isaac Bryan, Tina McKinnor, Laura Friedman and Josh Lowenthal for their support and powerful remarks at the JPAC Board Meeting.
December 19th Long Beach City Council meeting, the council voted in favor Five to Two to call for a ceasefire in the Israel/ Hamas War. Statements like this have come before many city councils across the state fueled by protests by AntiIsrael organizations that have mobilized to promote propaganda against Israel. We have argued that this propaganda not only harms Israel, but creates an environment that propels antisemitism in our own local communities. Our new strategic plan calls for Jewish Long Beach to create expanded partnerships throughout the City of Long Beach and in the greater Long Beach area, and we have been diligently working on expanding our relationships. We know now, in the wake of the recent City Council vote, that this is needed now more than ever. We will continue to work to bring our community together around inclusivity and hope. Thank you for joining us as we move from strength to strength. Deborah
Hundreds of supporters of Israel and the Jewish community stood together in solidarity at the Long Beach Civic Center on Tues, Dec 19 ahead of the City Council’s vote to adopt a ceasefire proclamation.
JEWISHLONGBEACH.ORG | 5784 TEVET – SHEVAT – ADAR | 3
