The following, written by the Stephen Wise clergy, appeared in the Stephen Wise Temple Daily Kavanah on Monday, October 24, 2022, after a series of troubling incidents of antisemitism in Los Angeles and around the country.
Over the weekend, several deeply troubling, though sadly not surprising, antisemitic incidents occurred here in Los Angeles. A banner proclaiming that “Kanye is right about the Jews,” was hung on an overpass of the 405 freeway. Meanwhile, vile leaflets were distributed in neighborhoods around our city blaming Jews for a variety of so-called “ills,” including the “Covid Agenda,” the Biden administration, and LGBTQ+ inclusion.
Jewish organizations including our local Federation, the ADL, and the AJC are responding to the situation and coordinating with law enforcement. Our security team at the Temple is on heightened alert and will continue, as always, to be vigilant in the protection of our students, faculty, members, guests, and staff.
Before the events of the past few days, our ParentWise team had already scheduled a workshop led by Wise member, Professor Sivan Zakai, for this Thursday at 8:15 a.m. on “Parenting When the World is On Fire: How to Talk with Your Kids About Hard Things and Current Events.” We will provide materials throughout the week to help you discuss issues like these with your children as well as thoughts about how we might respond to such incidents. You can access previous messages and teachings we have shared HERE.
From all sides of the political spectrum, on university campuses, from white supremacist and other extremist groups that have existed on the margins of our society, to more mainstream voices that express their antisemitism both explicitly and through their silence, the uptick in Jew-hatred is most disturbing.
While distressing, we realize that this rhetoric—and the sometimes deafening silence around it—is not new. We know from our history that the best response we can offer is a strong, unified, purposeful Jewish community—such as the one we have at Wise.
We will continue to respond, build alliances, educate, and find meaning and comfort in our tradition and each other. Most importantly, we will continue to live our Judaism loudly and with pride.