The impact of global events in the Middle East and the terrorist attack of October 7th continues to be felt here locally. We have seen a massive and frightening increase in local antisemitic incidents in Los Angeles these past six weeks. As we have and will always do, our Federation our steadfast in our commitment to keeping our community safe and supported. This month you will read about how we are doing this work from supporting and protecting our Jewish college students to training members of local Jewish synagogues schools, and institutions on best practices to spot and prevent threats. This is the powerful impact and urgent work your support allows us to have.
OUR URGENT WORK KEEPING OUR JEWISH STUDENTS SAFE
The terrorist attacks of October 7th have resulted in a global increase in antisemitism. This alarming trend has reached epidemic proportions on college campuses, where Jewish students have been bullied, harassed, and physically assaulted simply for being Jewish or for condemning terrorism.
We have just launched a critical new initiative, the Campus Impact Network (CIN), to support local Jewish students facing antisemitism at major universities such as UCLA, USC, and CSUN.
We quickly mobilized the CIN to meet the needs of our local campus communities.
Federation staff have been making onsite visits and collaborated with Hillel directors and staff, provided students with guidance on confronting antisemitism, and attended student-led vigils and Israel events on campus. In addition to giving this vital support, CIN empowers Jewish and like-minded student leaders to take an active role on-campus advocating for Jewish causes, building coalitions with allies, promoting a positive view of Israel on campus, and using their voices to elevate the on-campus Jewish experience.
We will always be there to protect, guide, and inspire our Jewish students.
To learn more visit: https://www.jewishla.org/program/campus-impact-network/
OUR LONG TERM STRATEGIES TO KEEP OUR JEWISH STUDENTS SUPPORTED
At a time of unprecedented antisemitism on college campuses, we helped convene more than 100 university administrators from across the Western U.S. universities convened at the University of Southern California (USC) for a summit co-hosted by us and our partners at Hillel International and USC Hillel. This summit was a beacon to help us face these profound issues with the urgency we feel, and at the very moment we need it most.
The leaders in attendance, ranging from university presidents to DEI officials from 40 colleges and universities, discussed the urgent challenge of antisemitism facing Jewish students. Hillel leaders, Jewish college students, professors, and policy makers stressed the importance of meaningful action to ensure the safety, security, and vibrancy of Jewish campus communities.
Attendees all concurred that the West Coast summit would mark the beginning of a conversation on how to best address campus antisemitism, not the end. Administrators will now return to their campuses with new tools and stronger connections for the benefit of their whole campus community, including Jewish students.
The conference was part of the work done by our Community Engagement team in bringing together our partners from around the city to achieve the common goal of flourishing and secure Jewish life.
To learn more about their work you can visit: https://www.jewishla.org/engaging-our-community/
KEEPING ALL OUR LOCAL JEWISH SYNAGoGUES, SCHOOLS, AND INSTITUTIONS PROTECTED
Since the terror attack in Israel on October 7, CSI has been working nonstop to coordinate with law enforcement partners, the Jewish Security Alliance, and the CSI Analysis Center to protect and train the community, ease concerns, and vet information. CSI has seen a significant rise in Client Reported Incidents as well as reports of antisemitic incidents in Los Angeles. Some stats we’d like to share:
- From October 7, CSI has tracked 89 local incidents to date.
- In September 2023, we had 17 incidents. So from Sept to Oct it’s a 217% increase.
- In comparing Sept 2023 to now, it’s a 423% increase.
- Since October 7, 41 of the incidents reported were hate incidents or crimes. That’s 46% of client reported incidents.
As part of CSI’s ongoing work keeping our local Jewish community safe, CSI recently hosted a Personnel Resiliency Training (PRT) that representatives from over 50 local Jewish schools, synagogues, and institutions attended . This training helped executive directors, front office staff, facilities personnel, and security guards, at local Jewish institutions know how to spot signs of violence before it occurs. There are always identifiable signs or behaviors before an attack, so CSI teaches that it is imperative for these local Jewish institutions to quickly identify and report these pre-incident indicators to prevent an attack on our people.
This is part of the core work CSI does in keeping our Jewish community safe year-round.
To learn more about CSI you can visit: https://www.jewishla.org/program/community-security-initiative/