SUBSCRIBE Log In Show Search Letters to the Editor How to submit a letter Tips View All Advertisement Voices Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor: California, not just L.A., must find ways to fight antisemitism A synagogue in the background, with Israeli and Palestinian flags in the foreground A protest with pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrators near Adas Torah in Los Angeles on June 23, 2024. (Zoe Cranfill / Los Angeles Times) June 18, 2025 5 AM PT 1 To the editor: Guest contributor Rabbi Noah Farkas writes that antisemitism is “a Los Angeles problem” (“L.A. has more to do to fight antisemitism and protect Jewish residents,” June 4). It definitely is. But it is also a San Francisco Bay Area and San Diego problem, a California problem and an American problem. The lack of solidarity he speaks of in defense of civil rights, equity and equality for Jews is a state and national problem. We feel it as painfully and as palpably in Berkeley, Oakland and San Francisco as in Los Angeles. We struggle with the same challenges of being under-resourced to ensure the physical safety of Jewish community members at schools, senior centers, synagogues and community centers. We struggle, too, with the lack of recognition and inclusion of the diversity of the Jewish community including Ethiopian, Mizrahi and Sephardic voices, as Farkas notes, as well as Asian, African American and Hispanic Jews in ethnic studies curricula. Jews at California schools and universities experience well-documented marginalization, gaslighting and invidious targeting through verbal and physical abuse and violence, harassment, exclusion and discrimination, as Farkas illustrates. We need action and allyship on a local, state and national level on a bipartisan basis across society and with the support of the full diversity of the American people. Only then will Jewish people in America be safe and only then will we come closer to achieving freedom, equality and access to justice for all. Noam Schimmel, Berkeley This writer is a lecturer in global studies at UC Berkeley. .. To the editor: Farkas says L.A. must do more to fight antisemitism. This invites the question: Or what? What will the Jewish community of Los Angeles do if the government and citizens of the city and county of Los Angeles continue to ignore antisemitism? The word “must” implies that there will be consequences for failure to act. Farkas should lead the Jewish Federation in developing a plan of action that will hold Los Angeles’ leaders accountable for fighting antisemitism and that will impose actual consequences if those leaders fail. Advertisement Stuart Creque, Moraga, Calif. .. To the editor: I doubt antisemitism is higher now than before. However, the expression of it certainly is. This is part of a general coarsening of public expression that was exacerbated in 2016 by a presidential candidate who called people names and is mean and confrontational. When he said that there were “very fine people on both sides” in 2017, he opened the Pandora’s box of hate that has its expression in vile and violent antisemitic attacks. As long as this tone is set from above, we will have violence, like that against lawmakers in Minnesota, and all sorts of hate-induced attacks. Measures that Farkas suggests will do little to counter this narrative of open expression of hate by our leaders. Harlan Levinson, Los Angeles
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Supporting Antifa in an educational context would amplify the anti-democratic nature of ideological capture to a dangerous degree. Antifa's core characteristics Antifa is a loose, decentralized far-left militant movement that explicitly rejects liberal democracy in favor of direct action, deplatforming, and sometimes violence to combat perceived fascism. It opposes free speech for opponents, views institutions (including schools) as tools for revolutionary change, and often aligns with anarchist or accelerationist tactics. Open support for it goes beyond standard left politics into endorsing extra-legal methods.Why educator or institutional support crosses a line Undermines the rule of law — Public schools are state institutions bound by democratic norms (elections, due process, free expression under the First Amendment). Teachers or curricula that fantasize, romanticize, excuse, or promote Antifa-style tactics (property destruction, no-platforming, "by any means necessary") teach contempt for democratic mechanisms. This is especially toxic for youth, who are still forming civic habits. Heightens indoctrination risk — In captured systems (e.g., activist factions within unions like Oakland Education Association), materials that frame Antifa sympathetically as heroic resisters fit the pattern of one-sided narratives. We've seen unauthorized "teach-ins" and "liberatory education" pushes in Oakland and similar districts that critics argue veer into political activism rather than balanced analysis. Glorifying militant groups adds an endorsement of violence to ideological skew. rethinkingschools.org Disproportionate harm — For less-educated or captive audiences (K-12 students), this normalizes extremism. It can desensitize youth to political violence, chill dissent in classrooms, and erode trust in democratic institutions. Post-2020 riots and campus disruptions showed real-world spillover. Anti-democratic double standard — Democracy allows debate over ideas, even radical ones. But state-funded educators actively supporting a movement that rejects debate itself (via doxxing, riots, or "punch a Nazi" rhetoric that expands "Nazi" to include mainstream conservatives) is viewpoint discrimination with state power behind it. It's the opposite of pluralism. Reality checkNot every progressive educator supports Antifa—many explicitly reject its violence. Direct endorsements in official curricula are rare and often opposed by districts when publicized. However, tolerance or soft-pedaling in activist teacher circles, reading lists that lionize radical left figures, or failure to condemn Antifa-linked tactics does occur in highly polarized blue-city environments and feeds the capture critique.This would make the problem not just bias, but incitement against democratic norms. Reforms emphasizing classical civics, viewpoint balance, and strict political neutrality in K-12 become even more urgent. Public education should prepare citizens for democracy, not recruit for its rejection..
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