Sacramento Jewish community stands up against antisemitic attacks in United States
Members of Sacramento’s Jewish community and their allies gathered at the California state Capitol on Thursday for a rally against a recent surge in antisemitic attacks in the United States.
The Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region organized a community rally Thursday in downtown Sacramento.
“We felt like we had to come together as a community to stand up against this blatant antisemitism, which is what it is,” Willie Recht, the chief executive officer of the federation, told The Sacramento Bee on Thursday.
The Anti-Defamation League collected more than 350 reports of antisemitic harassment, vandalism and violence in the United States in the past month.
Recht said antisemitic attacks in the United States have created a lot of “anger and fear” and other overwhelming emotions among Jewish people in this country.
“Hatred in whatever form, including antisemitism, we cannot stand for,” Recht said. “We hope we can shine the light on these hate crimes. We hope to mobilize the community behind us to stop this.”
Bruce Pomer, president of the Jewish Federation, said these are increasingly perilous times with a lack of civility that perpetuates false truths that stimulate a climate of hate.
“It is clear that we face an epidemic of anti-Jewish hate,” Pomer told about 100 people gathered at Thursday’s rally. “This is an absolutely intolerable situation and it must be stopped.”
“I know that it’s been a really tough couple of weeks for the Jewish people, both here in the United States and around the world. And I know that people are feeling vulnerable and frightened and scared,” said Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel, D-Santa Monica. “I know that’s the way a lot of people in my community in Los Angeles are feeling.
“We’re seeing images of people in our community being attacked when they’re out eating dinner. We’re seeing people being harassed. We’re seeing incredible amounts of hatred and misinformation online directed at our community.”
Gabriel, who also is the chair of the Jewish Legislative Caucus, told the audience that Jewish people have more than 3,500 years of being able to overcome this type of intolerance and hatred, and the Jewish community is “incredibly resilient.”
State Sen. Scott Weiner, vice chair of the Jewish Legislative Caucus, also condemned the antisemitic attacks and asked the audience to remain vigilant. But he also spoke about unity.
“We, the Jewish community, and our Muslim-American brothers and sisters, we need to be united. We need to be united here at home,” said Weiner, D-San Francisco. “And when our Muslim neighbors are being attacked and demonized, we need to stand up for them. And I know members of the Muslim community are standing up for us now. We are all human beings. So let’s just keep working towards peace and ending hatred.”
Jewish groups this week were pressuring the White House to appoint a special envoy to monitor antisemitism in the United States, The Associated Press reported. Calls for President Joe Biden to address antisemitism rose after Jewish men were assaulted outside a Los Angeles restaurant as several vehicles waving Palestinian flags drove past.
Two men have been arrested in connection with the attack outside a Los Angeles sushi restaurant last week that is being investigated as an antisemitic hate crime.
