Opinion: After the terror attack on Jews in Boulder, will San Diego be next?

Law enforcement bureaucrats investigate after an attack on the Pearl Street Mall Sunday June in Boulder CO Photo by David Zalubowski Associated Press The day prior as news started coming in about the domestic terror attack in Boulder Colorado I once again had to write to tens of thousands of members of our San Diego Jewish group about yet another violent attack on Jews I had to assure them again that county law enforcement is stepping up patrols to ensure that Jews can safely participate in celebrations of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot this weekend The countless personal messages I received in response have broken my heart Horrified devastated saddened we are running out of words to use when Jews are attacked At present just two weeks after the murder of Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lichinsky outside the Capitol Jewish Museum in Washington D C more than anything I am outraged Sadly we know all too well what it feels like when antisemitic violence hits home It was only six years ago that a gunman walked into a synagogue in Poway and shot several people killing Lori Kaye solely because they were Jewish In the previous 24 hours s attack a man hurled an incendiary device into a group of Jews numerous elderly walking to bring attention to the Israeli hostages who Hamas has held in Gaza for a staggering days One of the people burned was an -year-old Holocaust survivor As the attacker approached the group footage shows him yelling End Zionists and Palestine is Free The man who murdered Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lichinsky two weeks ago was yelling Free Free Palestine It s these precise words that have become normalized across the United States on college campuses at rallies in community parks and on the social media pages of celebrities with massive followings Here in San Diego the chants ring out regularly at UC San Diego and Cal State San Marcos and in frequent rallies held at Balboa Park These words along with others not suitable for repeating are also prominent on the Instagram page of the R B singer Kehlani who is shockingly still featured as the star headliner for San Diego s own Pride Festival this year after her performances in other cities including at New York City Pride and Cornell University were canceled due to defense concerns San Diego Pride evidently does not place a high enough value on the safety of LGBTQ Jews and Jewish allies The vile hateful rhetoric that is considered protected free speech is not normalizing a robust debate on strategy which we welcome but instead is normalizing a hatred of Jews that inspires violence pure and simple Take the call to End Zionists as the attacker the day before shouted or Eradicate Zionists a popular refrain on Kehlani s Instagram What does it even mean Our newest Jewish Public Analysis presented that of Jewish San Diegans believe strongly in Israel s right to exist That makes us overwhelmingly Zionists who pay taxes go to school and have built our lives here We are part of the San Diego public yet a call to eradicate or end zionists directly targets us and is nothing short of a call for violence against your neighbors Unfortunately that call is clearly being answered in other communities like ours The frightening through-line from hate speech to violence is crystal clear And we can no longer accept the normalization of this speech As the frequency of antisemitic speech and acts has escalated San Diego s vibrant and progressing Jewish society has been forced to invest millions of dollars in defense so that they can feel safe to participate in any aspect of Jewish life I went to a concert at an Episcopal church last night with friends and I just walked in That only is not the reality anymore at Jewish synagogues schools or agencies where armed prevention metal detectors and other increasingly robust precaution protocols have become standard This year alone our organization funded defense grants to Jewish organizations and helped numerous more apply for federal and state grants We also partnered with other Jewish organizations in the society not long ago to launch The Finest District Coalition so that we could respond collectively to rising antisemitism and ensure San Diego remains a place where Jews feel safe secure and proud to be Jewish According to the ADL s latest audit antisemitic incidents increased in San Diego between and Although Jews make up only of the population of religious hate crimes in the US are perpetrated against Jews And according to the American Jewish Committee s State of Antisemitism document of all American Jews have taken at least one action to hide their Judaism out of fear of antisemitism Eric Fingerhut the CEO of Jewish Federations of North America shared a list of critical establishment actions the day before ranging from increased funding for defense grants to aggressive prosecution of antisemitic hate crimes to holding social media platforms accountable for the amplification of Jewish hate We strongly advocacy these recommendations We cannot we must not let the tragedies of Poway Washington or Boulder happen again But Jews cannot end antisemitism alone It will take all of our collective voices to resist hate-filled rhetoric to reject calls for the eradication of Zionism or Israel and to work together to truly make this the America s Finest City San Diego is known to be I hope that someday soon at our Jewish Federation of San Diego we can stop worrying so much about protecting Jewish lives and turn to our core business cultivating Jewish enjoyment Heidi Gantwerk is president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of San Diego Want to submit a letter to the editor guest column or opinion piece Find our guidelines and submission form here