Following an attack targeting the Jewish community in Boulder, Colorado, Governor Gavin Newsom of California and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass have called for action to address California’s anti-Semitic issues.
Bass condemned the attack and stated that she would convene an emergency meeting at City Hall to discuss security and public safety in Los Angeles.
In a statement on June 1st, Bass emphasized that Los Angeles would not tolerate anti-Semitism. She said, “This is the second terror attack against Jews in the past two weeks – after the end of Shavuot, I will immediately convene an emergency meeting at City Hall to address security and protection issues in Los Angeles.”
Shavuot is a Jewish holiday that falls between June 1st and June 3rd this year.
Bass mentioned that the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has intensified patrols around religious sites and community centers.
In the Boulder attack, a man from Egypt shouted “Free Palestine” and threw Molotov cocktails at a gathering primarily composed of Jewish individuals who were demonstrating in support of Israeli hostages. The attack resulted in 12 injuries, including a survivor of the Holocaust.
The suspect, 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman, entered the United States on a tourist visa in August 2022 and overstayed after its expiration in February 2023.
Two weeks prior to the incident, two Israeli embassy personnel were fatally shot outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington.
Police reported that the suspect, 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez, shouted “Free Palestine” upon arrest. He has been charged with the murder of a foreign official.
Governor Newsom also announced the latest response plan by the California government against anti-Semitism following the Boulder attack.
The governor mentioned that his administration has been pushing for legislation to enhance student safety on university campuses; increase security funding for synagogues and other high-risk religious sites; and provide funding for school education on the history of the Holocaust.
In a statement on June 2nd, Newsom said, “In recent years, troubling hate crimes and acts of prejudice have been on the rise. We are facing a relentless wave of hatred and violence that is difficult to contain.”
According to the 2023 Hate Crime Report by the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations, hate crime incidents in Los Angeles reached 1,350 cases, a 45% increase from the previous year’s 930 cases. Anti-Jewish crimes rose by 91%, from 127 cases to 242 cases.
Based on the Anti-Defamation League’s audit on anti-Semitism, California reported the second-highest number of anti-Semitic incidents in the country in 2024, including harassment, attacks, and vandalism, totaling 1,344 cases, an increase from 1,266 cases in 2023 and 518 cases in 2022.