Other items in today’s column include:
*Mayor, S.D. City Council solicit public input on San Diego’s energy provider
[Names in boldface type are those of known members of the Jewish community]
SAN DIEGO — Anger and optimism are mixed in the national dialogue over the events at the nation’s Capitol on January 6th. The anger is expressed in response to the attack on the Capitol in which five people died, including a Capitol policeman whose head was bashed in by someone wielding a fire extinguisher, and a rioter from San Diego who was shot by a policeman inside the Capitol building. The optimism stems from the hopes that positive steps toward healing the nation’s divisions will be taken during President-elect Joe Biden’s incoming administration aided by Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress.
The Anti-Defamation League has called for President Trump to resign or be removed from office by legal means. Further, it has called for an investigation into the Capitol police’s inability to prevent the mob from storming the Capitol, and has requested that Donald Trump be banned from social media platforms prior to the end of his term on January 20th.
Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the national organization, commented: “As this week comes to a close, we must not allow the historic and horrific events of the past 48 hours to simply fade without significant consequences. In our over 100 years of history, ADL has never called for the President of the United States to be removed from office, but what occurred on Wednesday was inexcusable. It will forever be remembered as one of the darkest days of American democracy and it makes unambiguously clear: President Trump is unfit for office and needs to be removed. Violence and sedition. Confederate flags being proudly displayed by rioters in the United States Capitol. White supremacists and far-right extremists marauding through the hallowed halls of one our nation’s most sacred institutions. This was incited by President Trump and organized on social media for all the world to see. The horrific events of this week are a culmination of years spent denigrating our democratic institutions, months of delegitimizing the electoral process, and innumerable tweets demonizing his perceived enemies, with zero regard for the consequences of his actions.”
In New York City, Jack Kliger, president and CEO of the Museum of Jewish Heritage–A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, indicated that white nationalist demonstrations and desecrations of property are far from over. On Friday, he messaged that “early this morning a Confederate flag was tied to the front door of the Museum of Jewish Heritage–A Living Memorial to the Holocaust. We have filed a police report and are working with authorities to identify the individual or individuals responsible for this crime. This is an atrocious attack on our community nd our institution and must be met with the swift nd forceful response by law enforcement. The Confederate flag is a potent symbol of white supremacy, as evidence by the events at the U.S. Capitol this week. Such hate has now arrived at our doorstep, just steps away from a train car which once transported Jews to the Auschwitz death camp. These horrific acts of emboldened anti-Semitism must end now.”
At the same time, Jewish and African-American leaders are expressing optimism about the future of a country in which a Jew and an African American ran together and won seats in Congress from the once segregationist state of Georgia.
In a joint statement, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-Florida) and U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-Michigan) issued a joint statement in behalf of the Congressional Caucus on Black-Jewish Relations, which they co-chair: “Georgia’s resolutely determined voters have not only secured a brighter future for all Americans by electing Reverend Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff to establish a Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate, but they also remedied a measure of America’s discriminatory past by electing the first African American and Jewish senators from the Peach State,” they said. “This reckoning celebrates decades of struggle by countless civil rights foot soldiers and leaders inspired by the likes of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., our recently-passed Black-Jewish Caucus Co-Chair Congressman John Lewis, and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, as well as modern day heroes such as Stacey Abrams who spearheaded Georgia’s voter mobilization efforts. The wonderful Black-Jewish ballot buddy story that these two senators-elect embody also reignites the vital civil rights alliance and shared values that have wedded these two communities in an enduring quest for justice, not just in Georgia, but throughout America. The health care, jobs and justice agenda they both ran on and now will help enact, will unite and propel us on our path to a more perfect, just and compassionate union. We celebrate these barrier breakers and all the organizers and voters who made this historic moment possible. America is stronger today because of all of them. The astounding and reprehensible violence we just witnessed, and the incitement by the President and his supporters that led to these dangerous actions at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, demonstrate that we need Reverend Warnock and Mr. Ossoff and the joint efforts of the Congressional Caucus on Black Jewish Relations more than ever.”
Here, in San Diego, former Congressional candidate Ammar Campa-Najjar issued a stinging rebuke to the mob that attacked the Capitol. In an OpEd for the Times of San Diego, he wrote: “For years, I’ve been called a “terrorist trying to infiltrate congress” by my former Congressman [Duncan D. Hunter] and the outgoing President’s supporters because of my Palestinian-Mexican American heritage. Now, the world has seen who the real national security threats, domestic terrorists, infiltrators are.”
Nevertheless, Campa-Najjar, commented: “America is where the son of a Latina from the barrio and an Arab man from a war-torn country can run for Congress. It’s where the son of a woman who picked cotton just became Georgia’s first black U.S. Senator [Rev. Raphael Warnock], and a Jewish son of immigrants [Jon Ossoff] was elected the youngest U.S. Senator since Joe Biden.
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Mayor, S.D. City Council solicit public input on San Diego’s energy provider
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria has joined with two Jewish members of the San Diego City Council — Dr. Jennifer Campbell and Sean Elo-Rivera-– in announcing there will be public forums to discuss whether San Diego should continue contracting with SDG&E to supply its energy needs, or find some other supplier.
Gloria commented, ““The City will have an inclusive and transparent process as we seek new agreements that will affect every resident and business in San Diego. It is critically important that we have a collaborative conversation with our residents, businesses and community groups. We must ensure that any new agreements protect ratepayers, allow us to reach our climate goals, provide equitable access to environmental benefits for all our communities, and give us the flexibility to explore all options for how we supply energy in the future.”
Elo-Rivera, who chairs the Council’s Energy Committee, said: ““It is crucial that we break down the walls of City Hall and amplify the voices of the people in this process. I look forward to working with Mayor Gloria, my Council colleagues and the communities of San Diego in the coming months to identify criteria of the agreements that the people of this City deserve.”
Campbell, who is President of the San Diego City Council, agreed, saying: ““I want to make the most of this time by creating easy opportunities for residents to have their say in what they want from new franchise agreements. Let’s make sure we do this right for the benefit of every San Diegan.”
Public hearings via Internet technology are planned at 1 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 23; 3 p.m., Monday, Feb. 1, and at 6:30 p.m., Monday, Feb. 15.
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Donald H. Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com