By Sam Litvin
SAN DIEGO — “We have been playing defense. You can’t win a war with defense, you have to have offense” proclaimed Elan Carr, the former U.S. special envoy for monitoring and combating antisemitism, during last Sunday’s “Fighting Antisemitism With Love” event at San Diego State University.
The event was put on by the SDSU and UCSD Hillel branches, and it drew hundreds of Jews and non-Jews to the SDSU Open Air Theater. Israeli mentalist Lior Suchard performed, in addition to presentations by speakers including U.S. Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, and the head of San Diego Hillel Karen Perry.
For two hours, hundreds of San Diego residents listened to students describe and define antisemitism, a video narrating the various types of antisemitism they felt, and then impassioned speeches on the state of Jewish hate in America and the necessity for all to face it and fight it with compassion, facts, and love.
Some of the biggest cheers came towards the San Diego State Chabad Rabbi Chalom Boudjnah, who has has created a home for Jews of SDSU where they feel safe to explore and exhibit their culture, history, and religion without judgment or pressure.
Carr mentioned the many firsts that occurred on the campus of SDSU, such as the adoption of IHRA definition of antisemitism, as well as a celebration of the American Jewish Heritage Month, something that very few universities dare to celebrate in a climate where being Jewish has become synonymous with Zionism where even the term has been hijacked to mean colonialism rather than the original meaning of indigenous Jews returning to the land that was taken from them, first by the Roman and later by Arab empire, followed by Ottomans and the English.
Rep. Jacobs spoke of her experience on the third day of her job, January 6. She vividly described the scene of a Black congresswoman holding her hand as the mob with shirts that said “Camp Auschwitz” stormed the Capitol. She also described the difficulty of working with those who support antisemitic groups and hold antisemitic stereotypes and the need for fighting and never staying silent.
She shared the stage with San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria who is the first openly gay and minority (Filipino) mayor of San Diego. He described his grandfather’s trials to purchase a home in San Diego due to redlining and the difficulty of being accepted by the people around him. He finished with an empathic call to fight antisemitism and hatred with every ounce of our collective strength.
The final speaker before the appearance of Suchard was an ex-CIA operative Darrell Blocker, who spoke of his journey to becoming Jewish, his work fighting terrorist and how in spite of that he felt unprepared when he was in the presence of an antisemite. His message was to reach out to antisemites through listening and dialogue, to not fight fire with fire that only entrenches the opponents, but to meet them through love and understanding.
It was a night of unity and hope, as San Diego antisemitism opponents came together in spite of the cold temperatures and bonded over a common cause of fighting antisemitism, and enjoying a master of reading minds.
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Sam Litvin, a Ukrainian immigrant to San Diego, is a world traveler, finding Jewish stories wherever he goes.