LA vs Hate’s Response To The Biden-Harris Administration’s U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism
“LA vs Hate today commends the landmark Biden-Harris Administration’s U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, and will work to support its goals on a regional level,” stated Robin Toma, Executive Director of the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations.
LA vs Hate is a program of the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations, an agency of Los Angeles County government led by the Board of Supervisors. The program is one of the first governmental-community anti-hate initiatives to track, analyze and respond to all reported acts of hate, not just hate crimes, as a strategy to counter the normalization of hate. Those reporting are connected to confidential and free assistance to heal from the trauma of hate and to change practices and policies to end hate. Earlier this month, California Governor Gavin Newsom’s Administration and State Legislators launched CA vs Hate, which builds upon the success of LA vs Hate, by establishing a hotline for taking reports of and responding to all acts of hate, not just hate incidents.
In acknowledging the Administration’s National Strategy, Toma noted that LA vs Hate has demonstrated success in addressing issues of race, antisemitism, and the historical legacy of discrimination through:
Building a funded-coalition of agencies dedicated to building a mutual understanding to counter bigotry and to respond to reports of hate impacting ethnic, racial, and religious communities.
Tracking the rise of antisemitic incidents across Los Angeles and providing support to victims and communities with our network partner 211 LA. A total of 1,460 acts of hate or bias were reported to 211LA between January 1, 2021 and January 1, 2023, with 41 of these cases being related to antisemitism.
Developing online resources such as ExploreJustice.org to educate students, parents, and county residents about the dangers of bias, racism, antisemitism and to engage diverse communities in building proficient strategies to fight hate.
Publishing several educational resource guides on racism, discrimination, antisemitism, and providing resources and strategies to engage diverse communities in building partnerships to fight hate in schools, businesses, religious sites, communities.
Developing tools for law enforcement to provide victims of hate incidents and hate crimes with free LA vs Hate program assistance and greater compassion. The initiative includes producing a training video for first responders, providing educational brochures for victims and training law enforcement officials on the importance of taking hate incident reports and directing victims of hate to available resources, such as LA vs Hate’s hate reporting and case management services.
Engaging community partnerships through special events, such as LA vs Hate “United Against Hate Week” or the just-launched “Summer of Solidarity” which is building coalitions that bring together organizations, county residents and civic leaders to counter racism, hate, and anti-democratic extremism through art-focused activations. The Summer of Solidarity program includes working with many targeted communities across Los Angeles County, such as the Jewish community, LGBTQ+ community, AAPINH community, Latine community, Black community, Native American communities, and Armenian community.
Creating Art-led events: On June 4, LA vs Hate will unveil a new mural in Pico-Robertson honoring the Jewish community, presented in partnership with the Los Angeles chapter of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles. The mural, titled, “The Common Thread,” was designed by Cloe Hakakian, an Iranian-Jewish muralist and native Angeleno, and weaves a vision of Jewish history and tradition together with the collective memories of Jews in Los Angeles.
