CAM Commends Los Angeles City Council for Passing Legislation to Prevent Hate Crimes

New York, NY (February 7, 2020) – The Combat Anti-Semitism (CAM) Movement commends and supports the Los Angeles City Council for passing new legislation focused on combating hate crimes. 

The legislation requires the city’s Police Department to establish a hotline for proactive hate crime prevention and to expand the victim’s assistance website with more languages and resources, as well as to offer security assessments to vulnerable institutions. It also directs the LAPD to “protect vulnerable institutions like synagogues, mosques and cultural centers.” According to recent data from the LAPD, anti-Semitic hate crimes rose by 60.5% in 2019 from 2018. In 2019 Jews were the victim of 69 hate crimes in Los Angeles. 

Upon passage of the legislation, Councilman David Ryu, who co-introduced the original motion, said “Hate crimes continue to rise across our country, but Los Angeles is taking a stand. We will not give in to fear or cynicism. We will not accept this as the new normal. We will stand together, across communities and across neighborhoods, as one of the most diverse cities on Earth and make Los Angeles a national leader in hate crime prevention. This legislation is the first step in ensuring that our city is prepared, and our communities are protected.”

With the rise in reported anti-Semitic hate crimes in cities and countries around the world in 2019, the Combat Anti-Semitism Movement believes local measures like this will go far in addressing anti-Semitic hate crimes in the years ahead. We call upon other major cities across the United States and throughout the world to enact measures to further prevent hate crimes and to increase their hate crime reporting capabilities.   

Combat Anti-Semitism Movement Director Sacha Roytman-Dratwa: “With the rise of reported anti-Semitic hate crimes around the world in 2019 and specifically in the city of Los Angeles, I am pleased to see this measure pass in the city council. As the second largest city in the United States and with one of the largest Jewish communities in the world, I welcome this important step taken by the city of Los Angeles to protect its diverse population.  I call upon other major cities and local councils to pass similar measures to protect their citizenry. In the fight against anti-Semitism it is critical that action be taken on the local, as well as state and federal levels.”