Letter Denouncing Antisemitic Statements Made by California Democratic Party Leader
To Governor Gavin Newsom, California Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks, and Assembly Member Jesse Gabriel:
We, the organizations listed below, represent Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewish communities in the state of California. We are writing to express our denunciation with multiple antisemitic statements made by California Democratic Party (CDP) leader Hussam Ayloush.
As an institution whose mission is to be a “leading advocate for justice and mutual understanding” and whose Los Angeles Executive Director, Hussam Ayloush, currently serves as an Assembly District Delegate to the CDP, we are deeply concerned by CAIR LA’s (The Council on American Islamic Relations LA) role in influencing California’s Democratic Party with revisionist lies about Israel and the Jewish people, and the Middle Eastern Jewish community in particular. These lies are contributing to the rising tides of antisemitism our communities are currently experiencing, and are making the CDP an increasingly hostile place for many Jews – particularly those of North African and Middle Eastern descent.
We feel it is critical to open this letter by asserting that the vast majority of Jewish people are indigenous to Israel. As Mizrahi Jews, our ancestors lived continuously in the Middle East since the dawn of Judaism itself. In the mid to late 20th century, state-sanctioned antisemitism—frequently taken under the banner of anti-Zionism—led to the ethnic cleansing and displacement of close to one million Mizrahi and Sephardic Jews from countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa. About 650,000 of these Jews fled to Israel as stateless refugees and the remainder scattered to countries around the world, including the USA, with an estimated 200,000 residing in California. Today, Mizrahi and Sephardic Jews comprise over half of Israel’s Jewish population.
Since 2014, former CDP Executive Board member Hussam Ayloush has gone on record with antisemitic, genocidal calls for the state of Israel to be “terminated.”[1] We are deeply disturbed to learn that Mr. Ayloush has also referred to those who support Israel as “heartless hateful bloodthirsty humans[2]” and compared them to Nazis[3].
Mr. Alyoush has repeatedly refused to recognize the positions, needs, and interests of California’s diverse Jewish communities who are predominantly Democrats and avowed Zionists. We are deeply troubled by Mr. Alyoush’s influence over CDP positions and policies as it relates to Israel and the Jewish people and we believe that it is not only irresponsible but extremely dangerous for a party leader to call for the destruction of any nation, even those whose policies they disagree with.
We are also deeply concerned that Mr. Ayloush’s ongoing and repeated characterization of Zionism as a “political ideology whose tentacles are rooted in racism[4]” is directly contributing to antisemitic, revisionist histories of the Jewish people. As a coalition of 40 international Sephardic organizations have clarified in a letter to Jewish Voice for Peace[5], “Zionism has been the yearning of Jews throughout more than 2,500 years of diaspora. Today the majority of the Mizrahi and Sephardic community resides in Israel, and the vast majority of Mizrahi and Sephardic Jews, in Israel and in diaspora, are self-identified Zionists.” In seeking to obscure these realities in service of his own ideological ends, Mr. Ayloush is promulgating an antisemitic message that seeks to portray Jews as foreign interlopers in Israel and the larger Middle East. This lie is directly contributing towards the catastrophic rise of antisemitism our state is currently experiencing.
Mizrahi Jewish communities in our state watch with growing concern as the same antisemitic sentiments and rhetoric that led to the oppression and ethnic cleansing of one million indigenous Jews from the Middle East seem to be infiltrating California’s influential civil rights organizations and the CDP, particularly after the recent war between Gaza and Israel.
Members of our Mizrahi communities remember how antisemitic sentiments sprouted into full-fledged, state-sanctioned anti-Zionism in countries throughout the Middle East. Not unlike the current climate we are living in, Zionism in the Middle East and North Africa was hardly ever defined, and this ambiguity enabled terrible acts of antisemitism to occur under the mask of anti-Zionism. We recently watched in horror as Iranian Jewish Americans in our state were violently targeted by “Pro-Palestinian” activists who were shouting antisemitic slurs on the streets of Los Angeles. For many in our Jewish Middle Eastern communities these violent acts of antisemitism elicited visceral fears and memories of similar events many experienced in countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa.
At a time when hate crimes against Jews account for over half of religious-based hate crimes in the USA and when antisemitism continues to be the most prevalent religious-based hate crime in California up a disturbing 72% since 2016, it is essential for the Democratic Party and all civil rights organizations in the state to draw clear redlines against language and activities that explicitly and implicitly target California’s Jewish communities.
The CDP Code of Conduct[6] states:
The CDP expects all leaders, members, employees, and others associated with the CDP to act professionally, respecting the personal rights and dignities of all individuals involved with the party so as to create a productive, inclusive environment for all.
All individuals should feel welcome and safe within the CDP, regardless of their sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, pregnancy, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, ancestry, religion, creed, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, military or veteran status, body size, domestic violence victim status, or any other legally protected classifications.
The CDP’s behavior standards are not limited to CDP conventions and other meetings. Harassment will not be tolerated at any and all events sponsored by or affiliated with the CDP, as well as in CDP-related calls, texts, emails, and social media like Facebook, Instagram, and SnapChat.
We believe that Mr. Ayloush’s harmful rhetoric violates the CDP Code of Conduct, and we strongly urge the leaders of the CDP to take appropriate action to help ensure that state party leaders are not allowed to denigrate the “ethnicity, national origin, ancestry, religion, creed” of others, and that the CDP remains a welcoming and safe place for Jewish Democrats, including Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews.
Sincerely,
Arielle Yael Mokhtarzadeh,
Co-President
30 Years After
Jasmin Niku
Co-President
30 Years After
Susan Azizzadeh
President
Iranian American Jewish Federation
Gina Bublil-Waldman
President
JIMENA: Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa
Sarah Levin
Executive Director
JIMENA: Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa
Rabbi Daniel Bouskila
Rabbi/Director
Sephardic Education Center
Neil J. Sheff
President
Sephardic Education Center
Rabbi David Wolpe
Max Webb Senior Rabbi
Sinai Temple
[1] “The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR),” Anti-Defamation League Webpage, https://www.adl.org/education/resources/backgrounders/the-council-on-american-islamic-relations-cair
[2] Hussam Ayloush, Facebook post. August 3, 2014 https://www.facebook.com/hussam.ayloush/posts/10152354069969825
[3] Hussam Ayloush, Tweet. August 4, 2014 https://twitter.com/HussamA/status/496388844443287552
[4] Hussam Ayloush, “A Slur on Muslim Community.” Orange County Register, December 1 2002 https://www.meforum.org/campus-watch/8156/column-a-slur-on-muslim-community
[5] Sephardic and Mizrahi Communal Response to Jewish Voice for Peace. January 23, 2019 https://www.jimena.org/sephardic-and-mizrahi-communal-response-to-jewish-voice-for-peace/
[6] California Democratic Code of Conduct. https://cadem.org/code-of-conduct/
More Statements
Upholding Our Heritage in the Face of Continuing Threats
Dear Friends and Members of the Jimena Community, As Mizrahi and Sephardi Jews, we are all too familiar with attempts to erase our existence– from the Inquisition, to dhimmitude (the second-class status Jews held under Islamic rule for hundreds of years), to the mass expulsions of our communities in the mid-20th century– our history has, unfortunately, been colored by antisemitic threats and violence as an ethnic minority of the Middle East and North Africa. These efforts to erase our existence continue as we continue to bear witness to nearly daily direct attacks on Israel. As we watch the Islamic Republic of Iran and their proxies launch hundreds of rockets and drones, we understand these events are not isolated, but a continuation of the threat to Jewish life in the Middle East. Israel symbolizes not only the preservation of our rich and cherished history but also the triumph of reclaiming indigenous land. It stands as a beacon of strength and hope for all indigenous peoples of the MENA region who have faced subjugation and oppression under imperialism. We extend our hand in solidarity with the people of Iran, who know all too well the terror imposed by the Islamic Republic regime occupying their land. We understand that the regime’s actions do not reflect their own aspirations for freedom, liberty, and peace. This conflict is with the Islamic Republic, not the Iranian people, and we look forward to the day when they, along with us and the entire Middle East, are liberated from the regime’s despotism and chaos. In the face of threats by tyrannical rulers today, we stand steadfast in our identity as Jews, as Jews whose diasporic experience heralds from the Middle East and North Africa, and as Jews who support the existence of Jewish life in our ancestral homeland. Just as before, we will triumph over those who wish to destroy us, and we will continue to advocate for peaceful coexistence for all peoples in the region, so we may live our lives free from persecution, antisemitism, and hate. The People of Israel Live, today, tomorrow, and forever. Am Israel Chai. -The JIMENA team.
A Brief Guide to IHRA Definition of Antisemitism
An Introduction of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Definition of Antisemitism
IHRA Definition of Antisemitism
Antisemitic crimes remain the most prevalent religious-based hate crime in both the United States and California. They are increasing, now comprising 62% of all religious-based hate crimes in California, even though the Jewish community represents only 2% of the population. This is an increase of 24% from the previous year. Source Despite the scale of this issue, only about a quarter of the people in our nation are aware that antisemitism exists. Furthermore, a third of these individuals feel that antisemitism isn’t regarded as seriously as other forms of hate, despite its deadly consequences. Source Definition To counter antisemitism, it is essential to understand its definition. Consider the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA)’s working definition of antisemitism, crafted by an apolitical group of world scholars, policy experts, and researchers: “Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, as well as Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.” Included are twelve examples, such as promoting negative or conspiratorial allegations about Jews, denying the Holocaust, and depriving the Jewish people of their right to self-determination—e.g., by asserting that the State of Israel is a racist endeavor. Source Endorsements The IHRA provides the most authoritative and internationally accepted definition of antisemitism. It has been championed and embraced by: - The United Nations Secretary-General, - The Secretary-General of the Organization of American States (consisting of 34 member countries, including the US), - The European Parliament, - The U.S. Department of State - The White House in its May 2023 National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, and - The California State Board of Education in its Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum. The IHRA definition has been adopted in over 40 nations and by various representative religious bodies, including the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations and the Global Imams Council. Three hundred and two members of the U.S. House of Representatives utilized the IHRA definition in the Never Again Education Act. This was co-sponsored by 45 Representatives from California, including Jackie Speier, Ro Khanna, Ted Lieu, Barbara Lee, Zoe Lofgren, Anna Eshoo, and Adam Schiff.