LOS ANGELES – Councilwoman Yaroslavsky issued the following statement in response to the violence that took place outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. :
"This past week, Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky were murdered outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. after attending a reception hosted by the American Jewish Committee focused on bridging divides between communities.
For many in Los Angeles’ Jewish community, this moment contributes to the anxiety we’ve lived with in recent years. Families are once again questioning how safe it is to be visibly Jewish in public. Whether that’s wearing a kippah on the way to school or wearing a Star of David around one’s neck. In neighborhoods like Pico-Robertson and Beverly-Fairfax, where Jewish life is lived openly and proudly, that visibility carries a weight that I know many feel. I’ve felt it myself. Like so many parents, I’ve stood at the door watching my oldest head out in the morning, proud of who he is, and afraid that someone might see his kippah and target him.
What’s even harder is how isolating it feels. In moments like this, when we need allies to speak up, too many remain silent. Too often, violence and bigotry are met with ambiguity instead of moral clarity. Antisemitism doesn’t always come wearing swastikas. Sometimes it looks like silence, or excuses, or refusal to see what’s in front of us.
The responsibility to call out Antisemitism cannot rest solely on the shoulders of the Jewish community. We need others to stand with us, visibly and vocally. And I am deeply grateful to those who have. That’s how we begin to heal, and how we make sure every kid grows up in a city where their identity is a source of pride, not fear."