By Rabbi Jason Nevarez in San Diego
Times of San Diego
(Photo: Beth Israel Quarterly)
As Jews around the world gather for Passover, we retell the story of the Israelite exodus from Egypt. It is a story that is both ancient and timely, about liberation, dignity and the responsibility to confront tyranny when we see it.
That responsibility calls us to action. In recent months, San Diego has experienced a series of incidents that, taken together, point to a troubling and unmistakable pattern of antisemitism becoming increasingly normalized. The time has come to confront it.
Just before Passover last year, a Jewish fraternity at San Diego State University was vandalized with antisemitic graffiti. Weeks later more antisemitic graffiti was found on a SDSU residential hall. Shortly thereafter, students at a local high school formed a “human swastika” and posted the photos to social media. Then, a local teacher was removed after promoting a gruesome conspiracy theory accusing Jews of harvesting organs.
Most recently, public comments at a San Diego City Council meeting devolved into the kind of hateful rhetoric that has fueled Jew-hatred for thousands of years.
“[Jews there] had money stuffed in their pockets.”
“Jewish children deserved to be spit on because they’re bombing us.”
“Jews are actually blood-sucking vampires.”
These are not critiques of the policy that was being debated. They are ancient lies, repackaged for a modern audience, and voiced proudly in a civic institution.
Each of these incidents is different. But they are connected by something deeper: a growing willingness to normalize language and ideas that dehumanize Jews, whether directly or under the guise of political expression. This is how the normalization of hatred begins.
Passover reminds us that freedom is not only about leaving Egypt. It is about refusing to accept a world in which dehumanization becomes routine. It is about recognizing that what is tolerated today can become something far more dangerous tomorrow.
The consequences are real. As synagogues in other communities have been targeted by terror or burned in arson attacks, budgets for Jewish institutions in San Diego now reflect a growing emphasis on security.
But that reality has also strengthened our resolve. To those who promote hatred toward San Diego’s Jews, I have a simple message: we are not going anywhere. Jewish San Diegans will not be intimidated into silence, nor will we shrink our presence. We will not compromise our safety because of conflicts taking place thousands of miles away. We are a community that builds, heals, teaches and contributes, and we are woven into the fabric of this city and this country.
That same truth extends beyond San Diego. Israel is not going anywhere either. For Jews around the world, it remains a homeland, a refuge and an expression of Jewish self-determination. Its existence is not a debate to be resolved, but a reality to be accepted.
If San Diego is serious about its values, it must apply them consistently here at home. Our city prides itself on diversity and inclusion. But inclusion cannot be selective. It cannot depend on whether a community’s concerns are politically convenient or ideologically aligned.
Realizing that vision requires all of us to take action. Every one of us must reject the normalization of anti-Jewish stereotypes and bigotry. We must call them out when we see them, whether in our daily lives, in public forums, or online. We must refuse to be intimidated by those who seek to impose ideological conformity on a city that holds a wide range of views. And we must treat antisemitism with the same clarity and urgency that we would treat any other form of hatred.
This is the work of a free society. And ultimately it is the lesson of Passover.
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This opinion piece appeared initially in Times of San Diego. Rabbi Jason Nevarez is the senior rabbi of Congregation Beth Israel in San Diego, the oldest Jewish congregation in Southern California.