At the Writers Guild Theater on May 21, a panel of activists and professionals discussed the experience of living proudly as a Jewish person in the wake of Oct. 7 and with antisemitism on the rise.
The event, “Never Again is Now: Diversity of the Jewish Experience,” was hosted by Beverly Hills Mayor Sharona Nazarian. Nazarian has made combating antisemitism and encouraging cross-cultural unity critical elements of her mayoral term.
“Beverly Hills is a leader in standing up to the evils of hate, discrimination and antisemitism,” Nazarian said at the event, adding, “I look forward to promoting ‘Never Again is Now’ as one of my mayoral initiatives in an effort to bring unity to our community and to demonstrate to the world that we will not be silent.”
Addressing the question of why the themes addressed at the event are important in this moment, Nazarian pointed to the fact that “myths and stereotypes still exist, even here in our own backyard.”
“We must challenge them openly, honestly and compassionately,” she said.
In addition to Mayor Nazarian, panelists at the May 21 event included Dr. Evelyn Markus, co-host of the “Never Again is Now” podcast; Dr. Sheila Nazarian, a plastic surgeon and activist; Matthew Nouriel, the director of community engagement at Jews Indigenous to the Middle East & North Africa; and Elisheva Rishon, the founder of Eli7 Designs and the BJZ Squad. Emmy-nominated journalist Jacki Karsh, a reporter for LA36’s LA County Channel, served as moderator.
The panel discussed topics including finding the courage to speak out against hatred when others are silent, parallels to historical antisemitism and what’s happening in America now and the importance of Jewish joy and pride.
Markus, who is from the Netherlands, spoke about similarities between the rise in antisemitism in Amsterdam in the early aughts and what has happened recently on American college campuses.
“It’s gigantic déjà vu,” she said. “[It] is exactly what I saw 25 years ago happening in Amsterdam, in Holland and the rest of Western Europe, in the big cities. It also started in our universities in Europe. And now it starts here in universities.”
On the topic of intersectionality and showing up in the world as one’s full self, Nouriel discussed his journey of reconciling and finding deep pride in his identity as an Iranian Jewish gay man.
“What I didn’t realize when I was younger [is that] you can’t run away from any part of who you are,” he said. “I decided … I’m going to start showing up … both feet firmly planted on the ground, chest up.”
Speaking about the ways in which history repeats itself, Mayor Nazarian noted that similar themes come up in antisemitic cultures across the generations.
“Unless we all stand up and be a united voice and stand up against all forms of hate, it’s just going to keep happening over and over again,” she said. “And we’ve seen far too often, whatever starts with the Jews doesn’t end with the Jews.”
Rishon, who is an Orthodox Jew and a Black woman, spoke about the responsibility of all members of the community to be vocal about the problems the country is facing.
“This is something that MLK Jr. always said, but people managed to forget … the biggest problem with the Civil Rights Movement was not the people that were racist, but it was the silence of the indifferent,” she said. “So, we need you to show up … most people in the world are good, but you can’t be silent anymore. We’re beyond that at this point in time. Start speaking.”
At the same time that the panel was taking place in Beverly Hills, two staff members of the Israeli Embassy were killed as they left an event at a Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. Mayor Nazarian issued a statement in response to the incident, which is covered on pg. 4 of this issue.
