10 minute read
NEWS
Recent Controversy
Antisemitic flyers and banners appear in LA
By Morgan Owen
Demonstrators hung banners across an overpass on the 405 freeway near Culver City on Saturday, Oct. 23 in support of recent antisemitic comments made by rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West. The controversy began on Oct. 7, when Ye posted a text conversation to Instagram with a racially charged statement about the Jewish community. After Instagram suspended his account and removed the post, Ye took to Twitter to respond to the suspension. The tweet, which has been removed, allegedly read: “I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death con 3 – On JEWISH PEOPLE – The funny thing is I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew also – You guys have toyed with me and tired to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.” Two of the banners hung on the 405 overpass appeared to show support for Ye’s antisemitic comments, saying, “Kanye is right about the Jews,” and, “Honk if you know.” Images of the incident also show demonstrators making Nazi salutes. A third banner attributes the demonstration to the Goyim Defense League, which according to the Anti-Defamation League is responsible for at least 74 antisemitic propaganda incidents in 2021. “Goyim” is a pejorative Yiddish and Hebrew word for someone who is not Jewish. Further controversy ensued in the Beverly Hills area after images of antisemitic flyer packets were redistributed over the weekend of Oct. 22. The flyers display images of Disney executives with the star of David stamped on their forehead and identify high-ranking officials in the CDC and Biden administration as allegedly Jewish. Published reports indicate that both the Beverly Hills and Los Angeles Police Departments are investigating the antisemitic flyers.
Fallout for Ye
A day before the demonstration on the 405 freeway, Ye became more explicit with his anti-semitic statements in a video where he says, “The thing about it being Adidas is I can literally say anti-semitic s*** and they can’t drop me. I can say anti-semitic things and Adidas can’t drop me. Now what?” Combined with pressure resulting from the demonstrations on the 405 freeway, Ye’s remarks about redoubled public pressure on Adidas to terminate their relationship with him. On Oct. 25, the company announced it would cut ties with
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the rapper, a decision that is expected to cost them $246 million. Balenciaga and JPMorgan Chase had already terminated business dealings with Ye. Published reports also indicate the Hollywood talent agency CAA has also ended its relationship with Ye, following Goyim Defense League’s demonstration.
Anti-semitism in Los Angeles
Mayor Eric Garcetti responded to the incident on the 405 freeway, saying, “LA is a city of belonging, not hate. We condemn this weekend’s antisemitic incidents. Jewish Angelenos should always feel safe. There is no place for discrimination or prejudice in Los Angeles. And we will never back down from the fight to expose and eliminate it.” Several candidates running in the November municipal election, including Karen Bass, also condemned the demonstration. “This is the exact type of hate that I will not tolerate as mayor. We will aggressively root out anti-Semitism. It has no place in our city and never will,” Bass tweeted. Bass’s and Garcetti’s comments follow the recent controversy over a leaked audio recording of former LA City Council President, Nury Martinez, making a broad range of racially charged statements. In the recording, Martinez also expressed anti-semitic sentiments, reportedly saying, “Judios (Jews), cut their deal with South LA.” Following the incident on the 405, Jewish leaders have called again for Councilmembers Cedillo and De Leon, who took part in the conversation, to resign immediately. Antisemitism in LA is at an all-time high, according to the Anti-Defamation League. ADL’s Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents indicate that demonstrations of hate for the Jewish community in LA rose 217% from 2017 to 2021, totaling 182 incidents in 2021. Of the 15 antisemitic assaults reported in California, 14 of them took place in LA.
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Fire Along Venice Canals Started by Homeless
Local couple's home destroyed in recent blaze
By Morgan Owen
Irma Hawkins stood outside her burned home in distraught anger as she and her husband, Marty Kasindorf, recounted the events of the fire that destroyed their home and damaged others along Carroll Canal on Oct. 4. The two were already in bed when they noticed strange lights from outside; they hadn’t heard shouts coming from the street to evacuate. As Kasindorf went to their living room to investigate, the glass in their windows exploded, and he saw the entire side of their home in flames. Kasindorf and Hawkins rushed outside, leaving their shoes behind and taking only their family dog and a phone that was nearby. Kasindorf said that luckily their ginger cat managed to escape on his own, but they didn’t find out he was alive until the following morning. The two had lived in that house for 24 years. According to neighbor Glenn Searle, the fire was started in the house neighboring Kasindorf and Hawkins by a group of homeless people who squatted in the unoccupied building. After the fire began, Hawkins and Kasindorf said Searle saw several people running away from the building. The home under renovation was reportedly a popular spot for homeless individuals to gather and use a portable toilet stationed there for construction workers during the day. It was half an hour before any fire crews arrived to extinguish the fire and even longer before they located the nearby fire
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Martin Kasindorf recounts the events of the Oct. 4 fire that burned his home.
hydrants. “I was terribly anxious to save the house, but I saw it was absolutely hopeless,” Kasindorf said. Perhaps if firefighters had arrived sooner, the outcome would have been different, lamented Hawkins. The reason firefighters took so long, they said, was because local departments were already deployed to two other homeless encampment fires. This fire exemplifies the struggle with homelessness in Venice. “The homeless issue is so out of control that it almost killed us,” Kasindorf said. Hawkins didn’t mince words when she said she doesn’t want to rebuild the house without assurance that local homeless residents are removed from the area. Homelessness in Venice has been steadily increasing in the last decade. According to the LA Alliance for Human Rights, Venice accounts for 5% of land in LA, but is host to 49% of the homeless population in City Council District 11. In 2019, the number of homeless people residing in Venice increased from 175 in 2014 to 1,200. In 2020, that number again increased to 1,685 people. “The last several years have been hell,” Hawkins said. “We pay $50 a month for neighborhood security that…chases them out and also tries to monitor the alleyway. They do a great job, but the neighbors have absolute fatigue because you tell them [they can’t] camp there, and they stay.” Kasindorf added that the police do nothing because their hands are tied. Venice Community Housing has several new developments moving forward to create more affordable housing, but the existence of housing doesn’t immediately take people off the streets. Bonin, the city council member for District 11, was successful in stemming the rise in homelessness in many other areas on the Westside, including Mar Vista, Del Rey, West LA and Brentwood, but Venice has remained largely unchanged throughout his tenure. Bonin is not up for reelection in November’s municipal elections, but the homeless issue is still a critical campaign point in the LA mayoral race. For Kasindorf, the fire has changed his voting preferences. He says he changed his mind to vote for Caruso in the upcoming mayoral election because Caruso promises to come down harder on the homeless. The surrounding neighborhood has several campaign signs for Caruso, indicating this may be a popular stance for Venice residents.
Martin Kasindorf and Irma Hawkins in front of their home that they can no longer enter due to structural instability.
