Yesterday, as news started coming in about the domestic terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, I once again had to write to tens of thousands of members of our San Diego Jewish community about yet another violent attack on Jews. I had to assure them, again, that county law enforcement is stepping up patrols to ensure that Jews can safely participate in celebrations of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot this weekend.
The many personal messages I received in response have broken my heart. Horrified, devastated, saddened — we are running out of words to use when Jews are attacked. Today, just two weeks after the murder of Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lichinsky outside the Capitol Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., more than anything, I am outraged.
Sadly, we know all too well what it feels like when antisemitic violence hits home. It was only six years ago that a gunman walked into a synagogue in Poway and shot several people — killing Lori Kaye — simply because they were Jewish.
In yesterday’s attack, a man hurled an incendiary device into a group of Jews, many elderly, walking to bring attention to the Israeli hostages who Hamas has held in Gaza for a staggering 605 days. One of the people burned was an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor.
As the attacker approached the group, footage shows him yelling “End Zionists” and “Palestine is Free.” The man who murdered Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lichinsky two weeks ago was yelling “Free, Free Palestine.” It’s these precise words that have become normalized across the United States, on college campuses, at rallies in public parks and on the social media pages of celebrities with massive followings.
Here in San Diego, the chants ring out regularly at UC San Diego and Cal State San Marcos, and in frequent rallies held at Balboa Park. These words — along with others not suitable for repeating — are also prominent on the Instagram page of the R&B singer Kehlani, who is shockingly still featured as the star headliner for San Diego’s own Pride Festival this year after her performances in other cities, including at New York City Pride and Cornell University, were canceled due to security concerns. San Diego Pride evidently does not place a high enough value on the safety of LGBTQ+ Jews and Jewish allies.
The vile, hateful rhetoric that is considered protected free speech is not normalizing a robust debate on policy — which we welcome — but instead is normalizing a hatred of Jews that inspires violence, pure and simple.
Take the call to “End Zionists,” as the attacker yesterday shouted, or “Eradicate Zionists,” a popular refrain on Kehlani’s Instagram. What does it even mean? Our recent Jewish Community Study showed that 91% of Jewish San Diegans believe strongly in Israel’s right to exist. That makes us overwhelmingly “Zionists” — who pay taxes, go to school and have built our lives here.
We are part of the San Diego community, yet a call to “eradicate” or “end” zionists directly targets us — and is nothing short of a call for violence against your neighbors. Unfortunately, that call is clearly being answered in other communities like ours. The frightening through-line from hate speech to violence is crystal clear. And we can no longer accept the normalization of this speech.
As the frequency of antisemitic speech and acts has escalated, San Diego’s vibrant and active Jewish community has been forced to invest millions of dollars in security so that they can feel safe to participate in any aspect of Jewish life. I went to a concert at an Episcopal church last night with friends, and I just … walked in. That simply is not the reality anymore at Jewish synagogues, schools or agencies, where armed security, metal detectors and other increasingly robust security protocols have become standard.
This year alone, our organization funded security grants to 33 Jewish organizations and helped many more apply for federal and state grants. We also partnered with other Jewish organizations in the community recently to launch The Finest Community Coalition, so that we could respond collectively to rising antisemitism and ensure San Diego remains a place where Jews feel safe, secure and proud to be Jewish.
According to the ADL’s latest audit, antisemitic incidents increased 23% in San Diego between 2023 and 2024. Although Jews make up only 2% of the population, 68% of religious hate crimes in the US are perpetrated against Jews. And according to the American Jewish Committee’s 2025 State of Antisemitism report, 56% of all American Jews have taken at least one action to hide their Judaism out of fear of antisemitism.
Eric Fingerhut, the CEO of Jewish Federations of North America, shared a list of critical government actions yesterday, ranging from increased funding for security grants to aggressive prosecution of antisemitic hate crimes to holding social media platforms accountable for the amplification of Jewish hate. We strongly support these recommendations.
We cannot — we must not — let the tragedies of Poway, Washington or Boulder happen again. But Jews cannot end antisemitism alone. It will take all of our collective voices to resist hate-filled rhetoric, to reject calls for the eradication of Zionism or Israel, and to work together to truly make this the “America’s Finest City” San Diego is known to be.
I hope that someday soon at our Jewish Federation of San Diego, we can stop worrying so much about protecting Jewish lives and turn 100% to our core business — cultivating Jewish joy.
Heidi Gantwerk is president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of San Diego.
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