Silicon Valley elected officials, including U.S. Rep. Sam Liccardo, joined interfaith leaders on Saturday night to speak out against the “human swastika” at San Jose’s Branham High School that shocked the local community and attracted international media coverage.
The livestreamed event took place at Congregation Shir Hadash in Los Gatos. The Jewish Community Relations Council Bay Area (JCRC) organized the event, which began with Rabbi Rafi Ellenson of Shir Hadash leading Havdalah and Rabbi Nathan Roller of Saratoga’s Congregation Beth David lighting the Hanukkah candles on the seventh night of the holiday. About 70 people attended.
JCRC organized the solidarity event after eight teenagers formed the shape of a swastika on the Branham High’s football field and posted a photo on social media on Dec. 3 accompanied by a quote from Adolf Hitler about the “annihilation of the Jewish race.” Since then, debate has swirled around the potential discipline of the individual students and the need to broaden education about the Holocaust and antisemitism.
Santa Clara County Supervisor Susan Ellenberg focused on the need to use the incident as a learning opportunity. “If we alienate these children, and they are children, we will continue to perpetuate hate. Exclusion begets resentment,” said Ellenberg, who is Jewish.
Other local and state officials who spoke included San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and state Sen. Josh Becker (D-Menlo Park), who serves as vice chair of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus.
Liccardo (D-San Jose) mentioned multiple attacks on Jews this year, including the terrorist attack that killed 15 people at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Dec. 14 during a Hanukkah celebration.
“As we think about the horrors of our world in Sydney, Boulder, Washington, D.C., and quite sadly even here at home, in our own high schools, there is a moment of darkness here,” Liccardo said. “And although it is appropriate that we condemn that darkness, this is a moment when we can also celebrate the light.”
Robert Bravo, superintendent of the Campbell Union High School District, said that in response to the Braham incident, the district will host one of the Mobile Museums of Tolerance buses at its schools in March. The mobile museums, a program of the L.A.-based Museum of Tolerance, contain exhibits about the Holocaust, antisemitism and other forms of hate.
“Antisemitism clearly is not a relic of the past. It is a present danger,” Bravo said. “I recognize the real and rightful pain this incident has caused within the Jewish community. It should never have happened.”
In a Monday press release, the school district announced that it has set up a new fund to “support anti-hate initiatives” on its campuses. The CUHSD Education Foundation has earmarked $13,000 for the fund and is accepting donations.
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan thanked JCRC for offering to work with city officials and discuss how the city can better support the Jewish community.
“All moral education is local,” said Mahan, who previously worked as a middle school English and history teacher. “When we wade into these topics, we often oversimplify and collapse into binaries of who’s oppressed and who’s an oppressor. I think we need to demand richer, deeper, harder conversations.”
Becker noted that not all Bay Area officials have responded appropriately to attacks on Jews.
He decried the conduct of Richmond Mayor Eduardo Martinez, who in the wake of the Bondi Beach massacre reposted several LinkedIn posts that described the attack as a “false flag” operation and claimed Israel was the “root cause of antisemitism.” Becker described these posts as “unimaginable.”
Martinez has since deleted the reposts and apologized for his conduct. The JCRC has called for his resignation.
Becker added that Saturday night’s event “really has to be the beginning, not the end. The beginning of a broader community conversation, the beginning of education.”
Branham High Principal Beth Silbergeld, who is Jewish, said schools need help from the wider community to prevent bigotry from taking root in students.
“Schools are essential places for unlearning hate. We help students think critically, question what they see and ground themselves in truth, dignity and compassion,” she said. “But schools cannot do this work alone. We are being asked to respond to deep problems that exist in the world where political leaders, parents and brilliant minds are struggling to find solutions.”
The Rev. Jon Pedigo, a Catholic priest who directs the Diocese of San Jose’s peace and justice projects, spoke in support of the Jewish community.
“Tonight, the multifaith community stands with the Jewish community of Silicon Valley,” Pedigo said. “May the light we kindle tonight travel farther than the darkness expects.”