Berkeley school personnel, police and other municipal employees may have to undergo hate-crime training if the city’s mayor gets her way.
A recommendation to introduce Anti-Defamation League training and other hate-fighting initiatives in Berkeley is set for discussion at a city council meeting later this month.
The proposal was drafted by Mayor Shirley Dean, who is up for re-election in November, and was postponed until May 28 during the council’s May 14 meeting.
Dean’s recommendation comes in response to an increase in anti-Semitic and other hate-related incidents in Berkeley.
“I am concerned that such threats will escalate in direct proportion to the increase of [Middle East] tensions,” she writes. “It’s time for the community to come together to reject expressions and acts of hatred.”
Jewish community leaders are praising Dean’s proposal, which follows a rash of attacks in recent months on the Berkeley Jewish community, both on and off the U.C. Berkeley campus. These include assaults on two Orthodox men, vandalism at Berkeley Hillel and bomb threats to Berkeley synagogues.
Hispanics, blacks, gays and Arabs also have been targets.
In a telephone interview, Dean said she is “very troubled” by the hateful climate. She said she is firmly committed to doing “whatever I can to calm the situation down.”
She had previously addressed her concerns in an open letter to the community.
Berkeley Police Chief Dash Butler confirmed an increase in hate crimes although he said it’s “an unusual” phenomenon for the city.
He thinks the numbers will shrink “as things settle down in the Middle East.” But he said he would be receptive to further hate-crime training “so we’re better armed to deal with problems that might come along.”
In addition to providing hate-crime training, Dean’s recommendations include:
*The endorsement of Butler’s recent decision to assign specific police officers to hate-crime investigations. While the department, with 205 sworn officers, is not large enough to implement an entire hate-crime unit, the specific officers would be accountable for hate-crime investigations on a priority basis.
*An anti-hate poster contest in the Berkeley Unified School District’s elementary schools. The winning poster would be placed in storefronts as a kick-off to a campaign to eliminate hate crimes in Berkeley.
*A database of documented hate crimes maintained by the city manager, who would advise the council whenever a hate crime is added to the list.
*An article by the city manager to be included in his annual report on the increase in hate crimes and how Berkeley is responding, along with an invitation to the community to participate in efforts to halt future acts.
*The development and implementation of a comprehensive city program for police, community and schools to address hate crimes in Berkeley.
The cost of implementing Dean’s proposal has not yet been determined.
Deborah Louria, director of the Jewish Community Relations Council’s East Bay region, called Dean’s ideas “timely” and “important.”
She said she is optimistic that Dean’s proposal will help “reinforce the zero-tolerance policy that the city has, and should have for all acts of hate crime.” It will also help to reduce “the cumulative impact and impression of hate created in the Berkeley community” by setting a more positive tone.
Jonathan Bernstein, executive director of the Anti-Defamation League’s Central Pacific region, agreed and called Dean’s recommendation an “unusually brave response” by a city official.
“Many mayors are afraid if they call attention to the negative factors in their community it will make them look bad,” said Bernstein. “But Mayor Dean is smart enough to know if she doesn’t take this head-on, it’s only going to fester and get worse.”