MegilLA Civil Unrest Issue
SPECIAL EDITION June 1, 2020
Folks,
What would Raoul say? After a night of vandalizing and looting in the Fairfax neighborhood, where the statue of Wallenberg stands, I wondered how the Swedish diplomat, who saved tens of thousands of Jews from the Nazis, would respond to having BLM (Black Lives Matter) painted on his base. Anger? Understanding? A little of both probably, with maybe a touch of irony thrown in.
Yet, how we respond to the destruction and looting is the real question. Many of us, especially children of the 60s, get the righteousness of the protest to the killing of George Floyd held earlier on Saturday in Pan Pacific Park. What we don’t get is the nightmare afterwards. Unfortunately, we remember what it is like to be persecuted and murdered by forces sanctioned by the state. The survivors still bear the tattoos and the memories. But unfortunate too are our memories of having shops vandalized and our windows broken. Keeping those memories is the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust, located in Pan Pacific Park, right in the center of the very Jewish neighborhood where the looting and destruction took place. Though, demographically, the area doesn’t have the Jewish numbers it once had, the neighborhood remains home to thousands of Jews, many of them Traditional, as well as Jewish stores, restaurants, and institutions of learning. Many of those places were tagged or damaged, as the photos below show. Others, it should be noted, were not.
Were the acts of violence, robbery (the area was strewn with empty cash registers) and destruction anti-Semitic? I hope not. What I do know, is that as a group, Jews have learned through bitter experience to be very wary of breaking glass, fires set, and political slogans smeared on shop windows in rage.
Not to leave you on that note, as you will see, we also tried to record the spontaneous outpouring of Angelenos coming to help repair at least some of the damage, and on that sign of hope this issue rests.
A very special thanks to Pini Herman, who grew up in this neighborhood, and still lives nearby, for documenting with photography and interviews the aftermath of what happened Saturday night.
Edmon J. Rodman
Waking up to loss and destruction
Smashed meat case, at the Ariel Kosher Market, corner La Brea and Beverly. Sunday morning, workers were boarding up the front window. MegilLA photos Pini Herman
Edmon J. Rodman
As the Jewish residents of the Fairfax district emerged from the shelter of their homes Sunday morning, they emerged into the aftermath of a night of violence, looting, and tagging in their neighborhood. At least one Jewish business on La Brea, Ariel Kosher Market, had its front window and display cases smashed, and its shelves looted.
Jewish-owned restaurants and businesses were vandalized, and some synagogues and Jewish day schools were covered in graffiti. On the front wall of Beit Torah Ohr Gadol on Beverly was a happy face with dollar signs for eyes. Some synagogues and Judaica stores on Beverly and Fairfax went largely untouched, and the Jewish Community Mural in the Canter's parking lot, had only one area with graffiti, and that was not within the mural.
The Fish Grill on Beverly sustained a broken window and door, said the restaurant's mashgiach, Danny Horowitz. "They tried to break the safe, but couldn't do anything with it."
A young woman, who didn't want her name used, a student at Bais Yaakov School for Girls, was helping to clean up the graffiti left around the school. "This is my school," she said. "It was a terrible thing that happened to George Floyd, but I don't think this is the right way to react," she said.
The owner of Mensch Bakery on Beverly (who didn't want her name used) stood in front of her place, watching workers board up the front. What was taken? "French pastries" she replied, with more than a trace of sarcasm. "They took the cash registers," but fortunately, because of Shavuot, and the bakery being closed since Friday, they were empty.
(With reporting by Pini Herman)
The front of Congregation Kehilas Yaakov.
A construction dumpster was set ablaze on the corner of Vista and Oakwood in a residential neighborhood.
A wall of Bais Yaakov School for Girls with much of the graffiti, which included obscenities, painted over. MegilLA photos Pini Herman.
MegilLA photo Pini Herman
POV: This needs to be a vintage year
Elan Rodman
Last night on my laptop, I watched looters pillage through stores along Melrose and Fairfax Avenues. While living in L.A., I spent countless hours on these streets, window shopping, making friends of all different classes and cultures, and most importantly buying vintage fashion.
One of those friends, co-founder of Round Two, and co-owner of Round Two Vintage Los Angeles, Adam Fineman, works almost 7 days a week, going out to thrift shops searching for rare vintage t-shirts to curate for his Melrose boutique. His store was completely looted last night.
The world-famous Supreme store on Fairfax was also looted. When the store first opened in 2004 on Fairfax, they celebrated by releasing one of their famous box-logo branded t-shirts in Hebrew, which commemorated the street’s former life as a Jewish cultural hub.
Flight Club LA, a sneaker consignment shop, not only was looted, but lost the consignments of sneakers from people who come from many of the same places as the looters.
We must begin to rebuild these communities. They offer the rare opportunity for people from all walks of life to shop and buy into street culture, which has its roots in tolerance, civil disobedience and solidarity.
Looting Loss Loans
To assist some of the businesses who were victims of last weekend’s unrest, the Jewish Free Loan Association is offering “Looting Loss Loans” to help small businesses who were victims of last weekend’s unrest. JFLA is offering interest-free loans up to $18,000 to all residents of Los Angeles or Ventura County, who have small business which suffered losses. For the loan program, two guarantors are required. Funds can be used for debris cleanup, graffiti removal, construction needs, inventory replacement and more. JFLA is a nonsectarian agency that serves all residents of Los Angeles and Ventura counties regardless of religion.
Repairing Fairfax
Los Angeles City Councilman David Ryu on Sunday, helping out with the Fairfax area cleanup. MegilLA photo Pini Herman
Edmon J. Rodman
After a day of rioting and vandalism, there was another turn of events: hundreds of volunteers spontaneously turned out to help with the cleanup.
“I’m just so happy that so many community members are coming out,” said Councilman David Ryu of the Fourth District which includes Melrose, La Brea and Hancock Park. “We were going to call for volunteers to clean up today, but even before we could call anybody, everybody walking the streets, and all the neighbors seeing what’s happening asked if they could pitch in,” said the councilman. “A lot of folks are going home to get brushes.”
Nearby, a group who live in an apartment building on Sycamore were painting over the obscene graffiti that had greeted them that morning. “No one wants to see profanity,” said one of the women.
Three people were also removing the graffiti from the roll-up door of the Ta-eem Grill an Israeli restaurant on Santa Monica Boulevard. “We don’t want graffiti on our neighborhood restaurant,” said Joelle, who lives nearby, and dines at the grill a couple of times a week.
Adrian, who had purchased his own cleaning supplies, was also on another kind of cleanup—that of impressions. “I was part of the protest yesterday, and I think that the cleanup is still an extension of yesterday’s demonstration,” he said. “There are a lot of people saying that the real issue is looting and vandalism,” but, “a demonstration like yesterday’s can be cleaned up and murder can’t.”
Councilman Ryu, paint roller in hand, noted the “blessing” of those cleaning up. “It’s going to take a community to heal, and it’s going to take all of us to come together,” he said.
(With reporting by Pini Herman)