UC Gascon? Rampant Antisemitism Alleged in LA DA’s Office

The nation watched as campus after campus, seemingly inexplicably, fell victim to repugnant outbursts of open antisemitism.  Pro-Hamas demonstrations ended classes around the state, Jewish students were harassed and barred from entering classrooms, and vile and historically ignorant displays of antisemitic – poorly covered as anti-Israel – sentiment were seemingly everywhere.

The public – and many Jewish groups – were caught off-guard by the organized display of antisemitism that rolled from school to school.  Progressive Jewish students felt betrayed by their putative “allies” who were demanding that they be kicked off campus, were accusing them off profiting from Gaza “blood money,” and declaring them white colonialist capitalist oppressors.  

Considering the rise of the academic theory of intersectionality, they should not have been surprised.  History has no place in intersectionality and right now Jewish people seem to be doing pretty well and Palestinians not doing very well, therefore Jews are evil.  The thinking is that simple, and simple-minded:

Jews are labelled by the progressives as white, rich, capitalists who are doing terrible things to the oppressed Palestinians and therefore they must be opposed and even destroyed.

Without a sense of history and access to facts such as 3,000 years of being oppressed and subjugated themselves, the diaspora, the Holocaust, and the simple fact that, if you want to play the unconscionable and childish “they were there first” game so popular with progressives, when it comes to “Palestine” the Jews have been there pretty much as long as anyone else.  Rome conquered Judea, not Palestine.

So with no mooring to the reality of history, students and progressives and wokerati are perfectly able to apprise the current situation through a “lens of oppression.”

Therefore, it should not come as a surprise to Los Angeles residents that this same kind of non-thinking has taken hold in the office of District Attorney George Gascon, a “revolutionary” UC student body with jobs.  And combine that with his blind dedication to his so-called criminal justice reform ideology and you end up with the exact ingredients needed for the disaster recipe that is right now on the streets of the county.

Are Gascon and his minions antisemites? Are Jewish deputy district attorneys and staffers treated differently from other employees, especially those fellow reform travelers and public defenders Gascon has brought in the past few years?

The case, in part, against Gascon lays out thusly:

• There are about 35 head deputy positions in the office. Since his election, Gascon has promoted 15 people to that leadership position.  Not one has been a Jewish deputy district attorney.
• Gascon has been sued for in-office retaliation and other misdeeds.  Half of those whistleblowers –  in other words, half of the people Gascon has allegedly retaliated against –  are Jewish.
• A Jewish deputy district attorney asked to join the office’s diversity and inclusion task force.  After she attended one meeting she was told there was “no need for her to come back” by Gascon’s former chief of staff Sharon Woo, eliminating the only Jewish member of the task force.  Woo, by the way, retired and then was immediately given a $100,000 contract to come back  “so she can act as a “central witness” in the multitude of civil cases his own employees have brought against him.” 
• In the aftermath of the UCLA pro-Hamas encampment and the counter-protest that led to the school finally forcing it closed down, Gascon’s office said it would “help in ensuring that the instigators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”  He was referring only to the counter-protestors; as to the pro-Hamas protestors, not so much.   
• Gascon is endorsed by BLM, People’s City Council, and the Democratic Socialists of America, all three groups are pro-Hamas:

• According to sources inside the DA’s office, not a single Hamas/Israel protest-related crime has involved a Jewish victim.
• Gascon is noted for taking rather public stances on issues not exactly related to the work of his office.  He issued a statement deploring (seemingly rightfully so, admittedly)  Azerbaijan’s illegal blockade of the Lachin Corridor:

“ Since December 2022, the blockade has caused a humanitarian crisis denying the people of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) access to food, water, medical supplies and other essential services. Our office stands with the Armenian community and the people of Artsakh to stop another Armenian Genocide from occurring. We are committed to standing up for human rights, speaking out against hate and preventing such atrocities.” 

He has made no such statement regarding Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, which sparked the current conflict.  After pressure from staff, Gascon reportedly sent a private message around his office deploring all kinds of hate “including antisemitism” and suggested anyone upset by the war should take advantage of in-office counseling services.

• Mark Nakagawa, a retired Methodist pastor, was videotaped drawing a swastika on the grocery delivery of a Jewish neighborhood in West Hollywood.  Prior to the incident, Nakagawa was appointed by Gascon to his office’s “first-ever AAPI Advisory Board, one of several Advisory Boards he formed that opens dialogue toward a more inclusive, stronger, safer and more trusting relationship with communities countywide.”   The DA’s office noted Nakagawa is no longer on the board 

All of this adds up to Gascon either being tacitly or actively personally antisemitic, his in-office critics claim.

Considering his record and actions and with whom he associates, “you have to come to the conclusion that he is an antisemite,” said deputy district attorney John Lewin, one of Gascon’s fiercest critics.

Brian Schirn is a 32-year veteran of the DA’s office and the head deputy DA of the narcotics section. The antisemitism of Gascon and his minions “manifests itself on so many different levels” in the office.  Schirn is also very worried not just about office issues, but how cases are being potentially mishandled.

Regarding the multiple Gaza-related protests and arrests, Schirn was blunt:

“You’d think a case with a Jewish victim will be evaluated same way as one without a Jewish victim,” Schirn said.  “It will not and they have not been.”

Ariel Anson has been a deputy DA for eight years and prosecutes sex crimes against children.  She said she has wanted to be a prosecutor since she was a little girl, in part because her grandfather was a Holocaust survivor and she wanted to fight for victims and ensure justice was done.  The day Gascon took office and he issued his infamous directives, “my heart sank,” Anson said.

Part of the problem is that Gascon picks and chooses the laws he wants to enforce – or not.

“He is always catering to his groups of supporters,” said Anson, which leads to deputy DAs looking over their shoulder.  “You always have to do what is best for the case at hand,” Anson.  “But you do sometimes wonder if you’ll get in trouble for it.”

When asked if there was something Gascon could do, some change made, some statement offered to improve morale in the office and change the impression of systemic (word used properly) antisemitism, she had little hope.

“Between now and (the election in) November, I don’t think there is anything he can do to rectify the damage he has done,” Anson said.

And the candidate trying to stop the damage Gascon has done – Nathan Hochman – is also equally repelled by reports of antisemitism in the DA’s office.

“It should not be hard for Gascon to strongly condemn antisemitism and the violence at the LA synagogue, as I and many leaders including Mayor Karen Bass and Governor Newsom have done,” Hochman said. “It’s extremely concerning that Gascon apparently cares more about placating anti-Jewish extremists than he does about standing up for LA’s Jewish community.”

Hochman touted his “support for our Jewish community and my strong stance against extremism and hate has been clear and unequivocal — something that cannot be said about Gascon and his lack of leadership on this and too many other issues,” he said. “The Jewish community, including Jews employed by the DA’s Office, have reason to be concerned about Gascon’s inaction on recent hate-motivated crimes. As DA, I will show with my words and actions that hate crimes against any group will not be tolerated, and those who commit hate crimes will be held accountable.”

In response to the various questions posed, the DA’s office had the following response:

“The District Attorney’s Office condemns all forms of hatred, including antisemitism and takes allegations of discrimination seriously. Any suggestion that the DA’s Office is sympathetic to organizations that promote hatred, discrimination, violence, or terrorism is unfounded. Our approach to prosecuting demonstrations and counterprotests is driven solely by the principles of law and justice, without any bias toward any group. 

Regarding promotions and representation within our office, we are dedicated to a fair and transparent process that values the qualifications and contributions of all our employees. We are actively working to ensure that our equity and diversity panel reflects the broad spectrum of our community, including Jewish representation. 

Our office is steadfast in its dedication to combating antisemitism and ensuring that all members of our community feel safe, respected, and represented. We will continue to listen to concerns and take necessary actions to uphold these values.”

It should be noted that the email came with a “tag line” quote from Ernest Hemingway:

“The world breaks everyone and afterward  many are strong at the broken places.”

Hemingway killed himself.