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Democrats for Israel – LA Update
The official newsletter of Democrats for Israel, Los Angeles
Read this newsletter online (https://mailchi.mp/9f72b0aab1bb/democrats-for-israel-los-angeles-update-for-augustseptember?e=db64bd828c) or as a PDF - DFI-LA Newsletter 2026 08.pdf
Vol. 1 No 2 August/September 2026
Published by Democrats for Israel – Los Angeles bi-monthly. Opinion articles do NOT express the position of DFI – LA, but rather express the opinions of the respective authors. Submit stories to Newsletter Editor Paul Kujawsky at paul.kujawsky@gmail.com.
President’s Report
Democrats for Israel – LA is in the thick of the fight
By Gregg Solkovits
I wake up every day wondering what has happened overnight in our country or our world to make life more difficult for Israel and for Jews, and sadly, it seems that each day brings us a new challenge. Be it the challenge of some of the members of the nation’s teacher unions espousing anti-Israel sentiments bordering on (or crossing over into) antisemitic tirades, or be it the challenge of one or another grandstanding elected official creating incidents to show Israel in a bad light, or be it the challenge presented by events in Israel itself that become problematic for those of us who love the multi-racial democracy that is Israel, those challenges have kept Democrats for Israel – Los Angeles busy.
In this year alone, DFI – LA has:
- Lobbied in support of AB 715 – legislation that makes sure that Jewish children in K-12 classrooms in California can go to schools that are free of antisemitism;
- Helped to elect pro-Israel candidates in primaries throughout Southern California;
- Worked in coalitions to keep the California Democratic Party Platform in support of Israel and the two-state solution; and
- Worked with other organizations to be sure that Ethnic Studies curriculum in California schools is not filled with anti- Israel Propaganda.
It has been hard work, and will continue to be hard work, and we need YOUR help. Join DFI – LA or renew your membership. By doing so, you will get a free ticket to our 2026 Garden Gathering October 25, where DFI –LA will honor elected officials and community leaders for their efforts against the growing antisemitism in the Democratic Party, our state, and our nation, as well as their steadfast support for Israel and a two state solution in the Middle East.
To renew your membership in DFI – LA (or to become a sponsor!) you can pay by credit card by clicking on this link https://zioni.st/DFIGARDEN26, or by sending a check payable to “Democrats for Israel – Los Angeles” to Post Office Box 7577, Van Nuys, CA 91409.
Should you have any questions about our club, or any problems accessing the link, please feel free to contact me at 818-516-7962 or send me an e-mail at gsolk@aol.com.
Gregg Solkovits is the President of DFI-LA.
Democrats for Israel -- Los Angeles doings
Garden Party October 25
The Executive Board of Democrats for Israel – Los Angeles (DFI-LA) would like to invite you to attend and/or sponsor the 36th annual Democrats for Israel – Los Angeles Garden Gathering on Sunday, October 25 at 4 p.m.
We would be happy to have you join us as DFI-LA honors outstanding leaders in our city and region for their longstanding efforts fighting antisemitism, and for their consistent support for Israel. DFI-LA will be giving its Golda Meir Award, its Joshua Heschel Award, its DFI-LA Community Service Award and the DFI-LA Legacy Award.
Democrats for Israel – Los Angeles continues to be a strong voice on behalf of Israel, a strong advocate of a two-state solution in the Middle East, and a leading force in the fight against Antisemitism within the Democratic Party, and within our society, and has been for 36 years.
The DFI-LA Garden Gathering brings DFI – LA members together with Democratic Party activists and elected officials to celebrate both Israel and the Jewish Community. It is also the event in which the organization introduces its officers for the coming year. We would so much like to have you be part of this annual event as we prepare for the critical 2026 election.
Sponsorship levels for this event are:
- $100 for Supporter (one admission to the event and DFI-LA membership)
- 200 Bronze (listing, one admission to the event and DFI-LA membership)
- $500 Silver (higher listing, two admissions and DFI-LA membership)
- $750 Gold (higher listing, two admissions, and DFI-LA membership)
- $1000 Platinum (four admissions, highest listing and DFI-LA membership)
To sign up as a sponsor or to purchase a ticket, you can pay by credit card by clicking on https://zioni.st/DFIGARDEN26, or send a check payable to “Democrats for Israel – Los Angeles”, Post Office Box 7577, Van Nuys, CA 91409. Should you have any questions, or any problems accessing the link, please feel free to contact DFI – LA President Gregg Solkovits at 818-516-7962 or send him an e-mail at gsolk@aol.com.
We look forward to seeing you Sunday, October 25 at 4 p.m.
DFI – LA Chanuka Party set for December 6
Mark your calendar for the DFI-LA Chanuka Party on Sunday, December 6.
Help DFI – LA register voters
DFI-LA is preparing a series of voter registration events. If you want to help with Zionist-Democratic Party shidduchim, contact DFI-LA Secretary Paul Kujawsky at Paul.Kujawsky@gmail.com.
Join a DFI – LA Committee
If there aren’t enough committee meetings in your life, DFI-LA has the answer: DFI-LA committees! If you would like to help DFI-LA accomplish its goals, please contact DFI-LA Vice President Jay Greenstein at jaydgreenstein@gmail.com.
Sacramento news
AB 2551 would have, among other things, repealed the provisions of recently-enacted AB 1287 that require public universities to enforce time, place and manner limits on student protests. AB 1287 also mandates that student codes of conduct explicitly prohibit violence, harassment, intimidation and discrimination. After objections from the Jewish community and others, the language to repeal SB 1287 was removed from AB 2551.
AB 2664 (Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (Coauthors: Assembly Members Addis, Berman, Gabriel, Haney, Lowenthal, Pellerin, and Zbur; Senators Allen, Becker, and Rubio), the “Safe Worship Zone Act,” would create a 100-foot buffer zone for protests around entrances to houses of worship. It would prohibit protesters from coming within 8 feet of congregants without their consent. After passing the Assembly, on June 29 it was sent to the Senate Appropriations Committee suspense file. This means either the bill will die in committee or be sent to the Senate floor.
AB 1853 (Pellerin and Berman (Coauthors: Assembly Members Addis, Ahrens, Bauer-Kahan, Bryan, Gabriel, Haney, Irwin, Lowenthal, Blanca Rubio, Ward, and Zbur; Senators Allen, Becker, and Wiener) is a response to the appearance of an antisemitic screed by gubernatorial candidate Don Grundmann in the official state election guide for the June 2 primary election. It prohibits false or misleading statements, and gives any voter the right to review candidate statements and go to court to have a candidate statement deleted or amended. AB 1853 has passed the Assembly and is in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Washington news
The “Massie amendment” was a proposal by Republican Representative Tom Massie that would have eliminated the $3.3 billion in annual United States military assistance to Israel. Aside from Massie himself, only Democrats—103 of them—voted in favor of the amendment. (It failed with 215 Republicans and 98 Democrats voting against.) Many pro-Israel Democrats were appalled by this. The Jewish Democratic Council of America issued an explainer, The Real Story Behind the Massie Amendment: https://jewishdems.substack.com/p/the-real-story-behind-the-massie.
Opinion
Jewish Angelenos and our Allies Deserve Better
By Debbie Paperman and Laura Goldstein
Los Angeles City Council member Nithya Raman wants to be mayor of Los Angeles, but after her actions earlier this month, many Jewish Angelenos are left wondering whether her vision for the city truly includes all of us.
On May 15, as part of a regular Los Angeles City Council meeting, the Council marked Jewish American Heritage Month for the tenth consecutive year, recognizing the contributions of the Jewish community to the civic, cultural, and political life of Los Angeles. At a time when antisemitism continues to rise dramatically across the country and here at home, it should have been a simple decision for her to join the numerous elected officials and stand with the Jewish community.
Raman made the choice not to be there.
Instead, she chose to appear on a livestream with Hasan Piker, a podcaster with approximately 11 million followers across his multiple platforms who has repeatedly spread antisemitic rhetoric targeting Israel and the Jewish community. During the livestream, Raman indicated that she believes the false claim that Israel is committing genocide, spoke about wanting to see a future “without apartheid,” and publicly distanced herself from prior engagement with pro‑Israel organizations such as Democrats for Israel Los Angeles, stating that she would not seek further endorsements from them and therefore from large segments of both the pro‑Israel and Jewish communities.
That was the choice she made during the commemoration of Jewish American Heritage Month instead of standing with the Jewish community at City Hall.
We will admit that when Raman, who is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America–Los Angeles (DSA‑LA), an organization that has taken extremely anti‑Israel positions, first ran for City Council, we were skeptical. Still, she appeared to want to engage with and support the Jewish community, and over the years, even as there were moments that gave us pause, we wanted to believe those efforts were sincere. Unfortunately, we do not believe that anymore.
What became painfully obvious that Friday is that this does not appear to have been about genuine concern for the Jewish community. It now feels far more likely that her engagement with the Jewish community was politically advantageous at one point but no longer is.
What makes this even more troubling is that she is not distancing herself from the fringe; she is distancing herself from the Jewish community at large. The overwhelming majority of Jewish Angelenos are Democrats, and we overwhelmingly support a two‑state solution: a Palestinian state alongside a Jewish state, Israel, the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people. In fact, support for two states for two peoples has been part of the California Democratic Party platform for decades.
Los Angeles is home to the second‑largest Jewish population in the United States. Jewish Angelenos deserve leaders who are willing to engage respectfully with our community, not distance themselves from it when doing so becomes politically inconvenient.
Voters should ask themselves a simple question: Do we want a mayor, or even a council member, who does not seem interested in supporting or standing with our community?
Debbie Paperman is a member of the DFI-LA Executive Board. Laura Goldstein is a lifelong Democrat and child of Holocaust survivors. Reprinted with permission from the Jewish Journal. jewishjournal.com/commentary/opinion/389022/jewish-angelenos-and-our-allies-deserve-better
Opinion
The Netanyahu Bogeyman: How Israel's Enemies Hide Behind One Name
By David Alpern
There's a cynical playbook at work in the campaign against Israel, and it starts with two words: Benjamin Netanyahu. For those who seek to delegitimize the Jewish state, Netanyahu has become the all-purpose villain: A convenient bogeyman onto whom every grievance, every accusation, and every call for Israel's destruction can be projected while maintaining a thin veneer of respectability. "We don't hate Israel," they insist. "We just oppose Netanyahu." It's a lie, and it's time to call it what it is.
The strategy is as transparent as it is dishonest: Meld the man with the nation, reduce a vibrant democracy of ten million people to a single face, and then demonize that face until the public can no longer distinguish between opposing a politician and opposing a country's right to exist. When activists on college campuses chant for the elimination of Israel; when members of Congress lamentedly vote to strip the Jewish state of security aid; when protesters wave signs calling for Intifada… none of that pompous righteousness is about one prime minister's policies. It's about Israel itself. Netanyahu is simply the mask they wear to make it seem palatable to the persuadable masses.
What makes this manipulation even more glaring is the stunning silence about the actual architects of terror and destruction in the region. Ask any campus protester or social media activist to name the leaders of the jihadist movements sworn to Israel's annihilation, and you'll be met with blank stares.
- Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader who masterminded the October 7 massacre, the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, in which over 1,200 men, women, and children were slaughtered, tortured, and raped. They’d say WHO?
- Ismail Haniyeh, who led Hamas's political bureau from luxury hotels in Qatar while Palestinian civilians suffered under his organization's rule. They’d say WHO?
- Ghazi Hamad, the Hamas official who proudly declared on television that October 7 would be repeated "again and again" until Israel is destroyed. They’d say WHO?
- Nabih Berri, Lebanon's Parliament Speaker and longtime Amal Movement leader who has enabled Hezbollah's stranglehold to reign over Lebanon for decades. They’d say WHO?
These names never cross the lips of those who claim to care about justice in the Middle East. They obsess over Netanyahu while granting complete anonymity… and therefore impunity, to genocidal extremists funded and directed by Iran's IRGC regime.
This selective outrage is not accidental. It is a deliberate strategy to manipulate American public opinion, and it exploits a fundamental misunderstanding of how Israeli democracy works. Americans are accustomed to a system where they vote directly for a President. The American system has a single leader who embodies the executive branch. Israel's political system is fundamentally different. Israelis vote for parties; not individual leaders. The Knesset, Israel's parliament, is comprised of multiple parties that must form coalition governments to rule.
Coalition governance is complicated and rife with compromise and drama. Minority parties can exercise outsized influence within the ruling coalition and on the prime minister. No single leader governs alone, and Israeli politics features fierce internal debate, regular elections, and constant accountability.
In fact, Israel is heading to elections this October 27, 2026, with new parties and coalitions already forming to challenge the current government. That is a sign of democratic health that Israel's detractors conveniently ignore.
By reducing Israel to "Netanyahu," the haters accomplish something insidious: They erase the agency of millions of Israeli citizens, be they Jewish, Arab, Druze, or Christian… all of whom participate in one of the world's most dynamic democracies. They erase the fact that Israelis themselves vigorously debate their government's policies in ways that would be unthinkable in Gaza under Hamas, in Lebanon under Hezbollah, or in Iran under the ayatollahs and their IRGC henchmen.
Here's the truth the haters don't want you to see: If Netanyahu left office tomorrow (which may actually happen before year’s end), the calls to boycott, divest from, and sanction Israel would not stop. The inclination for campus encampments would not fold. The chants of “from the river to the sea” would not fall silent. Because it was never about Netanyahu. It was always about Israel and the Jewish state's right to exist, to defend itself, and to thrive. Netanyahu is simply the excuse. The sooner the American public sees through this charade, the sooner we can have an honest conversation about who truly stands in the way of peace. And it certainly isn't the only democracy in the Middle East or whoever may be its Prime Minister of the moment.
David Alpern is a member of the DFI-LA executive board. He would cast his vote for the Beyachad (Together) party of former Prime Ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid if he were voting in the upcoming October 27, 2026 Israeli elections.
Opinion
When Activism Crosses the Line: LAUSD Must Answer for Political Indoctrination in the Classroom
By Shoshannah Kalaydjian
A STUDEN’T VIEW - Imagine learning that your child's public-school teacher publicly acknowledged using the classroom to advance a political cause, encouraged students to become activists, and stated during a public webinar that she married a foreign national to help him obtain U.S. immigration benefits. Whether one agrees with her politics is beside the point. Every parent should be asking the same question: Is this what taxpayers expect from public education?
Parents send their children to school expecting teachers to educate not recruit, persuade, or organize them around a political cause. That expectation is the foundation of public education and the trust that exists between families and schools.
Recent reports involving a Los Angeles Unified School District teacher have placed that trust under scrutiny. According to publicly reported accounts, Laura Pinho, a dance teacher at Canoga Park High School, stated during a public webinar that she married a man living in Gaza to help him obtain U.S. immigration benefits because she wanted to “equalize the playing field.” Immigration attorneys interviewed by the media have said those statements could warrant federal review if they accurately describe the purpose of the marriage. Whether any laws were violated is for federal authorities not public opinion to determine.
Equally significant were the teacher's reported statements describing how she incorporated her personal views on the Israeli Palestinian conflict into classroom instruction, sponsored a Students for Justice in Palestine club, and encouraged student activism.
No one is questioning a teacher's constitutional right to hold political beliefs. Teachers are citizens first. They are entitled to speak, protest, volunteer, donate, and advocate as private individuals. But the classroom is different. Students are a captive audience, and teachers occupy a position of public trust.
Public education should challenge students to think critically not guide them toward predetermined political conclusions. The mission of our schools is to cultivate informed citizens, not ideological followers.
This is not about Israel versus Palestine. It is not about the political left versus the political right. It is about whether taxpayer-funded classrooms should become vehicles for political advocacy.
Would LAUSD respond the same way if a teacher promoted an opposing political ideology? Would district leaders defend the use of classroom instruction to advance a conservative cause? If the answer is no, then the standard is being applied selectively. Professional ethics cannot depend on whose politics are involved.
Political neutrality is not censorship. It is professionalism. Public schools serve students from every race, religion, ethnicity, and political background. Every family deserves confidence that classrooms remain places of education rather than political persuasion.
LAUSD also owes parents answers. District leaders should determine whether district policies governing political advocacy, instructional conduct, and employee responsibilities were followed. If they were, the district should explain why. If they were not, appropriate action should follow.
The reported statements concerning the marriage likewise deserve transparency. If federal authorities conclude that no laws were violated, the public deserves that clarity. If an investigation is warranted, it should proceed without regard to politics or ideology. Equal justice requires equal enforcement.
Public confidence in education has already been shaken by years of declining academic performance, growing polarization, and increasing skepticism from parents. Every incident that blurs the line between education and activism deepens that erosion of trust.
Public schools belong to every family, not to any political movement.
Teachers should inspire curiosity, not conformity. They should teach students how to think not what to think.
LAUSD now faces a defining choice. It can reaffirm that classrooms exist to educate rather than advocate, or it can remain silent and allow public confidence to erode further.
Parents are watching. Taxpayers are paying. And students deserve classrooms where education not ideology comes first.
Shoshannah Kalaydjian is a Jewish student in Los Angeles. Reprinted with permission from CityWatch LA. www.citywatchla.com/guest-words/32966-when-activism-crosses-the-line-lausd-must-answer-for-political-indoctrination-in-the-classroom
What we’re reading and watching
Qatar invested over $65 million to manipulate US education, new report reveals
https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-897723
Jewish Democrats Eyeing 2028 Presidential Bids Confront Party’s Hostility for Israel
https://www.wsj.com/politics/jewish-democrats-eying-2028-presidential-bids-confront-partys-hostility-for-israel-7c5e8419?mod=itp_wsj&mod=djemITP_h
New York Times columnist Brett Stephens debunking the “genocide in Gaza” charge:
https://x.com/ajwimsatt/status/2078593726696284339?s=20
The Jewiest film release of summer 2026 is Tuner, a low-budget crime comedy directed by Daniel Roher, starring Leo Woodall as a piano tuner with hypersensitive hearing who gets drawn into a heist by Israeli criminals. It also has small roles with the well-known Jewish actors Dustin Hoffman and Tovah Feldshuh.
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