Berkeley Mayor Statement on Antisemitic Hate Incidents

BERKELEY–Yesterday, following the dissemination of antisemitic flyers in the North Berkeley Hills, the Berkeley Police Department and City Council released a joint statement. In addition to that statement, Mayor Arreguín offered the following remarks.

"From social media to the former President, those that promote hate have been emboldened by racism reemerging in such a prominent, tangible, and visible fashion," said Mayor Jesse Arreguín. "For several years this enablement stemmed from leaders failing to lead by example, and many officials were either apathetic or saw political opportunity through the surge of division and hate.  From antisemitism to incidents targeting minority communities, a crime against one of us is a crime against all of us, and Berkeley will never tolerate hate in any form whatsoever.  

"Berkeley is the birthplace of an international movement against hate and racism, called United Against Hate. This is a city that will always stand for inclusion, tolerance, and love, and we will always stand with our neighbors as a united community when incidents to prevent and respond to incidents like those recently targeting the Jewish community. These were cowardly acts that are a perversion of our shared values, and they will be met by a community that is truly united against hate."

Tonight, the City Council will vote on adopting a Resolution condemning the incident and reiterating its rejection of all forms of racism, hate, and discrimination. United Against Hate posters, which became popular in 2017 shortly after the events in Charlottesville and far-right protests in Berkeley, have been made available to the public for pickup at all of the City’s fire stations.