Hate Crime in San Diego

Last Saturday – the final day of Passover – hate visited the Chabad Poway synagogue during morning worship service. In the wake of the ensuing gunfire a life was lost, several people were wounded, and many more traumatized. Like the mass shooting at the Pittsburgh Tree of Life synagogue last October, this attack was a hate crime motivated by anti-Semitism, which is dramatically on the rise in the United States and around the world.

One hate crime is one too many. It is troubling that so many faith communities have been affected by hate. Some of these attacks span from arson at a mosque in Escondido, to a temple defaced in Irvine, to three historically Black churches burned in Louisiana. Such attacks – and others – have a common purpose, namely to terrorize the targeted community and divide our society.

It is critical that we stand together as a diverse campus community while supporting those communities most directly affected by acts of hate. Below are several resources to support each other and stand with our partners in the wider community. I especially urge you to consider attending the upcoming event on “The State of Hate.”

UCI Counseling Services: Support for Student and Staff 
Campus Assistance Program for undergraduates and graduate students 
Employee Assistance Program for faculty and staff

UCI Confronting Extremism Initiative: Understanding Hate 
“The State of Hate: A Conversation with Anti-Defamation League’s Oren Segal” 
Mr. Segal is director of the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism 
Monday, May 6, 2019, 6:00-7:30pm 
Pacific Ballrooms ABC, UCI Student Center

Chancellor’s Distinguished Speakers Series: “Charlottesville: A Defining Moment in America” 
A conversation with Reverend Jesse L. Jackson Sr. and Dr. Rabbi Hillel Cohn facilitated by Chancellor’s Professor of Law Michele Goodwin

I also urge our faculty in relevant disciplines to increase teaching and research on the rise of white nationalism and violent extremism in our region, our country, and around the world, using the support offered by our initiatives on Confronting Extremism.

Fiat Lux,

Chancellor Howard Gillman