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Dear John,

This week, two Jewish men were shot and wounded on their way home from Jewish worship services over a 24-hour period in Los Angeles. The arrest of the person accused of the attacks, which both took place in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood, offers some measure of relief to L.A.’s Jewish community which has been understandably on edge.

Police on the scene after the second shooting in L.A.’s Pico-Robertson neighborhood.

As Ariella Loewenstein, Deputy Regional Director of ADL Los Angeles, said, “Anytime that a community is targeted because of who they are — and in this case who they worship and being Jewish — it’s always terrifying.” These attacks come during a time when reports of antisemitism in the United States are among the highest ADL has ever tracked.

The case is being investigated as a hate crime, and ADL is in close contact with law enforcement to find out more about a possibly hate-driven motive and to provide ADL’s expertise to law enforcement and support to the community.

There will be increased police presence and patrols around Jewish places of worship and surrounding neighborhoods in Los Angeles throughout the weekend.

We are grateful for the tireless work of law enforcement during this crisis, and appreciate the solidarity with the community. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass made a personal call of support to ADL Los Angeles Regional Director Jeffrey Abrams and spoke out forcefully, saying: “At a time of increased antisemitism, these acts have understandably set communities on edge. Just last December, I stood blocks away from where these incidents occurred as we celebrated the first night of Hanukkah together. Now, my pledge to the Pico-Robertson community and to the City of Los Angeles as a whole, is that we will fight this hatred vigorously and work every day to defeat it.”

READ: LA TIMES: Man with animus against Jewish community arrested in L.A. shootings outside synagogues, sources say

We will continue to provide updates via ADL Southern California’s twitter feed as we learn more.

Sincerely,