Kamlager-Dove Statement on 25 Years Since the Los Angeles Jewish Community Center Shooting

LOS ANGELES, CA – Today, Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37) released the following statement to mark 25 years since the Los Angeles Jewish Community Center Shooting: 

“On this day in 1999, a white supremacist gunman intruded upon our Greater Los Angeles community with the stated goal of killing Jewish people. In a brazen act of cowardice, the gunman opened fire at the North Valley Jewish Community Center, injuring five members of our Jewish community. After fleeing North Valley, the gunman tragically took the life of Joseph Santos Ileto, a Filipino American postal worker. In the aftermath, our Greater Los Angeles community came together to heal. The Jewish community and the family of Mr. Ileto united to stand up to hate, and thousands of us organized to advance gun violence prevention legislation.

“Yet, 25 years later, our country is still marred not just by gun violence but by hate. Hate-inspired shootings in Orlando, El Paso, Charleston, and Buffalo—as well as shootings driven specifically by antisemitism in Pittsburgh and Poway—are stark reminders of the work that still lies ahead. I am deeply alarmed by the rise of antisemitism across the U.S. and the globe, including here in Los Angeles.

“History tells us that a rise in antisemitism leads to a rise in all forms of hate. To combat antisemitism in our communities, we must pass the Countering Antisemitism Act to strengthen the Nonprofit Security Grant Program for institutions like Jewish Community Centers, implement President Biden’s National Strategy to Combat Antisemitism across all levels of government, and bolster Holocaust and antisemitism education.

“As we remember this senseless tragedy, let us come together as a community once again—we must protect our neighbors by recommitting to gun violence prevention and uprooting hate.”

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