WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – Twice a week Eva Nathanson heads to the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust with one mission in mind — warn anyone who will listen about the dangers of anti-Semitism.
“I’m really worried about what’s happening in this country and this world right now,” said Nathanson.
Nathanson was barely 2 years old when the Nazis came for her and her family. She was able to survive thanks to her governess, who dressed her in peasant clothes and hid her from her captors.
She managed to escape to America where she has lived a happy life. However, the rise of anti-Semitism in recent years has brought back horrific memories.
“I have lived in the U.S. for 61 years, this is the first time in my life since I live here that I’m actually worried about what’s going on,” Nathason said.
A new report by the California Attorney General’s Office shows that while the number of hate crimes has dropped slightly, those targeting Jewish people has actually gone up from 104 in 2017 to 126 in 2018.
Last year marked the third straight year with an increase in anti-Semitic harassment assaults, and vandalism in California. So far, 2019 is seeing much of the same.
Earlier this year, a gunman opened fire on a synagogue in Poway on the last day of Passover, killing one person and injuring three.
“We are concerned about the increase in hate crimes against the Jewish community,” said Matthew Friedman, a senior associate regional director at the Anti-Defamation League in Los Angeles. “We’ve seen a lot of rhetoric the last couple of years and we have received unfortunate more calls.”
Nathanson’s only hope is voting out President Trump in 2020. Until then she will be giving speaking tours at the museum so that no one ever forgets.
“I thought I knew everything about the United States and I could never believe that in this county as a Jew I would have to be worried about it again,” said Nathanson.