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A STUDENT’S VIEW - Los Angeles is not just choosing its next mayor. It is making a decision about what kind of city it wants to be and whether students like me still have a place in it.
On campuses tied to the University of California and California State University systems, Jewish students are no longer having abstract conversations about history. We are living with a growing sense of unease where identity feels more visible, more vulnerable, and too often, more isolated.
This didn’t happen overnight. And it didn’t happen without warning.
It happened because leadership at every level, including City Hall has been too slow, too cautious, and too unwilling to confront what’s right in front of them. Antisemitism, like all forms of hate, does not grow in a vacuum. It grows in silence. It grows in hesitation. It grows when those in power choose carefully worded statements over clear moral action.
Los Angeles has already seen what that hesitation produces: confusion, inconsistency, and a vacuum of leadership at moments when clarity was needed most.
That failure now sits at the doorstep of this mayoral election.
Whether the race includes Karen Bass or challengers such as Nithya Raman is not the point. The point is this: the current standard of leadership has not met the moment, and students are paying the price.
We hear a lot about unity. We hear a lot about equity. But those words ring hollow when students feel unsafe expressing who they are. A city cannot claim to be inclusive while allowing fear to quietly take root on its campuses and in its communities.
Let’s be clear: silence from leadership is not neutrality it is permission.
When leaders hesitate, they don’t calm tensions they enable them.
The next mayor must do more than acknowledge hate. They must confront it directly, consistently, and without hesitation. That means real coordination with law enforcement. It means standing publicly and unequivocally against antisemitism and all forms of extremism. And it means rejecting the political instinct to downplay uncomfortable truths in order to avoid backlash.
Because the consequences of inaction are no longer theoretical, they are visible.
When students begin to question whether they belong, when they hesitate before speaking, when they feel pressure to shrink who they are, that is not just a campus issue. That is a failure of leadership and a warning sign for the city itself.
Jewish values teach us about responsibility about tikkun olam, the obligation to repair what is broken. But repair requires honesty. And right now, Los Angeles is avoiding an honest conversation about leadership, accountability, and public safety.
This election is that conversation whether City Hall is ready for it or not.
Students are watching. We are paying attention not just to what candidates promise, but to what they are willing to confront. We are looking for leadership that does not flinch, does not deflect, and does not hide behind carefully crafted language when clarity is required.
Because this moment demands more than rhetoric.
It demands courage.
And if Los Angeles cannot stand up for its students clearly, forcefully, and without hesitation then it is not just failing a community.
It is choosing to.
(Shoshannah Kalaydjian is a young Jewish student who writes about education, identity, and the challenges facing the next generation. Growing up in today’s climate, she has witnessed firsthand how rising antisemitism affects young people in classrooms and on college campuses. She is committed to sharing the perspectives of Jewish youth, amplifying student voices, and encouraging leaders to create safer, more inclusive environments for all students.)
