I can’t believe it, but it has already been two years since my article1 titled “We Deserve Better. Much Better” came out. It addressed some of the many issues with American secular Jewish organizations, as well as the tendency of large segments of our community, conducting “business as usual” in a post-October 7 world, when we should have finally learned that the way we had been doing things doesn’t work.
In it, I used the so-called “Jewish heritage night” sponsored by the Jewish Federation of San Diego County as the perfect example of the common “head in the sand,” delusional, attitude toward the ongoing war in Israel and rising antisemitism, in addition to an ongoing lack of pride in anything authentically Jewish (and the ability to openly express Jewish pride in any meaningful way).
In the two years since that article many things have changed. Israel experienced miraculous victories like the “beeper operation” against Hezbollah. The war with Hamas is in some kind of stasis that no one can seem to realistically define.
Unfortunately, it is equally stunning that two years and five months after 10/7, Hamas still exists and functions as a fighting force.
Every hostage either came home or was returned to us.
More recently, the United States and Israel have gone to war with Iran. Twice.
In February a massive lawsuit was filed2 against the state of California alleging “pervasive harassment of Jewish and Israeli students in its public education system.”
New York City, one of the most Jewish cities in the world, elected a Muslim mayor, Zohran Mamdani, who has refused to denounce terrorists, and has a wife3 who liked that thousands of Jews were murdered, injured, and traumatized on October 7, 2023.
He also invited Mahmoud Khalil, a loud and enthusiastic supporter of October 7, and fellow “guest”4 Abdullah Akl (who called on Hamas to bomb Tel Aviv), to have dinner with him and his family at Gracie Mansion (the Mayor’s residence).
He also lied5 about yet another Islamist (inspired by ISIS)6 attack on Americans, framing it as violence caused by peaceful protestors – protesting Mamdani.
In March two men were beaten7 because their attackers heard them speaking Hebrew. But, of course, the Bay Area DA brought felony charges, but as has become the custom, no hate crime8 charges were filed.
Also in March,9 a “man” rammed a car into, and opened fire on, a synagogue filled with Jewish children.
The Muslim mayor of Dearborn who goes by “Mo” (his name is Mohamad), called the event a “tragedy,” not what it actually was: yet another Islamist, antisemitic terrorist attack on Jews. He predicably pulled the usual moral equivalency shtick in claiming that the attack was a product of “communities everywhere” confronting generic “hate.”
The mayor never mentioned Jews, Jewish people, Hebrews, Israelites, Judeans, or anything even faintly descriptive of the ethnicity/religion of the group targeted. He did however start his letter by trying to excuse the attempted murder of dozens of Jews by mentioning that the attempted murderer had lost “family” in Lebanon, in an attack by the “Israelis” (meaning: the Jews), he also invoked Ramadan.
You can read his repugnant response here.10
Meanwhile, Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens continue to spew their usual lying venom.
Joe Kent,11 a member of the Trump administration as the director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center, resigned from his post blaming Jews for the war with Iran, and previous conflicts in the Middle East, including the war in Iraq.
Kent claimed that it was the (nudge, nudge) “Israel lobby,” “high-ranking Israeli officials,” and “influential members of the American media” who created a “misinformation campaign that wholly undermined your America First platform and sowed pro-war sentiments to encourage a war with Iran.”
Once again, those Jews…
It is worth noting that Kent was a chief deputy to Tulsie Gabbard. She, like Vice-President JD Vance, has often sided12 with the isolationist faction in the administration. Gabbard, Vance, and Kent all rose to national prominence, to one degree or another, as frequent guests on Tucker Carlson’s show years before landing in this administration.
I can go on, and on and on… as I can every month. Sadly.
But, the most amazing part is that it’s all tolerated by the average American who either can’t be bothered to notice, or sides with those who hate us.
And of course through all of this rockets rained down on Israel, and people died.
Which brings me, once again, to the Jewish Federation of San Diego County.
Why? Because just as those who hate us fail to mention, Jews, Judaism, and the Jewish people in their lame, generic, ramblings each time they are forced to issue a statement, the flip side are the weak, useless, pathetic Jewish organizations that also can’t bring themselves to represent, encourage, or speak about anything authentically Jewish.
Two years ago when the Federation sent out their notice about “Jewish” heritage night it failed to mention “IDF,” “Israel,” “Jewish pride,” “Hamas,” “Gaza,” antisemitism,” “show of strength,” “bring them home, “Judaism,” and “hostages.”
Have they learnt anything since?
Of course not. And I really wish that I was the type of person who could just be entertained by how truly awful organizations like this are and laugh them off. But I’m not.
In between “community conversations,” “special updates” (not clear why they are more “special” than non-special updates), and “’connecting’ with Israel and world Jewry,” I got an email for this year’s big day.13
What I am about to describe is so incredibly tone-deaf, odd, and genuinely bizarre, that even I, who does this for a living, and worked at the place, can’t believe what I am about to type.
As is their custom, they couldn’t make it through even one sentence without using the word ”vibrant” (to understand why I am mentioning that – read my previous article).14
The May event begins with, and contain your excitement, “a special community moment as Federation President & CEO Heidi Gantwerk sings the national anthem.”
Who doesn’t live their lives waiting for a “special community moment”? I mean, the excitement and anticipation are palpable. I know that I can’t sleep the night before “a special community moment.”
That’s good stuff.
I am also as patriotic as the next guy, I don’t know Gantwerk, and it’s great that she’s singing the national anthem. But this is Jewish heritage night. Why isn’t she singing “Hatikva”? Or at least something Jewish.
Maybe even “I Have a Little Dreidel”?
That’s not appropriate though because this is baseball, and Hanukkah is later in the year. Right? So, it WOULD seem to make sense to NOT sing “I Have a Little Dreidel” instead of the National Anthem on “Jewish” Heritage Night.
That would normally be true, but this is backwards modern Jewish secular org world, so something as silly as a temporal relationship to specific holidays is just another annoying “old-timey” tradition.
Or, something.
Anyway, one of the perks of attending this night of serious Jewish activity is that they are giving attendees, wait for it…wait for it… a Padres-themed Hanukkiah!
Yes, as part of “Jewish” Heritage Night (again, in May) – the Jewish Federation is giving you a Hanukkiah, and it’s theme is…a team named after Catholic priests!
That’s also good stuff.
Actually, you aren’t even going to a game: you’re going to a “rooftop experience”! (The event is being held at an area of the stadium called the “Western Rooftop)
It’s a good thing that they tell you that the experience is an experience, because merely being there and experiencing the experience would never clue you into the real situation.
I can feel their deep sense of our rich 3,500 year old legacy from here.
But in addition to a Hanukkiah in May (Why not a Seder plate in December! A lulav and esrog in January! A Purim grogger in November!), you get unlimited soft drinks, vegetarian food, or (not actually kosher)15 Hebrew National hot dogs. No authentically kosher option for “Jewish” heritage night. (This is in contrast to the last Heritage Night I wrote about when the “Jewish” Federation didn’t even offer food with the word “kosher” in front of it)
Two years ago, like this year, the Federation (in their official parlance there is no “the” – it’s always awkwardly just “Federation”) described its seating area as “exclusive.” I wrote at the time that I found that incredibly elitist and old fashioned, because it was both.
They did that again this year, but rather than the $55 in 2024, this year’s event is $104 per person. So, this time a family of four must spend $416 to attend a baseball game.
How does a typical middle-class family allocate $416 just for a baseball game? If you’re barely getting by, and sadly that is the case with many Jewish families, it’s not even mildly realistic.
They claim that this is the price that the Padres charge. I believe them. But no one in that community can subsidize the 225 tickets available to make this awesome, unbelievable night of “heritage” accessible to EVERYONE in that community?
All of this from an organization that constantly portrays itself as central to the Jewish community.
They have improved though. In 2024 their seats had “prime baseball viewing” and this year’s location has “optimal viewing.” Not only did they not need to add the word “baseball” as a descriptor this time, but you can really argue that “optimal” is, in fact, better than “prime.”
In the decades to come, people who attended as children will debate who had the better “experience”: those with the prime seats, or those with the optimal seats.
But who knows?
The point is that many of us never seem to learn. The only way to effectively win the fight against Jew hatred is to behave as authentically proud Jews. Baseball is great, but if you’re going to frame a game as representing Jewish anything – act like you mean it. It’s been big boy/girl time for a long time at this point. As I said two years ago: we deserve better than this. This isn’t leadership, in any form. It’s a sad joke. The only people who are not willing to mention Jewish things are our enemies and the leaders of “Jewish” organizations.
That’s just sad.
Never be afraid. Never give up.
Am Yisrael Chai.
(Edited for content)
Resources
1. https://jlifeoc.com/we-deserve-better-leaders/
2. https://nypost.com/2026/02/26/us-news/young-students-at-schools-across-california-targeted-with-horrific-antisemitic-violence-threats-and-slurs-blockbuster-lawsuit/?utm_campaign=capost&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=capost&fbclid=IwdGRleAQNxl5leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEeumTUzo8aCJDvXSMTZEF4H0AzZyetwFZx5zB4V5xdNqakywCBu-gSW5qyqlM_aem_3hoQ5SmW4i6tOGXQwmTY1w
3. https://www.jns.org/u.s.-news/mamdani-distances-city-hall-from-wifes-social-media-likes-appearing-to-praise-oct-7
4. https://freebeacon.com/democrats/strike-strike-tel-aviv-mamdani-introduced-at-ramadan-celebration-by-extremist-who-called-on-hamas-to-bomb-jewish-state/
5. https://www.jns.org/u.s.-news/mamdani-distances-city-hall-from-wifes-social-media-likes-appearing-to-praise-oct-7
6. https://www.timesofisrael.com/men-who-threw-explosives-at-nyc-protest-cited-isis-as-inspiration-police-tell-court/
7. https://www.jns.org/u.s.-news/san-jose-police-probing-attack-on-israeli-americans-as-potential-hate-crime
8. https://www.jns.org/u.s.-news/bay-area-da-brings-felony-misdemeanor-but-not-hate-crime-charges-in-assault-of-israeli-americans
9. https://www.timesofisrael.com/attacker-shot-himself-after-getting-stuck-in-car-he-rammed-into-michigan-synagogue-fbi/amp/
10. https://www.instagram.com/p/DVzmnQREaFF/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D
11. https://www.jns.org/u.s.-news/us-counterterror-center-head-resigns-over-iran-war-blames-israel-for-manufactured-american-conflicts
12. https://www.commentary.org/seth-mandel/the-leak-was-the-whole-point/
13. https://www.jewishinsandiego.org/get-involved/federation-events/2026-jewish-heritage-celebration-at-the-padres/
14. https://jlifeoc.com/we-deserve-better-leaders/
15. https://jewinthecity.com/2025/07/most-jews-who-keep-kosher-dont-eat-hebrew-national-hot-dogs-heres-why/
Joshua Namm is a longtime Jewish community pro, passionate Israel advocate, and co-founder/co-CEO of Moptu, a unique social platform designed specifically for article sharing and dedicated to the principle of free speech.