Doug Emhoff’s quest to explore his Jewish roots started with a sign over the 405

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Monday, April 17. I’m Courtney Subramanian, a White House reporter writing from The Times’ Washington, D.C., office.

Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff always expected to play a supporting role for his wife, Vice President Kamala Harris, when he traded in the tony streets of Brentwood for the confines of the second couple’s residence at the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C.

But the longtime Angeleno, who made his career as an entertainment lawyer, found the accidental spotlight in an issue he never expected would come to define him: his faith. In my latest story, published last week, I chronicled Emhoff’s journey from the White House candle-lighter and matzo-maker to the administration’s chief voice against antisemitism.

Kanye West, now known as Ye, had a hand in it too.

The rapper’s antisemitic spiral last fall, which led to a group unfurling a banner over the 405 Freeway bearing the words, “Kanye is right about the Jews,” left Emhoff fuming. He wanted to do more than just convene officials on tackling antisemitism at the White House.

So he decided to take the issue to the world stage, traveling to Poland and Germany in late January to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day and visit the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. It was a fraught mission punctuated by personal moments, none more visible than when he made a detour to the Polish town where his great-grandparents lived before they fled persecution more than a century ago.

In Gorlice, a two-hour drive outside of Krakow, Emhoff was confronted with the long shadow of the Holocaust. He walked through the quaint, cobblestone streets, listening as the mayor guided him through the town’s more than 650 years of history. But when he got to the old synagogue, which was empty and under repair, he felt a gut-punch: There was no rush to fix it because no Jews live here now.

“These were ordinary people just living their lives but because of propaganda, misinformation, disinformation, antisemitism and hate, it led to mass murder,” he told us later.

It made him think about what was going on back home, and the drumbeat of hair-raising antisemitic episodes happening across California and elsewhere. The number of incidents in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino and Kern counties alone jumped 30% in 2022, compared with the previous year, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

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LA Times Today: How L.A.’s Doug Emhoff became the White House’s voice against antisemitism

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After the tour, we asked him what it felt like to visit his forebears’ town —and the very address where they lived. What would he tell his parents, who were unaware of his plans to visit Gorlice?

He paused and choked up, admitting there would “probably [be] a lot of tears.”

In the months since Emhoff — the first Jewish spouse of a vice president or president — made the historic visit, he hasn’t let up.

The week after he returned from Europe, he delivered a speech at the United Nations calling for an international response to combat a resurgent antisemitism. He’s crisscrossed the country to continue speaking out about tackling antisemitism, or “the oldest hate,” and held the first Jewish women leaders summit at the White House in March.

“This issue is so raw and important to me as an American Jew,” he told me in Berlin. “I’ve got to get this right and I’m working really hard to do that.”

You can read the full story here.

And now, here’s what’s happening across California:

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POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Rep. Adam B. Schiff is showing a notable financial edge over Reps. Katie Porter and Barbara Lee in the primary race to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Schiff ended the first quarter of 2023 with $24.7 million cash on hand, while Porter had $9.5 million, according to fundraising disclosures posted on the Federal Election Commission’s website Saturday. Los Angeles Times

At 19, he won a local school board seat. His first civics lesson? Age discrimination. Triston Ezidore, the recently elected 19-year-old member of the Culver City Unified School District Board of Education, is believed to be the youngest elected official in Los Angeles County. As part of a wave of Generation Z youth running for and winning office, Ezidore has dealt with angry comments from residents, disparaging him for his age and, at times, his race. Los Angeles Times

California is changing how it goes after illegal cannabis farms. California is cracking down on illicit cannabis through a year-round multi-agency program. California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta announced authorities seized nearly 1 million illegally cultivated cannabis plants and more than 200,000 pounds of illegally processed cannabis. Orange County Register

CRIME, COURTS AND POLICING

The LAPD has lost nearly 1,000 officers. Now, Mayor Karen Bass wants to rebuild the force. The LAPD is hemorrhaging officers, with more leaving the force than are joining it. Mayor Karen Bass is looking to confront the issue, calling for the city to restore the department to 9,500 officers — an extremely tall order, given the ongoing staff exodus. Los Angeles Times

Northridge shooting victim was painting over gang graffiti, according to the LAPD. A man who was killed Saturday in a shooting at a Northridge strip mall was painting over gang graffiti on the wall of a business when a gunman opened fire on him and three other people. Los Angeles Times

HEALTH, EDUCATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT

California’s shortage of diverse teachers is hurting students, educators say. Teachers, advocates and education policy experts met in Sacramento last week for the #CABuildingBridges Summit to discuss how to recruit and retain teachers of color in California. Los Angeles Times

Long COVID continues to upend this California couple’s lives. While much of the public has begun to move on from the pandemic, some people are left to deal with the complex medical system and a condition that has no known treatments. Navigating the medical, financial, mental and physical challenges of this illness is challenging. Los Angeles Times

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

R&B singer Frank Ocean closed out weekend 1 of 2023 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. The enigmatic artist performed his first show since 2019. Sunday’s line-up was arguably the fest’s strongest and most progressive, featuring Björk, Kali Uchis, Glorilla, Sudan Archives and Weyes Blood. Los Angeles Times

A group of East Bay scuba divers have a macabre mission: find bodies. The nonprofit, California Recovery Divers, was formed to help find and recover the bodies of drowning victims in lakes and waterways across Northern California. San Francisco Chronicle

AND FINALLY

Today’s California landmark is from Marie Tsang: the Mission Playhouse in the Mission District of San Gabriel.

The San Gabriel Mission Playhouse in 2022.

(Marie Tsang)

Marie writes:

What are California’s essential landmarks? Fill out this form to send us your photos of a special spot in California — natural or human-made. Tell us why it’s interesting and what makes it a symbol of life in the Golden State. Please be sure to include only photos taken directly by you. Your submission could be featured in a future edition of the newsletter.

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