by Eleanor Page
Over the years, the residential patterns of Los Angeles Jews have changed appreciably as they moved from the largely Jewish center downtown and Boyle Heights district to heavy concentrations on the west side, the San Fernando Valley, and the urban core in and around Fairfax. More recently, smaller settlements have developed in such outlying centers as the San Gabriel Valley and L.A.'s southern regions.
The location of the Jewish population in the racially changing urban core is densely Jewish; the west side population runs from mixed to dense; and in the San Fernando Valley the spectrum moves from sparse to mixed to heavily Jewish. Younger Jews from ages 18 to 39 are more likely to be found on the west side, the 40 to 59 group in the Valley, and those 60 and over in the urban core.1 Among those who live in the urban core, the heaviest concentration is from the orthodox families and Russian immigrants. The trend is toward living on the west side, followed closely by the Valley; however, a return to the Fairfax urban core is evident among older and younger generations.
The Jewish population in Los Angeles is currently estimated at approximately half a million. To some perhaps, half a million Jews seems be to a large population; yet comparatively, this is a mere one-twelfth of the six million European Jews murdered only fifty years ago during World War II. The 1980 Los Angeles Jewish Population Study2 indicates that the community is growing in population size due to a continued influx of Jews from Russia and Israel. As the household size shrinks; the single and elderly populations are increasing.3 Given the Los Angeles county's large and disperse Jewish population, there is no question that the Jewish American culture will continue to thrive in Los Angeles county.
The focus of this project is to look closely at a slice of the urban core, the Fairfax area. The Fairfax area is the most ethnically Jewish in Los Angeles with its kosher food stores, restaurants, religious and educational institutions. Over the past fifty years, the area's strong Jewish population has been reinforced by refugees from Nazi Germany, Orthodox and Hasidic Jews from Russia, plus new immigrants from Russia, and young families attracted to the lower housing costs. There are many poor and working class Jews living here; and as the area undergoes the social, economic, and physical changes of urban life, new services are being provided for the elderly and the others who need assistance. The community's people, city government, and private institutions are making efforts to revitalize Fairfax. The following study is a broad ranging analysis of the interwoven historical, social and political factors that shaped the Fairfax community; which at the same time perpetuates an undiminished Jewish culture while interacting with the ever changing business and interracial urban environment of greater Los Angeles.
First, in order to understand the development of the Fairfax neighborhood as it is today, it is necessary to back track through a brief history of Boyle Heights. For those who do not know the flavor of the Fairfax area, I will include a few local views and descriptions based on my own observations. As a resident during the past eight years, I experienced the Fairfax culture today where people shop, nosh and schmooze day and night. Secondly, I will list social services that began in the Fairfax area and service it today. Last, I will discuss current political issues that are shaping and changing the Fairfax community, including Fairfax High School's past and present effect on the community.
Today's Fairfax neighborhood, the urban core, consists of the five square miles bounded on the east by La Brea Avenue, in the south by Wilshire Boulevard and on the north by Melrose Avenue. Within this area live approximately 32,000 people, a majority of whom are Jewish.4 The Fairfax residential area is not what would ordinarily be called a ghetto. It is an area densely populated with Jews; but unlike the European ghettos of the 16th century, its people are free citizens. Fairfax has no surrounding walls, and the homes are middle class, modest in size, apartments and duplexes, with single dwellings here and there. Retirement homes, convalescent homes and smaller guest homes dot the quiet blocks. The narrow streets run adjacent to Fairfax Avenue, where each lawn is meticulously cared for. There is nothing run-down about the homes, though most were built in the thirties and forties. Back then, it was one of the foremost suburban neighborhoods. Now considered part of urban core, there's not a lot of money here; but there's a lot of pride and a lot of love.
There's a sense of solidness here of strength and durability; and unlike the millions of others who have come to California, the Jewish people in the Fairfax area have not conformed to the non-conformity that is Los Angeles. Evolving out of a common religion over the past 5000 years, the Jewish people developed customs, culture and an ethical system that identified them as Jews, regardless of their individual religious attitudes. Where other peoples assimilated, the Jews adopted some local customs and conventions, but held onto the basic tenets of their religion and culture. They brought something of every city in the world and kept their own way of life.
Many of the senior Jewish citizens of Fairfax came to the United States originally from Poland and the Western Pale Settlements of Russia. They came seeking a haven where there was less Jewish suppression. They first settled in New York, Chicago, or Philadelphia. The eastern European Jewish immigrants toiled in the sweatshops. They were often stricken by tuberculosis and other diseases. They were physical wrecks. Then in the early 1900's, like thousands of others drawn to Southern California's opportunities and warm climate, the Jews first moved to Boyle Heights.
The Boyle Heights district lies immediately east of the Los Angeles River and the railroad yards, bounded by Whittier Boulevard, Raven Avenue, Lancaster Avenue, and Mission Road.5 Today, three major freeways and the Evergreen Cemetery form boundaries for the community; and today, the major north/south thoroughfare is Soto Street. Brooklyn Avenue, which provided the principal east/west access from the community's inception, underwent a name change in 1994. It is now Cesar Chavez Boulevard representing the present large Latino population.
In 1920's, 30's, and 40's, Boyle Heights became the Western haven for the Jews. Historian Neil Sandberg estimates that by the end of the 1930's, over 50,000 Jews were concentrated in the Boyle Heights District.6 In this place and period of time, Boyle Heights had no covenants restricting the Jews from buying property. "Despite nativistic attempts to classify various Europeans, the Irish and Jews as 'non-white,' these efforts were effectively curbed by the institutionalization of a racial order that drew the color line around rather than within, Europe."7 Therefore, Jews prospered in both residential real estate and business ventures.
The Jewish people created a community network in Boyle Heights that supported them from birth to the grave. They built nursery schools, orphanages, synagogues, hospitals, homes for the poor and the aged, and cemeteries. The majority of businesses were owned and operated by Jewish people. On the street, speaking Yiddish was common as were many other foreign languages. During this time, Boyle Heights had a distinctive social environment. The Jewish people existed more or less peacefully with the other minorities there: Latinos, Japanese and Blacks. Their children attended the multiethnic public schools. Tolerance and cultural exchange were part of the curriculum and social life, bonding the area with a strong democratic sense of community. The Jewish community network did include some gangs of Jewish boys. Despite rumbles with the "Pachucos", the Boyle Heights community was coherent up to the period preceding World War II.
The flight of the Jewish population from Boyle Heights happened as a complex reaction to the socioeconomic upheavals and corruption during the depression era, followed by World War II. Anti-Semitic acts rose locally as the Untied States entered into the war. The war took many of the young men for armed services and evacuated the Japanese population to war time camps. These events destroyed economic balance in Boyle Heights. After the war, the veterans returned to their families with their G.I. loans desiring to live in the popular new suburb called Fairfax. Gradually, the Jewish families moved their homes, shops and markets from Soto Street to Fairfax.
The population migrated once more the way Jews have seemingly been doing since the beginning of time. Between 1940 and 1950, more than 168,000 Jews came to the Fairfax area- a greater influx than anytime before or since. Fairfax Avenue runs north to south approximately four miles. The Fairfax Jewish commercial center is about one-half square mile nestled in between the streets of Melrose Avenue and Beverly Boulevard.8
A day starts early on Fairfax Avenue. Sunrise signals the time for the Orthodox Jews to begin their morning Prayer at the Synagogue. Having walked to Synagogue, before starting prayer they wrap themselves in their talis, wind the t'filin on their left arm, place one on their forehead, and extol the glories of God's love, in congregation. In each man's heart and mind, he's communicating directly with Him. Each man has his private line to God. Each man has the freedom to worship as he chooses.
The Jewish people of Fairfax still identify with their background and faith. Many of the faces could just as well be in the old countries. They have changed that little. The old world rituals have been adapted to present needs, and they seem to have a spiritual quality, a security that has nothing to do with money. It comes from being at peace with God and being at peace with themselves. These individuals have learned that dreams can come true, not the Hollywood dreams of fame and fortune, but the dreams of freedom and love. They know the meaning of human dignity. Their cherished values of caring for each other are a legacy from the past to the future.
Although the early mornings of Los Angeles may be hazy, the sun can burn its way through, and the air smells fresh before the onslaught of automobiles and fumes. Fairfax Avenue awakens before the quiet is disturbed. Morning delivery trucks unload fresh fruits and vegetables, making the markets a tempting sight.
By mid-morning, it's business as usual, as shopkeepers open their doors. Discount stores display bargain tables on the sidewalks, and the aroma of fresh-baked bread from the numerous bakeries is almost overwhelming. The bakery counters are crowded for hours, and some even provide seating for those who are waiting. The fruit stalls are a colorful display, and even mid-winter finds a tremendous selection of produce that has all been brought in that morning.
Shopping carts and shopping bags are very much in evidence as the women head for the open markets. The women do the real marketing not as a duty, not in a rush to a plastic-wrapped supermarket, but carefully and knowingly. The pace is slow, an unfamiliar feeling to anyone accustomed to a large supermarket or a suburban shopping center. On Fairfax Avenue, people stop and converse right in the middle of the sidewalk and time seems to wait for them. Now the careful selection begins by each customer, making sure she's getting exactly what she's paying for. If an argument erupts over price or quality, between a customer and the shop owner, you can be sure it is in earnest. You can also be sure she'll come back tomorrow and the ritual will begin again.
For example, an old lady eyes a fish through the market window as if she was still feeding a growing family, though she is alone now. Most of the customers' heads are gray, and most of their feet hurt. Does it matter? The fish is fresh, the read-out on the scales is large enough to see, and they will take home exactly what they want. This is the way it has been done for hundred of years in foreign countries. This puts value on human life, on her own life, and gives her the strength and durability reflected in her face.
The numerous butchers, strictly Kosher, are ready to help each individual in a service seldom performed anymore. Slightly stained aprons, sawdust floors, and a personal greeting, bring back long forgotten memories from childhood when every shopping trip was a mysterious delight.9
Eating can be an occupation here, and if one could eat twenty-four hours a day, the delicatessens offer everything from a bit of breakfast to a late night snack. Many of the people walk over early in the morning for bagels and lox, then go home, only to return later to market or lunch on corned beef. Somehow, eating alone in a deli isn't quite as lonely as at home.
Canter's Delicatessen is the most famous deli on Fairfax, if not in the city. During the week day, it's crowded with the neighborhood people, but at night it attracts the after theater crowds as well as celebrities. It's not unusual to see Bentleys and Rolls Royces pull up after nightfall. The Canter Brothers built their first deli in Boyle Heights in the 1930's. In 1953, Canter's Deli moved into its current place in the heart of the Fairfax district.
In 1985, the Fairfax Community Mural10 was painted on the side wall of Canter's Deli. It graphically represents the 150 years of Los Angeles Jewish history. It consists of 35 historic black and white photos artistically woven into seven panels. It is collectively over 21 feet high and 111 feet wide. Each panel illustrates an era with the titles: Beginnings (1841-1880); Cowtown to Boom Town (1880-1910); Coming Attractions (1910-1930); On the Edge (1930-1940); In War and Peace (1940-1960); A Sweet Slice of the Big Orange (1960-1985) and Fairfax Today (1985-). On one hand, the Fairfax mural depicts one tiny slice of the greater Los Angeles. On the other hand, it serves to remind us that there are still wars where Jews fight for democratic freedoms we take for granted.
The rise of the Jews in Los Angeles was by no means unopposed. While American anti-Semitism never reached the levels seen in Europe, it was still a factor in barring Jews from many positions, including the leading banks, and from the executive ranks of many large corporations. The American dream had been held out to them like a carrot on a stick; but they still experienced a certain amount of discrimination as they had in Europe. However, the American dream was of some help. They were long familiar with barriers and knew that they could be overcome or circumvented. Rather than surrender to despair or exhaust themselves in trying to reform others, the Jews found or made their own opportunities. For example, to a large extent, Jews developed Hollywood's motion picture industry and created the Yiddish theater and the "borscht circuit," where Jewish entertainers could get a start before heading out into a wider world. Fanny Brice, Jack Benny, the Marx Brothers, Milton Berle and Danny Kaye have been among the many comedians who are Jewish. Among the Jewish movie moguls were Samuel Goldwyn and Louis B. Mayer, whose names were incorporated into the initials for MGM Studios. The Warner Brothers and William Fox were others. The Jews projected the elusive "American Dream" to millions to make their dreams come true.
In the past and present, the movie studios and those employed in the entertainment business have located in the Fairfax district. In the 1920's, the undeveloped acres at the corners of Fairfax and Wilshire were airfields owned and operated by movie mogul, Cecil B. DeMille and Sid Chaplin, brother of Charlie. In 1925, the United Artist Studios were located on the corner of Fairfax and Santa Monica Boulevard. Later in 1950, CBS, the local television station, built its then modern operation on the corner of Beverly and Fairfax. It has been dubbed, "The temple of television."11 The Warner Brothers Hollywood Studios are located on Poinsettia and Willoughby. All these facilities created jobs and produced revenue supporting the economy of the Fairfax area. Provided with a stable community and economy, raising families was a natural course of events.
Although, today, the elderly or the past middle age dominates the street scene along Fairfax Avenue, there seems to be a slow trend of young Jewish couples and families moving into the residential area. The Fairfax neighborhoods show a 50% increase in Jewish households.12 As a result, more young Jewish parents are bringing their children to Hebrew Schools. On La Brea Avenue, the Yeshiva Rav Isacsohn Torath Emeth Academy has increased its elementary school enrollment each year for the past decade.13 Also, family members are attending services regularly, not just on the High Holy days. They want to be a part of this Jewish Community that the older people have lived in and loved for over fifty years.
Many of the people in Fairfax, Jewish or not, are what society labels "Senior Citizens." They do not necessarily sit on the benches reminiscing about the old days. In the fall of 1996, eight hundred and fifty seniors registered to go to classes at OASIS.14 (Older Adult Service and Information System) OASIS is a cooperative effort of the Robinson's-May Department Stores, Jewish Family Services of Los Angeles, and the L.A. City Area Agency on Aging. OASIS is open to all people, regardless of income, sex, race, religion or background. OASIS is a national educational organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for adults over the age of 60. Offering challenging programs in the arts, humanities, wellness, and volunteer service, OASIS creates opportunities for older adults to continue their personal growth and meaningful service to the community. The classes offered range from analyzing current events to doing Yoga. Senior Yoga Power, a video taught by Yogi master, Ramesh Pandey, expresses the wisdom of the ages. He claims, "The key to a long, healthy life is to keep moving physically and mentally."15 OASIS embraces this philosophy to enrich the seniors' lives.
OASIS has been located in the Fairfax area the past 12 years. Unfortunately, in January of 1997, the OASIS center will be moved to West Los Angeles. This is a concern to some of the seniors because they have limited physical mobility and inadequate means of transportation. In addition, this relocation of a loved educational program threatens their solidarity, like the closing of a neighborhood elementary school.
Seniors, who are having trouble managing their daily lives, can call on the Freda Mohr Multiservice Center. It is a non-sectarian center that offers senior services of home delivered meals, neighborhood meal sites, door-to door transportation for shopping or medical appointments, help with forms, access to good attendant care, and an on-site UCLA Health Center.
Another health care operation opened up on Fairfax during 1967 to meet growing needs of a new generation with different values: the Los Angeles Free Clinic. The clinic's basic philosophy is summed up by long time volunteer Frances Helfman, "If there's a need, we will help you. No questions asked. It's a right to have health care."16 Thirty years later, this idea is now a national issue. The L.A. Free Clinic offers a wide range of services all staffed by 250 volunteers. Volunteers are professionals, community activists, and peer counselors. The clinic's history reflects that, at first the clinic's clients were young college dropouts, largely from the Jewish middle class; then, as time passed other minorities began taking their turn in line. The L.A. Free Clinic has helped millions of Angelenos over the years. Due to sound success in community support and funding, in 1990, it moved to its' own $2.1 million Seniel Ostrow Building on the corner of Beverly and Orlando. Now, the Free Clinic has 1990's panache, but a mission that owes much to the 1960's era.
The Los Angeles Section of the National Council for Jewish Women (NCJW) was formed in 1909 as a community center/social service agency for new immigrants and the disadvantaged. Its local office moved into the Fairfax area in 1961. Its philosophies are dedicated to higher learning, broader wisdom, and a deeper understanding of humanity. Back in the 40's, they supported the war effort through war bond sales, U.S.O., Red Cross auxiliaries, and veterans' programs. A Juvenile Hall Project was begun in the 1950's. In the 1960's, NCJW formed a coalition with the YWCA and the National Council of Negro Women to provide impetus for the Los Angeles "Free Lunch" programs in the public schools. In the 1970's, the NCJW established S.P.A.C.E., Single Parent Awareness and Caring Exchange. Then in 1980, it saw the creation of Career Match, to open employment opportunities, on an administrative and managerial level to qualified women, by matching them to prospective employers.
Now in the 90's, the community needs changed as did the focus of services at the NCJW. The current outreach program, Women Helping Children, offers tutoring for homeless children and teen mothers. Campaign for Choice works to protect the reproductive rights of women. Women Helping Women Services assists women to address such problems as welfare, domestic violence, and child abuse. The public affairs office includes the Environmental Task Force advocating for greater environmental protection. The NCJW without discrimination has established strong public programs and improved the quality of many lives through these programs of community service and social action.
Jews are a minority in the United States; yet, they do not count as a minority in affirmative action programs. The rise of affirmative action programs in the 1970's split some Jewish groups from their traditional liberal and radical allies, including black civil rights organizations.17 The numerical "goals and time-tables" for employment, promotion, or college admissions under such programs are reminiscent of quota systems used to restrict the opportunities of Jews during the past in the United States, and still more so, in Europe. Moreover, Jews have struggled upward over the generations to a position where they are now over-represented on university faculties, in high-level government positions, and in various industries and labor unions. The doctrine of demographic "representation" is clearly detrimental to their current interests, regardless of its intent. Proposition 209, the statewide initiative that bars affirmative action in government hiring, contracting, and college admission, passed in California's November election of 1996. Disregarding self-interest, the NCJW campaigned against Proposition 209, not only on the basis of race or ethnic discrimination, but more importantly, gender discrimination. After the election, the L A Times voting poll showed the gender gap by 61% of all male voters favoring it, while 48% of all female voters opposing it. Protestants voters favored Proposition 209 by 63%; however, the Jewish voters opposed it by 58%.18 The aftermath of Proposition 209 will be long and probably involve lawsuits, but time will tell if the Jewish people, particularly Jewish women, will retain their economic and political strength. Furthermore, all of previously listed NCJW activities address critical social, economic, and political realities facing women and children of all backgrounds.
The Los Angeles Jewish political and economic stand was intensified with the successful alliances between old time Los Angeles's elite German American Jews and Hollywood's "vulgar" Jews of the 1920's.19 In Los Angeles's city government today, the Fifth Council District, continues this alliance of political power in the Jewish community. The Fifth District is split between the Westside and the San Fernando Valley. It includes all or portions of the communities of Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Van Nuys, North Hollywood, Valley Village, Bel Air, Beverly-Fairfax, Westwood, Pico-Robertson, Cheviot Hills, and Beverlywood. All these areas are densely to moderately populated by Jews. Fairfax is in the Fifth Council District. Fairfax, being only a tiny portion of the Fifth District's quarter of a million constituents, is still represented by Fifth District Councilman Mike Feuer. Councilman Feuer is chairman of the Rules and Elections Committee, vice-chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee, and member of the Public Safety Committee. In addition, in an effort to improve relations among the city's various ethnic, racial, and religious groups, Feuer won Council approval to establish the City's Human Relations Committee as an independent department with its own staff and budget.
Before his election, Feuer served as executive director of Bet Tzedek Legal Services, the "House of Justice," in 1986. Bet Tzedek center, on Fairfax Avenue, provides free legal services to elderly, poor, and disabled clients victimized by consumer fraud scams, nursing home abuses, regardless of race or ethnic background. In the vast Fifth District, Feuer's expertise is not to be denied; but to the citizens in Fairfax, there is question of Feuer's understanding how to balance the needs between business and residences and how this impacts the Jewish neighborhood.
In recent years, Fairfax Avenue has had a lot of retail vacancies; but now, community people have an opportunity to speak up in formulating a potential BID (Business Improvement District) for the area. Instead of relying on government agencies to formulate a long term plan, BID requires property owners and merchants to assess themselves on how much money they will contribute to community improvement. BID has been successful in Santa Monica and Pasadena. Feuer appointed an outside consulting firm, at a cost of $75,000, to evaluate the Fairfax-Melrose area in order to determine the demographics, vacancies, and overall project viability. This move away from local planning has stirred up criticism from prominent homeowners. They are petitioning for the disbanding of this current feasibility study in favor of creating a new committee composed of store owners and community leaders.20 Control and input by locals is a key issue because the BID funding will cover both Fairfax and Melrose Avenues. Each avenue has its own particular developmental needs serving distinct clienteles with dissimilar tastes. Efforts to revitalize Fairfax are supported by the Jewish Federation and Young Israel. However, it is relevant to note, many of the Orthodox Synagogues have moved from Melrose Avenue because of the retail shoppers' disturbances. Therefore, Fairfax community leaders have a valid concern whether an outside firm can accurately represent both the Fairfax Orthodox Jewish population and the trendy Melrose shoppers.
Unfortunately, the multitudes of trendy Melrose shoppers are not the Jewish people that live in the neighborhood behind the chic facade of Melrose Avenue. There are only a few tiny parking lots for all the shoppers. The pedestrian commotion and traffic congestion have become a conflicting issue between the homeowners and the retail merchants since the 1980's. The Merchants on Melrose, a coalition of 200 shop owners, desire as much auto-accessibility as possible and, logically, the homeowners oppose it. The merchants pay high rents and increase sales tax revenue for the city. The homeowners pay the property taxes. The merchants hire lawyers to protect their interests. The Melrose Neighborhood Association represents the homeowners. The MNA consists of committed local property owners that volunteer their time and expertise protecting the peace and safety in this neighborhood. The two opposing interests continually fight over the zoning permits being granted to merchants and the resulting neighborhood congestion.
A current permit in question, is the possible opening of a micro-brewery in an existing Melrose restaurant. In the first zoning hearing, City Councilman Feuer voted against the brewery's application and the permits were denied. Soon after, an appeal for a continuance was filed, and the city board of zoning then approved it. Councilman Feuer's quick reversal of decision in voting for the permit is another reason for the MNA not to trust him. They question his support of the community's interests and therefore may not offer their support in the next election.21
Another prospective transformation for the Fairfax-Melrose area is a private project to renovate Fairfax High School's Dewitt Swan Auditorium to a state-of-the-art performance hall. It is projected to cost $5 million. Russell Fox, the idea man behind this dream, says, "It's a cultural treasure left unused for 10 years."22 The structure was built in 1923. The auditorium is four stories high and houses 1,550 seats. There are numerous rows of exposed wood beams in the interior. The beams were fashioned from the keels and beams of old sailing ships. They were painted with intricately colored designs and embellished with quotations from great literature. If the project finds adequate investors and private donors, then the stage will be gutted and the existing baffles will be adjusted for optimal acoustic performance. The existing rotunda will be expanded and serve as a lobby. The exquisite architecture this project will preserve is a gift to all who enjoy the arts.
Fairfax High School is located at the corner of Fairfax and Melrose. The auditorium renovation prospect is a timely one relative to the BID for the area. A high tech concert hall would attract great community interest. The Hall's patrons and the tourists would increase foot traffic to area merchants, thus boosting the revitalizing of Fairfax Avenue. Fairfax High School Principal, Carol Truscott, is in favor of the renovation. She says, "It will cultivate pride in the school as well as instill an awareness of the arts among the students."23 The performers are to provide master classes for the students or offer open practice sessions for the students to enjoy. The renovation is intended to coincide with the school's diamond jubilee anniversary, which is 1999.
Not too many years ago, Fairfax was a top ranking academic and fine arts High School. Now, not only has the academic standing declined, but also, there is fear and possible danger merging the fine arts and the high school students. Feelings of apprehension surround Fairfax High School. The school has had its share of graffiti, vandalism, and theft. The Wilshire-LA Independent reports, "According to an internal report prepared by the Los Angeles Unified School District Police Department, Fairfax High had eight reported incidences of battery between July 1995 and June 1996. There were 14 reported incidences of theft as well as 10 reported incidences of vandalism."24 The article fails to mention the stabbing and shooting. On January 21, 1993, a Fairfax high school student, Demetrius Rice, was shot by another student and died. He was the first student gunshot fatality in a Los Angeles School district classroom. It was the first of its kind but not the last. The guns are real. The fear is real. In fact, a recent study conducted by youth poll specialists, Freeman, Sullivan & CO. of San Francisco, shows that 1 in 10 of the teens surveyed said they were afraid of being shot or hurt by other teens who carry weapons to school.25 Everyone is scared as the high school cliques wander down Melrose.
Today, according to school officials, the Fairfax High's 2,300 student body is 47% Latino, 21% African American, 18% white-which includes a large Russian Jewish population-and 11% Asian.26 The school's student enrollment survey shows over 30 native languages spoken by various students at home. This microcosm of national groups mirrors the world's warring nations in history. The student violence is a fight for territory, power, and domination. The consequences of warring factions create the need for defense. So, weapons are carried into the school by both the gangs and general student body. This belligerent state caused the Los Angeles school board to strengthened its policy on weapons violations-which mandates automatic expulsion for students caught with weapons on campus since January 1993.
At the intersection of Fairfax and Melrose Avenues, the community's two predominant generations merge. One is the Fairfax senior generation and the other is the young generation of high school teens. According to the 1990 census, in the Fairfax-Melrose zip code of 90036, it states that 28.3% of the population are over the age of 55. The population under the age of 25 is 22.5%. The U.S. Census Bureau projects increases in both age groups for the next two decades.27 Here, the crowd of Fairfax High School teenagers and Fairfax seniors wait at the bus stop together. When asked, most seniors here say they worry about crime. Many do fear becoming victims of crime. The odds of being a crime victim are twice what they were in 1963, when the FBI crime index counted 2,180 crimes per 100,000 people. Thirty years later, the number was 5,483 crimes per 100,000 people.28
During the World Wars, the Jews knew the hate, war, and violence fueled by the nationalism of countries in Europe. Now again, they live with the threats of violence in the Fairfax neighborhood they once took refuge in. However, unlike the World Wars, where it was one army against another army, now any random person on the street is carrying a weapon. Here, all generations are vulnerable to urban warfare and crime. The Melrose Neighborhood Association advocates for the Fairfax community's safety. According to LAPD statistics, crime is four times the city average between Fairfax and Poinsettia.29 In this area, an $80,000 park project is expected in January of 1997. Renovation of Rosewood Park, at the corner of Rosewood and Fairfax (behind Fairfax High), will include landscaping, removal of litter, graffiti, and a high brick wall that secludes the parking lot. The park improvement money is coming from the Fifth District budget. City Councilman, Michael Feuer, member of the Public Safety committee, says he wants the community to sparkle again.30 In the mean time, several assaults and armed robberies have occurred in the parking lot. The MNA keeps reminding Councilman Feuer that this high crime area needs to be improved at once.
Sharing in a sense of community involves memories, traditions, and commitments. The revitalization BID for Fairfax-Melrose gives those participating an opportunity to express their experience, strength, and hope to those who will continue to live in this community. Along with the BID, the renovation of Fairfax High's Dewitt Auditorium could be the key factor in rallying community spirit to support a quality source of entertainment for everyone. Fairfax Highschool's strategic locality has a large impact on cultures and generations; therefore, the outcome of these projects could very well dictate the successful merging of businesses and cultures in the Fairfax-Melrose area. Unfortunately, these community revitalization projects will not be decided upon in time for the conclusion of this paper.
Regardless of the outcome, preservation and tradition are important to historical and ethnic sites; yet like Siamese twins, they cannot be separated without diminishing local spirit. For example, Olvera Street evokes the Old Pueblo village appeal. Its buildings have been lovingly preserved and scores of street vendors appropriately offer wares from the south. As evening approaches, however, everyone heads home. It is a historic, ethnic community devoid of its people, with a certain superficiality manifest even during peak hours. So far, Fairfax has been able to keep its people and their culture in the surrounding neighborhood. It has remained so over the last half of this century.
In the first half of this century, many Jews relocated from the Boyle Heights area to Fairfax. In the case of Boyle Heights, history shows that economic depression, interracial tensions, and war were the preconditions of the flight of the Jewish community from the area. In studying Fairfax today (1996), I observe similar threats to this community's stability. First, economic depression is, without a doubt, a problem to Fairfax. Why else would the BID be so significant now? Revitalization is a good idea, but revitalization for whom is the big question. Councilman Feuer claims his support for growth and redevelopment, but openly sides with the young trendy crowd that feeds the Melrose businesses. If revitalization will create another pop cultured Melrose Avenue out of Fairfax, this will not preserve the Jewish culture here. Worse yet, if the Jewish population did move from the Fairfax area, thus making Fairfax Avenue a Jewish "Olvera street", this concept is completely against the Jewish ideal of integrity. The second threat to the Fairfax area is the shifting Jewish population to the Westside and the suburbs of San Fernando Valley because the essential social services move with the population they serve. History records, during the 1940's and 50's, in Boyle Heights as the Jews moved west to suburban Fairfax, the schools, synagogues and health services moved with them. Today, Fairfax area synagogues, Jewish schools, and their social institutions are being squeezed out by the aggressive retailers, not only on Melrose Avenue, but also on La Brea and Beverly Boulevard. Fairfax Avenue is the last side of the square mile to keep its Jewish stronghold. If the retailers do grab onto Fairfax Avenue, the Jewish people could easily abandon the street, and it could become a parking lot. The third threat to Fairfax is its high crime rate and youth violence. Now that Fairfax is considered the urban core, not a suburb, the threat of L A city violence creates an insidious feeling of not being safe in your own home here. Yet, this threat of urban war and violence may be overwhelming to Jewish consciousness since the genocide of World War II. So, perhaps the Jewish peoples' diverse and dispersed presence throughout Los Angeles County is best for their well being and survival.
Once again, Fairfax Jews have not only survived, but they have thrived. Whether in Boyle Heights or Fairfax or else where, by reinventing their social, economic, political and civic life, they perpetuate their culture. For today, the data covered in this project about Fairfax Jews, upholds a continued Jewish culture. The members of the senior generation with their solid background and faith create a bridge of hope for future generations. The younger Jewish generation here experience tolerance and learn tolerance of the other cultures. All generations here are involving themselves in both Jewish and societal concerns. In Fairfax, people here find an open, diverse environment that permits freedom of expression and religion while assuring the rights of full citizenship. Despite ongoing manifestations of prejudice and violence, they are able to participate more or less fully in the life of the community through their individual initiative, creative ability, and communal generosity.31 1 Bruce Phillips, American Jewish Year Book 1986,(American Jewish Committee and Jewish Publishers Society of America,1986) p.133
2 Neil C. Sandberg, Jewish Life in Los Angeles: A Window to Tomorrow, (University Press of America Lanham, MD 1986), p.30 census table
3 Stephen J. Sass,Editor, Jewish Los Angeles-A Guide,(Jewish Federal Council of Greater L.A.) p.5
4 Ibid, p.15
5 Wendy Elliott, The Jews of Boyle Heights,1900-1950: The Melting Pot of Los Angeles, So. Calif. Quarterly, Historical Society of So. Calif.,(Spring 1996), Vol.LXXVIII, no.1, p.1
6 Ibid, p.3
7 Michael Omi and Howard Winant, Racial Formation in the United States: From the 1960's to the 1980's, (New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1987) p.65
8 Bruce A. Phillips, American Jewish Year Book 1986, (American Jewish Committee and Jewish Publishers Society of America 1986) census p.128: The total number of Jews in all of L.A. increased to over 272,000 by 1950. Due to the end of World War II, the total L.A. population also skyrocketed from 2.6 million to 3.9 million during 1940 to 1950. The Jewish population of L.A. is now second in size only to New York City.
9 Personal Interview by CL( initials used for anonymity) a neighborhood resident
10 Located on the N.W. corner of Fairfax and Oakwood
11 Lynn C. Kronzek, FAIRFAX...A Home, A Community, A Way of Life, (Legacy/ Vol.1/No.4/Spring 1990- Journal of the Jewish Historical Society of So. Calif.,) p.39
12 Ibid. p.82
13 Ibid. p.103
14 Number registered quoted from phone interview (10-2-96) with Victoria Neal, Director of OASIS
15 Quote taken from personal interview in October 15, 1996
16 Leonard Somberg, The Los Angeles Free Clinic, 1967-1970, A Folk History, p.4 (photocopied)
17 Roberta Strauss Feuerlicht, The Fate of the Jews, (Times Book NY,NY 1983,) p.180 "Blacks were responsible for the end of the Black-Jewish alliance; the hand that fed them was bitten."
18 Bill Stall, Paradoxes: Outcomes on Propositions, (L.A. Times, November 7,1996,) p.A29 exit poll
19 Neal Gabler, An Empire of their Own, (Bantam Doubleday Dell, NY,NY 1988) p. 276; The Hollywood Jews at Hillcrest Country Club were considered vulgar by the German Jews because after a meeting the "Movie Jews" would come to play golf dressed in costumes, shouting and swearing. Picture Harpo Marx charging around the course in a gorilla suit. It was Groucho Marx who had said of Hillcrest, "I wouldn't want to be a member of any club that would have me." At Hillcrest the movie Jews and the German Jews who had originally ostracized them found they had more in common than wealth. They had their Judaism. Hillcrest forged an alliance between these groups that would strengthen the entire Jewish community.
20 David Lipin, Fairfax-Melrose BID Control, Wilshire Independent, (September 4, 1996- October 2 and 23, 1996) Front pages
21 Staff writer, Jeff Brain to run for L.A. City Council, Park La Brea News, (September 19,1996) p.18
22 David Lipin, Benefactor offers new life to auditorium, Wilshire Independent, (September 4, 1996) p.1
23 Ibid. p.3
24 Ibid. p.1
25 Los Angeles Business Wire- September 11, 1996, A New National youth poll released by Children's Institute International, printed out off America Online News September, 13 1996
26 Sam Fulwood III, 1996 Campaign: GOP vice presidential nominee (Jack Kemp) visits Fairfax High, his alma mater, and says racial harmony is America's most important goal, (L.A. Times, October 23,1996 ) p.B3
27 The Sourcebook of Zip Code Demographics, Zipcode 90036, 1990 Census, Tenth Edition
28 Elaine Shannon, Crime: Safer Streets, Yet Greater Fear, (Time February 2, 1995,) transmiited via America Online.
29 Melrose Neighborhood Association Newsletter, Feuer's Rosewood Parking Lot Fiasco, Vol.14 Issue #10
30 David Lipin, Fairfax-Melrose BID, (Wilshire Independent, September 4, 1996,) p.1