Three resign from Human Relations Commission amid outcry over antisemitic comments

Five people sit at a table, listening to a speaker out of the frame.

Others are calling for dramatic changes to the body — among them member Nicole Murray Ramirez, who had long pushed to revive the commission but now believes it ‘cannot continue as is’

July 28, 2023 5 AM PT

A commissioner’s recent antisemitic comments have prompted a rash of resignations from the San Diego County Human Relations Commission, along with growing calls for overhauling the body.

At a meeting last week, while coming to the defense of a fellow commissioner who had drawn outrage for earlier comments on Israel, Khaliq Raufi made offensive remarks of his own, falsely asserting that Judaism teaches Jews to kill.

For the record:

11:29 a.m. July 28, 2023An earlier version of this story incorrectly described the location of an attack on a member of the Chabad House at San Diego State University. The attack was in a nearby 7-11.

Raufi stepped down this week, as did county District Attorney Summer Stephan and county Sheriff Kelly Martinez — the only two elected officials who were seated on the commission.

Others are calling for dramatic changes to the commission — among them Nicole Murray Ramirez, who had long pushed to revive the commission but now believes it “cannot continue as is.”

In a letter Tuesday to county Supervisor Joel Anderson, who had named him to the commission in May, Raufi said he wanted to “emphasize that my intention was never to hurt anyone through my words.”

During the July 18 meeting, Raufi — an Afghan Community Islamic Center member and refugee who served alongside U.S. troops before immigrating to San Diego in 1992 — made inflammatory claims about Jewish scripture. “It states ‘Go kill Palestinians. Wipe them all out,’” he said. “So it’s a teaching that they, on a daily basis, teach their followers in their synagogues.”

Raufi could not be reached for comment.

His resignation letter went on to say that he no longer feels the commission “is a safe space for people to freely express their beliefs and engage in community building.”

“I feel that this principle has not been fully upheld within the current dynamics of the commission,” Raufi wrote. “My decision to resign is motivated solely by my desire to align my actions with my beliefs and values. I wish the commission continued success in its endeavors, and I hope that it will continue to evolve into a more inclusive and supportive space for all.”

In a statement Wednesday, Anderson called Raufi’s remarks ignorant and hurtful but said they reflected a need for education and advocating for tolerance.

“After speaking with Commissioner Raufi, I believe his comments came from a place of ignorance but without malice, and encouraged his further conversation to learn from this moment and build a bridge of understanding and tolerance with the Jewish community.”

Raufi’s comments went largely unaddressed by fellow commissioners just after he made them during last week’s commission meeting. Some have since said they had a hard time hearing him.

But since the video recording was released, many more have spoken up.

“We want this HRC, we want it to succeed — but it’s failing.”

— Sara Brown, regional director of the American Jewish Committee of San Diego

In a letter to the commission Monday, Stephan called his statements “disparaging and dehumanizing” and said she’d be suspending her seat on the commission until further notice.

Stephan said this wasn’t the first time she’d considered doing so — citing another commissioner’s remarks last year targeting transgender people — but had hoped positive change would come from the code of conduct created following that incident.

Stephan was one of the first to be appointed to the commission when the Board of Supervisors revived it in 2020 and established permanent seats for the county’s district attorney and sheriff.

She said the incidents create a direct conflict with her duties as district attorney.

“I take my duty to pursue equal and fair justice for the 3.3 million residents of San Diego County very seriously, and it has turned out that my role as a commissioner places me in a position that is contradictory with the oath I swore to carry out,” she wrote, noting that she has prioritized the prosecution of hate crimes.

“For me, my duty as District Attorney to protect everyone from hate and crime is paramount.”

Her resignation was followed by that of Martinez, who said in her own letter Wednesday that she was proud to participate in the commission when she took office in January.

“I cannot continue to be a part of a commission that does not uphold the high ideals of which it was enacted,” Martinez wrote. “The direction of this commission has shed light on hostilities that are being displayed in a way that I do not find appropriate and therefore, [I] find it best to remain neutral until the commission can mitigate their personal beliefs in a way that can allow space for acceptance of each other’s differences while elevating positive contributions to the community.”

Community leaders have also begun to call for dramatic changes to the commission to ensure it improves human relations, and doesn’t incite hate.

“We want this HRC, we want it to succeed — but it’s failing,” said Sara Brown, the regional director of the American Jewish Committee of San Diego. “If this commission is to succeed, they have to take a really hard, long look at themselves. … The culture of the commission needs to change.”

Although the commission was revived in the wake of hate crimes in Santee and the deadly 2019 Poway synagogue shooting, Jewish leaders have since noted that no current members are Jewish and have called for educating commissioners about antisemitism, anti-Zionism and the Jewish community.

Raufi’s comments have also united in condemnation both Jewish leaders with Arab and Muslim leaders who had been at odds on Israel in recent meetings.

A group of local leaders from the Islamic Center of San Diego, KARAMA and the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee — including George Khoury, the commissioner whose May comments on Israel prompted controversy — released a statement Thursday praising the commission’s decision to table talks of Khoury’s removal and calling for protecting members’ independence and open dialogue.

They also addressed Raufi’s remarks, which they said they too found appalling.

“We view the three resignations as a valuable learning experience and an opportunity to reinvigorate the commission’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. Additionally, a key issue facing all communities in our county is engaging the youth as they play a vital role in shaping the future. It requires our utmost attention to educate the next generation.”

Antisemitic incidents have been on the rise nationwide, with a recent Anti-Defamation League report finding them up by more than a third nationwide last year over 2021 — reaching the highest level the organization has recorded since it began tracking them in 1979.

San Diego has seen a spate of such incidents just this week. An attack on a member of the Chabad House at San Diego State University is being investigated as a hate crime.

And this week, more antisemitic flyers were found on car windshields in Allied Gardens and San Carlos, after turning up in other neighborhoods earlier this month.

San Diego Police Lt. Adam Sharki on Thursday called the flyers “vile and bigoted” and said they were being investigated as hate incidents — a term used generally used to describe hateful acts that don’t rise to the level of a hate crime.

He said about half a dozen such incidents have been reported in recent weeks and appear related. Councilmember Raul Campillo asked nearby residents to check their doorbell camera or surveillance footage and share it with police.

Murray Ramirez, who had objected to fellow commissioners’ previous offensive comments, has also called for the commission to do something about the flyers. He said such incidents show education for commissioners is not enough.

“If you look at the backgrounds of all these commissioners, they are experienced people that have been involved with other communities and coalitions — they know what hate speech is,” he said. “We all know better.”

He said he’s heartbroken that after his decades pushing to reinstate the commission, repeat incidents have “laid the groundwork that people felt safe expressing hate speech.”

“This commission cannot continue as is,” he added.

Only 18 members now remain seated on the commission, which can host up to 31.

Although it will still meet quorum following this week’s departures, Chair Ellen Nash said Thursday the commission will discuss filling the vacancies — which can be appointed by a county supervisor or fellow commissioner — at its next meeting Aug. 15.

Staff reporter David Hernandez contributed reporting.