UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations
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UCLA UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Searching for a Stake: The Scope of Jewish Politics in Los Angeles from Watts to Rodney King, 1965-1992 Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8gk6m3ks Author Baumgarten, Max David Publication Date 2017 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Searching for a Stake: The Scope of Jewish Politics in Los Angeles from Watts to Rodney King, 1965-1992 A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in History by Max David Baumgarten 2017 © Copyright by Max David Baumgarten 2017 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Searching for a Stake: The Scope of Jewish Politics in Los Angeles from Watts to Rodney King, 1965-1992 by Max David Baumgarten Doctor of Philosophy in History University of California, Los Angeles, 2017 Professor Janice L. Reiff, Chair “Searching for a Stake: The Scope of Jewish Politics in Los Angeles from Watts to Rodney King, 1965-1992” traces the intensification of local Jewish political activity as well as the factors that led to Jewish disengagement from local political and civic affairs. It does so by considering Jewish politics within the context of metropolitan social structures, localized ethno-racial hierarchies, and spatial scales. An insidious sense of defeat following concerted efforts to mesh together distinct ethnic concerns with broader civic ones, coupled with a heightened interest in seemingly remote issues, pulled Jews away from the local sphere. Herein lies one of the great ironies of late twentieth century Jewish political life in Los Angeles and beyond: as the American Jewish community enhanced their political clout on the national and international level, they sensed little to gain by participating in local politics. ii This project commences during the mid-1960s as Jews, inspired by the rising tides of identity politics, were testing new ways to fashion themselves as a meaningful part of a diverse urban fabric. An array of Jewish leaders and activists saw local contests over electoral representation, public education, and neighborhood preservation as opportunities to wield political influence over their urban surroundings and articulate a distinct Jewish voice in local civic affairs. And yet, by the 1980s, Jewish leaders and activists began to question how to effectively remain engaged in the local political scene. In concert with the Jewish grassroots, they began to increasingly lack confidence in the public school system as an institution responsible for the education of Jewish children and doubt their ability to stem seemingly disruptive economic development and urban growth initiatives from transforming local neighborhoods. These sources of frustration not only exacerbated pre-existing inter-and intra-group tensions, but also forced Jewish community leaders and activists to question the efficacy and responsiveness of ethnic-based political models as vehicles for substantive local activism. Seeking to affirm the political relevance of the Jewish community, various organizations looked towards international and historical issues as a means to stay engaged, though such projects ultimately propelled Jewish communal resources away from the local arena. iii The dissertation of Max David Baumgarten is approved. Stephen A. Aron David J. Halle David N. Myers Janice L. Reiff, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2017 iv DEDICATION To my parents, siblings, and wife. Keep doing you. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements vii Vita x Introduction 1 Chapter 1 Goldwater is Goyish, MLK is Jewish: 17 The Social Niches and Politics of Jewish Los Angeles during the 1960s Chapter 2 Tom, Sam, Henry, and Zev: 65 When Jewish Identity Politics Met Los Angeles Electoral Politics, 1968-1975 Chapter 3 Wither the Jewish Love Affair: 118 Public Schooling and the Pressures of Privatization in Los Angeles, 1970-1980 Chapter 4 Searching for the Jewish Stake in the Neighborhood: 178 Beverly-Fairfax from the Urban Crisis to the Age of Gentrification Chapter 5 Looking Over There To Stay Engaged Here: 230 Coalitions and Museums in 1980s Los Angeles Conclusion 276 Bibliography 282 vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS While researching and writing a history dissertation is often described as a solitary endeavor, my experience has been anything but, as I have been able to rely upon an expansive and supportive network. First and foremost, I want to think my dissertation committee for effectively guiding me through “the process.” Jan Reiff has been there from the start, helping me form my initial research objectives, providing substantive advice with each draft, and steering me back on course whenever I needed guidance. As a teacher, advisor, and scholar, she has set a high bar and for this I am ever appreciative. David Myers has made this dissertation all the more compelling with his “big picture” questions and assisting me in navigating the messy contours of Jewish history. Steve Aron helped me think through the craft of historical research and where exactly my work fits within the American history field. At various points, David Halle has encouraged me to consider Los Angeles through a comparative perspective. Outside of my committee, Sarah Stein, Joan Waugh, Todd Presner, Tobias Higbie, and Eric Avila also provided astute advice. UCLA was also filled with supportive colleagues and friends who consistently provided positive encouragement as well as insight and were (thankfully) happy and willing to grab a beer and chat about things that had very little to do with “dissertating.” Shout out to Michael Casper, Jason Lustig, Caroline Luce, Arnon Degani, Brian Kovalesky, Jean-Paul deGuzman, Daniel Lynch, Erik Greenberg Karen Wilson, and Caitlin Parker in particular. I have also found much support outside of Bunche Hall and UCLA. Whether reading and commenting on drafts, helping me conceptualize and refine my research, or treating me to a much-needed cup of coffee, Marc Dollinger, Steven Windmueller, Tony Michels, Bruce Phillips, Lila Corwin Berman, and Raphael Sonenshein were all eager to lend their expertise and gracious vii with their time. Thanks to the Western Jewish Studies Association team (Ellen Eisenberg, Lawrence Baron, and Ava Kahn in particular) for inviting me to join their board, always providing constructive feedback, and reassuring me that there is nothing wrong with not wanting to fly to Boston in the middle of December. I am also privileged to have been part of a thoroughly productive and immensely enjoyable bi-weekly writing group with fellow American Jewish historians: Avigail Oren, Barry Goldberg, Britt Tevis, Ayelet Brinn, and Geraldine Gudefin. I am also fortunate to have come across some wonderfully supportive archivists and librarians who were willing to accommodate research request after research request. The list here is quite long but I want to specifically thank those at CSUN’s Urban Archives, the American Jewish Archives, UCLA’s Young Research Library, and the Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research. Not everyone has the opportunity to be in a PhD program in his or her hometown and for this I am quite grateful. Even fewer people have the chance and the challenge to examine their hometown through the lens of a dissertation. Living in and studying Los Angeles has allowed me to explore this complicated, beautiful, and endlessly fascinating city in a new light. Perhaps more importantly, being in close proximity to beloved family and longtime friends (and new ones as well) has helped to keep me grounded and fulfilled during the exhausting and longwinded process of researching and writing a dissertation. Sharing meals, holidays, birthdays, and baseball games with a network of loved one has, among other things, helped me better understand myself and my value system all the while allowing me to deepen and strengthen my relationship with these good folks. viii My immediate family deserves much of the credit here. Since starting graduate school, and since 1984 for that matter, my parents have offered nothing but love, support, and warmth. Time and again they have provided my siblings and myself with a “home base” (both in a metaphorical and physical sense) that has served as a launching pad. Cheers for making some wise and eccentric parental decisions along the way. As for my brother and sister, I know this is beginning to sound like a bar mitzvah candle-lighting speech, but I am a big fan. In addition to teaching me invaluable lessons about integrity, commitment, and friendship, we all seem to share this psychic connection, sensibility, and sense of humor. Looking forward to more quality time with the two of you and my soon-to-be sister in Kelly. Lastly, I want to thank and express my deep appreciation and love for my wife, Meredith, not least because she has done a fine job of summarizing my research when asked “so what’s he writing about.” She has looked out for me these past few years: without her sharp editing skills, her ability to effectively talk me through the challenges that arose along the way, and her innate kindness and patience, I would not have been able to finish this dissertation. In many ways, this is her dissertation as well and I can’t to celebrate its completion with her. ix VITA EDUCATION University of California, Los Angeles 2013 C. Phil., History 2012 M.A., History University of California, Berkeley 2007 B.A. History PUBLICATIONS Articles “Deep Los Angeles, A Roundtable on Histories of Los Angeles in the Twenty-First Century,” with Ryan Fukumori, Daniel Lynch, and Celeste Menchaca, California History, vol. 93, no. 3 (Fall 2016), 92-101. “Beyond the Binary: Los Angeles and a New York State of Mind,” American Jewish History, vol. 100, no. 2 (April 2016), 233-246. Book Review American Jewish Political Culture and the Liberal Persuasion by Henry Feingold, American Jewish Archives Journal, LXVII, no.