Dr. Sharona Nazarian shattered barriers by becoming the first Iranian Jewish woman to serve as mayor of Beverly Hills, marking a significant milestone for the prominent Jewish-Persian community in Southern California.

Dr. Nazarian comes from a prominent and wealthy Jewish-Iranian family in the US, well-known for their steadfast support of Israel. She was appointed by the city council as part of a rotating mayorship.

With deep pride and admiration, I congratulate my relative, Dr. Sharona Nazarian, on her historic appointment as the first Jewish Iranian American woman to serve as Mayor of Beverly Hills.

I watched her rise with integrity and compassion which fills me with immense pride. pic.twitter.com/9hLfecNpM4

— Adelle Nazarian (@AdelleNaz) April 2, 2025

 Media personality and relative of Nazarian, Adele Nazarian, shared Wednesday night on her X account, "With deep pride and admiration, I congratulate my relative, Dr. Sharona Nazarian, on her historic appointment as the first Jewish Iranian American woman to serve as Mayor of Beverly Hills. I watched her rise with integrity and compassion which fills me with immense pride."

This appointment marks a significant milestone for the substantial Persian Jewish community in Southern California, where Beverly Hills has become home to many Iranian Jews who immigrated to the United States following the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran. The appointment reflects the growing influence and integration of this community in American politics and civic leadership.

The Nazarian family has established itself as one of the most influential Jewish-Iranian families in the United States, known for their philanthropy and business success. Their support for Israel has been consistent over the years, maintaining strong ties with Jewish communities worldwide.

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The CAM Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism, the organization's largest such gathering to date, culminated in the launch of the Municipal Antisemitism Action Index, a pioneering tool that evaluates how effectively cities combat antisemitism and protect Jewish residents.

"Antisemitism is at an all-time high, and with Jews around the world feeling unsafe in their communities, we felt that those who are most likely to effect change for the better are local leaders," CAM Chief Executive Officer Sacha Roytman Dratwa told the organization. "The unprecedented attendance at these emergency summits reflects the urgency of our mission."

The Beverly Hills location carried particular significance given Southern California's challenges with antisemitism, especially on college campuses. At the nearby University of California, Los Angeles, pro-Hamas demonstrations have created what Jewish students describe as a hostile environment, including allegations of discriminatory hiring practices and students being prevented from entering classes.

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria emphasized the crucial role of municipal leadership. "Mayors are the most accessible and visible leaders in people's lives. When acts of hate occur in your city, it threatens and undermines stability, and they must be addressed with decisive action," Gloria said. "Rising antisemitism is a local issue where local action can have a profound impact."

The summit's urgency was underscored by a CAM survey released Oct. 7, revealing that approximately 3.5 million of America's 6 million Jews experienced antisemitic incidents last year.

Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis reflected on recent events: "The horror of October 7, and the challenges that followed, have left an indelible mark on our lives. If it starts with antisemitism, when and where will it end? We must remain steadfast, protect those in need – and educate."

In Vienna, the United Against Antisemitism summit, organized in partnership with the European Leadership Network (ELNET), brought together leaders from politics, academia, and civil society to discuss strategies against antisemitism in education, culture, sports, and digital spaces.

"Antisemitism is a global challenge without national borders. Since October 7, we have seen a resurgence of antisemitism related to Israel in the streets of Europe," said Executive Director of ELNET-Germany Carsten Ovens. "The Vienna conference provides a central platform for deepening dialogue, developing new approaches, and formulating concrete actions and steps against Jew-hatred."

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California decided to prohibit legacy admissions in the college application process, a practice long criticized for favoring white or wealthy students based on their familial alumni connections, becoming the fourth US state to do so, ABC News reported.

"In California, everyone should be able to get ahead through merit, skill, and hard work," Newsom said in a statement. "The California Dream shouldn't be accessible to just a lucky few, which is why we're opening the door to higher education wide enough for everyone, fairly."

The decision comes after the Supreme Court's June 2023 ruling limiting race-based affirmative action programs for colleges and universities. California had previously banned affirmative action in 1996.

"In light of this shift, proponents of AB 1780 advocated for admissions criteria that additionally ensure that factors like wealth or personal relationships do not unduly influence admissions decisions," the governor's office stated. The new law aims to level the playing field for college applicants. "AB 1780 aims to ensure that admissions decisions are based on merit rather than personal connections, reducing biases in the admissions process at private colleges in California," explained the governor's office.

As I think legacy preferences in college admissions are outrageous, I am pleased to see them ended for California colleges. Although I wanted the schools to ban them, not for the state to come in and command their end. Anyway, key language here: https://t.co/kwUdKqUn3L pic.twitter.com/yp4BH7kEJY

— Orin Kerr (@OrinKerr) September 30, 2024

Public opinion appears to align with this move. According to an April 2022 Pew Research study, 75% of Americans surveyed believe a student's relationship to an alumni should not be a factor in admissions.

To ensure compliance, all private colleges and universities in California must now submit an annual report detailing their admissions practices.

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The discovery of a 12-foot (3.5 meters) long oarfish, found dead and floating near La Jolla Cove in San Diego, marks the 20th such occurrence in California since 1901.

Some cultures associate the appearance of oarfish with impending natural disasters, giving rise to the name "doomsday fish." There is no evidence to support the belief.

Oarfish typically dwell in the ocean depths in total darkness, and can grow longer than 20 feet, or 6 meters.

They surface when their health deteriorates, prompting necropsies and further study to understand their behavior, physiology, and role in the marine ecosystem.

The specimen found was transferred to the Scripps Marine Vertebrate Collection for in-depth analysis.

Sources: Independent, BBC, Guardian, USA Today, Washington Post, Yahoo, Albawaba, Western Journal, Times of India, K2 Radio, Interesting Engineering, Tribunnews, ABS-CBN, Evrim Ağacı, Daily Galaxy, Recently Heard.

This article was written in collaboration with Generative AI news company Alchemiq.

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Fairburn Elementary School in Westwood, Los Angeles, is facing scrutiny following the appointment of Skye Tooley as a new 5th grade teacher. Tooley, who identifies as an "autistic trans demiboy non-binary" and is known for their outspoken inflammatory views, has sparked concerns about the potential impact on students.

Parents are voicing their alarm after discovering Tooley's social media posts, which include inflammatory statements and promises to infuse their controversial perspectives into the classroom.

One parent wrote, "I am horrified to learn that Skye Tooley has been hired as a new 5th grade teacher." In addition, they "promises to teach 10 and 11-year-olds to 'unlearn Zionist propaganda' that says Hamas is a 'terrorist organization.'" The parents said Tooley's call for a "Free Palestine from the river to the sea" is not just politically charged; rather, it's a genocidal slogan that has no place in schools.

On July 4, Tooley posted infographics on Instagram, including one that said, "Stop the genocide," and captioned the post "F*ck the 4th." On May 6, they shared a post that said, "Escalate for Gaza!"

"I couldn't believe what I saw," one parent recounted. Social media posts by teacher, Mx. Skye Tooley, involved children drawing slogans such as "From the River to the Sea, Palestine must be free,"

Read More: https://t.co/ZLfRw4PPKe pic.twitter.com/OImg6veHTS

— Westside Current (@WestsideCurrent) August 6, 2024

The community is urging the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) to reconsider Tooley's appointment. They are calling for "safe, equitable discrimination-free places for Jewish and Israeli-American school children." LAUSD needs to "comply with anti-discrimination laws and rescind the hire of this anti-Jewish racist immediately," they continue.

This isn't the first time Tooley has faced controversy over classroom lessons. At Saturn Street Elementary in Los Angeles, they used stuffed animals to introduce concepts of gender identity and pronouns to young students, according to reports from Fox News. Their teaching philosophy emphasized creating "safe and brave spaces" for students and believed children are ready to engage with these topics. They mentioned plans to implement a "rainbow club" for third-graders. The club, described as a GSA (Gender and Sexuality Alliance) for elementary students, aimed to discuss different identities and ways to support the LGBTQ+ community.

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In a significant development for naval technology, what appears to be the US military's new submarine drone, known as the Manta Ray, has been spotted on Google Maps at California's Port Hueneme naval base. This sighting, reported by USA Today, offers a rare glimpse into the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) cutting-edge unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) program.

Top-secret US underwater drone "Manta Ray" spotted on Google Maps.

Follow: @AFpost pic.twitter.com/F9Mll7cIvX

— AF Post (@AFpost) June 25, 2024

 The Manta Ray, shaped like its namesake sea creature, is part of DARPA's initiative to create a new class of long-duration, long-range UUVs capable of persistent operations in dynamic maritime environments. Designed by aerospace and defense technology company Northrop Grumman, this extra-large UUV can glide through water without human occupants.

USA Today reports that the prototype's visibility on Google's geographical service has sparked online discussions. The image shows an object with a distinctive manta ray shape situated between two vessels at the Ventura County naval base. DARPA has not responded to requests for confirmation of the sighting.

Government Creates "Top Secret" Submarine Prototype Called The "Manta Ray" - Google Maps User Immediately Spots It Docked In California https://t.co/AY0VfLfjTH pic.twitter.com/3wDADtN1Th

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) June 26, 2024

 Earlier this year, the Manta Ray successfully completed full-scale testing off the Southern California coast. Northrop Grumman shared images of the prototype partially submerged during these trials. Kyle Woerner, DARPA's program manager, stated, "Our successful, full-scale Manta Ray testing validates the vehicle's readiness to advance toward real-world operations after being rapidly assembled in the field from modular subsections."

The tests, conducted between February and March, evaluated the vehicle's propulsion and steering capabilities, including its propellers and control surfaces. This achievement marks a significant step towards the operational deployment of the technology.

One of the Manta Ray's notable features is its modular design. Built in Maryland and shipped to California in sections, the prototype demonstrates the potential for global rapid deployment without overwhelming naval facilities. "Shipping the vehicle directly to its intended area of operation conserves energy that the vehicle would otherwise expend during transit," Woerner explained to USA Today.

DARPA is also collaborating with Honolulu-based PacMar Technologies on a parallel Manta Ray project. PacMar's version, described as part of a "new class of long-duration, long-range autonomous underwater vehicle," is scheduled for further low-power and high-efficiency underwater testing in 2024.

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A Juneteenth celebration in Oakland, California, turned violent when several people were shot. The Lake Merritt event on Wednesday night was largely peaceful, with as many as 5,000 in attendance, until a sideshow involving motorbikes and vehicles took place around 8:15 p.m. on the north side of the lake, police said in a news release Thursday.

A fight broke out down the street from the sideshow and a crowd gathered in the area of the brawl. "During that fight, multiple shots rang out," said Paul Chambers, OPD's strategic communications manager. While it was not immediately clear how many people were injured, police said at least four were struck by gunfire and were taken to a hospital.

BREAKING NEWS OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA: TOTAL CITY COLLAPSE. LAWLESSNESS ERUPTS AS MULTIPLE GUN BATTLES TAKE PLACE ON JUNETEENTH

Oakland, CA - In a shocking turn of events, multiple gun battles broke out across the city of Oakland during Juneteenth celebrations, leaving numerous… pic.twitter.com/NHPXJrsemg

— World Peace Movement (@darren_stallcup) June 20, 2024

As officers tried to get the crowd to safety several people struck OPD officers, Chambers said. At least one person was taken into custody for assaulting an officer, he said. Participants in the celebration were seen verbally harassing police with some people criticizing police response, saying they didn't respond quickly enough when people were injured, KTVU reported.

In 2021, a shooting during a Juneteenth celebration at Lake Merritt left several people injured and a 22-year-old San Francisco man dead.

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California Governor Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday the creation of the Governor's Council on Holocaust and Genocide Education aimed to advance education on the Holocaust and other genocides in public schools, as well as support for victims of antisemitism and bigotry.

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The Democratic governor, who overwhelmingly defeated a recent recall attempt, made the announcement during a visit to the Simon Wiesenthal Center's Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, accompanied by lawmakers and organizational leaders.

According to a news release, the council will work to identify instructional resources to teach students across California about the Holocaust and other genocides, as well as provide young people with the tools necessary to respond to on-campus instances of antisemitism and bigotry.

"We find ourselves in a moment of history where hate pervades the public discourse," said Newsom, according to the release. "National surveys have indicated a shocking decline in awareness among young people about the Holocaust and other acts of genocide. But in California, we are offering an antidote to the cynicism that this is how things are and responding to that hate the best way we know how ─ with education and empathy."

The creation of the council was a response to legislation in the California Senate from State Senator Henry Stern who introduced the "Never Again Education Act" in the California legislature, which also established a 15-member governor's council and, if passed, could create more parameters.

Senate Bill 693 was favorably received in the legislature and is supported by the Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California.

Stern, Attorney General of California Rob Bonta and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond will serve as the council's co-chairs. The council's other members will include elected officials, academics, advocates and organizations from diverse communities impacted by genocide throughout history.

"As we continue to confront the stain of bigotry and antisemitism in California and across the country, it is imperative that we come together to develop tools to combat hate across our society, including in education," Bonta said in the release. "The governor's council will ensure California schools are positioned to protect our communities and recognize the trauma of the past."

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Also to be established is a volunteer speaker's bureau, which would include Holocaust survivors who can engage teachers and students in conversations about the topic. It will also provide best practices and resources to schools that are dealing with acts of discrimination.

During his announcement, Newsom toured the Museum of Tolerance's newly launched Nelson and Claudia Pelz Social Lab.

According to a news release from the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Newsom called the 10,000-square-foot social-lab exhibit remarkable and regretted not having visited it sooner.

He also viewed the archival collection exhibit, "The Hitler Letter," featuring a letter written by Adolph Hitler on Sept. 16, 1919, six years before he published his manifesto, Mein Kampf. In the letter, Hitler called for the "uncompromising removal of the Jews altogether."

"It is a shocking reminder that antisemitism and hate are flourishing once again, only 70 years after the Holocaust," the center's news release stated.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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Five privately held Israeli-founded companies in California have reached or surpassed a $1 billion valuation in 2021, boosting the state's nation-leading unicorn count to 22, according to the United States-Israel Business Alliance, an organization founded strengthen the economic relationship between individual states and Israel. Each of these 22 companies has at least one Israeli founder and maintains its global or US headquarters in California.

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"California continues to attract many of the best and brightest innovators in the world," USIBA president Aaron Kaplowitz said.

"We're seeing today a new generation of Israeli entrepreneurs contribute to northern California's innovation ecosystem and benefit from a deep bench of venture capitalists."

With the exception of Orca Security, a cybersecurity firm for cloud-based assets, all these unicorns are located in Silicon Valley. In March, the Los Angeles company closed a $210 million round at a $1.2 billion valuation.

Eight Israeli-founded unicorns headquarter in San Francisco, the most of any US city behind New York. Deel, with its office just beyond Oracle Park's leftfield foul pole, is the most recent addition to the prestigious group. Last week, the payroll and compliance platform upstart announced the completion of a $156 million funding round, driving its valuation to $1.25 billion. Deel has raised $206 million total – all in the past 11 months.

Less than a mile away, ironSource, an app monetization and distribution pioneer, recently revealed its plans to go public through a special purpose acquisition company. The agreement with Thoma Bravo Advantage surges the company's value to $11.1 billion, surpassing the $10.4 billion SPAC merger between New Jersey-based eToro and FinTech Acquisition Corp. V. The hefty valuation follows ironSource's 83% year-over-year revenue growth in 2019 and 2020. The company anticipates 37% growth both in 2021 and in 2022.

Trailing San Francisco, Palo Alto now has seven Israeli-founded unicorns, including insurance disrupters Hippo ($5.0 billion) and Next Insurance ($4.0 billion). On March 22, Wiz closed a $130 million round. CEO and co-founder Assaf Rappaport proclaimed that Wiz had become the "fastest growing security startup ever," having achieved a whopping $1.7 billion valuation only "three months since emerging from stealth."

"Silicon Valley lives by the 'move fast and break things' mantra," Kaplowitz said. "Israelis, of course, have a word for that: chutzpah."

Mountain View is on the letterhead of Rapyd ($2.5 billion) and SentinelOne ($3.1 billion). It is also home to Coursera, which left the unicorns behind on March 31, when it debuted on the New York Stock Exchange. Coursera closed its first day of trading with a market cap of $5.9 billion.

Database management innovator Redis Labs ($2.0 billion) also lists its corporate headquarters in Mountain View. On April 7, Redis and San Francisco-based Trax ($2.3 billion), a retail analytics leader, raised $950 million combined. Although not yet unicorns, Blue Dot and WhiteSource, both based in Massachusetts, increased the total funding amount to $1.1 billion, setting a single-day record for Israeli-founded start-ups.

"When you unpack these astonishing figures," Kaplowitz said, "you begin to understand that the investments fund new jobs and boost local economic activity."

In San Mateo, Tipalti, the Hebrew word for "I took care of (it)," has grown its accounts payable and global remittance automation solutions into an enterprise valued at $2 billion.

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Dremio, a big data curating engine ($1.0 billion), and Innoviz ($1.4 billion), a LiDAR manufacturer, maintain headquarters in Santa Clara. They could soon be joined by their neighbor Cloudinary, a provider of cloud-based solutions for image, video, and data asset management. Cloudinary has impressively approached unicorn status without taking a single investment from a venture capital firm.

Last week, USIBA published research findings on the 21 Israeli-founded unicorns based in New York, which trails Tel Aviv as the city with the most Israeli-founded unicorns in the world. Soon after, Outbrain, a unicorn from the list, filed a confidential prospectus with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for plans to IPO. This development came one day after Israeli-founded ad software company DoubleVerify – headquartered in SoHo – closed its first day on the New York Stock Exchange up 33%, enough for a market cap of $5.3 billion.

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The Israeli delegation, which includes rescue workers and experts in forest and brush fires, as well as Foreign Ministry representatives, is expected to spend some two weeks helping.

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The Foreign Ministry is organizing the team and is coordinating with US authorities via the Israeli Consulate in San Francisco. A representative of Israel's Fire and Rescue Services is leading the logistics and will direct the team at the fire sites themselves.

Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi said, "Israel's quick enlistment to help its friend the US is an expression of the deep friendship between the people and the excellent ties between the two countries in a wide variety of fields. I congratulate the members of the team and wish them success in their important mission."

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