I am disappointed that, despite repeated requests from the Jewish community, the Los Angeles Dodgers are not holding a Jewish Heritage Day this year at Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers have celebrated many other communities in Los Angeles this year, including but not limited to Mexican Heritage, Korean Heritage, Japanese Heritage and Black Heritage.
The team, which integrated Major League Baseball and defied Jim Crow, is apparently afraid of protests over the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Recognizing the Jewish community’s contribution to Los Angeles and Southern California has nothing to do with Israel, the conflict in the Middle East, or politics. It recognizes the contributions that the Jewish community has made to Los Angeles.
Heritage days celebrate the diversity that makes Los Angeles and Southern California an amazingly textured and accepting place to live. Other MLB teams have celebrated their Jewish communities this season, including the Oakland A’s, Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Mets, and the San Diego Padres.
I am a third-generation Dodger fan. My family fan relationship goes back to Brooklyn. My favorite numbers are 42 and 32. I attended Sandy Koufax bobblehead night because he was my childhood hero (the Dodgers lost to the Phillies, who also plan to hold a Jewish Heritage Day).
It wasn’t easy being one of only two Jewish children in my public elementary school, and watching Koufax pitch made be proud and gave me my own hero when other kids made antisemitic remarks to me.
Despite the Dodgers’ decision, I’ll continue to watch games and probably attend a few in person each year because I love MLB.
There may be no crying in baseball, but these days, the Dodgers no longer feel like “my team.” They’ve just become another team.
Philip Wasserman
Stevenson Ranch
