Last year, the city averaged almost 8.2 hate crimes monthly.

By Jessica Russak-Hoffman, JNS

Los Angeles recorded 46 anti-Jewish hate crimes from Jan. 1 to May 31 this year, according to Dara Hamilton, a detective who coordinates hate crime response for the Los Angeles Police Department.

As of the end of May, the LAPD tracked 281 hate crimes across all bias categories this year, including 50 aggravated assaults.

A public breakdown of those incidents has yet to be released. The department reported 98 anti-Jewish hate crimes in 2025, Hamilton told JNS.

The statistics in the first five months of 2026, in which Los Angeles is averaging 9.2 anti-Jewish hate crimes monthly, suggest that the city is on pace to record more than 110 anti-Jewish hate crimes this year, or about a 12% increase.

Last year, the city averaged almost 8.2 hate crimes monthly.

The Anti-Defamation League reported 817 anti-Jewish incidents statewide last year, including 322 in the city of Los Angeles.

Hamilton told JNS that LAPD figures reflect incidents investigated as hate crimes, regardless of whether charges were filed or convictions obtained.

The ADL’s annual audit also includes noncriminal incidents, such as harassment and vandalism.

“We communicate and work with the ADL, the Jewish Federation, Magen Am and many more Jewish organizations and institutions,” Hamilton told JNS.

“I also have a couple of LAPD reserve officers who assist me, one of whom is Jewish.”

“We regularly organize extra patrols at the synagogues,” Hamiltion added.

The LAPD does not offer Hebrew versions of its hate crimes informational pamphlets. It provides materials in several other languages, including Arabic, Armenian, Korean and Tagalog.

Hamilton told JNS that the department has Hebrew-speaking employees who can assist officers and investigators when needed.

“In addition, we contract with a third-party language bank for calls that patrol receives,” she said.

The post Los Angeles on pace to record 12% more anti-Jewish hate crimes in 2026 than last year, per police data appeared first on World Israel News.

The report found that LAPD employees who participated not only in the Israel programs but also in many other overseas programs and exercises failed to record whom they met with and document what they learned.

By Dinah Bucholz, Jewish Breaking News

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) that provides oversight of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) revealed last week in a new report titled “Review of the LAPD’s Foreign Training Activities” that the LAPD sent officers to Israel on nine separate occasions for training.

The report found that 18 LAPD officers traveled to Israel between 2014 and 2024 at a total cost of $87,000 for the purpose of counterterrorism training.

In 2014, the largest share of the funds was spent on the largest single trip, amounting to $52,470, paid for by a federal grant.

The trip sent eight employees to Israel to participate in a program called “Command and Control Counter-Terrorism,” which was part of an initiative known as the “Executive Development” program.

The report additionally details Israel-related training programs, including the Jewish Institute for National Security (JINSA) Homeland Security Program, other Command and Control Counter-Terrorism events, an Explosive Detection Dog exercise, the International Law Enforcement Conference, and the International Police Commissioners and Top LEA Executives’ Conference.

The OIG report criticized poor recordkeeping related to the joint training exercises.

The report found that LAPD employees who participated not only in the Israel programs but also in many other overseas programs and exercises failed to record whom they met with and document what they learned.

Therefore, the report states that “The OIG was unable to assess the full nature and extent of the training activities due to limited available information.”

Because of concerns raised over ties between the LAPD and Israel, the OIG investigation expanded to review all foreign training activities and found that 243 LAPD officers participated in 117 foreign training exercises.

The report concluded that most of the funding, particularly for the Israel training, came from outside sources rather than the LAPD itself.

The report concluded that while more oversight and better organization are needed, joint foreign training programs are “a common practice intended to enhance law enforcement capabilities through global knowledge exchange.”

The report also offered specific recommendations, including clear procedures for documenting whom officers come into contact with and what they learn, such as daily check-ins.

To reduce intelligence risks, foreign contacts should be vetted, and officers should be required to submit post-training reports for review and approval.

Nevertheless, after its investigation concluded, the OIG did not identify any security risks associated with the foreign training activities.

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Local authorities are continuing to investigate possible connections between the two cases, though no evidence has been found to suggest a link.

By Ailin Vilches Arguello, The Algemeiner

Authorities in Los Angeles are investigating the homicides of two Israeli men found dead in their homes within a 24-hour span on Saturday, raising concern within the local Jewish community and prompting a probe into possible links between the cases.

Over the weekend, Meni Khidra, an Israeli businessman, was discovered dead in his apartment in Valley Village, located in the San Fernando Valley, after officers from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) conducted a welfare check on Saturday afternoon following reports from family members who were unable to reach him.

After arriving at his residence, emergency personnel pronounced Khidra dead at the scene. Local police have launched a homicide investigation, but so far, no suspects have been arrested.

As the investigation continues, the LAPD has not yet disclosed Khidra’s cause of death or the nature of his injuries, and it remains unclear whether a firearm or knife was involved.

Earlier on Saturday morning, Alexander Modvadze, a 47-year-old Israeli-American businessman, was also found dead in his home in Woodland Hills, a neighborhood near the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley.

Local police said the attack appeared to be premeditated and was staged to look like a robbery. After arriving at his residence, medical personnel found Modvadze with severe head trauma from a brutal beating and pronounced him dead at the scene.

“We found very unusual signs at the scene that indicate murder,” detectives from the Valley Police said in a statement.

“We believe that the fact that there were people in the house who fled shortly before the body was found suggests that the incident was criminal, and we are working to locate the suspects involved.”

As the LAPD launched an investigation into Modvadze’s homicide, local law enforcement arrested three Georgian nationals — Pata Kuchiyashvili (38), Zaza Otarashvili (46), and Besiki Khutsishvili (52) — who allegedly broke into Modvadze’s home, held him captive for several hours, and brutally assaulted him before fleeing with stolen property.

With assistance from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the suspects were apprehended within hours and are being held on $2 million bail each.

Local authorities are continuing to investigate possible connections between the two cases, though no evidence has been found to suggest a link.

The LAPD is actively collecting forensic evidence and witness statements from both Valley Village and Woodland Hills, urging anyone with relevant information to contact them.

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