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Zev Yaroslavsky: Rebel politician and distracted golfer

One day in 1975, we walked into a Hungarian restaurant on Fairfax Avenue for dinner and bumped into Barbara (we called her Yael back then) and Zev Yaroslavsky, who had also come to that neighborhood hot spot to have dinner.
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November 25, 2014

One day in 1975, we walked into a Hungarian restaurant on Fairfax Avenue for dinner and bumped into Barbara (we called her Yael back then) and Zev Yaroslavsky, who had also come to that neighborhood hot spot to have dinner. We had known Zev for years: His father taught both of us Hebrew literature at Los Angeles Hebrew High School; Zev and Ben had taught Sunday School together at the Pasadena Jewish Temple; Ben and Zev both had both gone to Fairfax High School; Janice also knew Yael, who, for years had been the gatekeeper at Wednesday night Israeli folk dancing at UCLA Hillel, and more. That night at the Hungarian restaurant, we, of course, said hello to the Yaroslavskys; as we were leaving, Zev said, “Oh, by the way, I’m going to run for City Council.”  

At the time, Ben was in his second year of law school and knew very little about local politics. That worked to his advantage, because it made it very easy to accept Zev’s request to help with his campaign. Had Ben known more about local politics, he, no doubt, would have concluded that Zev had no chance of winning, and the effort would hve been a waste of everyone’s time. Zev had no name identification, no money, and all the major donors and endorsements went to the well-known establishment candidates. But there was something exciting about Zev’s enthusiasm that drew us, and others, to join his cause — Zev was one of us. It would be a true grass-roots effort as we all walked precincts and knocked on doors. Being fluent in Yiddish, Ben chose to walk the Fairfax District and campaign in Yiddish. He never had to say “Yaroslavsky” twice; the old folks got that name the first time. When we had a parlor meeting for Zev in our apartment on Cloverdale Avenue, we couldn’t even raise $50! However, the event was a great success,because our friends, who had no money, all agreed to become campaign volunteers. 

Although we didn’t know much about campaigning, Zev did. Zev masterminded a brilliant campaign and pulled off what to this day is one of the greatest upsets ever in local elections. But, upon reflection, we think one of the most important aspects of this campaign was that Zev brought youth into politics. Not only was this true during the campaign, but once elected, he hired a staff of young people, many of whom were friends we had engaged in the campaign who had never before set foot inside City Hall.

Another word about Zev’s father: David Yaroslavsky. For Ben, Zev’s father was his carpool driver, and for both of us, Zev’s father was a beloved and outstanding teacher at Los Angeles Hebrew High School. A man of short physical stature, he could hardly see over the dashboard. “Mr. Yaroslavsky, watch out, there is a person crossing the street,” or, “Mr. Yaroslavsky, you just went through a red light,” were common back-seat commentaries. But when it came to teaching, this man was a giant. He opened our eyes to the beauty of Hebrew short stories and poetry written by other giants in Hebrew literature who remain with us to this day.  


Yaroslavsky as a young activist.

To us and to so many, Zev has always been a rare example of an anti-establishment rebel who came to the realization early that he could be more effective from the inside … and he did just that. He led the Soviet Jewry movement as a rebel, doing things that were provocative and shocking to the then-Jewish community establishment. In fact, when Zev was elected in 1976, Janice became the director of the Soviet Jewry Commission of The Federation; Janice was guided, in many critical ways, by the bold strategies employed by Zev and his activist mentor, Si Frumkin, strategies that had earlier been eschewed by Federation. No doubt, when Zev became a “legit” member of L.A.’s political establishment by securing a position on the L.A. City Council, Federation became more willing to follow, at least to some extent, Zev’s bold advocacy example.

When Zev ran for the 5th District seat on City Council, he was the “outsider” candidate taking on the establishment. But once he’d joined the establishment as an elected public official, he managed to avoid becoming the establishment by often taking positions and actions that were still a challenge to the establishment. Good examples of this are the successful fight he led (together with Councilman Marvin Braude) against Occidental Oil’s plans to drill for oil right off the coast of Pacific Palisades and his sponsorship of Proposition U, which reduced the allowable density in most commercial zones in the city by half. By going outside City Hall and directly to the people, Zev succeeded in making a huge impact on the quality of life throughout Los Angeles. The rebel in him would not let him be patient and work within the system, even though he was part of that system. And Zev relished this unique opportunity he had to upset the status quo from within. Ben can recall many conversations with him during those early years in which, in referring to a particular elected official, he would say to Ben in complete dismay, “Can you believe what so and so is trying to do?” As the years went on, Zev became a sort of “check” on the power of his colleagues, not afraid to speak out or take action. Perhaps this is why he has remained one of L.A.’s most popular elected officials.

To say that Zev is a smartphone addict is an understatement. When Ben and Zev golfed, Zev would look into his BlackBerry after every shot. He needed to know what was going on in the county at all times. Ben remembers one day when he asked, “Zev, how much could have happened between now and your last shot that you need to keep looking?” Zev knew, as Ben did, that he was a political junkie and unless he looked at his BlackBerry after every golf shot, he would not be able to concentrate on his next, because he would only be thinking about what he might have just missed. Needless to say, the quality of Zev’s golf game reflects the fact that he cannot escape, not even for one moment, the world of politics. Now that he is retired from political office, we wonder whether his golf game may improve.

One of our fondest memories involves Zev’s famous campaign car — his 1963 Rambler. During his first campaign, the Los Angeles Times ran a front-page story with a photo of Zev and his beat-up Rambler. People have wondered whatever happened to that car. Well, we are going to reveal the secret. On the night of the run-off election, Zev parked his car on the street where he lived. When he woke up in the morning a winner, he got caught up reading the newspaper stories, taking congratulatory phone calls, doing phone interviews, etc., and he forgot to move his car. So the car was towed!  When we arrived at Yael and Zev’s apartment to congratulate him, Zev told us that his junky car had been towed, that it would cost $53 to bail it out, and that if we went to claim the car and pay the bail, we could keep the car! What? Why? Zev said, “I don’t want my first act as a newly elected public official to be that I parked illegally and had my car towed. Anyway, I’m getting a city car to drive. But make sure no one knows it’s my car.” And so, for two years, Ben drove that stick-shift Rambler, and when it was time for us to get another car, we junked it. Mystery solved!

There are so many more stories and memories, but nothing is as storied and nothing will be as memorable as the incredible impact that this rebel who in many if not most ways, remains a rebel, made on Los Angeles. Zev has always been one to tell it like it is. His arrows are always powerful and straight. Zev is, was and always will be a man guided by a keen intellect informed by an unusually passionate sense of justice, morality and conscience. Althoughthe years have obviously enhanced his experiences and honed his thinking and his skills, Zev then is Zev now. What an amazing journey!

Ben Reznik is a zoning and land use lawyer in Los Angeles and a partner with the law firm of Jeffer, Mangels, Butler & Mitchell.  Janice Kamenir-Reznik, former law partner at Jeffer, Mangels, Butler & Mitchell, is co-founder and president of Jewish World Watch, an organization established in 2004 as the Jewish response to genocide.

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