The Rotary Club of Orange County L.A. installed former Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan as its president despite objections from the Jewish Federation of Orange County, the Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish Community Action Network and the Israeli American Council.
Khan was installed on June 27.
Former Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan’s installation as president of the Rotary Club of Orange County L.A. came over the objections of the Jewish Federation of Orange County and other Jewish advocacy groups.
Over the last 18 months, these groups say, Khan has spread unverified claims about the war in Gaza.
“This is somebody who’s a public figure who’s using a quasi-public account to spread blood libels,” said Julie Heiman, JCAN’s director of policy, legal and government affairs.
“And a civil society organization, the purpose of which is to build goodwill, is kind of blessing this.”
In a June 22 letter, JCAN, the Jewish Federation of Orange County and the Israeli American Council called for a review of Khan’s conduct, citing posts in which she said of Israelis, “the sick pedophiles/cannibals are doing what they do best.”
In a follow-up letter sent on Thursday, JCAN said Rotary leaders acknowledged receipt of the concerns but proceeded with the installation.
Julia Heiman of the Jewish Community Action Network said, “Evidently, the Orange County/LA Club determined that endangering the Jewish community is not disqualifying or inconsistent with ‘truth,’ ‘fairness,’ and building ‘goodwill.'”
Combat Antisemitism Movement Chief Government Affairs Officer Lisa Katz issued a statement saying, “Rotary International’s motto is ‘Service Above Self.’ Former Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan’s record makes a mockery of that motto, and she should not be leading the Rotary Club of Orange County L.A. Kahn has accused Jews of pedophilia and cannibalism which is a modern rendering of the blood libel, one of the most ancient and dangerous antisemitic tropes.”
Irvine Vice Mayor James Mai resigned from both the club and his role as vice chair of its fundraising foundation after the organization installed Khan.
“I don’t want to be involved in a group that is being led by someone who’s saying antisemitic things.”
Mai told JNS, “It’s the same thing if you asked me to be led by someone who openly hates black people or hates Asian people or a member of the KKK.”
Craig Livingston, governor of the Rotary Club district that includes the Orange County chapter, told the Forward that he did not have the power to make decisions regarding a club’s members or its leadership.
Livingston said he had consulted with Rotary International leadership, which told him the organization did not have policies governing what individuals say on their personal social media accounts when they’re not serving in a Rotary capacity.
Khan later clarified that she was referring to Israeli government officials and the military, not the general public.
“It’s a proxy for saying ‘Jew,'” Heiman said.
In a February social media post, Khan circulated an unverified claim that Israel had attacked an Iranian girls’ school, adding “The sick pedophiles/cannibals are doing what they do best.” In a separate post, Khan claimed the “elite,” i.e. Jews, are “worshipping evil, eating humans, engaging in rape and pedophilia.”
Neither the Rotary International organization nor the Rotary Club of Orange County Los Angeles responded to inquiries.
Khan and Rotary did not respond to request for comment.
In the viral moment that sparked the backlash, Khan shared posts accusing Israeli officials and military personnel of pedophilia and cannibalism.
In one Facebook post, Khan responded to a report that Israel had bombed an Iranian girls’ school by writing that “the sick pedophiles/cannibals are doing what they do best.”
Jewish organizations said the language recycled ancient antisemitic blood libel tropes associating Jews with ritual abuse.
Heiman said, “Most of our community supports Israel, and therefore I think to the public writ large, if they’re reading that Israelis are cannibals and pedophiles, and then they see the Jewish community here flying an Israeli flag, saying we support our ethnic homeland, then we must be evil too.”
Khan is a Democrat and the first Muslim woman elected mayor of a large American city, in 2020.
When JCAN inquired about the installation, Rotary International took the position that their leadership was powerless to intervene, yet Rotary International’s Manual of Procedure provides that the Board can remove members for good cause.