Rotary International is a well-known service organization with a famous ethical code, the Four-Way Test, that stresses honesty, fairness, goodwill and benefit to society.
But the Rotary Club of Orange County LA has defied that code by installing as its president Farrah Khan, a former politician who is infamous for her incendiary remarks about Israel.
Khan, who was the mayor of Irvine for two terms, from 2020-2024, used a social media account after she left office to post what The Forward called “conspiracy-tinged anti-Israel messages.”
These reportedly included calling Israeli government officials and military personnel “pedophiles” and “cannibals,” and claiming there was evidence that Jewish “elites” were “eating humans” and “engaging in pedophilia.” Khan also attacked Zionism, the belief held by the overwhelming majority of American Jews that the Jewish people have the right to self-determination in their historic homeland.
But the Rotary Club of Orange County LA has defied that code by installing as its president Farrah Khan, a former politician who is infamous for her incendiary remarks about Israel. MediaNews Group via Getty Images
When the Jewish community of Orange County warned the local Rotary Club that it was about to make a mistake in elevating Farrah Khan to serve as its leader, we were effectively told that her history of antisemitic rhetoric was not disqualifying.
We asked Rotary leadership to simply apply its own Code of Conduct and Four-Way Test — Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned? — before installing her. District leadership told us they lacked the power to intervene. Days later, Khan was sworn in.
We’re in a dangerous moment. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reports that there are an average of 17 antisemitic incidents a day. When you divide these alarming statistics by state, California ranks second highest.
Here in Orange County, we feel it in our daily lives. A recent study revealed that 63% of Jewish adults in Orange County reported avoiding Jewish activities out of a fear of antisemitism. A community member’s daughter, meanwhile, was so frightened to have Hanukkah decorations outside her home that she wept with fear when her parents put them up.
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I wish I could have told her there was nothing to worry about, but only days later, 20 shots were fired into a home decorated for Hanukkah in the town of Redlands, in a neighboring county, with the shooter reportedly shouting antisemitic slurs.
To help allay the frightened child’s anxiety, a Christian neighbor decorated her own house for Hanukkah, too. That instinct to stand with a neighbor is the American tradition at its best. It’s also the kind of spirit Rotary International claims as its mission.
A quick internet scan for why you should join Rotary highlights Rotary’s dedication to building international relationships, promoting peace and creating a better world.
That is why its inaction on Farrah Khan is alarming. (Khan and Rotary did not respond to request for comment.)
That is why its inaction on Farrah Khan is alarming. (Khan and Rotary did not respond to request for comment.) Facebook/@rotaryclubocla
Extremism exists in every democracy. But extremists are only dangerous when the rest of us stop paying attention, and when institutions cede ground to the fringe rather than upholding the values they profess.
Orange County, and this country, are stronger because we are diverse, and that strength depends on the basic truth that we oppose bigotry, regardless of whom it targets or who is doing the targeting.
Rotary’s choice to look away from a leader’s divisive words breaks that bargain. It lets the bigots set the terms, and it tells the rest of us that goodwill has a caveat: “Goodwill,” unless you’re a Jew.
This kind of tacit approval matters because blood libels are not mere foreign policy disagreement. They are among the oldest pretexts for violence against Jews, and when leaders repeat them, they legitimize hatred and increase the risk of real-world violence.
Jews make up roughly 2% of the US population. We cannot push back against the onslaught of antisemitism alone. We need decent people willing to say plainly that this isn’t acceptable, even when it costs them something.
James Mai, vice mayor of Irvine, did exactly that. He resigned his leadership post at the Rotary Foundation in protest, saying, “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.”
It shouldn’t need to be said that hatred of Jews deserves the same clarity as any other bigotry.
But Rotary has lost its way. At least in Orange County.
Julie Heiman is director of policy, legal, and government affairs for the Jewish Community Action Network (JCAN) in Orange County.
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