As Laguna Woods Village retirement community has become more diverse in terms of culture, race and national origin, many residents have embraced this changing character. Others, however, have let prejudices, even hate, get the better of them.

In the wake of two events in 2022 – a mass shooting in a church just outside the gates and a blatant display of hate on a Village sidewalk – resident Rebeca Gilad sought an opportunity to bring together residents who would otherwise have had little or no contact to meet and get to know each other and perhaps even become friends.

Gilad shared her concerns about incidents of hate and possible solutions with like-minded friends and received an overwhelming response, she recalled.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would start what would become a large family,” she said. “What emerged was a feeling of unity, that we stand together in not allowing disrespect toward anyone. Everyone has a right to be respected.”

Gilad assembled a group of residents comprising members of various ethnic, religious, cultural and political groups in the Village to form Community Bridge Builders with the aim of combating bias, bigotry and discrimination in the Village through dialogue, education, advocacy and sharing of cultural experiences.

The group includes religious leaders like Bishop Willie Phillips and Rabbi Joe Mendelsohn; members of the Democratic Club, Concerned Citizens, African American Heritage Club, Rainbow Club and College Club; as well as members of the Foundation of Laguna Woods Village, the Laguna Woods City Council and diverse socially conscious residents.

“Rebeca earns the love and respect she deserves and receives from her colleagues,” said Mendelsohn, who is rabbi of the Reform Temple of Laguna Woods. “She has tireless energy and has devoted a great deal of herself to fighting biases and hateful behavior.”

The Bridge Builders began holding presentations and seminars on combating the causes and effects of bias and prejudice, on preventing disrespect and aggression, and on handling incidents once they occurred. Members were committed to fighting bias without inviting altercations and to giving a voice to those who experienced it, including people with disabilities and members of the gay community.

In April 2023, Community Bridge Builders became a registered Village club.

“It really did feel like we all had given birth,” said Gilad, the club’s president. “Now we have already (260) members, and new applications are coming in daily. We are also becoming more and more inclusive with more applicants from different races and cultures.”

When Rebeca and Ami Gilad moved to Laguna Woods from Anaheim Hills almost a decade ago, they were resolved to contribute to the Village being a warm and welcoming place for everyone, including immigrants like themselves: Rebeca is from Mexico and Ami from Israel, both of Jewish heritage.

Rebeca Gilad was born in Mexico City in 1947, the third of four sisters. Her Jewish grandparents were Holocaust survivors who fled Poland, and her parents were Jewish kids who met in Mexico. While her grandparents spoke Yiddish, her mother was fluent in Russian, English and Spanish and worked as a translator.

Spanish was the home language, even though the sisters went to Jewish day schools.

“The kids outside did not mix much, and our nanny took me to (Catholic) Mass on the sly, threatening to leave us if I told,” Gilad recalled.

The memory of the Holocaust was ever-present.

“My mother did not know exactly where her family members died. It breaks my heart,” she said. “It is something that stays with you forever.”

What also has stayed with her is the taunting she endured by other children because of her Jewish heritage.

The constant that sustained her was dance.

“I remember dancing ever since I started to walk,” Gilad said. “I love Mexican folk dance and dance from other countries, musical theater, anything that keeps me moving.”

Gilad lived in Mexico until age 24 and got a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s in journalism. Working for a Jewish publication, she was sent to Israel, where she lived for four years and met Ami on a blind date.

They married in 1975 and moved to the United States, where she earned a master’s in health services administration and a doctorate in gerontology.

“I had lived in a house with three generations and was always interested in gerontology,” she explained. “I did not want to continue in journalism since I would be limited to Spanish-speaking journals. It was time to switch.”

Upon graduation, she received a federal grant to coordinate AIDS education programs in Hispanic communities in the U.S. and, later, through the Red Cross in Latin America.

“They needed someone to manage the Hispanic HIV/AIDS program in Latin America. Under my direction, we trained trainers from Mexico to Argentina,” she said.

Gilad said the combination of her ethnic, religious and family history and the suspicion and outright hatred directed at AIDS patients, derided as gays and prostitutes by many, fueled her fight against prejudice and bias.

“Racism, sexism have always been around me. I am passionate about having people understand how it affects other people,” she said. “Throughout my life, I was never one in a bunch. In Mexico, I was Jewish, in Israel I was a Mexican, and in the U.S. I am a Hispanic. … I am always an outsider.”

Gilad is outspoken about her pro-immigrant and inclusiveness views as several works of art and posters in her courtyard attest. She hosts a Village TV show called “Did You Know” that illuminates the Village’s diverse cultural communities.

Founding the Community Bridge Builders thus seems only natural.

“When first I saw a picture of the woman wearing a swastika (on a Village sidewalk), I thought it was a joke, and when I first met with Jewish leaders, some did not see a problem. But after the shooting at the Geneva Presbyterian Church, I started calling around,” she recalled.

Bishop Phillips, Laguna Woods City Council member Annie McCary and Sue Dearing, president of the Laguna Woods Democratic Club, are enthusiastic supporters of Gilad and her work.

“Social justice has been an important issue for Rebeca as long as I have known her,” Dearing said, listing Gilad’s participation in the Democratic Club’s African American committee and the club’s TV shows “Black in Laguna Woods” and “Did You Know?” along with its monthly “hate has no home here” rallies.

McCary participated with Gilad in several anti-hate rallies and describes her as passionate about being a good neighbor and treating people well. “Enthusiasm and passion are all bottled into one,” the councilwoman said.

Phillips sums up Gilad as a courageous and committed servant and leader.

“She leads and she serves,” he said. “When it comes to Rebeca, God has taken the reverse out of her transmission.”