The California Legislative Jewish Caucus successfully shepherded four of its priority bills through the state legislature this year, and now the bills are waiting to be signed — or vetoed — by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The four bills are part of what the Jewish caucus called its “2024 Priority Bill Package.” Each successfully passed both houses of the legislature prior to adjournment on Aug. 31.
The bills aim to tamp down on harassment and intimidation on college campuses; require universities to incorporate antisemitism and other forms of hate into diversity, equity and inclusion trainings; penalize the distribution of threatening racist and antisemitic flyers; and establish a permanent program to train K-12 teachers on Holocaust and genocide education.
Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino), who co-chairs the Jewish caucus along with state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), said in a Sept. 6 statement that the bills’ passage was the result of an ongoing and concerted effort to protect Jewish students on campus, improve Holocaust education and address an alarming rise in statewide hate crimes, including those targeting Jews.
“In this difficult moment, the Jewish Caucus is proud to unapologetically stand up for our community and our values,” Gabriel said. “We are proud to be Jewish and to bring Jewish values into our public service. We look forward to continuing to partner with Governor Newsom, our colleagues in the Legislature, and community advocates to ensure that Californians of all faiths and backgrounds are safe and welcome in the Golden State.”
The Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California (JPAC), which represents more than 30 Jewish community groups in California, supported the passage of the bills, according to David Bocarsly, executive director of JPAC. This past spring, JPAC convened about 500 people at its annual conference in Sacramento to lobby legislators about the bills.
“We as a caucus were very grateful for the support and partnership of the community organizations involved,” Gabriel told J. in a phone interview.
The four bills also garnered backing from members of the state’s Latino, LGBTQ, Black, and Asian American and Pacific Islander caucuses.
Bocarsly expressed confidence that Newsom will sign the four pieces of legislation. The governor has until Sept. 30 to do so.
JPAC Executive Director David Bocarsly addresses the JPAC Capitol Summit in Sacramento, May 9-10, 2023. (Photo/Courtesy JPAC)
“Given his close relationship with the Jewish community and his strong condemnation of antisemitism in the aftermath of Oct. 7, we are optimistic he will sign them,” Bocarsly told J. in a phone interview.
Gabriel said the caucus is likewise “optimistic and hopeful” that Newsom will sign the bills.
According to Bocarsly, much of what’s included in the bills is a “manifestation” of Newsom’s “Golden State Plan to Counter Antisemitism” and thus has already been “implicitly, or explicitly, endorsed” by the governor. Introduced by Newsom’s office in April, the “Golden State Plan” outlines strategies for combating antisemitism, including through allocating nonprofit security grants for houses of worship and ensuring resources for the state’s Council for Holocaust and Genocide Education.
Members of the Jewish caucus, a group of 19 state legislators who advocate for issues of concern to the Jewish community, introduced the four bills.
State Sen. Steve Glazer (D-Orinda) authored SB 1287, the campus safety bill, in March. It aims to protect “free speech, academic freedom, and the free exchange of views” among college students at public colleges and universities while ensuring such exchanges “take place in a constructive environment of mutual respect.”
The original text of SB 1287 included a proposed ban on a “call for or support of genocide,” though the legislation was amended to remove that language.
Meanwhile, AB 2925, co-authored by Assemblymembers Laura Friedman (D-Burbank) and Josh Lowenthal (D-Long Beach), is focused on ensuring that campus anti-bias trainings address discrimination against groups that have been subject to the highest number of hate crimes — specifically the five-most targeted groups in California based on statistics compiled by the California Attorney General’s Office. As demonstrated by the office’s 2022 and 2023 reports, the top five most-targeted groups consistently includes Jews.
AB 3024, authored by Assemblymember Christopher Ward (D-San Diego), seeks to prevent the distribution of hateful flyers, posters and symbols that result in “terrorizing the owner or occupant of private property,” the bill’s text states.
SB 1277, authored by state Sen. Henry Stern (D-Calabasas), enshrines the Holocaust and Genocide Education Council as a statewide professional development program for teachers under the state Department of Education.
“These bills are a sign of our continued progress toward making California safer for Jews and for all marginalized communities,” Wiener said in a statement.
Jewish Caucus Co-Chairs State Sen. Scott Wiener (center) and Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel address the Jewish Public Affairs Council Capitol Summit in Sacramento, May 2023.
Despite its successes, the Jewish caucus faced some setbacks while promoting its agenda for the session. Bocarsly said groups including Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) opposed all the caucus’ priority bills, except for AB 3024, also known as the Stop Hate Littering Act.
“It wasn’t lost on us their top priority was trying to defeat our top priorities,” Bocarsly said. “We were quite surprised and dismayed there were groups opposing common-sense legislation.”
In the 11 months since Oct. 7 Hamas massacre, both JVP and CAIR have been vocally critical of Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Their actions have included organizing protests in the state Capitol.
Additionally, the caucus was unsuccessful in ensuring there be additional “guardrails” that prevent ethnic studies courses from veering into antisemitic or anti-Israel material. Ethnic studies will be a graduation requirement in California public high schools starting with the class of 2030.
The bill, AB 2918, which was authored by members of the Jewish caucus, sought to “strengthen disclosure requirements for approving ethnic studies courses and materials,” EdSource reported.
It was shelved “by the choice of the authors in order to have more conversations during the fall recess,” Bocarsly said. “It will be a whole new bill next session.”
He added, “We’re trying to ensure antisemitic and anti-Zionist content is not included in the ethnic studies curriculum. We know it’s a contentious issue.”