Newsroom
BY ADAM BEAM, DON THOMPSON - Associated Press
California’s Democratic governor vowed on Monday to spend $15 million for increased security at “soft targets” like the synagogue where a gunman opened fire over the weekend, killing one worshipper...
The California Legislative Jewish Caucus had requested it, calling for a 30-fold increase in a state program that last year spent $500,000 on grants to nonprofits organizations vulnerable to hate crimes...
California’s Jewish lawmakers want the state to spend much more on security guards, reinforced doors and gates, high-intensity lighting and alarms, and other security for vulnerable institutions. Those include Muslim, Sikh and other minority institutions, women’s health groups and LGBTQ organizations.
“The unfortunate reality is that even in houses of worship, thoughts and prayers won’t keep us safe,” said Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel, a Democrat from Encino and vice chairman of the caucus. “We need more than thoughts and prayers. We need real security and we need the state to step up and play a role in that.”...
“I think it is the most basic and fundamental obligation of government, to protect its citizens,” Gabriel said. “And after what we saw in Pittsburgh at the Tree of Life and after what we saw in New Zealand, we looked at that $500,000 and said, ‘This is insufficient.’”
BY ALEXEI KOSEFF - San Francisco Chronicle
Surrounded by two dozen lawmakers, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that his revised budget proposal will include $15 million for grants to nonprofit groups to improve security at buildings — such as mosques, synagogues, churches and LGBT community centers — that are frequented by people at risk of being attacked because of who they are or what they believe...
The California Legislative Jewish Caucus requested the funding increase this month, following an attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, that left 50 people dead and a shooting last fall in which 11 people were killed at a synagogue in Pittsburgh.
“I know it feels on some days like our world is unraveling, like every day we wake up and read about another act of hate-motivated violence. But we cannot accept this, we cannot accept this new normal,” said Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel, an Encino Democrat who is vice chair of the Jewish caucus.
USC Shoah Foundation has received a resolution from both houses of the California Legislature on Monday that commemorated the Institute’s 25th anniversary, the same day as an event at the State Capitol in honor Yom HaShoah, a day of remembrance for the 6 million Jews killed during the Holocaust...
Governor Gavin Newsom later stopped by a reception for the California Legislative Jewish Caucus and met Smith for a few minutes. Sen. Ben Allen, chairman of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus, stressed the importance of Holocaust education.
“Unfortunately, we are losing more and more of our teachers, our survivors, our martyrs every year,” he said. “That’s one of the reasons why taping their stories, recording their stories, remembering the victims, is such an important thing.”
Press Release
STATEMENT ON POWAY SYNAGOGUE SHOOTING
Sacramento, CA – The California Legislative Jewish Caucus released the following statement in response to the shooting at a Chabad synagogue in Poway, California:
"We are horrified to hear about a shooting at the Chabad in Poway on Shabbat. The news is still developing, but we know that one person was killed and several were injured, including a child.
BY MAYA MIRSKY - JWeekly
A number of Bay Area and Sacramento synagogues and Jewish institutions have received federal grants of up to $150,000 to defend against terror attacks, with monies allocated for training and infrastructure upgrades such as alarms, blast-resistant doors, shatterproof glass and other protections
The grants have become more relevant since last year’s deadly shooting at Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. “It has been a warning of what could come if we don’t protect institutions that might be targeted,” said Marc Levine, a member of the state Assembly for the North Bay...
Levine said the California Legislative Jewish Caucus has been promoting the grants and advocating for an increase in allocations. “We’ve been modestly successful the past few years,” said Levine, a caucus member. “But we know there has been a great need to grow this.”
BY DAN PINE, ARNO ROSENFELD- JWeekly
Speakers at the Mill Valley gathering included Assemblyman Marc Levine, ... who represents the North Bay and helped found the California Legislature’s Jewish caucus, noted that he had attended a church service in Marin City after the shooting at an African American church in South Carolina in 2015 and gone to a Shabbat service following the Pittsburgh massacre
Levine said that one way to help prevent future tragedies would be to provide state grants for security improvements at places of worship.
“White supremacy is a growing threat, and we have to do everything we can to make sure that threat is never realized.”
Press Release
STATEMENT ON CHRISTCHURCH SHOOTING
Sacramento, CA – The California Legislative Jewish Caucus released the following statement following the deadly mass shooting at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand:
“We are outraged and heartbroken—we mourn with the Christchurch Muslim community and Muslims worldwide. Forty-nine Muslims were senselessly murdered in their holy space on their holy day by a white supremacist terrorist. We know all too well that Friday’s attack isn’t just another incident a world away; it is an attack on Muslims everywhere, and on all who suffer at the hands of this hateful, extremist ideology.
Press Release
STATEMENT ON RECENT ANTI-SEMITIC INCIDENTS
Sacramento, CA – The California Legislative Jewish Caucus issued the following statement in response to recent anti-Semitic incidents and rhetoric:
“We are deeply troubled by acts of hate that have targeted Jewish communities and institutions across California in recent weeks, including incidents in Ojai, Orange County, the San Fernando Valley, downtown Los Angeles, and near the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust. These were separate incidents, but a clear sign that anti-Semitic acts are becoming far too common. This is unacceptable and requires a firm response.”
BY KEVIN MODESTI - San Gabriel Valley Tribune
They spent their childhood on both sides of the Mexican border, on both sides of U.S. immigration laws. Dad was a factory worker, mom a housekeeper. The family spoke little English. In high school, in the 1980s, when Blanca and Susan Rubio expressed interest in college, a high school counselor suggested they look instead at home-economics classes to get ready for marriage and children.
The Rubio sisters did not grow up imagining careers in elected office. “I used to believe you could only be in politics if you were related to a Kennedy,” Susan Rubio said recently.
What a difference education, persistence and a lot of teamwork can make. When Susan Rubio, a Democrat, defeated a more established Democrat in last November’s election for a state Senate seat representing the San Gabriel Valley, she and second-term Assemblywoman Blanca Rubio, also a Democrat, became the first sisters to serve together in the California Legislature...
In a surprise, the sisters recently discovered they have Jewish relatives on their mother’s side who came from Spain. They’ve become members of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus. “We’re Catholic, but I would love to know the (Jewish) traditions and participate,” Blanca said. “I have a lot of learning to do.”
Sacramento, CA – The California Department of Social Services awarded $3.6 million in grants to six Jewish Family Service agencies across California to provide support for elderly Holocaust Survivors struggling to live out their days in dignity. Last year, the California Legislative Jewish Caucus, led by then-Chair Assemblymember Marc Levine and then-Vice Chair Senator Ben Allen, was instrumental in securing the funding requested by the Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California (JPAC) in the 2018-2019 State Budget.