Newsroom
The California Legislative Jewish Caucus is committed to supporting the 200,000 Californians participating in the DACA program. We urge the President to rescind his inhumane and repulsive decision to target Dreamers. DACA participants are exemplary members of our society. They have overcome many obstacles to reach for the stars and are vital members of not only California but the entire United States.
California lawmakers said Tuesday that they plan to protect young adults whose immigration status is jeopardized by the end of the DACA program.
At news conference at the Capitol attended by more than 20 legislators, Senate Speaker Pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) said California should be "beacon of hope and opportunity."
“We’re not going to allow one single executive decision on DACA to reverse generations of progress at the height of our historic diversity, economic output and our sense of global responsibility," he said.
Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Campbell), chair of the Legislative LGBT Caucus, said Trump's other actions against Muslims and transgender service members don't show a commitment to diversity.
“Our president clearly wasn't held enough as a child," he said. "It’s important that we talk about how we embrace love.”
Assemblyman Marc Levine (D-San Rafael), chairman of the Legislative Jewish Caucus, called the President's decision "evil."
"He has lulled and lured young people to register with the government ... and then take that information and use it as a tool to deport them," Levine said. "That is ethnic cleansing."
Press Release
Chu’s Audit Request on Hate Crimes Approved by Committee
(SACRAMENTO, CA) – The Joint Legislative Audit Committee today voted to approve a statewide hate crime audit requested by Assemblymember Kansen Chu (D – Fremont), Chair of the Assembly Select Committee on Hate Crimes. The audit will gather data from three law enforcement agencies from each of the 80 Assembly Districts.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 18, 2017
CONTACT: Jerome Parra, (916) 319-2018, jerome.parra@asm.ca.gov
SACRAMENTO - Assemblymember Rob Bonta (D-Oakland) and Assemblymember Marc Levine (D-Marin and Sonoma Counties) issued the following statement on an incident of vandalism at the Temple Israel in Alameda:
The California Legislative Jewish Caucus condemns the violent and hateful message espoused by participants of the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Last weekend, white supremacist groups in Charlottesville took us back to the 1920s when a small group of people marched in Germany blaming Jews and immigrants for society's problems. Less than two decades later, Adolf Hitler's hateful ideology resulted in the Holocaust -- the targeted genocide of Europe's Jews, killing six million -- and the deaths of millions of others targeted because of their identity.
By Jacqui Irwin and Henry Stern
Ventura County is one of the best places in California to raise a family. From our epic coastline and pristine open spaces to our unwavering commitment to safe communities and top-notch schools, we are fortunate to call this region home.
But the recent racist, anti-faith and anti-immigrant activity in Ventura County has turned a spotlight on the uglier side of our region and presents us with a choice: to speak out or be silent.
(Sacramento) - The California Legislative Jewish Caucus condemns the outrageous death threats made by Imam Mahmoud Harmoush at the Islamic Center of Riverside and Imam Ammar Shahin at the Davis Islamic Center. While we appreciate that Imam Shahin apologized for his remarks, the call for the extermination of an entire group of people is morally repugnant. The Imams’ statements are harmful to the positive relationship the Muslim and Jewish communities have built in the United States.
Under prodding from the California Legislative Jewish Caucus, the California State University chancellor’s office says it will take a more active role in the often challenging plight of Jewish students at San Francisco State University.
The chancellor’s office has named a liaison to monitor the campus climate for Jewish students at SFSU, and CSU Chancellor Timothy P. White has committed to working with SFSU to create some sort of “statement of principles on intolerance,” state Assemblyman Marc Levine, chair of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus, said on July 14.
The California Legislative Jewish Caucus, founded in 2014, includes members of the California Senate and Assembly; it now stands at 16 members, with eight from each legislative body. The group’s goal is to “be a Jewish voice for justice, equality and progress” and to “serve as a resource to, and advocate on behalf of, the professional, educational, social, political and cultural concerns of the Jewish community.”
Other states, like California, are also considering legislation to enhance security at faith-based schools.
Assemblyman Marc Levine, a Marion County Democrat, has filed Assembly Bill 927, setting aside $10 million to provide security at faith-based schools in the state.
“The problem is that while most public schools can afford security to protect the children, faith-based schools do not have the same degree of funding,” Levine wrote in the Sacramento Bee alongside retired basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
If you saw a young child being attacked on the street, would you do something to stop it?
That’s a defining question to a person’s moral character. But it’s also a defining question for a community’s moral character: What are we willing to do to protect our children?