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Sacramento, CA – Today, the California Legislature observed Holocaust Remembrance Day at the State Capitol and hosted ten Holocaust Survivors who shared their stories on the Assembly floor. The California Legislative Jewish Caucus also held a press conference attended by Governor Gavin Newsom, Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis, Senate Pro Tem Toni Atkins, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, leaders of the other ethnic caucuses, and other state legislators.
BY PATRICK MCGREEVY, PHIL WILLON - Los Angeles Times
Shocked by Saturday's mass shooting at the Chabad of Poway, Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed Monday to significantly increase funds for security at synagogues, mosques and other religious institutions in California that face threats of hate-motivated violence.
Newsom announced his support after the 14-member California Legislative Jewish Caucus made an urgent request for $15 million to be budgeted this year for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which only provided $500,000 last year...
“With the stark rise in hate-motivated violence, we must do more to secure gathering places to prevent future attacks, and educate people on the dangers of anti-Semitism and hate of all forms,” said Sen. Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica), chairman of the caucus.
BY SOPHIA BOLLAG - Sacramento Bee
Gov. Gavin Newsom, Senator Ben Allen and Assemblyman Jessie Gabriel are adding $15 million to a proposed budget to fund security at places of worship and nonprofit organizations at risk of hate-based violence...
The deadly shooting on the last day of the Jewish holiday Passover “shattered the illusion of safety” for religious people in the United States, said state Sen. Ben Allen, a Santa Monica Democrat who chairs of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus...
“We need more than thoughts and prayers to keep us safe from hate-motivated violence,” said Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel, a Los Angeles Democrat who authored a bill to fund security at nonprofits like synagogues.
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.