JPAC is now JEWISH CALIFORNIA – Our Voice in Sacramento. For more than 50 years, we’ve brought Jewish community institutions together to advocate statewide for safety, dignity, and shared values. As antisemitism and hate rise, Jewish organizations face increased threats, and the services that support our most vulnerable neighbors are increasingly at risk. In this moment, clarity about who we are and how we show up has never mattered more. JEWISH CALIFORNIA reflects who we are today: the nation’s largest statewide coalition of Jewish organizations, speaking with one unified voice. We’re proud to enter this next chapter. Learn more: jewishcal.org

✍️ Governor Newsom just signed AB 1763 (Lee) into law! California students will now get a guaranteed excused absence for a religious holiday – rather than requiring principal approval – aligning it with standards for illness, mental health, and cultural or civic events. Thank you to Governor Newsom, Assemblymember Lee, and the 59 Jewish organizations in support for standing up for every student’s right to observe their faith. #JewishCalifornia

✍️ Governor Newsom just signed AB 395 (Gabriel), making it California law! K-12 schools, colleges, and state agencies must now avoid scheduling major events on religious holidays – and the state has officially recognized Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Passover, and other faiths’ holidays in law for the first time. Thank you to Governor Newsom, Assemblymember Gabriel, and the 62 Jewish organizations for seeing this through. #JewishCalifornia

✍️ HISTORY MADE: SB 1387 (Stern) is now California law. Governor Newsom just signed our bill to make California the first state in the nation to recognize Jewish identity as an ethnicity in law. Hate crime, health, poverty and education data will count Jewish Californians, and we'll be seen as the diverse, complex people we are. Learn more: jewishcal.org/sb1387 #JewishCalifornia

✍️Governor Newsom just signed AB 1853 (Pellerin, Berman) into law! California can now ensure hateful content doesn’t appear in official voter guides. Thank you to Governor Newsom, Assemblymember Pellerin, Assemblymember Berman, and the 54 Jewish organizations in support for helping to make this law. #JewishCalifornia

✍️ Governor Newsom invited Jewish Caucus and Jewish California leaders to stand alongside him as he signed two landmark bills into law at the historic Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles. AB 2664 (Bauer-Kahan), the Safe Worship Zone Act, protects congregants of every faith from harassment and intimidation outside their houses of worship, while safeguarding protest rights. AB 1836 (Gabriel) expands nonprofit security grants to cover events in public spaces – menorah lightings, festivals, Pride celebrations, and more. Standing in a sanctuary that has both opened its arms to the local community for over a century yet was victim to a hateful protest barring people from entry just this past year, it was a powerful reminder of why this work matters: every Californian deserves to gather and pray without fear. Thank you to Governor Newsom, Assemblymembers Bauer-Kahan and Gabriel, our co-sponsors at ADL, JCRC Bay Area, Jewish Federation LA, and Equality California, and the dozens of organizations across faiths who got these bills across the finish line. #JewishCalifornia

Earlier this year, Rabbi Joel Nickerson gave powerful testimony to a key Assembly committee about the need for Safe Worship Zones. Because of his voice and nearly a thousand others who traveled to Sacramento to lobby state lawmakers, AB 2664 now sits on the Governor's desk. Rabbi Nickerson shared about the power of raising your voice in Sacramento over Rosh Hashanah this year. Watch his remarks 👇 And then mark your calendars for May 3-4, 2027 to be in Sacramento with Rabbi Nickerson, Wilshire Boulevard Temple, and Jewish community members and allies from across California for #JewishCalifornia #CapitolSummit!

🔥 MUST WATCH 🔥 Don't miss this deeply inspiring Rosh Hashanah sermon from Rabbi Jacqueline Mates-Muchin of @oaklandsinai – highlighting the Jewish people's resilience from the time of Joseph to today – and how engagement with #JewishCalifornia is a modern manifestation of that resilience Full video at youtu.be/CKHiupPE7h0

🚨 HISTORIC: The CA Legislature just passed SB 1387 (Stern)! The bill passed the Assembly 62-0, with 17 abstentions, and the Senate 38-0, with 2 abstentions. California is now on the verge of becoming the first state in the nation to recognize Jewish identity as an ethnicity in law. Thank you to Senator Stern for authoring this bill. The bill now heads to Governor Newsom, who has until September 30 to sign it into law. #JewishCalifornia

🎉 The Safe Worship Zone Act just passed the CA Legislature and heads to the Governor’s desk! AB 2664 (Bauer-Kahan) protects every Californian’s right to enter their house of worship without intimidation or harassment. The bill passed the Senate 34-0, with 6 abstentions, and just passed the Assembly 49-2, with 28 abstentions (which may update slightly by day’s end). Thank you to Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan for authoring this critical bill. Governor Newsom has until September 30 to sign this bill into law. #JewishCalifornia

AB 1853 (Pellerin, Berman) – barring hate speech in CA voter guides – has passed the CA Legislature and heads to the Governor’s desk! The final vote count in the Senate was 32-0, with 8 abstentions, and the current Assembly vote is 47-9, with 23 abstentions (which may update slightly by day’s end). 🎉 Thank you to Assemblymember Pellerin and Assemblymember Berman for championing this bill. Governor Newsom has until September 30 to sign this bill into law. #JewishCalifornia

AB 395 (Gabriel) just passed the California Legislature, and is on its way to the Governor’s desk! 🎉 If signed into law, schools, universities, and state agencies must avoid scheduling finals, graduations, city council meetings, and other major events on religious holidays. 🔥It also codifies Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Passover and other faiths' holidays in state law for the first time. The bill passed the Senate unanimously, and the current Assembly vote is 63-0, with 17 abstentions (which may update slightly by day's end). Thank you to Assemblymember Gabriel, and the 61 Jewish organizations in support for helping us get here. Governor Newsom has until September 30 to sign this bill into law. #JewishCalifornia

AB 1836 (Gabriel) just passed the California Legislature, and now heads to the Governor! 🎉 We’re one step away from expanding the security grant program to ensure menorah lightings, festivals, Pride celebrations, and other events in public spaces remain protected. The bill passed the Senate unanimously, and the current Assembly vote is 67-0, with 13 abstentions (it may update slightly by end of day). Thank you to Assemblymember Gabriel, our co-sponsors at Equality California, and the 59 organizations in support who made this possible. Governor Newsom has until September 30 to sign this bill into law. #JewishCalifornia

🚨 The CA Senate just passed AB 2664 (Bauer-Kahan), the Safe Worship Zone Act, 33-0, with 7 abstentions! This bill protects protest rights while also ensuring every Californian can enter their house of worship without intimidation or harassment. Thank you Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan and Senator Becker for your leadership! Next stop: Assembly Floor to approve the amendments made in the Senate. #JewishCalifornia

David Bocarsly, CEO of Jewish California, and Senator Henry Stern, author of SB 1387, cowrote this op-ed in Newsweek. SB 1387 codifies that Jewish identity is an ethnicity – in addition to a religion – and ensures it is captured when the state collects ethnicity data. @HenrySternCA @davidbocarsly newsweek.com/you-dont-have-t…