JEWISH PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE OF CALIFORNIA WELCOMES GOV. NEWSOM’S GOLDEN STATE PLAN TO COUNTER ANTISEMITISM 

Plan provides roadmap to support and protect Jewish communities across California 

April 5, 2024

SACRAMENTO, CA — Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California (JPAC), the voice of California’s Jewish community to the state capitol, welcomes Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Golden State Plan to Counter Antisemitism, a whole-of-society plan announced today to address skyrocketing levels of hate, harassment, and discrimination against Jews across the state. 

The Golden State Plan serves as a roadmap to keep Jewish communities safe from discrimination and ensures Jewish inclusion in statewide education. Its key tenets include supporting and protecting Jewish communities, addressing and preventing antisemitism, uplifting Jewish heritage and building mutual understanding, and advancing equity and countering discrimination. 

In the aftermath of the October 7th Hamas attack and the ensuing rise in antisemitism, JPAC leadership met with Governor Newsom to highlight the ongoing antisemitism crisis in K-12 schools, universities, workplaces, and government buildings, and requested a statewide plan inspired by President Biden’s National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, released in May 2023. The Golden State Plan released today is the result of five months of collaboration between JPAC’s statewide coalition, California’s Legislative Jewish Caucus led by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel and Senator Scott Wiener, and the Governor’s office.

“We are deeply grateful to Governor Newsom for answering our call to develop this comprehensive Golden State Plan to Counter Antisemitism,” said David Bocarsly, executive director of JPAC. “Our community has experienced an onslaught of harassment and violence since October 7th – in schools, on campuses, online, and in the public square – that far surpasses the record levels of anti-Jewish hate already tormenting so many of us. With so much of Jewish communal life in California at stake, the Golden State Plan will help us reverse the normalization of rising antisemitism and make a material difference on the security of California’s Jewish community. We appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with Governor Newsom on this important initiative and make California a safer place for all.”

The need for statewide action combating antisemitism has never been more acute and comes at a time of intense anxiety about the future of Jewish life in California. Following the Hamas terror attacks in Israel, antisemitism has been rampant across California. This unprecedented rise has been seen in biased curriculums and antisemitic bullying in K-12 schools, Jewish college students being verbally and physically harassed, employees made to feel unsafe expressing their Jewish identity and views about Israel in the workplace, hateful rhetoric at city council meetings, graffiti and vandalism, and much more. In the five months following October 7, antisemitic incidents on California college campuses increased 2,000 percent compared to the same period a year earlier. 

Even before October 7, antisemitism was a serious issue in California. In 2022, anti-Jewish hate crimes accounted for over 60 percent of all reported hate crimes involving religious bias in California, despite Jewish people making up roughly three percent of the state’s population. 

JPAC is also working with the Legislative Jewish Caucus and other members of the legislature on an antisemitism bill package, which includes legislation to respond to antisemitism in K-12 schools and higher education, and to expand education about Jewish peoplehood, culture, and history of persecution. It also protects the physical security of the Jewish community, including through nonprofit security grants.

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Contact: David Bocarsly, JPAC Executive Director, david@jpac-cal.org