JPAC Policy Framework
JPAC’s policy framework – developed in collaboration with all JPAC members – is based on the Jewish community’s core values and will guide JPAC’s work into the future:
Ensure the safety and security of the Jewish community and religious institutions
Ensure older adults age with dignity and with an enhanced quality of life, including directed support for Holocaust Survivors
Sustain services and programs to assist our most vulnerable populations, including children and youth, low-income families, immigrants, and survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking, and to protect our environment
Maintain a strong California-Israel relationship
Combat antisemitism and hate
See below for more specific explanations for each of these priority areas.
Ensure the safety and security of the Jewish community and religious institutions
- Advocate for permanent State funding of the California State Nonprofit Security Grant Program, with a dedicated funding stream to address the security needs of high-risk non-profits and faith-based organizations.
- Support funding for disaster relief and rebuilding initiatives for Jewish community institutions, disaster preparedness training, coordinated response systems, etc.
Ensure older adults age with dignity and with an enhanced quality of life, including directed support for Holocaust Survivors
- Support Holocaust Survivors through California’s Holocaust Survivors Assistance Program and other efforts that allow them to age with dignity.
- Advocate for home and community-based services including senior transportation, nutrition, and other programs (i.e., MSSP and CBAS) that promote healthy aging-in- place and reduce social isolation.
- Promote elder justice, protecting older adults from physical abuse and financial exploitation.
Sustain services and programs to assist our most vulnerable populations, including children and youth, low-income families, immigrants, and survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking, and to protect our environment
- Promote policies to reduce food insecurity and hunger, and strengthen child nutrition programs.
- Advocate for resources that alleviate poverty for low-income Californians through such programs as CalWorks, SSI/SSP, earned income tax credits, publicly funded childcare programs, etc.
- Promote access to healthcare across the lifespan, including mental health care services.
- Empower survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking to obtain economic self-sufficiency and safety for themselves and their family members.
- Promote policies that address climate change and environmental justice.
Maintain a strong California-Israel relationship
- Encourage and foster cooperation – at the State level and among citizens – between the State of Israel and the State of California through the promotion and development of trade, culture and educational exchanges.
- Combat campaigns to delegitimize and demonize Israel, including the Boycott Divestment Sanctions Movement (BDS).
Combat antisemitism and hate
- Combat antisemitism and other forms of hate and discrimination, including bias based on race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or immigration status.
- Secure funding and other forms of support for programs and state policies that advance Holocaust education and anti-bias/anti-hate education in our State’s public schools, colleges and universities.
- Strengthen and promote hate crime laws and enforcement.