Jewish California - formerly JPAC

10/01/2026

✍️ 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.

10/01/2026

✍️ 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.

10/01/2026

✍️ 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.

After N**i race theory, American Jewish leaders asked the government to count us only as a religion. It was an understandable attempt at self-preservation, and it didn’t work. Our community was mischaracterized and misunderstood, and we were left out of interethnic coalitions and the data that shapes policy.

Under this law, California’s hate crime, health, poverty and education data will reflect who Jewish Californians actually are. Participation is voluntary. All published data is aggregate. The law bars the data from being used to build a registry, or for law enforcement or immigration enforcement.

Most importantly, it lets us be seen as the diverse, complex people we are.

Thank you to Governor Newsom, Senator Henry Stern, the California Legislative Jewish Caucus, and the 59 Jewish organizations that stood behind this bill. It passed both houses without a single no vote.

Learn more: jewishcal.org/sb1387

09/28/2026

✍️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.

09/25/2026

✍️ 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.

09/16/2026

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 here!

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 across California for !

09/16/2026

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 here: https://youtu.be/oO2wq1KmllE

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 !

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09/15/2026

🔥 MUST WATCH 🔥

Don't miss this deeply inspiring Rosh Hashanah sermon from Rabbi Jacqueline Mates-Muchin of Temple Sinai, Oakland, highlighting the Jewish people's resilience from the time of Joseph to today – and how engagement with is a modern manifestation of that resilience.

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

09/01/2026

🚨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.