CA’s Newsom touts plan to fight antisemitism
The governor of California, Gavin Newsom, on Friday, released The Golden State Plan To Counter Antisemitism, a report that illustrates action items the governor plans to take, to combat this form of hate in his state, which has skyrocketed since October 7.
The plan highlights four strategies: increasing security for Jewish communities; taking preventative measures against antisemitism and all hate and violence; uplifting Jewish heritage building tolerance’ and advancing equity across society.
This plan is part of California’s anti-hate agenda, which was designed in response to rising hatred against a variety of minority communities in the state, including Asian Americans, Black Americans, Latinos, Arab Americans, LGBTQ+ individuals, and religious minorities, including acts of antisemitism and Islamophobia, among others.
While the report does discuss combating antisemitism, it also outlines how the administration will fight all forms of hate across California. Many of the action items designed to combat antisemitism are also intended to combat Islamophobia and hatred of Arab Americans. According to the report, while Jewish people are only 3% of California’s population, antisemitic hate crimes make up 62.4% of all reported hate crimes involving religious bias in the state in 2022.
According to the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, which has tracked antisemitic incidents in the United States since 1979, a record high of 3,697 incidents was reached in
2022. In California, antisemitic incidents increased by 24.3% from 152 in 2021 to 189 in 2022, according to the report. Violence and threats in the state have escalated since the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7.
The California legislature and governor have doubled available state funding to $40 million in 2024 for security grants to ensure safety at religious institutions. The funding also aims to prevent acts of hate and antisemitism. Newsom and the legislature also increased penalties for hate symbols. Additionally, California will invest $150 million to support survivors of hate crimes.
To combat hate through education,
California’s administration has created new resources for the statewide CA vs Hate campaign, the expansion of ethnic studies and the creation of an inclusive ethnic studies curriculum, and the Governor’s Council for Holocaust and Genocide education. The governor also issued an Executive Order directing government agencies to include equity in their operations, budget, and plans to serve all Californians, particularly those who have been historically discriminated against.
The Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California (JPAC) praised the plan.
“We are deeply grateful to Gov. 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,” Bocarsly said.
He concluded, “With the future of Jewish communal life in California at stake, the Golden State Plan will help us reverse the normalization of this nightmare and make a material difference in the security of California’s Jewish community. We appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with Gov. Newsom on this important initiative, and make California a safer place for all.”
After the Hamas attack on October 7 and the ensuing rise in antisemitism, JPAC leadership met with Newsom to highlight the ongoing antisemitism crisis in K-12 schools, universities, workplaces, and government buildings and requested a statewide plan inspired by President Joe Biden’s National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, released in May 2023.
According to JPAC, the plan is the culmination of five months of collaboration between JPAC’s statewide coalition, California’s Legislative Jewish Caucus led by Assembly member Jesse Gabriel, Sen. Scott Wiener, and the Governor’s Office.
In the five months following October 7, antisemitic incidents on California college campuses increased 2,000% compared to the same period a year earlier, according to JPAC.