How do I view the security of Jews? I figure that as long as Jews are alienated both in Israel and other countries it is a flashing red light. Why all this alienation? Perhaps we will never know and perhaps we will know better. But obviously there are some people who have resentment or envy about Jews. They don't open the doors to healthy relationships enough. And this can seem like a two way street, but it is not. We all want to live in a better world, therefore better relations would be desired by everyone. The current situation probably came by a desire to exploit the opportunity to wage their own war against Jews by joining with Hamas and calling themselves pro-Palestinian. These are profiteers or scallywags essentially. As a Marin guy who knew some of Gavin when I was a kid, thanks: SACRAMENTO, CA — This afternoon, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that he was signing three of JPAC's top priority bills into law. These new laws counter campus antisemitism and expand Holocaust and genocide education in K-12 education. Governor Newsom Signs Major Campus Antisemitism & Holocaust Education Bills Into Law JPAC’s Top Priorities – AB 2925 (Friedman), SB 1287 (Glazer), and SB 1277 (Stern) – Will Take Effect January 1, 2025 September 28, 2024 SACRAMENTO, CA — This afternoon, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that he was signing three of JPAC’s top priority bills into law. These new laws counter campus antisemitism and expand Holocaust and genocide education in K-12 education. This announcement comes just days ahead of the Governor’s September 30th deadline to sign or veto bills. AB 2925, authored by Assemblymembers Laura Friedman and Josh Lowenthal, will mandate that California’s college campuses include the five most targeted groups in their trainings to combat and address discrimination. Currently most campus trainings do not teach about antisemitism at all or cover it inadequately relative to its prevalence. With the Jewish community consistently among the most targeted groups, this law ensures that antisemitism is included in campus anti-discrimination or Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) trainings. SB 1287 (by Senator Steve Glazer) requires college campuses to update and enforce provisions in their student codes to prevent instances of intimidation, harassment, and violence. The law also requires each system of higher education to develop training programs to educate students on civil discourse. SB 1277 (by Senator Henry Stern) makes the California Teachers Collaborative on Holocaust and Genocide Education an official state program. The Collaborative is led by the JFCS Holocaust Center in San Francisco and brings together 14 leading genocide education institutions across the state to create curriculum and training materials for K-12 teachers. It work will reach one million students by 2027, helping schools reach their Holocaust and genocide education mandates. All three of these bills faced fierce opposition from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP). However, they passed out the legislature with overwhelming, bipartisan majorities in both houses. JPAC led advocacy efforts throughout the legislative process – building a coalition of over 40 Jewish organizations – and organized over 3,500 letters to the Governor. These bills were also top priorities for the California Legislative Jewish Caucus. Earlier this year, JPAC and the Jewish Caucus secured from the state budget $160 million ($80 million annually for two years) for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program and $5 million to further the work of the Collaborative. “In a post October 7th world, our school and campus leaders need more tools to keep students safe and provide accessible educational opportunities for all,” said David Bocarsly, JPAC Executive Director. “This is true for both Jewish students and other targeted students. These bills meaningfully counter antisemitism and hate by creating greater empathy and understanding, and ensuring all students feel safe on their campus. We are incredibly grateful to our partners and champions in the Legislative Jewish Caucus, led by Assemblymember Gabriel and Senator Wiener, and we thank Governor Newsom for signing these bills into law.” JPAC is also supporting several dozen other bills. To date, 16 have been signed into law, and few others await his decision before Monday’s midnight deadline. Track the status of all of JPAC’s priority bills here. Unless stated otherwise in the bill, new laws take effect on January 1, 2025.

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Congress Should Pass Antisemitism Awareness Act Mackenzie France | RealClearWire Mar 14, 2025 Facebook Twitter Email Facebook Twitter Email Print Copy article link Save Much ink has already been spilled on the antisemitism crisis plaguing the United States. As the new Trump administration seeks to crack down on antisemitism on university campuses, Congress should finally pass legislation that treats the subject with the importance it deserves. Politicking by Sen. Chuck Schumer prevented the Antisemitism Awareness Act (AAA) from passing last December, largely due to fears over exposing a divide amongst senate Democrats. Now, there is a fresh opportunity for Congress to act after the bill was reintroduced in the House in February with bipartisan support. Senate Republicans and Democrats should show the same bipartisanship as their House colleagues and get this legislation over the line. The fundamental aim of the AAA is to force the Department of Education to use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism when enforcing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. In this way, the act would require schools receiving federal tax dollars to protect students adequately from antisemitic discrimination, lest they forfeit their funding. Despite an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote passing the AAA in the House (320-91), spurious misunderstandings and lies about what the bill would accomplish have abounded. From bizarre claims from some Republicans that the bill would “ban” some portions of the New Testament to hysteria from some far-left Democrats that the bill codifies special protections for Israel into U.S. law, the AAA is the victim of serious slander. The AAA does not criminalize any speech, even the most virulent antisemitism. Rather, it seeks to ensure that taxpayer-funded institutions protect their Jewish students from harm and discrimination just as they would for any other minority student group. The IHRA’s given examples of antisemitism have proven to be the chief cause of concern for opponents of the bill. For some progressives, the greatest concern is how these examples might be used to stifle legitimate criticism of Israel. Others have focused on free-speech concerns. Take a closer look at the examples themselves, though, and you’ll be left wondering what exactly these opponents are afraid they can no longer say. Sponsored Here's The Estimated Cost of a 1-day Gutter Guards Installation Here's The Estimated Cost of a 1-day Gutter Guards Installation LeafFilter Partner Prostate Pain? NASA's Bizarre "Zero Gravity Pee Protocol" Can Help [Watch] Prostate Pain? 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The AAA does not seek to do this, but rather to address the problem of taxpayer-funded institutions failing to protect their Jewish students and staff, a problem that is clearly rife today. Wilder objections from the likes of Marjorie Taylor Greene and Tucker Carlson – that the bill somehow bans or restricts the New Testament or that it could be used to persecute Christians – are farcical. Perhaps ironically, the fact that Taylor Greene seems to believe that the Jewish people were responsible for the crucifixion of Christ is evidence of the clear need for a bill addressing antisemitism in a straightforward way. The majority of opposition to the bill last time came from anti-Israel Democrats. It seems only natural to me, though, that any working definition of antisemitism would cover examples of how prejudice against the world’s only Jewish state can stray into antisemitism. The IHRA covers several specific examples of this, including comparing Israeli policy to that of Nazi Germany, using classic antisemitic symbols like the blood libel to criticize Israel, and denying the Jewish people their “right to self-determination” by calling for the destruction of Israel or by suggesting that Israel is in itself a racist pursuit. It also covers specific accusations against individual Jewish people that relate specifically to Israel, including accusations of “dual loyalty” or holding Jews worldwide responsible for the actions of the Israeli government. Daily headlines delivered to your inbox Get our free newsletter Your email Submit Opponents of IHRA often characterize these examples as incredibly broad and, therefore, a risk to free expression, when in fact the opposite is true. Where criticism of Israel is concerned, it’s a deliberate, conscious choice to compare the Jewish state to Nazi Germany. This is almost never done from ignorance, almost always from malice. There is a reason why Hamas uses terms like “Nazi Zionism” in its propaganda. It is deeply malicious to accuse Jews of inflicting or invoking the same evil that murdered 6 million of their own people in Europe. It’s generally a good idea to stay away from Nazi comparisons in any civilized political debate, but it should not be difficult to see why Nazi comparisons levied against Israel stray into antisemitism. There is also a convincing case as to why calls for the destruction of Israel, or the denial that a Jewish state could ever exist legitimately, is antisemitic. Firstly, only when criticizing Israel do calls for dissolution of the state itself appear. Even when criticizing the most murderous autocrats on the planet, whether it be President Putin or Ayatollah Khamenei, nobody calls for the dissolution of Russia or Iran. One can be the harshest critic of Netanyahu and his far-right coalition without calling for the total disestablishment of Israel (especially knowing what the consequences would bring). If the only country on earth you wish to see destroyed is coincidentally the world’s only Jewish state, ask yourself why IHRA might incorporate this into its definitions. Secondly, denying the right of the Jewish people to self-determination by claiming that Israel could never exist legitimately in any form, like the “racist endeavor” example found in IHRA, is nigh on indefensible. Much is rightly made in the international arena of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and, therefore, their eventual right to statehood. If an Israeli politician were to say that a Palestinian state in principle would always be illegitimate, there would rightly be outraged accusations of deeply irrational anti-Palestinianism. This is the exact same principle behind the self-determination example found in IHRA. The examples relating to Jewish individuals are even more clear cut. Accusations of dual loyalty and collective responsibility are tales as old as time. Of course, in matters of national security, it is perfectly legitimate for governments to be wary of any external loyalties of their employees, but when this noble aim turns inquisitorial against Jews, there is an antisemitism problem. Henry Kissinger famously declared to Golda Meir as she petitioned for support for Israel during the Yom Kippur war, “First I am an American, second I am Secretary of State, third I am a Jew.” I ask critics of the IHRA to reflect, if they are unsatisfied by this answer, whether they would feel differently if Mr. Kissinger had declared himself a Catholic last, or had a different ancestry. Passing the AAA will help to counter the current surge of antisemitism in the U.S. As the Republican administration seeks to ensure that college campuses and other federally funded institutions protect their Jewish populace, Congress has the chance to support that mission in a bipartisan way. Lawmakers should not hesitate.