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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AntisemitismCanada In 2026, Tulsa And Panama Are Courting Canadian Jews As Antisemitism Redefines The Cost Of Staying As antisemitism reaches unprecedented levels across Canada, Jewish families and professionals are quietly reassessing their futures, and some are being actively courted elsewhere. Ron East By: Ron East December 31, 2025 SHARE A growing number of Canadian Jews are exploring relocation options A growing number of Canadian Jews are exploring relocation options as antisemitism intensifies and confidence in public protection erodes. (Image: Illustration.) TORONTO — For generations, Canada sold itself as a country where Jews could thrive without constantly looking over their shoulders. That assumption no longer holds for a growing number of Canadian Jews, particularly in the aftermath of October 7 and the months that followed. What has changed is not only the number of antisemitic incidents. It is the atmosphere. Public hostility has been normalized. Jewish schools, synagogues, and community centres operate under permanent security protocols. Anti-Jewish intimidation is increasingly framed as political expression. Enforcement is inconsistent. Accountability is rare. When Jewish life requires constant risk assessment, mobility stops being a luxury. It becomes a rational act of self-preservation. That reality helps explain why, in 2026, two very different destinations, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Panama, are appearing with growing frequency in serious conversations among Canadian Jews who have the means and flexibility to move. This is not a panic migration. It is a strategic recalculation. Canada’s new warning lights Jewish Canadians represent a small fraction of the population, yet account for a vastly disproportionate share of reported hate crimes. This is not a perception problem. It is a documented pattern. More troubling than the statistics themselves is the message many Jews hear in response: concern, sympathy, and context, but little deterrence. Protests that spill into harassment are tolerated. Jewish institutions are targeted repeatedly. Antisemitism disguised as antizionism is parsed endlessly rather than confronted directly. The result is a slow erosion of confidence in the state’s willingness or ability to enforce equal protection. When a community moves from assuming it belongs to hoping nothing happens today, the social contract has already been fractured. It is within this context that Tulsa and Panama are not merely attracting attention but actively courting. Lech Le’Tulsa and intentional Jewish welcome Tulsa is not presenting itself as a refuge city. It is presenting itself as a place that wants Jewish life to grow. In 2026, that effort has taken concrete form through Lech Le’Tulsa, a Jewish-focused relocation initiative designed to attract Jewish families, professionals, and entrepreneurs to the Tulsa area. The program combines relocation assistance with intentional community building and access to Jewish infrastructure. The name is deliberate. Lech Lecha, the biblical call to go forth and build a future, is not branding by accident. It speaks directly to a Jewish historical instinct that understands movement not as retreat, but as agency. Lech Le’Tulsa offers what many Canadian Jews increasingly feel is missing at home: A clear signal that Jewish presence is welcomed, not merely accommodated Immediate access to synagogues, schools, and Jewish communal life A civic environment where Jewish identity is not treated as a liability The financial incentives matter, but the social architecture matters more. Tulsa is offering a landing ramp. It is saying, we are prepared for you to arrive. That clarity stands in stark contrast to the ambiguity Canadian Jews experience when their safety concerns are acknowledged but endlessly deferred. Panama and the appeal of optionality Panama represents a different but equally rational response to insecurity. For Canadian Jews with international mobility, Panama offers residency pathways tied to investment, business activity, or long-term economic contribution. It also offers something increasingly valuable: optionality. Panama has an established Jewish community, a comparatively lower cost of living, and an immigration framework that openly courts skilled and capital-carrying residents. For some, it is a permanent relocation. For others, it is a second base, a contingency plan, or a future passport pathway. What matters is not the destination itself, but the logic behind the choice. When Jews seek second options, they are not rejecting diaspora life. They are applying historical lessons. Jewish continuity has always depended on redundancy, resilience, and the ability to move before crisis becomes catastrophe. The Zionist lens Canadians prefer to ignore Zionism does not deny the legitimacy of diaspora life. It insists that Jews must never be dependent on the goodwill of others for safety or equality. That lesson was written in blood long before the modern State of Israel existed. Israel institutionalized it at a national level. Individual Jews apply it on a personal level. When Canadian Jews explore Tulsa or Panama, they are not abandoning Canada in anger. They are responding rationally to warning signs. They are building leverage. They are ensuring their children have options. This is what Zionist consciousness looks like outside Israel. It is quiet, pragmatic, and unsentimental. An indictment Canada should take seriously Tulsa and Panama are not superior societies. They are intentional ones. Tulsa is saying, we want contributors, and we are prepared to integrate them. Panama is saying, we want residents and investment, and we have clear legal pathways. Canada, too often, is saying something else entirely: we are sorry you feel unsafe, but the politics are complicated. A serious country does not treat antisemitism as a public relations challenge. It treats it as a threat to civic order. That requires enforcement, deterrence, and moral clarity, including the willingness to name antisemitism even when it hides behind fashionable political language. Until that happens, Canada should not be surprised when Jews quietly explore exit ramps. The bottom line In 2026, the fact that Tulsa and Panama can plausibly court Canadian Jews is not an oddity. It is a warning. When antisemitism reaches levels that fundamentally alter how Jews calculate their futures, movement becomes strategy. History teaches Jews to act before apologies arrive too late. Canada still has time to reverse this trajectory. But time matters. And Jews, having learned this lesson repeatedly, are no longer inclined to wait.
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