Bipartisan Senate bill would bring security grants for houses of worship up to $1 billion, expand Jew-hatred response The new measure “addresses all of these forms of hate in one comprehensive bill and serves to be enacted by Congress as soon as possible,” stated Rabbi A.D. Motzen, of Agudah. May 19, 2026 Mike Wagenheim Republish Email CopyLink copied Print Jacky Rosen Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) speaks a a Jewish Federations of North America press conference in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing room in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, May 19, 2026. Photo by Andrew Bernard. ( May 19, 2026 / JNS ) Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) and James Lankford (R-Okla.), co-chairs of the Senate task force on fighting Jew-hatred, introduced the Jewish American Security Act, which would increase security funding for houses of worship, on Tuesday. If passed, the bill would raise Nonprofit Security Grant Program funding to $1 billion amid growing security needs, in the wake of violent, antisemitic acts across the country, which have left some communities vulnerable, including at Jewish community centers, day schools and nonprofits. All religious institutions are eligible for the funding. “Jewish Americans are being targeted, attacked and killed simply because of who they are,” Rosen stated. “This alarming trend demands a comprehensive, bipartisan approach that addresses both the seeds and the impacts of this vile hatred.” “From social media to college campuses, we’ve seen how this bigotry manifests into real-world violence against Jews,” she added. “That’s why we must take concrete steps to understand the extent of antisemitism, both online and offline, and ensure that Jewish communities have access to robust security resources and government protections.” Lankford lamented that U.S. Jews “have faced an unprecedented surge in antisemitism—Jewish students targeted on campuses, synagogues vandalized, people attacked in the streets simply for their faith.” “That is not who we are as a nation,” he stated. “We unequivocally condemn antisemitism in all its forms. Every American deserves to live their faith freely, and that is worth fighting for.” Dan Goldman Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) speaks a a Jewish Federations of North America press conference in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing room in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, May 19, 2026. Photo by Andrew Bernard. The Anti-Defamation League stated that the legislation comes at a pivotal time, with its data showing a record-high 203 antisemitic assaults against American Jews last year. More than 30 of those incidents involved a deadly weapon, and three people were killed. Antisemitic incidents were recorded at a daily rate of 17, more than twice the average between 2020 and 2022. College campus Jew-hatred dropped slightly from 2024 but remained above historical trends. Nathan Diament, executive director of the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center, stated that the OU “strongly supports the Jewish American Security Act.” “The unprecedented wave of antisemitism demands an unprecedented response by our government, including $1 billion for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program that helps religious nonprofits protect their communal buildings,” he said. The new bill would require every regional civil rights office at the U.S. Education Department to provide five years of annual anti-discrimination training to federally funded recipients. It would also be called upon to launch a public awareness campaign explaining students’ rights and schools’ responsibilities under federal non-discrimination law, in Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. It would also create a dedicated Jew-hatred coordinator at the Education Department and other proactive measures for addressing antisemitism in K-12 schools. The legislation authorizes the U.S. Justice Department to award grants to state and local law enforcement for increased protective patrols of religious institutions and for security training. Social media platforms with at least 50 million active monthly U.S. users would be required to publish public, biannual transparency reports to the Federal Trade Commission, detailing their moderation practices and approaches to antisemitic content. An annual congressional report promoting policy recommendations and identifying trends on the connection between online Jew-hatred and real-world violence would also be mandated. Members and officials from synagogues affected by terror attacks attended a press conference with Rosen to introduce the bill. Among them were Jen Lader, senior rabbi at Temple Israel of West Bloomfield, Mich., which was attacked by a Hezbollah-inspired terrorist in March. Zach Shemper, president of the Beth Israel Congregation of Jackson, Miss., which was set on fire in an attack in January, also attended. Agudath Israel of America, which represents Charedim, among the most visible Jews and therefore the most targeted, endorsed the bill. “Jewish Americans face antisemitism wherever they turn: at school, at synagogue and even at home, thanks to the cesspool of unabashed antisemitism that is growing exponentially online,” stated Rabbi A.D. Motzen, national Agudah director of government affairs. The new measure “addresses all of these forms of hate in one comprehensive bill and serves to be enacted by Congress as soon as possible,” he stated. Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee, endorsed the legislation. “We are at an inflection point. Surging antisemitism is not just a threat to the Jewish community,” he stated. “It is a crisis for our democracy and the values we cherish as Americans: pluralism, religious freedom and the promise of equal protection.” Reps. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) and Chris Smith (R-N.J.) are expected to introduce companion legislation in the House. Email CopyLink copied
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Any interesting things in berkeley talk concerning free speech Thought for 9s The most recent flashpoint is a virtual talk UC Berkeley’s Students for Justice in Palestine hosted on the evening of October 7, 2026, titled “Al-Aqsa Flood Anniversary Talks.” Speaker Mohamed Abdou (author of Islam and Anarchism, formerly at Columbia, and on a virtual “Death to the Akademy” tour) spoke to roughly 25 people.Abdou described the third anniversary of Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack—which the group itself calls Operation Al-Aqsa Flood—as “one of the most glorious days.” He linked U.S. settlement and Indigenous history to the Palestinian cause, argued students are complicit by attending universities built on “stolen land,” and said: “There is no free Palestine until a free Turtle Island. That means destroying it.” He has previously written that he was “with the muqawamah (the resistance) be it Hamas and Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad but up to a point.” Coverage and criticism also cite earlier remarks attributed to him telling students to “be proud of your hate for America.”Jewish student groups and organizations including the Jewish Student Union, AMCHA Initiative, and Combat Antisemitism Movement called the framing of the attack immoral or dangerous and asked the campus to deny him a platform. AMCHA explicitly said the event involved free speech, which it supports, while still flagging the rhetoric. UC Berkeley spokesperson Dan Mogulof replied that the First Amendment protects the expression, while speech that constitutes harassment or discrimination on a protected category is not protected.That same day, Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky gave his annual Supreme Court talk at the Berkeley City Club. It included discussion of his recent book with UC Irvine Chancellor Howard Gillman, Campus Speech and Academic Freedom: A Guide for Difficult Times, which addresses protest rules, disruption, and government pressure on faculty speech after the Gaza war. In an August 2026 message to the law school, Chemerinsky restated an all-comers policy for student groups, time-place-manner limits, and the view that even protected speech can trigger institutional duties if it creates a hostile environment, while disruption of events will not be tolerated.
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A veteran is a person who served in the active military, naval, air, or space service and was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable.Military DefinitionService: Full-time duty in a branch of the Armed Forces (such as the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard).Discharge: Separation from service under honorable conditions, meaning it was not a dishonorable discharge.Combat: Combat experience is not required to be a veteran; anyone who completed their required service time is included.Reserves and National Guard: Members of these branches qualify if they were called to federal active duty by presidential order.General DefinitionThe word also means a person who has long experience or a lot of skill in a specific job, field, or activity (such as a "political veteran").
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Gov. Gavin Newsom targets antisemitism in California schools with new law In signing the law, Newsom rebuffed objections from the state's main teachers union and others. Gavin Newsom sits with students in elementary school classroom. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a measure aiming to clamp down on antisemitism in schools on Tuesday. | Rich Pedroncelli/AP By Eric He 10/07/2025 04:06 PM EDT Updated: 10/07/2025 08:08 PM EDT Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday signed into law a controversial bill that aims to clamp down on antisemitism in schools, shrugging off objections by a powerful teachers union and others that it will restrict what teachers can say about Israel’s war in Gaza and other hot button topics. The bill, AB 715, cleared both chambers of the Legislature unanimously in votes that belied the tensions leading up to its passage in the final hours of legislative session earlier this month. During a last-minute hearing to debate the bill, the chair of an Assembly committee vented he was being forced to “choose between fighting antisemitism and supporting a bad policy bill that is opposed by every single education advocacy organization.” 00:00 02:00 Read More Newsom rejected such concerns and was unswayed by opposition from the California Teachers Association, a major force in state politics. He sided instead with the Jewish Legislative Caucus and leading Jewish organizations such as Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California, which had made the measure their only legislative priority for the year. In pushing for the bill, the groups cited a surge in antisemitic incidents in California and members recounted their own experiences, particularly amid the turmoil in the Middle East following Hamas’ attack on Israel two years ago. Tuesday marked the second anniversary of the attack. “At a time when antisemitism and bigotry are rising nationwide and globally, these laws make clear: our schools must be places of learning, not hate,” Newsom said in a statement. Much of the requirements in the law, which takes effect on January 1, are open to interpretation. Teachers must be “factually accurate” in lessons and adhere to unspecified “standards of professional responsibility,” while avoiding “advocacy, personal opinion, bias or partisanship.” It also creates an Office of Civil Rights within a state agency, which will include an “antisemitism prevention coordinator” to consult with school districts and advise lawmakers on preventing antisemitism in schools. Newsom on Tuesday also signed SB 48, a companion bill that creates four additional coordinator positions meant to guard against discrimination based on someone’s religious beliefs, race and ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation. The coordinator positions were part of a late deal the Jewish caucus made with other diversity caucuses, whose members objected to a bill focusing only on antisemitism. The two measures were contingent on the other passing. Despite that agreement, education groups, the American Civil Liberties Union, and other groups still urged Newsom to veto the bill. The ACLU, in a letter to the governor, claimed the measure contains “vague and overbroad provisions” that will restrict curriculum that is inclusive and historically relevant, create a chilling effect on students and teachers and invite lawsuits. The Council on American-Islamic Relations blasted the bill in a letter to Newsom as “especially harmful to the mental and emotional well-being of Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim youth,” saying AB 715 rendered their stories “invisible and even punishable, deepening feelings of isolation and alienation at a time when they most need affirmation and inclusion.” In a public message to the legislature explaining his decision to sign the law, Newsom called for follow-up legislation next year to address those concerns, noting that “representatives from the entire education ecosystem ... expressed deep commitment to the goals of the bill, along with urgent concerns about unintended consequences.” “Public schools play a foundational role in our democracy, and we must continue to make our schools safe learning environments for all students while fostering critical thinking skills in the context of challenging conversations,” Newsom said. David Goldberg, president of the California Teachers Association, highlighted Newsom’s comments on unintended consequences, calling them “significant.” “At a time when too many are seeking to attack academic freedom and weaponize public education, AB 715 would unfortunately arm ill-intentioned people with the ability to do so,” Goldberg said. Democratic Assemblymembers Rick Chavez Zbur and Dawn Addis, introduced the antisemitism measure in July after an earlier piece of legislation, which would have placed tight guardrails on curriculum for ethnic studies classes, was knocked down by the teachers union and other education groups. To drum up needed support for AB 715, Zbur and Addis agreed to major amendments during the last week of the legislative session, including the removal of language on what constitutes an “antisemitic learning environment.” David Bocarsly, executive director of JPAC, called the signing a “historic day for California’s Jewish community and for every child who has ever felt unsafe, unseen, or unwelcome at school.” “By signing AB 715, Governor Newsom has sent a clear and powerful message: antisemitism, like all forms of hate, has no place in our public schools, period,” Bocarsly said. “This law is more than policy – it is a promise that Jewish children, their families, and all students, deserve a great public education and classrooms free from hate and discrimination.” Watch: The Conversation Play Video1:40 Kevin O'Leary: US stake in Intel is 'waste of taxpayer dollars' Filed Under: California
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