SACRAMENTO, California (Press Release) –After a historic year – including passing AB 715, California’s landmark antisemitism law – Jewish California is sponsoring an ambitious five bills in 2026. These bills protect our institutions, affirm who we are, and ensure that Jewish Californians and members of all minority faith communities can participate fully in public life.
Our broader policy agenda, complete with our social service and civil rights priority, will be announced soon.
Here is what we are fighting for, and how you can join us.
Assembly Bill 2664 by Assemblywoman Rabecca Bauer-Kahan:
Safe Worship Zones–Protecting safe access to synagogues and houses of worship.
Following a surge in protests and confrontations outside synagogues across California and the country – including high profile incidents at Wilshire Boulevard Temple and Adas Torah in Los Angeles – Assembly Bill 2664 (Bauer-Kahan) establishes a 100-foot safe worship zone around entrances to houses of worship. Modeled after laws consistently upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court and crafted with civil rights attorneys and district attorneys, this bill protects congregants’ safe access to their houses of worship while fully respecting constitutional protest rights.
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Assembly Bill 1836 by Assemblyman Jessie Gabriel
Nonprofit Security Grant Expansion. Expanding protection for our institutions – on-site and off
Many of our community’s most vulnerable moments happen off-site – public menorah lightings, festivals in the park, marches, and rented event space. Other at-risk communities also engage in public festivals, parades, and gatherings. California’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program funds physical security infrastructure, but currently only covers an organization’s fixed address. Assembly Bill 1836 (Gabriel) closes that gap, expanding eligibility to cover high-risk community events wherever they occur.
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Senate Bill 1387 by state Sen. Henry Stern
Jews as an Ethnicity — An honest recognition of who we are
Being Jewish is about more than religion – it’s culture, history, language, food, values, and community. We’re a peoplehood, an ethnicity! Yet California law and data systems don’t recognize that. They list us only as a religion, excluding the majority of Jews for whom religion is not a core to their Jewish identity. This leaves us undercounted in hate-crime reporting, student outcomes, and healthcare data. Senate Bill 1387 (Stern) changes that. It ensures that when ethnicity data is collected, Jewish identity is listed as an option. It creates no new program and changes nothing about our religious categorization. Simply an honest recognition of who we are – helping people better understand the diverse ways we engage with our Jewish identities and providing better data to shape policy for our community.
AB 395 by Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel
Equal Access to Civic Life. No Californian left out of civic and educational life
When a state agency holds a public meeting on the first two days of Passover, a university starts classes on Rosh Hashanah, or a high school has graduation on Shabbat, many observant Jews are quietly excluded from civic life. We’re not alone – Hindu, Muslim, and other religious minority communities face the same barriers. Assembly Bill 395 (Gabriel) requires that state agencies, local governments, universities, and K-12 schools make every reasonable effort to avoid scheduling public meetings or academic events on religious and cultural holidays.
Assembly Bill 1763 by Assemblyman Alex Lee
Religious Holiday Absences — No student should choose between faith and school
A student can take a mental health day or attend a cultural ceremony without prior approval – but an absence for Rosh Hashanah requires a written request and principal sign-off. Current law treats religious observance as a lesser category than medical appointments, grieving, or political events, all of which carry guaranteed excused absences that let students make up tests and assignments without penalty. A principal can deny the same protection for a religious holiday. Assembly Bill 1763 (Lee) corrects that inequity, guaranteeing excused absences for students of all faiths observing religious holidays – no paperwork required.
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In opposition to Assembly Bill 2159 by Assemblyman Robert Garcia
A Direct Attack on AB 715 – California’s Landmark Antisemitism Law
While we advance an agenda of equity and safety, there are those out there still fighting to chip away at our civil rights. We are opposing Assembly Bill 2159 (Garcia), which would gut AB 715 – our hard-won antisemitism law that passed with overwhelming support in the legislature last year and was upheld by a federal court in December. AB 2159 was introduced without any consultation with AB 715’s authors, the Legislative Jewish Caucus, or Jewish California. We are mobilizing the full force of our coalition to stop it.
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Preceding provided by Jewish California