JPAC's actions following the Colleyville hostage crisis

Dear Friends and Partners of JPAC,

It has been a challenging first two weeks as your new JPAC Executive Director. Yet another attack on worshippers at a synagogue has reignited our deepest fears as Jews.

During and immediately following the devastating hostage crisis at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas this Shabbat, JPAC leadership reached out to elected leaders across the state to brief them on the situation and urge them to speak out in support of our community. The outpouring of responses has been moving. Of course, just about all our Jewish legislators expressed sentiments, and countless non-Jewish state lawmakers and interfaith community leaders offered beautiful words of support. Here are some notable statements:

In total, over 30 state lawmakers put out statements of support.

Here is the complete list of statements from state lawmakers. We encourage you to thank all those who spoke up.

This tragic incident only underscores how important JPAC’s work is. We are the leading statewide organization advocating for policies that combat each stage in the evolution of hatred: education, preventing its spread, physical security, and community response.

Every Assemblymember and Senator in California has received a briefing of the situation from us. We emphasized the importance of relevant initiatives and policies that we continue to advocate for, including the California Nonprofit Security Grant Program, the Council on Holocaust and Genocide Education, the Commission on the State of Hate, budget requests supporting our Holocaust institutions, and hate crime legislation.

We also know that it was Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker’s security training – trainings led by our Federations – that ultimately saved his life and the lives of the two other remaining captives. We have been coordinating with the Jewish Caucus about their new Assembly Bill 1664 to allow nonprofit security grant funds to be used for security training.

Finally, I have been drawing inspiration from the outpouring of reverence for Rabbi Charlie as a vibrant bridge-builder. After the Tree of Life shooting in Pittsburgh, he wrote, “The love and support has to continue - not just for the Jewish community - for all of us. When it comes to hatred and violence, we all must stand together.” In his time of need, we saw the seeds of his radical inclusivity blossom into a vast network of love and support.

May we continue to follow Rabbi Charlie’s vision of intergroup bridge-building to ensure the safety and prosperity of Jews and all vulnerable people.

Thank you for being a part of this holy work.

With Love and Strength,

David Bocarsly

Executive Director, JPAC

On Behalf of Our JPAC Members

Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles

Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund

San Francisco Jewish Community Relations Council

Jewish Family and Children’s Services San Francisco

Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles

Hadassah Southern California

Jewish Family Services of San Diego

Jewish Federation of San Diego

Jewish Long Beach

Sacramento Jewish Community Relations Council

Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region

Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara

Jewish Silicon Valley

Anti-Defamation League

30 Years After

ETTA

Bet Tzedek

Orange County Jewish Federation

American Jewish Committee San Francisco

American Jewish Committee Los Angeles

Jewish Center for Justice

JVS SoCal

Jewish Family & Community Services East Bay

Jewish Family Services Silicon Valley

Holocaust Museum Los Angeles

Rhoda Goldman Plaza

And to our esteemed funder:

Koret Foundation

The Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California (JPAC) is the largest single-state coalition of Jewish organizations in the nation. Comprised of local Jewish Federations, Jewish Community Relations Councils, Jewish Family Service agencies, and other Jewish community organizations, we advocate for broadly shared values that affect the citizens of California.