The largest collective voice of Bay Area Jews, working in pursuit of a more just world where Jewish identity is embraced and all people thrive.
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As we celebrate Sukkot, we wish a happy Mid-Autumn Festival to all who celebrate! 🏮🥮
The Mid-Autumn Festival often coincides with Sukkot, and this year, the two holidays once again overlap. Both traditions celebrate the harvest, gathering with loved ones, and gratitude.
JCRC sends warm wishes to our communities across the Bay Area and beyond.
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Chag Sukkot Sameach to all of our community members celebrating across the Bay Area and beyond!
Sukkot, the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles, is a seven-day holiday rooted in gratitude, harvest, and the reminder of life’s impermanence. From dwelling in the sukkah and gathering the four species to sharing meals and coming together in community, Sukkot is a time for Jews around to world to reflect and give thanks.
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JCRC Bay Area retweeted
✍️ Governor Newsom invited Jewish Caucus and Jewish California leaders to stand alongside him as he signed two landmark bills into law at the historic Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles.
AB 2664 (Bauer-Kahan), the Safe Worship Zone Act, protects congregants of every faith from harassment and intimidation outside their houses of worship, while safeguarding protest rights.
AB 1836 (Gabriel) expands nonprofit security grants to cover events in public spaces – menorah lightings, festivals, Pride celebrations, and more.
Standing in a sanctuary that has both opened its arms to the local community for over a century yet was victim to a hateful protest barring people from entry just this past year, it was a powerful reminder of why this work matters: every Californian deserves to gather and pray without fear.
Thank you to Governor Newsom, Assemblymembers Bauer-Kahan and Gabriel, our co-sponsors at ADL, JCRC Bay Area, Jewish Federation LA, and Equality California, and the dozens of organizations across faiths who got these bills across the finish line. #JewishCalifornia
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MAJOR NEWS: Governor Newsom has signed AB 2664, the Safe Worship Zone Act, into law!
AB 2664 establishes a 100-foot safe worship zone around houses of worship, helping ensure Californians can enter and exit without harassment, intimidation, or obstruction.
At a time of rising antisemitism and threats targeting religious communities, this new law is an important step toward protecting the right of every Californian to worship safely.
JCRC is proud to have proposed and championed this bill in light of violence and politically charged protests outside synagogues in recent years. We worked closely with author, Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, our partners at @Jewish_Cal and the @CAJewishCaucus, to ensure its passage and ultimate signing by the Governor.
And there’s more good news: @CAGovernor also signed AB 1836, authored by @AsmJesseGabriel, expanding the use of state nonprofit security grant funding to protect community events held in public spaces, including menorah lightings, Pride celebrations, cultural festivals, and other public gatherings.
Thank you to Assemblymembers Rebecca Bauer-Kahan and Jesse Gabriel, the California Legislative Jewish Caucus, Jewish California, and the thousands of community members who spoke out in support and helped make these victories possible.
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Read the Governor's press release on the signing of AB 2664 and AB 1836:
gov.ca.gov/2026/09/25/govern…
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What should Bay Area Jews know about the DSA and their political ambitions?
Learn more below ⬇️
What does the DSA actually want, and what does its rise mean for the Bay Area Jewish community?
From its political agenda to its explicit anti-Zionist organizing and candidate requirements, here are some key takeaways from our recent webinar.
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JOINT STATEMENT: Stanford Vandalism Case a Miscarriage of Justice
We are disappointed that prosecutors dismissed felony charges against the remaining defendants from June 2024’s break-in and vandalism at Stanford University. While we appreciated California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s decision to take responsibility for the prosecution following the court’s removal of Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen, the outcome of this case sends the troubling message that politically motivated destruction of property carries minimal legal consequences.
After more than two years of legal proceedings, the five defendants, who faced felony vandalism and conspiracy charges, will have all charges dismissed upon completion of 100 hours of community service each and will collectively pay restitution in an amount far lower than the property damage attributable to the incident.
We are also troubled that this court hearing, which has garnered great interest in the Jewish community, was held on Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. That a hearing so closely connected to debates over rising antisemitism was made inaccessible to many in the Jewish community demonstrates a lack of sensitivity and cultural competency.
We will continue to defend both the right to free speech and the principle that vandalism, intimidation, and harassment are not protected forms of protest. In a democracy, vigorous disagreement can flourish without allowing political causes to excuse unlawful conduct.
-JCRC Bay Area and Jewish Silicon Valley-
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G'mar Chatima Tova!
As we approach the holiest day of the year, we wish all a meaningful and easy fast this Yom Kippur.
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“We are taking that work in the Bay Area to a new level.”
From landmark K-12 legislation to new advocacy organizations and greater community engagement, the Bay Area Jewish community is building a stronger, more coordinated response to antisemitism.
Former JCRC Board President Michael Jacobs writes in @TimesofIsrael on what we’ve built, what it has delivered, and why the answer is strengthening our institutions, not dismantling them.
Read “Don’t Dismantle. Build.”:
blogs.timesofisrael.com/dont…
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SHANAH TOVAH! - HAPPY ROSH HASHANAH!
In the new year, let us come together with joy and purpose to celebrate the values that bind us. Together with our allies, we can ensure a welcoming Bay Area where Jews feel safe, confident, and proud to express their identity and deep connection to Israel. May the year ahead bring us rest and renewal.
Thank you for your friendship and support. ❤️
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Rabbi Shimon Margolin, executive director of the Russian-speaking Jewish Community of SF Bay Area, was subjected to an antisemitic rant at a San Francisco post office on Wednesday.
Fortunately, strangers waiting in line were quick to call out the hate.
JCRC condemns this horrible incident and thanks those who refused to stay silent when they witnessed antisemitism.
Read more about the incident: jweekly.com/2026/09/10/s-f-r…
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Twenty-five years ago, nearly 3,000 lives were tragically taken on the morning of September 11, a day that devastated thousands of families and changed the face of America forever. Today, we remember the victims, honor the courageous first responders, and hold in our hearts the survivors and families who have carried the weight of that day ever since.
In the days after the attacks, as our country grieved and struggled to comprehend the horror of what had happened, JCRC brought together Bay Area Jewish organizations to speak with one voice. We mourned the innocent lives taken and stood with a nation in shock, affirming that even in a moment of profound pain, hatred and bigotry could not be allowed to divide our communities or used to justify bigotry, harassment or violence against Arab or Muslim Americans.
Read JCRC’s consensus statement issued in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks: jcrc.org/blog/consensus-stat…
As we approach the High Holidays, a season of reflection and renewal, we carry those lessons with us and recommit ourselves to opposing terrorism, extremism, and hate in all their forms.
May the memory of those lost on September 11 be a blessing.
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The attacks on Santa Clara County DA @jeff_rosen claiming his Jewish faith disqualified him from impartially enforcing the law are another example of antisemitism and religious bigotry in our public discourse.
Writing as a Jewish rabbi and Muslim leader, @templesanjose’s Rabbi Dana Magat and @ing_org Executive Director @elgenaidi emphasize in a Mercury News op-ed that hate has no place in Silicon Valley.
Read more: mercurynews.com/2026/09/08/o…
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Join us on September 30 for Whole Selves: Mental Health, Antisemitism & LGBTQIA+ Life at the Crossroads, an evening of community and conversation with the Jewish Pride Fund.
We’ll bless the sukkah together, share a meal, and then sit with a panel of leading voices at the intersection of mental health, antisemitism, and LGBTQIA+ life — because right now, our community needs both joy and honesty in the same room.
Wednesday, September 30 | 6:00 - 8:30 p.m.
@jewishbayarea, 121 Steuart St.
Featuring:
• Dr. Joshua Simmons, Psychologist & Psychoanalyst
• Rabbi Eliana Kayelle, Bay Area Education & Training Manager, @keshetglbtjews
• Moderated by Dan Gonchar, Chair, Jewish Pride Fund
REGISTER: jewishfed.org/whole-selves-s…
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On Friday, JCRC hosted a Bay Area Educators Shabbat with the Jewish Affairs Caucus of the California Teachers Association, bringing Jewish public school educators together for an evening of community, connection, and learning.
Through JCRC’s Teachers United Bay Area (TUBA) initiative, educators gathered at JCC East Bay’s beautiful new Oakland space to braid challah, share Shabbat dinner, and learn more about the important work of the Jewish Affairs Caucus.
Thank you to everyone who joined us. We look forward to continuing to build this community and partnership!
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🚨 ACTION ALERT: AB 2664, the Safe Worship Zone Act, has passed the California Legislature and is now on @CAGovernor's desk.
The bill creates a 100-foot zone around houses of worship, helping ensure people of every faith can enter and leave without being surrounded or intimidated, while preserving the right to protest.
AB 2664 overcame organized opposition thanks to a broad interfaith coalition and tens of thousands of Californians who spoke out.
Now, we need your help to clear the final hurdle. Urge Governor Newsom to sign AB 2664 into law by September 30.
👉 TAKE ACTION NOW: tinyurl.com/SignAB2664
📄 AB 2664 Full Bill Text: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/f…
Want to help make an even bigger impact? SHARE this post and spread the word!
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JCRC was proud to sponsor last week’s Women’s Equality Day Luncheon, co-hosted by the Santa Clara County Office of Women’s Policy and the Commission on the Status of Women.
We were honored to join community leaders from across the region in celebrating the progress women have made and recommitting to the work still ahead.
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DON’T MISS OUT: Over 400 people have already registered for @BAjewishaction's upcoming webinar on the rise of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and what its growing political influence means for the Bay Area Jewish community.
Register today and join the conversation!
🔥 400+ PEOPLE ALREADY REGISTERED!
NEXT WEEK: Join BAJA and Jewish organizations from across Northern California for a conversation on the rise of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and what its growing political influence means for the Jewish community.
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We were proud to take to the streets of San Jose on Sunday with Jewish Silicon Valley and a joyous contingent of LGBTQ+ Jews and allies for the @PrideSV Parade!
From the cheers along the parade route to the many visitors who stopped by our festival booth, our message was clear: We are proud. We are Jewish. And we belong.
Through Proud & Jewish, JCRC brings together Jewish organizations, community leaders, and allies to celebrate Pride, affirm that LGBTQ+ Jews fully belong, and stand with the broader LGBTQ+ community.
Thank you to our incredible cosponsors for helping make this year’s celebration possible:
@boichikbagels
@CongBethAm
@bethdavidonline
Congregation Emeth
@KolEmeth
@CSHLG
Congregation Sinai Of San Jose
Jewish Family Services of Silicon Valley
@levimeirclancy Photography
@templesanjose
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