By Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO– On as yet an unspecified date in March, the Jewish Caucus, now numbering nine legislators, formally will be welcomed by other caucuses as an official body of the California State Legislature, according to State Senator Marty Block, the San Diego Democrat who founded the new organization.
The Jewish Caucus has been meeting since last Fall, but the ceremony now being planned in Sacramento will enable the Latino Caucus, African-American Caucus, and Asian and Pacific Islander (API) Caucus to take official cognizance of another group of legislators who recognize that members of different ethnic groups confront different kinds of problems.
Jewish members of the Legislature also belong to the “Capitol Knesset” which brings together legislators, legislative aides, lobbyists, reporters, and members of the executive agencies of government who are interested in issues affecting the Jewish community. While meetings of the Capitol Knesset are addressed by speakers and are open to the public, those of the Jewish Caucus are closed to all except legislators and invited guests.
Block said Jewish legislators and some legislative allies have considered such issues in their caucus meetings as anti-Semitism on college campuses, the effort based in San Francisco to prohibit circumcisions, and the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel that is fostered by Palestinians and their allies. As a group, he added, Jewish legislators have been able to meet with important policy makers, including University of California President Janet Napolitano, who formerly served as U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security.
Although Jewish legislators had met together in the past on an ad hoc basis to deal with issues of common concern, Block said that establishing a formal Jewish Caucus entitles them to the same kind of legislative privileges that the other ethnic caucuses, as well as those for women and members of the LGBT community now have: the right to hire staff, to spend money in pursuit of legislative objectives, and to use state facilities for offices and meetings.
Having covered the Legislature as a reporter for many years, I recalled in an interview with Block that some of his Jewish predecessors in Sacramento had not wanted a formal organization because they felt that it might attract unwanted negative attention from anti-Semites.
In response, Block told me how when he was a teacher in Skokie, Illinois, some acquaintances had foreign accents and would avoid saying where they were from–whether it be Poland or Germany. They did their best to blend in as Americans, and not to call attention to themselves. Then, he said, a group of neo-Nazis decided that they wanted to march through Skokie to intimidate the survivors of various concentration camps. In response, he said, formerly quiet Jews organized themselves into groups representing the different concentration camps, some making it known that if the neo-Nazis came they would be met with physical resistance. The courts ruled the neo-Nazis had the right to march, but they decided not to do so, Block recalled.
The time for “flying under the radar” has passed, the state senator said. “I think our concerns in the caucus are every bit as valid as those of the other ethnic caucuses, and recognizing Jewish Californians is every bit as important as recognizing outstanding Asian, or African-American, or Latino Californians.”
Block said the impetus for creating the Capitol Knesset and later the Jewish Caucus was the state Assembly’s annual tradition of honoring Holocaust survivors from every district where they live. Put in charge of one such commemoration, Block said he wondered why there wasn’t a more formal structure.
Besides himself, he said, current members of the Jewish caucus are Senate President pro tempore Darrell Steinberg of Sacramento, who is the leader of the upper house of the Legislature; Senators Hannah Beth Jackson of Santa Barbara, Mark Leno of San Francisco, and Lois Wolk of Vallejo. Assembly members in the Caucus are Richard Bloom of Santa Monica (who is coordinating the formal legislative ceremonies recognizing the caucus); Marc Levine of Santa Rosa, Steve Fox of Palmdale, and Bonnie Lowenthal of Long Beach.
Being a group concerned with secular rather than religious matters, the Jewish Caucus is open to any legislator who declares himself or herself Jewish, Block said. There are no religious tests. In addition, for those legislators who feel a particular affinity for Jews, there are associate memberships. Among associate members are the Speaker of the Assembly John Perez of Los Angeles, Jose Medina of Perris “whose ex-wife is Jewish and is raising children Jewish;” and Adrin Nasarian of Van Nuys “who went on a trip with us to Israel,” that was sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles.
While all current members of the Jewish Caucus are Democrats, he said, that is only because Jewish Republicans who were in the Assembly two years ago either retired as in the case of Dr. Linda Halderman of Fresno, or left the Legislature following unsuccessful runs for higher office as in the case of Jeff Miller of Corona, who lost a bid to become a state Senator.
He said that the Jewish Caucus is non-partisan and does not become involved in election politics. In the event that caucus members want to aid Jewish candidates running for the Legislature, he said, they would do it through the Jewish Political Action Committee (JPAC) and not through the caucus.
Block said he anticipates that the Jewish Caucus will work closely with other caucuses on issues of common concern. He said given the historic experiences of many Jewish with barriers to immigration, he anticipated the caucus would work closely with Latino Caucus members on border and citizenship issues.
At the same time, the Jewish Caucus will seek allies on issue of importance to Jews. He recalled that at a recent Democratic National Convention, there was no Jewish group that had worked in favor of a plank in the party platform calling for recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. When the subject came up, a large number of delegates called out “nay,”–perhaps more than those who had voted “aye” in favor of the plank–but the chair of the platform session, then Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa called the vote as having been in favor.
Block said that the Jewish Caucus should provide leadership on Israel-related issues that come up at political conventions, and thereby make certain that people chairing such sessions are not embarrassed.
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Donald H. Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted at donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com