FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: FLEXING THEIR MUSCLE — The state’s largest coalition of Jewish community groups is relaunching today, with a new name and larger public presence.

​

Jewish California is now the official title for the organization formerly known as Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California, or JPAC. Organizers said the title is meant to reflect the group’s role as a clearinghouse for the community’s statewide civic aims, including countering antisemitism — and to dispel a misconception about its name.

 

The change comes as the group has increasingly faced attacks from progressive groups, including over its support last year for legislation to combat antisemitism in schools.

​

“In moments like this, communities either retreat or organize. And we’re organizing,” said David Bocarsly, Jewish California’s president. “For generations, much of the Jewish community has moderated its voice … We’re no longer willing to make ourselves smaller out of fear.”

 

He said the organization is preparing to host its largest-ever Capitol summit in Sacramento this spring and has added staffers as it’s grown the annual budget to $1.5 million.

​

Its name change also comes after the California Faculty Association circulated a questionnaire that asked candidates if they had ever accepted donations from JPAC. The survey compared the group to “the Oil Industry, the Tobacco Industry, police associations” while noting that the faculty union doesn’t support candidates who accept money from groups that “harm working people.”

 

The faculty association later apologized and said it shouldn’t have included JPAC, which does not make campaign contributions or endorse candidates, in the question.

​

The JPAC acronym has often been confused for a political action committee, but the group isn’t a campaign arm. The coalition includes 41 Jewish community organizations from across the state, including social-service nonprofits, professional associations and several progressive-leaning groups.