California’s Jewish Public Affairs Committee brought some 300 local Jewish leaders to the state Capitol in Sacramento this week to lobby state lawmakers to advance four issues, including nonprofit security grants, which are poised to be cut this year due to state budget cuts, reports eJewishPhilanthropy‘s Judah Ari Gross.

‘Housing, welfare, food: The other pieces of issues JPAC (not to be confused with the national Jewish Council for Public Affairs, JCPA) and the participating organizations lobbied for were: the Affordable Housing on Faith Lands Act, which would allow churches, synagogues, mosques and other houses of worship to build affordable housing on their property even if local zoning otherwise prevented it; a bill to extend social services to new refugees; and a bill to expand California’s food security program, CalFresh.

Coalition building: The lobbying push was part of JPAC’s annual Capitol Summit. The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, which sent 50 representatives to the state capital, said those issues were “of significance to not only the Jewish community but our partners as well.” This year, JPAC’s summit was also attended by a number of non-Jewish partner organizations, including the Brotherhood Crusade, Fulfillment Fund, Heart of Los Angeles, Homeless Outreach Program Integrated Care System, Faith and Community Empowerment and SoLA ICAN Foundation.

Working out: “Having The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles’ civic partners join the overall JPAC delegation allowed us to strengthen our advocacy muscle and to voice unified support around concerns that not only impact the Jewish community, but that also affect other racial, ethnic and religious communities across the state,” Mary Kohav, JFGLA’s vice president of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion and community engagement, said in a statement.’

Housing, welfare, food: The other pieces of issues JPAC (not to be confused with the national Jewish Council for Public Affairs, JCPA) and the participating organizations lobbied for were: the Affordable Housing on Faith Lands Act, which would allow churches, synagogues, mosques and other houses of worship to build affordable housing on their property even if local zoning otherwise prevented it; a bill to extend social services to new refugees; and a bill to expand California’s food security program, CalFresh.

Coalition building: The lobbying push was part of JPAC’s annual Capitol Summit. The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, which sent 50 representatives to the state capital, said those issues were “of significance to not only the Jewish community but our partners as well.” This year, JPAC’s summit was also attended by a number of non-Jewish partner organizations, including the Brotherhood Crusade, Fulfillment Fund, Heart of Los Angeles, Homeless Outreach Program Integrated Care System, Faith and Community Empowerment and SoLA ICAN Foundation.

Working out: “Having The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles’ civic partners join the overall JPAC delegation allowed us to strengthen our advocacy muscle and to voice unified support around concerns that not only impact the Jewish community, but that also affect other racial, ethnic and religious communities across the state,” Mary Kohav, JFGLA’s vice president of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion and community engagement, said in a statement.

Ahead of the White House’s expected release of its national strategy on combating antisemitism later this month, officials from the White House task force on antisemitism and Islamophobia met on Wednesday with top Senate and House leaders to provide input on the administration’s strategy, reports Marc Rod for eJewishPhilanthropy’s sister publication Jewish Insider.

Taking shape: Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) said in a statement that she convened the meeting “to assess the progress on developing and implementing a national strategy to counter antisemitism, which I called for last year. This meeting highlighted the main pillars of the Administration’s forthcoming strategy and provided an opportunity for Members of Congress to shape the final document before it is released.”

Robust consultation: In a separate readout, the White House said that Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff “spoke about the urgent need for such a strategy” and that Domestic Policy Council Director Susan Rice and Homeland Security Advisor Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall “described the ongoing process of developing the strategy, informed by robust consultation with a diverse array of stakeholders, and future plans to implement the strategy. They also discussed the need for a whole-of-society response to antisemitism.”

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