The California Civil Rights Department’s statewide hate hotline directs callers seeking Jewish resources to a progressive advocacy group that opposes codifying the widely used International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism and has accused Israel of deliberately starving Palestinians, drawing criticism from several Jewish organizations.
State officials list only Bend the Arc: Jewish Action as a statewide Jewish resource on the “CA vs. Hate Resource Line and Network.” By contrast, the American Jewish Committee appears only in regional listings, despite operating across California, according to the group.
“It would seem to be logical to have other organizations that also cover the entire span of the state to be listed there, so Californians know who to turn to regardless of where they live,” Teresa Drenick, deputy director of the AJC’s Northern California region, told JNS.
Hotline users are first directed to regional branches of the Anti-Defamation League, Jewish Federation and American Jewish Committee covering Central and Northern California, Orange County, Sacramento, Santa Barbara and Southern California. In total, the state lists 14 Jewish resources, including Bend the Arc, along with one Hindu, five Muslim and two Sikh organizations. (JNS sought comment from the California Civil Rights Department.)
Drenick told JNS that the AJC’s San Francisco office serves Northern California up to the Oregon border, while its Los Angeles and San Diego offices cover the rest of the state.
Because the AJC is not labeled as a statewide resource, the list could mislead users into thinking the organization does not serve their area, she said. Drenick declined to comment on Bend the Arc.
“It would behoove the ‘Cal v. hate’ website to be more specific that there are agencies that cover the entirety of the state,” she told JNS.
Jonathan Schulman, executive director of the Jewish Majority, which trains Jewish leaders and conducts research, told JNS that designation matters.
“Statewide resources should reflect organizations that broadly represent the Jewish community and use widely accepted tools for identifying and combating surging antisemitism, rather than relying on a single advocacy group outside the mainstream consensus,” he said.
The California-based Israeli-American Civic Action Network first raised concerns about the state’s listings, arguing that the hotline should not feature “an organization whose core advocacy is dismantling IHRA.”
“Our message to California officials and teachers is simple,” Dillon Hosier, CEO and national co-chair of the group, told JNS. “We’re watching and prepared to act.”
