Golden State Today

SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today issued a proclamation declaring May 2023, as Jewish American Heritage Month.

Earlier this week, the Governor visited the Museum of Tolerance, which celebrated its 30th anniversary this year.

Photo: https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Museum_of_Tolerance.jpg?w=1080

Governor Newsom meets Holocaust survivor Martha Sternbach at the Museum of Tolerance

Photo: https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Museum_of_Tolerance-group.jpg?w=1080

Governor Newsom meets with leaders of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and others at the Museum of Tolerance

The text of the proclamation and a copy can be found below:

PROCLAMATION

This month, California joins Americans of all backgrounds in celebrating the foundational contributions of Jewish Americans to the fabric of our state and nation.

Throughout our history, generations of Jewish immigrants fleeing persecution have sought the promise of freedom and opportunity to start life anew in America. California is home to the second largest Jewish population in the U.S., with thriving communities in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and other parts of the state. This month, we recognize the enduring faith, perseverance, and resilience of the Jewish people and lift up the many ways that Jewish Americans enrich our culture, politics, civil society, and countless other areas.

As we celebrate these accomplishments, we must also recognize the bigotry and violence that Jews have faced throughout history, and that shamefully persist to this day. Amid brazen displays of antisemitic hate, California is taking action to protect our communities and ensure that future generations never forget the lessons of the past, including the deliberate murder of approximately six million European Jews during the Holocaust.

In partnership with the Jewish Caucus and other legislative leaders, my Administration has advanced major investments to increase security at houses of worship and other at-risk cultural centers, funded anti-hate programs that promote tolerance and support victims, and launched the California versus Hate Resource Line and Network statewide to provide a safe, anonymous reporting option for victims and witnesses of hate acts. We have enlisted leading experts to steer our Commission on the State of Hate and the Council on Holocaust and Genocide Education – an important tool to combat the shocking decline in awareness among young people about the horrors of the Holocaust.

California will continue to lead the fight to confront racial, ethnic and religious hate across our society with education and empathy. This Jewish American Heritage Month, let us pay tribute to the many and varied contributions of the Jewish people to our California story and celebrate our common commitment to pluralism, cultural diversity, and religious freedom.

NOW THEREFORE I, GAVIN NEWSOM, Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim May 2023, as “Jewish American Heritage Month.”

IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 5th day of May 2023.

GAVIN NEWSOM

Governor of California

ATTEST:

SHIRLEY N. WEBER, Ph.D.

Secretary of State

Original source can be found here.