ADL, Jewish Groups Lobby California to Classify Jews as a Race, 'Not Just a Faith'

Chris Menahan
InformationLiberation
Aug. 28, 2026

The Anti-Defamation League and a host of major Jewish groups are lobbying California to pass a bill to classify Jews as a race/ethnicity and "not just a faith."

They're hoping the reclassification will be implemented nationwide.


From The Jewish Telegraphic Agency, "California could become the first state to list ‘Jewish’ as an ethnicity":
California could become the first state in the nation to consider “Jewish” an ethnic and racial identity, rather than just a religious affiliation.

A groundbreaking bill, which was recently approved by the State Senate and is awaiting a vote in the Assembly, would expand California’s legal definition of ethnicity “to include Jewish identity” in demographic data collection. In other words, state agency forms would need to include a “Jewish” category in questions that allow for voluntary disclosures of ethnicity or race.


If the bill, SB 1387, goes on to become law, this requirement would also apply to public entities ranging from public schools to unemployment offices to prisons. But the clock is ticking, as Monday, Aug. 31, is the final day of the year that California lawmakers can pass legislation. The governor then has until Sept. 30 to sign bills into laws or veto them.

The ethnicity legislation has been a priority among many Jewish groups across the Gold Rush state, who believe that Jewish peoplehood should be tied to far more than just religion — and that the law should reflect this unique relationship.
Democratic state assemblyman Josh Lowenthal told the Jewish News Syndicate in April that he co-sponsored SB 1387 to improve Jewish communities' "ability to access public resources" and "protection within the judicial system."

"Lowenthal said the state relies on demographic data to 'fairly allocate public health and educational resources, as well as monitor the effectiveness of its programs for represented communities,'" JNS reported.

"We know that good data creates good policy, so this will allow us to be able to inform better policy in the future," Jewish California CEO David Bocarsly told The Forward. "The goal of this isn't to get more resources for our community; it's to get the right amount of resources for our community."

"If the California bill does become law, Bocarsly expressed hope 'that other states and hopefully the federal government would also follow suit,'" JTA noted.

These groups for decades have been insisting that race doesn't exist and is just a social construct, but now they're leading the charge for Jews to be classified as a race to secure "the right amount of resources" for their people.

Much of the Jewish community as a whole, with the ADL leading the charge, shifted hard to the right after October 7th, and their support helped propel Trump into office.

ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt's shift from an anti-racist liberal to a hardcore Jewish nationalist and MAGA conservative perfectly encapsulates their changing priorities.






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