David Bocarsly, the executive director of the Jewish Public Affairs Committee, was shocked to learn from his peers that the California Faculty Association had included his organization in a controversial statement some believed pointed to antisemitic practices within the CFA.
“When I first saw it, I felt shock, and then sadness and then a little bit of fear once I started to process what that really meant,” Bocarsly said.
The CFA sent out a questionnaire to candidates for its 2026 election cycle. On the last page, it asked candidates if they have endorsements or take contributions from groups and sectors like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, JPAC of California, the oil industry, the tobacco industry and police associations, which followed a statement saying partnering with the CFA’s movement meant rejecting campaign contributions and endorsements from groups that “harm working people.”
Bocarsly felt a lack of understanding from the CFA and that a simple Google search would show the committee they were not worthy of the assumed blacklist imposed on them.
“To say that we harm working-class families is just a gross misunderstanding of what we do,” Bocarsly said. “It’s deeply harmful to the immense amount of incredible work that our organization is focused on.”
JPAC is “a coalition of leading Jewish community organizations across the state” that advocates on behalf of the Jewish community’s concerns and values. Their work is rooted in fighting against antisemitism and hate while advocating for access to health care, housing, education and refugee resettlement.
“They didn’t care to do basic research on what we as an organization do,” Bocarsly said. “We don’t contribute to campaigns or make endorsements.”
This questionnaire came shortly after the CFA opposed Assembly Bill No. 715, which JPAC sponsored. The bill, which hoped to minimize antisemitism in schools, was denounced by the CFA. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill on Oct. 7, and labeled it as a threat to free speech and academic freedom.
Theresa Montaño, tri-chair of CFA’s Teacher Education Caucus and a professor at California State University, Northridge, said the bill will have “a chilling impact on classroom teachers who are already facing lawsuits, censorship and threats to their ability to facilitate critical discussions on important and timely current events,” and that discussions about Palestine and Gaza will be avoided or misrepresented.
“Today, it’s Palestine, but tomorrow it could be your ‘rainbow flag,’ your ‘Black Lives Matter poster,’ or your ‘‘ICE out of LA’ T-shirt,’” Montano said in a statement.
Melina Abdullah, chair of CFA’s political action and legislation committee, told California Playbook that “nowhere in the questionnaire does it say that we’re not going to support a candidate if they’re supported by JPAC,” but did mention that a candidate’s response could result in an additional conversation.
On Oct. 21, a Politico article discussed the background of the relationship between JPAC and the CFA regarding AB 715 and how the questionnaire was viewed as retaliation against JPAC after Newsom signed it.
The CFA responded, stating their interest in disclosing candidate financial relationships was tied specifically to policy issues, acknowledged their error in mentioning both JPAC and AIPAC in the questionnaire and announced they will be reviewing their candidate selection process.
“We acknowledge the wording of this question on the form created an impression that we are specifically targeting Jewish groups,” the statement read. “We apologize for not being more careful with the formulation of that question and the confusion and hurt feelings that this article has caused.”
In November, Marc Dollinger, a faculty member of the Department of Jewish Studies at San Francisco State University, wrote a piece arguing that the CFA is alienating its Jewish members.
“Placing the name of a Jewish organization, such as JPAC, alongside the names of industries considered harmful to society infers that Jews, as Jews, hold a parallel place of harm,” Dollinger wrote.
Sophia Rose, a political science student at SFSU, recognized the harm a statement like this does to her community.
“It’s just scary,” Rose said. “It is scary and has been over the past few years, especially coming from a highly-known organization; it’s really scary to think about.”
Bocarsly questions the CFA’s motives and fears for both the future of JPAC and the Jewish community as a whole. He is waiting for the potential aftermath the questionnaire may bring.
“They could have asked a question on academic freedom,” Bocarsly said. “Not regulated an entire ethno-religious community to boycott. That is a major leap from policy to discrimination.”
Maureen Hannaway • Mar 7, 2026 at 10:26 am
The problem is connecting Zionism to Anti Semitism. Israel is to blame for the rise in anti Jewish statements. Israel states it speaks for all Jews and they don’t. Many American people of the Jewish faith are disgusted by the GENOCIDE happening against Palestine and now Iran. Jews for Peace is great example. These peopler labeled antisemitic or self hating. Foreign government s have ZERO business in our policies. Zionists pump money into both parties and skew our policies against the American people and progressive candidates. They know they don’t agree with the blood shed and endless blank checks to Israel who pulls us into their created conflict. Israel out of America. American Jewish people deserve better than Zionist propaganda and so does everyone else.
Judith Milch • Mar 17, 2026 at 1:29 pm
Maureen –
The “problem” is your entire comment. It’s a perfect example of someone who conflates Israe, Israeli politics, and Israeli military actions with American Jews and their myriad beliefs. Did you even think about your sentence “Israel is to blame for the rise in anti-Jewish statements”? So are you solely blaming the only Jewish state in the world for the rise in anti-Semitism and anti-Semitic incidents in America? Really? Is that what you would tell the 100+ Jewish kids in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan who narrowly avoided being burned alive by a hateful Lebanese-born American citizen who happened to be Muslim? Was he justified in his actions b/c his brother (a reputed Hezbollah commander), and others in his family were assassinated by Israel in previous days? Is it an eye for an eye, Maureen? If that man was acting against Israel, why was he targeting a random (nearby) American Reform synagogue, the largest in the state?
Israel does not speak for all Jews and only certain hardline, right-wing Israeli politicians claim to do that. American Jews are not a monolith, just like all Blacks, all Asian-Americans, all Christians, all Arab-Americans aren’t either.
Genocide against the Iranians now? Are you serious? Are you not even considering the recent massacre of thousands of their own citizens by the mullahs, IRGC, Basij militia and others intent on keeping the Iranian people subjugated to their extremist Islamic fundamentalist way of life?
You clearly have not studied or learned about the history of Zionism as an economic and social movement, in addition to it being a political philosophy. You clearly haven’t read enough different sources, to understand that there are many who disagree with the genocide label attached to Israel’s decimation of Gaza. Just like you probably never asked yourself why Hamas never used any of the billions and billions of dollars it took in from the U.N. and so many European nations (as well as the U.S.) for decades, and somehow never managed to build a single civilian bomb shelter for its people. Just like you never reflected on the fact that even Palestinian journalists held some Israelis hostage after Oct. 7 in their own homes, in front of their own children, or that eliminating Hamas terrorists was made even more difficult b/c they purposely embedded themselves in apartment buildings, storing weapons in homes, under kindergartens and in hospitals, or that many Palestinian civilians came across the southern border of Israel on that morning to randomly butcher and burn alive any Jew (and even Thai workers), in their path (and in their beds). Why haven’t you ever asked why the 3 top Hamas officials living in Qatar (while their people suffered various deprivations caused by their own insane military actions), were billionaires while their people starved? Anti-Semitism out of America. All Americans (inc. American Jews), deserve better than anti-Jewish propaganda disguised as anti-Zionist propaganda (whatever the heck that is), from someone who is badly informed.