As members of lobby group No. 16 headed to their meetings with state lawmakers in Sacramento on Tuesday, they were in for a workout.
The nine group members were part of a throng of participants at the annual legislative summit organized by Jewish California, the statewide advocacy coalition representing 43 Jewish groups.
It’s a short walk from the Sheraton Grand Hotel’s convention center to the legislative offices, but in the late afternoon, the hottest part of the 86-degree day, the volunteer lobbyists were guaranteed to break a sweat.
Once inside, the crowded Capitol Annex Swing Space posed its own challenge. Fifty lobbying groups made up of nearly 700 summit participants aimed to meet with all 120 legislators, or at least their staffers. The lines to take the elevator snaked around the corner. If No. 16’s members wanted to get to their meetings on time, they’d have to take the stairs. And then there was the matter of finding the right office.
“We zigged when we should have zagged,” one group member announced as they circled through the hallways.
They embraced the workout for the opportunity to lobby on Jewish California’s priority bills and budget requests for the current legislative session. Those requests fit into two buckets: countering antisemitism, particularly through protecting houses of worship and nonprofits, and bolstering the state’s social safety net as federal programs face significant cuts.
J. accompanied group No. 16, made up of Jews from Silicon Valley, for a glimpse into the collective lobbying effort that dominates the second day of Jewish California’s annual gathering of politically engaged Jews from every corner of the state.
“We all have a story to tell,” Daniel Klein, who led No. 16, said during a debrief after their meetings. Klein, CEO of Jewish Silicon Valley, which serves as the region’s Jewish federation and oversees the Addison-Penzak JCC, is a veteran of Jewish advocacy. “We’re not just advocating for something out there that has no potential benefit. We have a personal connection to this work.”
Every year, Jewish California aims to gather a large enough delegation at its annual summit and arrange meetings with every legislator. The group has gotten close in the past, but with this year’s record-breaking attendance, it finally happened, according to Jewish California CEO David Bocarsly.
“It’s incredibly powerful and inspiring to see so many people willing to step away from their daily lives to do this work,” he said.
In February, Jewish California announced its name change from the Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California — a shift many are still adjusting to, including speakers at the summit’s opening plenary who occasionally reverted to the old name out of habit.
Jewish California does have a dedicated lobbyist, but he can’t do it all alone. More importantly, the personal stories that summit participants share make the biggest impact, especially among lawmakers who rarely get to meet with the Jewish community, according to Jewish California’s sole paid lobbyist, Cliff Berg.
“Lobbying is not about arguing. It’s not about winning or losing. It’s about building a relationship,” Berg said during a prep session with all the lobbying groups. “We want them to get to know you.”
No. 16 was assigned to meet with three legislators: state Sen. John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) and Assemblymembers Alex Lee (D-Milpitas) and Dawn Addis (D-Morro Bay), who is vice chair of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus. As it turned out, only Addis was available to meet. So the group met with staffers in Laird’s and Lee’s offices.
From a lobbying perspective, staffers aren’t necessarily a downgrade, according to Bocarsly.
“Staffers are often the most important people in the room,” he said during the prep session. “They are the ones advising [legislators] on votes.”
Of Jewish California’s legislative priorities this year, the “Safe Worship Zone Act,” or AB 2664, is especially meaningful to Klein.
Introduced by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-San Ramon), a member of the Jewish caucus, the bill comes in direct response to two protests in front of Los Angeles synagogues over the past two years.
In December 2025, protesters disrupted a private event inside Wilshire Boulevard Temple that blocked entrances to the synagogue. A relative of Klein’s was at the congregation that day, he said, adding that the incident had “real ramifications” for his family.
The bill would create a 100-foot buffer zone around religious institutions, barring protesters from coming within 8 feet of congregants without their consent.
Another No. 16 member, Debbie Michels, was most galvanized to participate because Jewish California’s agenda directly addresses challenges she has encountered in her work at Jewish Family Services Silicon Valley.
She lobbied for Assembly bills to protect MediCal coverage and California’s Food Assistance Program and to expand the budget for the state’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program.
“Just recently, we made the decision to bring security back, an armed guard during the work week, full time, to protect our staff, clients and volunteers,” Michels told Addis during the meeting. “And that’s money that then is taken away from our food program, from our care management, from our Shabbat programming for isolated older adults … our Holocaust survivors, who are living on $900 a month.”
From here, it’s up to Jewish California’s team to take action. Using notes collected from each lobbying group, it will follow up with specific legislators to answer their questions about the priority legislation and gauge their likelihood to vote for such bills.
“The advocates aren’t the ones who necessarily know all the answers,” Bocarsly said. “And that’s OK. That’s part of the process.”