A sweeping new bill racing through the California legislature could grant Jewish people special legal protection as a racial and ethnic class—a move that will create a two-tiered justice system, silence free speech, and open the door to unprecedented government surveillance of its own citizens.
SB 1387, introduced by Democratic Assemblyman Josh Lowenthal, would make California the first state in the nation to officially classify “Jewish” as an ethnicity and race—not merely a religion—for demographic data collection. If passed, the law would force state agencies—from public schools to unemployment offices to prisons—to include a “Jewish” category on forms that allow voluntary disclosure of race or ethnicity.
But the real danger, analysts warn, goes far beyond checkboxes on a form. Once a group is legally recognized as a protected racial class, it opens the door to special legal privileges, enhanced hate crime protections, and preferential treatment in resource allocation—all enforced by the power of the state.
The bill was recently approved by the State Senate and is now awaiting a vote in the Assembly. But the clock is ticking: 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 or veto it.
The Push Behind the Bill
Behind the push is a coalition of major Jewish groups, including the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which have lobbied aggressively for the change. Their argument, repeated in press releases and testimony, is that Jewish peoplehood is about far more than faith—it’s a distinct peoplehood with its own ethnic and racial dimensions.
Democratic Assemblyman 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.” He claimed 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.”
Jewish California CEO David Bocarsly told The Forward that the goal isn’t to get more resources for the Jewish community—but the “right amount.”
“We know that good data creates good policy, so this will allow us to be able to inform better policy in the future,” Bocarsly said. “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 bill becomes law, Bocarsly expressed hope “that other states and hopefully the federal government would also follow suit,” according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA).
The Consequences: Special Protection for a Racial Class
If SB 1387 becomes law, the implications would be far-reaching and deeply disturbing:
1. A Two-Tiered Justice System
Once Jewish identity is legally classified as a race, any crime against a Jewish person could be prosecuted as a hate crime—carrying enhanced penalties, longer sentences, and special prosecutorial attention. This would create a hierarchy of victims, where some Americans receive more legal protection than others based solely on their ethnic or racial classification.
2. The End of Equal Protection
The 14th Amendment guarantees equal protection under the law. But special racial classifications inevitably lead to special treatment—and special treatment for one group means less for everyone else. Affirmative action programs, grant funding, educational opportunities, and government contracts could all be redirected to benefit a newly designated racial class.
3. A Surveillance State for Demographic Control
The bill’s requirement that state agencies collect “Jewish” demographic data raises serious privacy concerns. Governments have a long history of using racial data to monitor, track, and control populations. Once the state begins categorizing its citizens by race and ethnicity, there is no telling how that data will be used—or misused.
4. Silencing Dissent
With racial classification comes enhanced hate speech laws. Critics of the bill, or of Jewish communal policies, could find themselves labeled as racists and subjected to legal action, social media bans, or even criminal prosecution. The First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech would be effectively nullified for anyone who dares to question the new racial order.
5. A Nationwide Domino Effect
Bocarsly’s hope that other states and the federal government will “follow suit” should alarm every American. California is often a testing ground for national policy. If SB 1387 passes, it will only be a matter of time before similar bills are introduced in statehouses across the country—and eventually in Congress.
For decades, the same groups now leading the charge to classify Jews as a race have insisted that race doesn’t exist—that it is merely a social construct, a tool of oppression used to divide people. The ADL itself has long promoted the idea that racial categories are arbitrary and harmful.
But now, with a demographic and political calculus in mind, those same groups are demanding that Jews be officially recognized as a racial and ethnic category—not just a faith—to secure what they call “the right amount of resources” for their people.
This is a blatant attempt to weaponize identity politics for communal gain, while simultaneously undermining the very concept of race they claim to oppose