California governor candidates take questions at forum hosted by Jewish organizations

The Los Angeles area is home to the second-largest Jewish community in the U.S., with an estimated 565,000 residents identifying as Jewish.

So it was no surprise that when a coalition of Jewish organizations convened a forum with some of the top-polling candidates for governor on Thursday, Feb. 26, the event took place in Los Angeles.

Candidates discussed a range of topics, from antisemitism and immigration to California’s relationship with Israel and the Trump administration.

Participating candidates included former Fox News host Steve Hilton, a Republican, and four Democrats: San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, entrepreneur and environmentalist Tom Steyer, Rep. Eric Swalwell and former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and former Rep. Katie Porter, both Democrats, and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a Republican, also were invited but did not attend due to scheduling conflicts, according to organizers.

Candidates who polled in the top five in a recent nonpartisan, reputable and independent poll or had raised at least $1 million since July 1 were invited to participate, according to event organizers.

Here are highlights of the discussion from the forum.

Safety concerns and antisemitism

Moderator Alex Cohen, an anchor with Spectrum News, said Jews represent roughly 3% of the state’s population yet account for 15% of reported hate crimes statewide, and asked what each candidate would do as governor to ensure safety for Jews and all other vulnerable communities.

Villaraigosa cast himself as a “uniter” of people, telling the audience he grew up alongside Jews, Latinos and Japanese Americans in Boyle Heights and reminding them he once was mayor of Los Angeles, a city where nearly 70% of residents are people of color.

“I will stand up and be the uniter I was in this town. … I brought us together, and as governor, I will bring us together as well,” he said.

Hilton said university leaders must “be stronger in the face of the hate that we see.”

He called it “outrageous” that a planned lecture at UCLA featuring CBS News editor Bari Weiss was recently canceled due to security concerns. He also criticized the state’s largest teachers union.

“We have to push back against those who are pushing the hate. And they’re pushing the hate into our schools through the curriculum,” said Hilton.

Mahan also addressed classroom instruction, saying he’d advocate for better curriculum.

“It is completely unacceptable that we have teachers teaching curriculum that just divides children into ‘oppressor’ and ‘oppressed’ and say some people’s opinions are valid and others are not,” said Mahan.

Swalwell noted he’s endorsed by the California Police Chiefs Association and said he’d work with law enforcement to protect the Jewish community.

In terms of curriculum, Swalwell said he was taught the Holocaust in high school by a teacher who was politically active in the teachers union.

“I’m willing to bring to the table educators and the community to make sure we get this right for our kids,” he said.

Steyer, meanwhile, said he’d want to reach out to other communities for a broader view “of where we’re going together” as a state.

Relations with Israel

Candidates were also asked how they plan to respond to pressures for California to cut ties with Israel when the state has had deep economic, technological, environmental and cultural connections with that country.

Many of the candidates drew a distinction between the people of Israel and the Israeli government. All five candidates said they oppose the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement or are not considering divesting.

“The Jewish people of California are not the Israeli government any more than … most of you are part of the White House or support the White House. And that’s how I’m going to approach this as governor,” said Swalwell, who said the state should partner with Israel to meet California’s energy and water needs.

Steyer, too, drew a distinction between the people of Israel and the country’s government. He said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is an ally of President Donald Trump‘s — someone whom Steyer hasn’t been shy to criticize.

“Having said that, how do I feel about the people of Israel, a scrappy group of people trying to build a country, build their families, build businesses? That’s a completely different question,” said Steyer, adding, “The administration, I have a lot of problems with.”

Villaraigosa said he doesn’t agree with Netanyahu or his government but respects the Israeli people and would work with the country on matters related to water, science and technology. The former L.A. mayor also said he supports a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine and Israel’s “right to exist.”

Hilton, an entrepreneur, said he wants to increase business relationships with Israel, which he believes would help address some of the mistrust and division in society.

“That foundation of prosperity and cooperation is how we build a stronger future for Israel and for us here in California,” he said.

Maintaining relationships with Israel is important for California, said Mahan, who said he’s lost count of the number of entrepreneurs and investors from Israel he’s met in Silicon Valley who have brought “incredible innovation.” That exchange, he said, needs to continue.

“That exchange is something we need to continue to invest in,” he said.

Trump and democracy

The candidates were asked how, as governor, they would avoid polarization, foster collaboration and work toward a more unified California, as public satisfaction with democracy at the state level falls.

Swalwell, who served as a House impeachment manager during Trump’s U.S. Senate trial, said he’d always seek collaboration as governor, including with the president, though he drew a line in the sand on attacks by the Trump administration against “the most vulnerable people in our state.”

Presumably referring to federal immigration raids, Swalwell spoke of people running for the fields or factories where they work and women being dragged into unmarked vans.

“The president wants to go after any of those vulnerable communities, he knows … he has to go through me,” he said.

Villaraigosa said he’d work with Trump if the president wants to work with California, though he suggested that wasn’t likely.

“We have to become more bipartisan. Maybe not with him (Trump) because he’s not interested, but with the rest of them. I can work with both sides,” Villaraigosa said. “We’ve got to teach our children that civil war is not an option.”

Mahan said it’s not an “either/or” situation; he said California needs a governor who will stand up to Trump but who also will “work across the ideological spectrum to solve problems.”

Steyer, meanwhile, criticized Trump for wanting to “take over” federal elections.

“I don’t think there’s any reason for us to sit here and think we’re going to get along because we’re not going to get along,” Steyer said.

Hilton, the lone Republican on stage, said people have lost faith in democracy because nothing has gotten better in California, election after election. That, he said, is why voters should elect an outsider like himself.

Voters “want change,” he said. “And that is the best way that we can restore faith in democracy — to elect someone who’s actually going to change things and deliver results.”

Thursday’s forum at the Skirball Cultural Center, which drew a crowd of 1,000, with thousands more tuning in online, was billed by organizers as the largest statewide gathering of Jewish voters this election cycle.

Event organizers included Jewish Federation Los Angeles, Jewish California (formerly known as the Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California, or JPAC), Jewish Community Relations Council Bay Area and the Skirball Cultural Center.