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Source: https://nypost.com/2026/05/07/opinion/how-antisemitism-is-sweeping-california/
Human Relations Commission in California Attacks Jews and "Zionists"
(New York Post) Rabbi Pini Dunner - The Davis, California, Human Relations Commission produced what it calls the "MAPA Report" earlier this year, which focuses on the local experiences of Muslims, Arabs, Palestinians, and their "allies" (hence the acronym). This is not a document about protecting a vulnerable community. It singles out another, far more vulnerable, one. The report systematically casts the Jewish community - particularly those associated with Israel or Zionism - as a primary source of harm. The report incorporates a series of extreme and inflammatory claims about Jews and "Zionists," claiming that Davis is being influenced by "a small group of ultra-nationalist and supremacist Jews who were creating havoc for the city." Imagine if a city-sponsored report included comparable language about any other minority group. It would be rightly dismissed as bigoted. Here, it is presented as insight. The report repeatedly relies on the concept of the "weaponization of antisemitism." If antisemitism is a "weapon," then those who report it are not victims - they are the villains. And if raising awareness about antisemitism is itself suspect, then antisemitism becomes impossible to prove. This report lays the groundwork for training programs and civic policies based on a newly constructed concept of "Anti-Palestinian Racism," a framework that risks equating support for Israel - or even expressions of Jewish identity tied to Israel - with bigotry. This is happening in Davis - a city that prides itself on being educated, thoughtful, and morally serious. You do not combat one form of prejudice by encouraging another. You do not build inclusion by scapegoating a minority. And you certainly do not promote justice by distorting reality. The writer is senior rabbi at Beverly Hills Synagogue.