What Changes at Los Angeles Synagogues Under the Safe Worship Zone Act

Less than a year after protesters blocked the entrance to Wilshire Boulevard Temple, Governor Gavin Newsom came to the same sanctuary to sign the law it inspired.

On September 25, Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2664, the Safe Worship Zone Act, in a ceremony inside the synagogue, according to Jewish California, the statewide Jewish coalition that drafted the bill. He was joined by temple clergy and lay leaders, six members of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus, and leaders of the co-sponsoring groups, including Rabbi Noah Farkas of Jewish Federation Los Angeles and David Englin of ADL Los Angeles.

The bill was authored by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan. Jewish California says she introduced it last spring, citing the Wilshire Boulevard Temple incident and a similar episode the year before at Adas Torah.

On December 3, 2025, demonstrators blocked cars and people from entering Wilshire Boulevard Temple and cut parents off from their children at the temple's religious school, according to Jewish California and JTA. Several protesters forced their way into a private event inside, destroyed property and assaulted a security guard. Two people were arrested, one for battery and one for vandalism. JTA reported that the protest targeted a public safety and technology event organized by the Consulate General of Israel.

What the law does, and what it does not

The law is narrower than a protest-free zone.

AB 2664 creates a 100-foot zone around the entrances of houses of worship. Inside that zone, no one may approach a congregant within eight feet without consent to hand out literature, display a sign, or engage in oral protest, or to harass, obstruct, threaten or intimidate, according to JTA and Jewish California.

The penalties, as reported by JTA:

• First violation: a fine of up to $1,000, up to six months in jail, or both

• Later violations: a fine of up to $5,000, up to one year, or both

Jewish California says the bill is modeled on Colorado's buffer-zone law protecting reproductive health clinics, which the U.S. Supreme Court upheld, and that it is meant to balance the right to worship with the right to protest.

The law applies to all houses of worship, not only synagogues. "Every Californian should be able to walk into a synagogue, church, mosque, or other house of worship without fear," Newsom said in a statement. Jewish California noted that Muslim, Sikh, Christian and Hindu groups joined dozens of Jewish organizations in backing the bill. It passed with 34 of 40 votes in the State Senate and 61 of 80 in the Assembly.

Not everyone supported it. The Council on American-Islamic Relations opposed the bill as a threat to free speech, arguing that its criminal penalties would put peaceful protesters at risk, JTA reported.

When it starts, and what comes next

According to Jewish California, the Safe Worship Zone Act takes effect January 1, 2027.

The same date applies to a second bill Newsom signed at the ceremony, AB 1836 by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, chair of the Legislative Jewish Caucus. It expands the California State Nonprofit Security Grant Program to cover off-site community events such as menorah lightings and festivals, Jewish California said. Until now, that funding was limited to an organization's own building.

How the new zone will work on the ground in Los Angeles is still taking shape. At the September 29 Jewish Los Angeles Mayoral Forum, Mayor Karen Bass said she would convene the city's working group on Jewish community safety and its interfaith council, then work with LAPD on implementation, JTA reported. The public reports reviewed for this article do not yet describe how LAPD or the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office will handle complaints under the new law.

Sources

• Governor Newsom Signs Safe Worship Zone Act at the Same Synagogue Where Protesters Stormed a Community Event Last Year, Jewish California, September 25, 2026

• California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs bill to create safe spaces around synagogues, JTA, September 28, 2026

• At LA mayoral forum, candidates weigh in on Israeli genocide charges and antisemitism, JTA via J., September 30, 2026