Okay, please call the meeting to order.

Good evening.

This meeting is called to order at 5:05.

Mayor, if I may take roll, Council Member Kaplan.

Councilmember Dickinson is expected momentarily.

Vice Mayor Talamantes.

Councilmember Pluckybaum is expected momentarily.

Councilmember Maple.

Mayor Pro Tem Gera.

Here.

Council Member Jennings.

I'm here, madam.

Councilmember Vang.

And Mayor McCarty.

Thank you.

Okay.

Councilmember Jennings.

Pledge and land acknowledgement.

Please rise with opening acknowledgments in honor of Sacramento's indigenous people and tribal lands.

To the original people of this land, the Nision people, the Southern Maidu, Valley and Plains Miwok, the Patwin Winton peoples, and the people of the Wilton Rancher, Sacramento's only federally recognized tribe.

May we acknowledge and honor the native people who came before us and still walk beside us today on these ancestral lands by choosing to gather together in the active practice of acknowledgement and appreciation for Sacramento's indigenous peoples' history, their contributions, and their lives.

Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Salute.

I pledge to the United States of America and the Republic for which is one nation under God and indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

City attorney, do we have a report out from closed session?

Nothing to report out.

So, Mayor, you have two special presentations.

The first is Jewish American Heritage Month, presented by Councilmember Kaplan.

Okay, please proceed.

Thank you, Mayor.

Good evening, everyone, and thank you for joining me.

Every May, our nation observes Jewish American Heritage Month, a time to recognize the history, culture, and indelible contributions that Jewish Americans have made to the United States.

Today I want to reflect on American Jewish experience, focusing right here in our own backyard, Sacramento.

Sacramento's Jewish roots are as old as the city itself.

In 1852, Moises Hyman and Albert Priest helped found what is now known as Congregation Benay Israel, which opened its doors in September of that year.

That congregation has had a remarkable distinction of being the first synagogue established west of the Mississippi River.

It is a testament to the fact that whenever these early settlers went, they brought their traditions, resilience, and deep-rooted responsibility of which we call Tekunalum to repair the world.

The contributions of Jewish Sacramentans extend far beyond those early years.

Throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries, visionaries like David Lubin revolutionized California agriculture and retail.

Lubin's passion for agriculture later led to the creation of a California State Agricultural Society and the foundation of the International Institute of Agriculture.

Along with Lubin's half-brother, Harris Weinstock, they opened a landmark clothing store that evolved into the legendary Winestock Lubin Department Store.

The first win stock location opened in 1874 on the corner of 4th and K Street.

Eventually, these stores were bought out and now became Macy's.

So generation after generation, the Jewish community has deeply integrated, has been deeply integrated into our civic, professional, and cultural life here in Sacramento.

Today, the region's Jewish community members, more than 25,000 residents, are ingrained in our everyday life.

You see this legacy through the Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region, the Shalom School, our synagogues, and through the vital social services given by the family uh Jewish family service.

Jewish Sacramentans have continuously led by example in our courts, in our classrooms and city halls and our hospitals and everywhere and every corner that you look.

Yet as we celebrate these milestones and the joy of Jewish heritage, we must also acknowledge the realities of our time.

Here in California, we must recognize that the Jewish community is currently navigating a period marked by fear and a staggering rise in anti-Semitism.

When synagogues are vandalized and our friends and neighbors feel isolated, silence is not an option.

Because just this morning, a community member reached out to my office because they were enjoying a bike ride with friends and saw a swastika, graffiti, into the concrete of one of our local parks.

This is just one incident of many, a trend that must be confronted.

So, this month, every month, we must stand in solidarity against bigotry and discrimination in all its forms.

We must use education and empathy to ensure everyone in our community is safe and respected.

Jewish American Heritage Month reminds us that the American story is one of diversity and solidarity.

The journey of Jewish Sacramentans is a proud, quintessential American story of aspiration, imagination, and achievement.

So let's honor that history.

We see you.

Thank you.

Thank you.