By Donald H. Harrison 

Gov. Gray Davis, in a telephone interview with Heritage, said if his political opponents force a recall election against him, it will waste the money of a state already pressed by budgetary concerns. He also expressed hope that he will continue to work closely with the Jewish community "throughout the balance of my term as governor."

The recall campaign being pushed by U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) "is a divisive effort to undo the will that the voters expressed last November," Davis said during the interview on Monday, June 16.

"Moreover, it will cost voters $30 million to have a special election this fall. That is a tremendous waste of money at a time when we are already dealing with significant budget problems as are virtually every other state in America."

Some 900,000 valid signatures are needed on petitions to force a recall election, which, depending on when the signatures are verified, could occur either in a special election in November or in an election consolidated with California's presidential primary in March of 2004.

The Democratic governor said if Republican Issa wants to run for governor, he should do so in 2006; "He shouldn't try to put the people of California through the wringer to finance his personal ambitions."

Issa, who made a fortune in the electronics industry, reportedly has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into the recall campaign, which also is attracting interest of such potential rivals to Issa as former GOP gubernatorial candidate Bill Simon and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Davis outlined to Heritage his efforts as governor in support of maintaining and increasing California¹s participation in Israel's economy, his advocacy on behalf of Holocaust victims and their families, and his actions to fight discrimination and hate crimes in the state.

The governor said he strongly and successfully opposed efforts last December by Israel's opponents to force California to end investments in that country. "Israel is our 21st (largest) trading partner," he noted. "There was and still is a good deal of symmetry between our technology communities. Intel, for example, has three-four facilities in Israel, and other high-tech
companies also have research or manufacturing facilities in Israel. So there
is an awful lot of commerce between our two economies."

As governing officer of the University of California Board of Regents, he added, he successfully pushed for changing guidelines on how new courses can be created. His action came in response to the offering on the UC Berkeley campus of a course called "The Poetry and Politics of Palestinian Resistance." In the future, he said, "a number of people, including the
Regents, will have to approve the decision of having the course in the first place as well as the accuracy of the title of that course."

Concerning the Holocaust, Davis expressed disappointment that the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush has opposed in federal court the California law requiring insurance companies doing business in the state to divulge what policies they sold to victims of the Holocaust.

The issue, which is expected to be decided soon by the U.S. Supreme Court, will determine whether insurance companies can be forced to reveal what insurance policies, if any, they issued during the Holocaust. Such information could lead to survivors or members of their families bringing lawsuits against those companies to collect unpaid benefits.

"It is a matter of simple justice, and states should not be penalized for offering their residents a vehicle to seek compensation from arguably the world's greatest atrocity," Davis said.

Additionally, Davis said, he signed legislation entitling Holocaust families to seek compensation from companies that kept them working as slave laborers during the nazi era.

"Some of the people that I have become close to over the last 20 year include a number of Holocaust survivors in the Southern California area, and I am fervent to do all I can to provide them legal means of redress while they are still living," the governor said.

He said after he accepted an invitation from one group of survivors to speak in January of 2001 about the need to raise funds for a hospital in Israel, he received a competing invitation from then President Bill Clinton to sit with First Lady Hillary Clinton in her box during the State of the Union
Message.

"I explained to the President how grateful I was for the invitation, but due to the importance of the issue and my personal attachment to these elderly Californians, I was going to keep my commitment."

Davis recalled that three synagogues in Sacramento were attacked and firebombed in June of 1999. "Hate crimes are an insult to democracy; there is nothing Americans pride more than their freedoms of speech and religion," he said. "To target a place of worship is an unforgivable offense in my mind.

"I was very pleased to sign legislation strengthening hate crimes (enforcement) in California. Moreover, I was honored to have the state contribute money to a new Unity Center that is being built in Sacramento, open to all faiths, to educate people about the need for tolerance. It is
very much built on the successful Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles," for which "we also have been very supportive over the years. 

"Having been to Israel on four separate occasions, including as the only governor to go as a sitting governor in 1999, and having spent a good deal of time over the years being at the (Israel) Independence Day celebrations, Yom HaShoah commemorations and 21 years ... on the bima on High Holidays at Stephen Wise Temple in Los Angeles— all these experiences and others have given me a great appreciation for the suffering and difficulties the community has experienced for centuries," Davis said.

"I am enormously grateful to the community for its contributions to our cultural and educational systems, the arts and to our commerce," he said.

About the same time that the governor was talking by telephone with Heritage, the San Diego chapter of the American Jewish Committee was preparing a news release publicizing a proclamation issued by Davis in time for the chapter's 40th anniversary dinner on June 17.

Davis, whose senior staff members in San Diego include the AJC's former regional director Gary Rotto, said that the organization had built upon a "proud tradition and made a profound impact on its community." He lauded the AJC for "outstanding efforts and dedicated service."