July 7, 2025
Dear Members of the Senate Education Committee,
On behalf of the Los Angeles Antisemitism Roundtable, a coalition of leading Jewish organizations working together to address antisemitism, we respectfully urge your support for AB 715 (Zbur and Addis)—a landmark bill designed to protect Jewish students in California’s K–12 schools. This bill is supported by a broad coalition of mainstream Jewish organizations across the state.
Antisemitic incidents in K–12 schools have surged by 434% over the past five years, according to the ADL. Jewish students are increasingly reporting that they feel unsafe, isolated, and vulnerable in their classrooms. Here in Los Angeles, we hear regularly from concerned community members about issues in their schools. Unfortunately, this does not come as a surprise, given what the data is showing us. According to the 2023 LA County Hate Incident Report, 90% of religiously motivated hate incidents targeted the Jewish community—reflecting 153% increase from the prior year. 24% of all hate incidents occurred within schools—an increase of 234% from the prior year.
AB 715 responds to this crisis with long-overdue and targeted solutions—establishing a State Antisemitism Coordinator, strengthening anti-discrimination policies, and providing clear standards and tools for educators, along with other critical measures.
Despite this clear need, some stakeholders have failed to engage constructively and some, actively oppose this bill. We are especially disheartened by several influential education organizations—CTA, ACSA, and the California County Superintendents—all of whom have come out in opposition to AB 715. Their reasoning reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of antisemitism: its historical roots, its modern manifestations, and the serious harm it causes in school communities. Their opposition also misrepresents the bill and disregards both the data and the lived experiences of Jewish students and families.
After years of dialogue and compromise—including removing provisions, narrowing the bill’s scope, and responding directly to feedback from these entities, their opposition now appears disingenuous and inconsistent with their stated commitment to fighting hate. For instance, last year, AB 1468 was placed on pause to allow for deeper collaboration and this year, the bill’s authors agreed to shift focus from Ethnic Studies to AB715 instead.
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In CTA’s opposition letter, they claim that AB 715 is overly focused on one community contradicts their past advocacy for tailored approaches. Equity does not mean one- size-fits-all; it means recognizing and addressing each community’s distinct challenges. Jewish students are no exception.
Furthermore, CTA’s proposed alternatives—offering strategies like “restorative practices” and trainings to “create safe spaces”—fail to address the specific and evolving manifestations of antisemitism: the denial of Jewish identity, antisemitic tropes disguised as political speech, and the marginalization of Jewish voices in educational spaces. AB 715 was crafted precisely because existing frameworks have proven insufficient in recognizing and combating these harms.
By refusing to acknowledge or address this rising threat, opponents of AB 715 are not only abdicating their responsibility—they are compounding the harm.
The authors of the bill have made good faith efforts to engage, offer feedback, and accommodate requests from the various ethnic caucuses, unions and other stakeholders. But our students are at risk today in classrooms across our state. For the Jewish community, this issue is urgent. Delaying action risks sending a message that our concerns about rising antisemitism in schools are not being taken seriously.
We urge you to pass this bill out of the Education Committee, not to end the conversation, but to continue it in good faith and ensure we get it right this year.
Signed,
Jewish Federation Los Angeles
ADL California
AJC Los Angeles
Agudath Israel of California
Board of Rabbis of Southern California Holocaust Museum Los Angeles Simon Wiesenthal Center StandWithUs
