AB 715 Is More Than Policy—It’s Protection! Has Israel become our canary in the coal mine? What do I mean? From coal mines to classrooms: Antisemitism’s Alarming Echo. Do you remember the story behind the canary in the coal mine? It’s not a way any Jew wants to be described as, yet here we are. Ultimately, this means we may be the first to be attacked, but often we’re not the only; it’s a cautionary tale. There are so many ways Jews are labelled that we never would have chosen for ourselves. The expression “canary in the coalmine” originates from a real-world practice used in coal mines.
During most of the 20th century, miners would bring caged canaries into the mineshafts with them. For the miners, this was a critical safety measure because many dangerous gases, such as carbon monoxide, are odorless, colorless, and undetectable by humans; yet, canaries were much more sensitive to these lethal gases. If the canary fell ill or died when taken into the mine, the coal miners knew they had to get the hell out of there, NOW!
A rather grotesque visit for these unsuspecting creatures. Sound familiar? Yes, Jews were treated this way too, most recently during the Holocaust…they were told they were just showers…
Victimhood is in our DNA. We’re certainly not the only minority to be mistreated, just a favorite. For centuries we’ve been hated, that’s nothing new. Scapegoats to be blamed for all that is wrong in the world. Our .2% of the world’s population gets the world’s attention far beyond our numbers. Given our remaining minuscule tribe, it’s a wonder why our impact is maligned with such fervor.
An audit of antisemitic incidents in 2024 found that California was one of the states with the highest number of recorded incidents at 1,344. New York had 1,437. Both states have large Jewish populations, according to the Anti-Defamation League. Also in 2024, synagogues and Jewish organizations across California received hundreds of bomb threats and antisemitic messages, often timed with anti-Israel protests. Jews are attacked on their way to temple and are afraid to wear Jewish symbols such as necklaces with a Jewish Star or skullcaps on their heads. This is where society is in 2025. I wish I could say it was unbelievable, but this is an old story, it seems with no end.
And the warning gets louder and louder as it gets closer to home. I just attended a webinar supporting AB 715, a California bill proposed to counter antisemitism in schools. Last year when I wrote my Times of Israel Blog, ”As Our American K-12 Children Return to School—What Hell Awaits Them?” I had been of course aware that college campuses were filled with antisemitic attacks, but our youngsters are also fodder for this heinous discrimination and worse? I had hoped we’d get a handle on this by now but no, it’s been another year of hell for our kids, and the new semester is just beginning. What will be in store for them this time? AB 715 tries to help protect them.
Now let’s get down to it. What are some details about AB 715? It’s an assembly bill (AB) to counter the surge of antisemitism being felt in California. The sunshine state is just as vulnerable to this discrimination as the rest of the world, which dulls the shine a bit to a glimmer.
AB 715 is a landmark bill to counter the cosmic rise in antisemitic incidents in California’s schools as co-authored by Assemblymembers Dawn Addis
and Rick Chavez Zburz.
They cautioned that the legislative session ends in just three weeks on 9/12/25, which allows no time to dawdle. The bill is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Education Committee on either Tuesday, September 2nd, or Wednesday, September 3rd; the exact timing has not yet been confirmed. Political wranglings were implied with the cancellation of the hearing for the bill in July, and now the delay in moving it forward, with the hearing time pushed toward the last hours of this session, still without a definitive date.
JPAC, Jewish Caucus members, and over 60 California Jewish community organizations support the bill.
The exact verbiage follows, so you can judge for yourself. Nowadays, too many people believe anything they hear or see in print, no matter what the source. We all have schedules that are too busy but be aware the parroting of information without validation is pervasive. So, I’ve copied the bill here as stated. I thought to myself, is this difficult to read? Legalese?
I don’t think so, it’s only 500 words which you can interpret for yourself, and I encourage you to do so. But if you don’t want to read through it all, perhaps only the Summary, or know that this bill tries to protect our kids from discrimination, that means ALL kids, not just the ones who are Jewish. If you care to, skip down to the paragraph below the line and start with the *, it’s my shortened interpretation of the bill which I’ve done my best to recap.
Date of Hearing: May 14, 2025 AB 715
Page 1 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION Al Muratsuchi, Chair AB 715 (Zbur)
– As Amended May 12, 2025 SUBJECT: Educational equity: discrimination.
SUMMARY: Prohibits the governing board of a school district or a county board of education, or the governing body of a charter school, from allowing the use of any curriculum or instructional materials, as specified, if it would subject a pupil to unlawful discrimination; changes the definitions of nationality and religion for purposes of prohibitions on discrimination in public schools; and states the intent of the Legislature to strengthen protections against discrimination in specified ways. Specifically, this bill:
1) Prohibits the governing board of a school district or a county board of education, or the governing body of a charter school from allowing (in addition to not adopting or approving) the use of any textbook, instructional material, supplemental instructional material, or curriculum for classroom instruction if it would subject a pupil to unlawful discrimination, as specified in section 220 of the Education Code.
2) Changes the definition of “nationality,” for purposes of prohibitions on discrimination in public education, to add (in addition to citizenship, country of origin, and national origin) a person’s actual or perceived shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics, or residency in a country with a dominant religion or distinct religious identity. States that discrimination against pupils who identify as Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, Christian, Tao, Shinto, or Buddhist, or pupils of native religious groups, pupils of indigenous religious groups, or pupils of another religious group, when the discrimination involves racial, ethnic, or ancestral slurs or stereotypes, constitutes discrimination on the basis of nationality.
3) Changes the definition of “religion,” for purposes of prohibitions on discrimination in public education, to add (in addition to religious belief, observance, and practice and includes agnosticism and atheism) that “discrimination on the basis of religion” includes, but is not limited to, antisemitism and Islamophobia.
4) States the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation to do the following:
a) Strengthen protections against discrimination, including antisemitism, in K-12 education, including protections against instruction and activity that promotes discrimination;
b) Strengthen the California Department of Education’s (CDE) Uniform Complaint Procedures (UCP) by ensuring that complaints can be made regarding discrimination, including discrimination by school board members and by third parties who are contracted by a local educational agency (LEA), and by ensuring timely compliance with UCP filings and determinations;
c) Increase accountability for LEAs that are found to engage in discrimination;
d) Create an Antisemitism Coordinator who will further the intent of and compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964;
e) Prevent discrimination and ensure a safe and supportive school climate; and
f) Ensure that educators, including third-party contractors, fully comply with laws preventing discrimination, including through protections in the contract procurement process.
_________________________________________________________________________
The bill received bipartisan support and as you can read prevents discrimination toward everyone including Jews and Muslims.
My shorter interpretation of the bill is that it prevents discrimination. It does not grant Jews an advantage, as the opposition has decried, but provides equality amongst all people. It protects kids against fallacious fiction, sometimes disguised as facts in textbooks, provided in classroom material, or accusations and slurs heard on the playground. It expands the definition of religion and ethnicity to include the multitude of opportunities in which society discovers its spiritual beliefs, and also protects those who choose not to practice a religion. It provides a path to file a complaint against school boards and third parties and ensures compliance within timely guidelines. It establishes an Antisemitism Coordinator who will definitively include protection against antisemitism as part of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It creates the requirement for a safe and supportive school climate, preventing discrimination from what is taught within the school, no matter who is doing the teaching, establishing the curriculum, or writing contracts.
In reading it, I say amen, and at first glance, I think who would be opposed to this? Unfortunately, the usual suspects. Not unexpected, but disappointing and dangerous to all who advocate for equality. Of course, I believe in free speech, but some talking points cross the line into threats and accusations that no child should be burdened with. Neither the perpetrator, most likely taught the venom by relatives, nor the victims.
We’ve all heard the stories of Jews being attacked while walking to synagogue or on college campuses, but hearing a story of how a Jewish child at a public school was told by another child, “I wish all of your relatives had been burned in Auschwitz!” is inexcusable. At first, the child stayed home from school. Then he was assigned staff to protect him. Can you imagine the confusion, isolation, and fear not only this child, but his relatives and his community felt? For that matter, why would a non-Jew want their child subjected to hear such vulgarity?
In all of these horrific examples we’ve read in my previous blog, discussed in this webinar, or in the news, the victims’ crime was merely that he or she is Jewish. This isn’t during WWII, it is last week, today and probably unfortunately tomorrow.
So, what were we advised to do? The following suggestions are for Californians. Primarily, contact your representatives and send this to at least five others, asking them to do the same.
You can find your elected leaders here.
Also, take a moment to call the members of the Senate Education Committee:
Chair Pérez: (916) 651-4025
Vice Chair Ochoa Bogh: (916) 651-4019
Senator Cabaldon: (916) 651-4003
Senator Choi: (916) 651-4037
Senator Cortese: (916) 651-4015
Senator Gonzalez: (916) 651-4033
Senator Laird: (916) 651-4017
Please call during business hours and tell the staff member that you SUPPORT AB 715. They may ask for your name and address, but otherwise, you don’t need to be prepared to say much else.
I followed their instructions, although I had never called a political representative in my life. Don’t worry, the people answering the phones are used to us newbies, and after you respond to their question of why you are calling and state that you want the representative to support AB 715, they just ask your name and what your zip code is, and politely say thanks, and that they’ll inform X.
I’m writing this in a Times of Israel Blog, and you might ask why Israelis should care about what is happening to Diaspora Jews, don’t they have enough to worry about? My answer is yes, and the fact is that all Jews are bearing the brunt of what the Israeli government is doing, with no ability to have a vote. As Jews, we should care about all Jews. If we don’t, who will?
I would like to personally thank you for reading this blog, and if possible, I encourage you to take the time to help get this bill approved. First and foremost, we are all human beings who, hopefully, believe in equality for all. Some of us are Jews. We are a small but strong community. I would hope that at least as many non-Jews will also participate. As I’ve said, Jews are too often the canary in the coal mine, but all Americans, and therefore Californians, are hated by many who oppose this bill.
For more information on AB 715, look at Diversity Caucuses Join Together to Protect California Students from Antisemitism and Hate | Official Website – Assemblymember Dawn Addis representing the 30th California Assembly District, or on Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California (JPAC) website.
For those who know me, they know that I would much rather write my TOI Blog about the incredible Peace organizations of Israelis and Palestinians who work for peace, even during war. What? Yes, it’s true, and you can check out PEACE with Penny, my YouTube Channel, for some relief. They are stories of hope. People on both sides who understand neither side is going away, so we’d better learn to get along.
However, many of my TOI Blogs have been about an issue that I don’t want to discuss, but feel I must. Antisemitism. I write about it for my Peace of mind. We didn’t get it right during the Holocaust, and look what happened in an age when television was still new. Now, with the internet, information spreads like wildfires in California and can cause just as much damage. Notice I say information because too often what’s said is not true, like calling Israel an apartheid state, etc. If I had my way, every Jew would be talking about AB 715. Actually, every person would be talking about it and ensuring that the bill passed. Where are the folks who realize that Jews and now Israel are the canary in the coal mine for all? As 9/11 approaches, it’s a sad reminder that all Americans are vulnerable. The extremists not only hate Israel and Jews, but they also hate America.
Please help us pass AB 715. Our kids need help. Don’t let your kids be next in line. Thank you again for your support!
May You Live in Peace, שלום and سلام.