On Oct. 6, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 715 (AB 715) into law, which aims to prevent any type of antisemitic language and actions in K-12 schools in the state of California. The law, initially proposed by state assembly members Rick Chavez Zbur of Santa Monica and Dawn Addis of Morro Bay, is set to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2026. This comes as a result of the War in Gaza between Israel and Palestine, which has drawn national attention to the divide between Israelis and Palestinians.

Maayan Bujanover, a junior and one of the co-presidents of JSU has experienced antisemitism first hand.

“A lot of us have experienced antisemitism because of [the Israel-Hamas war]. We try to make [the club] a safe space for everyone to talk about how they feel about all that antisemitism,” Bujanover said.

When AB 715 goes into effect, school districts will be required to investigate and take action against antisemitic occurrences, while also checking all instructional materials covering information on Jewish history to ensure that what is being taught is factually correct. 

Jewish students have always faced antisemitism, but it has increased in recent years. 

“Some people have told me to go back to Israel,” Bujanover said.

However, on Nov. 2, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) filed a lawsuit against Newsom, along with California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, declaring that this law was unconstitutional by violating the First Amendment right to freedom of speech. 

The lawsuit was followed up by a preliminary injunction filed on Nov. 7, with the ADC urging for a hearing before the new year, when the law will go into effect. The ultimate goal of the preliminary injunction would be to permanently invalidate the bill, preventing it from ever going into effect.

Sophomore club member Sam Riley said the bill raises important questions about the limits of free speech.

“I think it comes to a certain point where if your comments are hurting another community, like the right [to free speech] ends there, because nobody can say stuff [that is harmful to a group of people],” Riley said. This would prevent any type of protection for Jewish students in schools. 

“I understand why the ADC is trying to do this,” Riley said. “It’s probably because of the war in the Middle East, [but] you can’t group all of the Jewish people under Israel because it’s just really not fair [in terms of morals]. If [AB 715] doesn’t pass, then that just makes it so much easier for the Jewish community to continue to be scapegoated.” 

While a court date has yet to be set, the lawsuit could upend AB 715 before it ever takes effect, reshaping how California schools handle speech, curriculum and conflict.