Tell CA Legislature to support AB 2159

Once again the Israel Lobby in California has persuaded the State Legislature to ignore pro-Palestine voices. In blatantly undemocratic fashion, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas has refused to allow AB 2159, a bill which would have corrected the worst elements of last year’s AB 715, to be presented to the legislature.

Instead the legislature will be presented only with AB 2616 (Zbur; Addis) a bill which is a newly minted, lukewarm rehashing of AB 715. AB 2616 was rushed through the Assembly Education Committee on 4-21-26 after the deadline for submitting comments and letters of opposition had passed.

TAKE ACTION RIGHT NOW
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1. Send an email click here.

2. Call your Assemblymember ask them to oppose AB 2615 and to demand that AB 2159 be given a fair hearing. 

(Sacramento) Assemblymember Maggy Krell, (916) 319-2006, assemblymember.krell@assembly.ca.gov

Other Assemblymembers, click here.

3. Call to Support AB 2159 Click here.

More info:

Last year, California passed AB 715 under the banner of addressing antisemitism in K–12 schools, but in practice, it created serious risks for educators and students and faced widespread opposition from teachers, students, labor unions, and civil rights organizations.

AB 2159 removes a definition of antisemitism that conflates protected political speech with discrimination, ensures the Antisemitism Prevention Coordinator is selected through a fair, merit-based process, and eliminates vague language that could enable politically motivated complaints against educators. Click here to support AB 2159.

AB 2615 is not a fix — it’s a trap. While it deletes some language around advocacy and personal opinion, it:
• Still references the widely condemned IHRA definition of antisemitism, which conflates criticisms of Israel with antisemitism
• Does nothing to ensure a fair hiring process for the antisemitism coordinator
• Actually broadens the “factually accurate” language from AB 715 — further intimidating teachers who try to teach honestly about Palestine and Israel.