SACRAMENTO (SDJW) — The Assembly Education Committee on Thursday unanimously approved AB 715, a bill designed to fight antisemitism in K-12 schools, and sent it on its legislative journey to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
The vote came after a three-hour hearing at which nearly 100 Jewish community members testified.
The video above shows David Bocarsly, executive director of the Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California testifying on the need for this legislation.
His testimony followed that of Ella Miller, an eighth grader who last year attended a public school in San Jose but this year attends a private Jewish school. She said that her life changed after Oct. 7, 2023 when Hamas and other Gaza residents crossed the Israel border and murdered nearly 1,200 Israelis and took another 250 of them hostage.
Here is her verbatim testimony:
“From a happy middle schooler with many friends, I was reduced to loneliness and abuse. All my friends turned their backs on me.
“They called me ‘the Jew.’ They yelled at me that I was a murderer and that Jews were terrorists. I was made fun of, harassed, and followed around. When I spoke in Hebrew, none of this was something I did. I was the same child as before when they were my friends.
“They hated me because of my identity, my religion, and my parents’ nationality. I did not say or do anything to deserve this. At first, I hoped that the school staff would help and protect me. But some teachers and the school board continued to say and do biased things that made it seem like Jews were bad people, giving additional fuel to the students who said those awful things about me.
“With my parents, we attempted to ask for help from the counselors, assistant principal, and principal. They did not take action. We submitted a UCP about the harassment I encountered. It took four months to get a response. That’s two months after the legal deadline to respond. And that response didn’t do anything to address the actual issue. As the weeks went by, the situation only got worse. Some days I have to stay home. I couldn’t stand it, and I feared for my own safety.
“Finally at the end of the semester, my parents withdrew me from the public school and enrolled me in a private Jewish school. Yavneh. The fall semester of 2023 was when I lost all trust in peers, friendships, adults, and good intentions. I struggled to sleep at night and with my self-esteem.
“I asked you today to take action, so other students won’t go through the pain that I went through. Thank you.”
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SDJW staff report