On Thursday, the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights and StandWithUs sued the state of California, its Department of Education, and several school districts, alleging that officials allowed antisemitic harassment of Jewish and Israeli students to “fester” in K-12 schools. The lawsuit seeks court-ordered oversight of campus antisemitism and limits on funding for districts that fail to enforce nondiscrimination policies.

Earlier in the week, the Trump administration’s Justice Department filed suit against UCLA, accusing the university of permitting a hostile work environment for Jewish and Israeli employees following pro-Palestinian encampments in 2024. And at UC Santa Barbara, former student body president Tessa Veksler sued the university, alleging it failed to protect her from antisemitic harassment after she condemned the October 7 attacks.

Against that backdrop, antisemitism was the dominant theme at Thursday’s forum.

Candidates pledged to enforce Assembly Bill 715, a law signed last year aimed at combating antisemitism in K-12 schools, and to ensure its implementation across districts. They denounced the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement and affirmed Israel’s right to exist, even as some voiced criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

AB 715 bans the teaching of Palestinian history in schools…