California’s “anti-discrimination,” “antisemitism prevention” bill: A bipartisan assault on democratic rights and public education

The signing of California Assembly Bill 715 (AB 715) by Governor Gavin Newsom on October 7 marks a milestone in the bipartisan campaign to criminalize political dissent and rewrite history in the service of imperialist policy. The timing of the bill’s signing, two years since the events of October 7 and the beginning of Gaza’s genocide, was no accident.

Passed under the fraudulent banner of “antisemitism prevention,” AB 715 embodies a reactionary fusion of state power, corporate censorship and Zionist ideology. It is part of a nationwide effort to equate opposition to the Israeli state with hatred of Jewish people, silencing criticism of the Gaza genocide and US imperialism in the Middle East.

The unanimous passage of AB 715 exposes the class character of American politics. In May, the Assembly approved it 68–0; the Senate followed 35–0; and the Assembly concurred 71–0. Not a single Democrat or Republican voiced objection. The “progressive” state that boasts of diversity and inclusion has united the entire establishment behind a law attacking freedom of speech, placing in grave danger academic freedom and democratic principles.

Unanimity among the ruling class is not progress but a warning. The American capitalist class achieves consensus when preparing war, abroad or at home. AB 715 is a declaration of war on democratic rights and public education, part of the ideological groundwork for dictatorship in the United States which will only facilitate the Trump administration’s war on the working class.