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ACTION ALERT: EXTREMIST ANTIZIONIST SENATOR SCOTT WIENER MUST RESIGN.

The Jewish Community Advocacy Council (JCAC) and several community organizations and residents across the Bay Area are calling for the resignation of State Senator Scott Wiener from the Jewish Caucus following his public statements asserting that Israel committed genocide.

Wiener did not merely choose the wrong term. He used the same antizionist rhetoric our opponents have used to defame Israel since October 7, 2023, declaring on social media that "Israel has committed genocide in Gaza" and that Israel's conduct "qualifies as genocide."

Allegations of genocide against Israel go beyond legitimate policy criticism and fall squarely within the modern form of antisemitism: antizionism. Knowingly slandering the only Jewish state for political gain is an extremist view that is not representative of the Jewish people.

These statements come at a dangerous moment. Around the world and closer to home, antisemitic rhetoric has coincided with deadly violence — mass shootings targeting Jewish communities, arson attacks on synagogues, and acts of intimidation meant to instill fear. We are calling on Senator Wiener to step down from office and on regional leaders to unequivocally reject the use of genocide accusations as a political weapon.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — San Francisco Bay Area. The Jewish Community Advocacy Council (JCAC), a newly-formed Jewish legal-aid foundation, today announced that it has filed a First Amendment action against two Bay Area high-school districts for viewpoint-based cancellation of speaking events by openly gay Muslim human-rights activist Luai Ahmed.

Ahmed was scheduled to speak at Bay Area high schools — including Alameda High School (Alameda Unified) and Homestead and Fremont High Schools (Fremont Union) — but the events were cancelled within days following organized protests by anti-Israel advocacy groups. The cancellations denied students the opportunity to hear Ahmed's message and denied journalists, including those engaged by JCAC, access to cover the events.

Ahmed, born in Sana'a, Yemen in 1993, fled to Sweden as a refugee in 2014 due to threats over his sexual orientation and Islamist persecution. He is a journalist, columnist and social-media figure who writes and speaks on Islamist extremism, antisemitism in the Muslim world and Europe, and the intersection of LGBTQ+ rights and refugee experience. Students from Jewish-affiliated campus clubs invited him to speak.

At Alameda High School, the district postponed the event after protest groups explicitly referenced Ahmed's identity and viewpoint. Alameda4Ceasefire posted: "Alameda High School is inviting a self-proclaimed Zionist," and after the cancellation: "PEOPLE POWER KEPT ZIONIST PROPAGANDA OUT OF ALAMEDA SCHOOLS." At Fremont and Homestead, parents received an email announcing the cancellation on the grounds of preventing "discrimination and disruptions to our educational mission."

JCAC's complaint argues the decisions constitute viewpoint discrimination in violation of the First Amendment and the corollary right to receive information. JCAC Founder and Attorney Mark L. Javitch: "Students deserve to hear a wide range of viewpoints, especially from diverse voices who challenge unfair discrimination. When a school cancels an openly gay Muslim activist, it sends a chilling message about free inquiry and equality."

JCAC Executive Council member Dr. Diana Blum added: "We can no longer accept the intimidation of our Jewish students by school administrators. Ahmed could not be allowed to speak because he challenges the schools' progressive narratives."

The lawsuit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, nominal and compensatory damages and attorney's fees under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the First Amendment.