Davey D opens by grounding listeners in the fight over ethnic studies in California, focusing on AB715 and how claims of antisemitism are being used to roll back gains and potentially chill K–12 ethnic studies. Sameer frames this as part of a larger right-wing strategy coming out of the Heritage Foundation’s “Project Esther,” a companion to Project 2025 that lays out how to shore up support for Israel and criminalize the Palestine solidarity movement. He argues that centrist and “resistance” Democrats like Gavin Newsom and Scott Wiener are, in practice, advancing that playbook.
A big chunk of the conversation is about how antisemitism is being redefined and weaponized. Sameer insists three things must be held at once: antisemitism is real and rising; it is also being misused to shut down legitimate criticism of Israel and Palestinian solidarity; and the political class is hyper-focused on antisemitism while ignoring anti-Palestinian racism and other forms of oppression. AB715 bakes into law a politicized definition of antisemitism drawn from federal policy that effectively equates criticism of Israel with hatred of Jews.
You both break down concrete dangers in the bill:
“Discrimination prevention coordinators” or monitors who could be political appointees deciding that Palestinian flags, keffiyehs, or even certain lesson plans are “antisemitic.”
Language requiring instruction to be “factually accurate,” a vague standard that was almost explicitly defined to say calling Israel a “settler colonial state” is inaccurate.
The way this framework could punish teachers and schools for drawing parallels between Israeli policies and South African apartheid.
Sameer also highlights how AB715 was rushed through: introduced after deadlines, bypassing normal committee process, with no real input from teachers, students, or school boards, even as its own authors admitted the language was flawed and promised “ironclad” amendments that still have not materialized.
Toward the end, you dig into Zionism, with Sameer stressing it’s a political ideology, not synonymous with Judaism, and noting that many Zionists in the U.S. are non-Jewish Christian evangelicals whose support is rooted in apocalyptic theology and often explicit antisemitism. He points to figures like Steve Bannon, Tucker Carlson, and Elon Musk to show how openly antisemitic actors avoid scrutiny while Jewish students and Palestine organizers are targeted.
Sameer closes by calling on listeners to get organized: pressure legislators, demand fixes to AB715, defend ethnic studies, and treat the coming elections as a test of whether Californians will accept political censorship wrapped in “community safety” rhetoric.
Hard Knock Radio is a drive-time Hip-Hop talk show on KPFA (94.1fm @ 4-5 pm Monday-Friday), a community radio station without corporate underwriting, hosted by Davey D and Anita Johnson.
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