Statement from ADC President and Legal Director Jenin Younes on the Appointment of Lele Yutzy as head of CA’s new Office of Civil Rights

August 10, 2026

Washington, D.C. | Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Lele Yutzy to serve as Director of California’s newly created Office of Civil Rights, which will oversee implementation of AB 715. In response to the appointment, Jenin Younes, President and Legal Director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) issued the following statement:

“Lele Yutzy’s appointment to lead California’s new Office of Civil Rights merits serious scrutiny as he will now have enormous influence over how AB 715 is interpreted and enforced. During his 2-year tenure as California State University (CSU) Senior Director for Civil Rights, CSU became the subject of a federal EEOC investigation concerning alleged antisemitism following pro-Palestine protests. And on August 6, one day after Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Yutzy’s appointment, the U.S. Department of Education opened separate Title VI investigations into San Jose State and San Francisco State alleging failures to adequately address antisemitic harassment. Those investigations make it especially important to closely examine Yutzy’s civil rights record and how he draws the line between unlawful discrimination and constitutionally protected political speech.

California Dept of Education defended AB 715 by repeatedly assuring that the law would not censor advocacy or education about Palestine. The State told the Court that “nothing in AB 715 prohibits” criticism of Israel or teaching about Palestine. U.S. District Court Judge Noël Wise stated that “the legitimate criticism of Israel as would be leveled against other countries is not antisemitism.”

ADC welcomes collaboration with Director Yutzy and his office and urges that – as this new civil rights framework takes shape – the voices and rights of Palestinian, Arab and Muslim students and educators must be meaningfully considered in decisions that affect California’s schools. The Office of Civil Rights has an obligation to protect all students from discrimination, and its work cannot be shaped solely around the concerns of Jewish students while overlooking communities who could be directly impacted by AB 715.

The State must abide by its promises. It cannot defend AB 715 in federal court by promising that advocacy for Palestine, criticism of Israel and Zionism, and legitimate instruction about Palestinian history remain protected, and then permit those same forms of expression to be targeted through biased enforcement. ADC will hold Director Yutzy and the California Dept of Education to the statements made in court. If AB 715 is used to censor constitutionally protected education, advocacy or political speech, ADC stands ready to return to court to defend the First Amendment rights the State itself assured Judge Wise this law would not violate.”