A San Francisco Superior Court judge has thrown out a $7,700 judgment awarded to a Jewish middle school teacher who sued his union for sending out a flyer celebrating the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas massacre and accusing Israel of genocide. The teacher, Lee Miller, said the image on the flyer resembled a terrorist.
Following a recent appeal hearing in the case, Judge Samuel Feng ruled Wednesday that there was not enough evidence that Miller suffered significant “emotional distress” as a result of the flyer, a necessary element to sustain his small claims court win.
Miller took the United Educators of San Francisco (UESF) to court over what he has called a “vile” and “despicable” digital flyer emailed to all UESF members in the days leading up to the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. The flyer announced: “One year of genocide, one year of resistance.”
The flyer’s background featured an illustration of a person wearing a kaffiyeh as a face mask, which to Miller resembled a Hamas terrorist. The flyer also promoted “free massages” for union members.
Miller told J. on Thursday that he is extremely disappointed with the judge’s ruling and worries that it will open the door to even more intense anti-Israel messaging from the union. A number of Jewish teachers have already left the union due to its anti-Israel activism.
“The union is going to face zero repercussions,” Miller said. “They had a total and absolute victory, and it’s devastating. I know I’m not going to be able to sleep tonight.”
Miller, who quit the union over the flyer, originally sued for $1,500, or roughly half of what he had paid in dues since joining two years earlier.
In May, a small claims court judge awarded Miller just over $7,700 for two years of union dues and for emotional distress damages.
On Wednesday, Feng negated the award to Miller, stating in part that Miller had not lost any union benefits.
“Respondent is not entitled to reimbursement of his union dues as respondent was never denied benefits provided by his union membership during that time period,” Feng wrote in his ruling. “For emotional distress to be considered in small claims court, the emotional harm must be serious [enough] that an ordinary, reasonable person would be unable to cope with it.”
Feng concluded in his ruling that while Miller saw the flyer as “offensive and cruel,” there was no supporting evidence, such as medical records, evaluations from therapists, psychologists or psychiatrists, to support the claim of emotional distress.
“There was no documentation or evidence of how this flyer impacted his life,” Feng wrote.
On Aug. 20, Miller, represented by a pro-bono attorney with the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, a Jewish civil rights firm, testified through tears at the appeal hearing.
Cassondra Curiel, president of UESF, also testified, with multiple attorneys representing UESF. Neither Curiel nor vice president Frank Lara, who was personally named in Miller’s small claims suit, responded to J.’s request for comment.
“There was plenty of evidence,” Rachel Lerman, vice chair of the Brandeis Center, told J. on Thursday, regarding Miller’s emotional distress. “He did testify to emotional distress, how it affected him in the classroom, how it caused him to miss work.”
Lerman said that too often, when prosecuting cases of antisemitic and anti-Israel bias, she sees that judges “just don’t see it.”
“This is part of the problem that we face, is that judges and administrators just don’t get that this creates a hostile environment, that this is really offensive and insulting to people who … are just Jews in America and relate to Israel as part of their Jewish identity.”
With its court victory solidified, Miller said he fears that the UESF will once again disseminate antisemitic and anti-Zionist messaging, which he said hasn’t been a problem that he’s seen since he filed the small claims complaint.
Miller added that he’s nervous about what messages the union will produce ahead of the second anniversary of Oct. 7, just weeks away.
“They’re going to feel vindicated,” said Miller, who works at Aptos Middle School. “They made it clear during the hearing that they’re going to continue sending out images like the one they sent earlier.”
After reading Wednesday’s ruling, Miller said, he emailed San Francisco Unified School District’s superintendent and his middle school’s principal, seeking support and possible intervention with the union.
During his Superior Court testimony, Miller said that several teachers at his school have stopped speaking to him because of fallout with the union over the flyer and anti-Israel activism. The friction at school has made it difficult for Miller to collaborate with his colleagues, he said in court, even though such communication is essential for his students to successfully integrate into their classes.
“I feel like I’m being intimidated out of my job,” Miller said Thursday.
Miller works with a small class of students with severe autism, helping them learn behavioral skills and integrate into larger classes.
“I happen to actually look forward to going to work. I really care about my students,” Miller said. “It would be very difficult for me to leave my job.”
While the Brandeis Center considers its involvement in the case to be over, Miller said that he will seek other avenues to hold UESF accountable.
“I don’t care how much of a long shot it is,” he said. “I’m not ready to give up this fight.”