A California National Guard general who was fired last year recently filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), adjutant general of California, and Maj. Gen. Matthew Beevers, claiming he was the subject of antisemitic discrimination and harassment. 

Jeffrey Magram, a retired brigadier general who is Jewish, filed the lawsuit in a Los Angeles court on Jan. 24, claiming that Beevers “discriminated against Magram by harassing and wrongfully terminating Magram because of Magram’s Jewish faith,” according to legal documents. The former general also alleges in the lawsuit that the state and Newsom were aware of the Magram’s complaints but did nothing. 

“I am extremely proud of my more than 37 years of service to California and this great nation, but I still have serious concerns for the welfare of the service members and civilians that currently serve in the Department,” Magram told Fox News. “MG Beevers mounted an unprecedented defamatory campaign against me, and it was supported by the Governor.” 

“I want to make sure this never happens again. MG Beevers actions were disturbingly aggressive and unexplainable, and he needs to be held accountable,” Magram continued. “It’s shocking that Governor Newsom disregarded the many attempts made to correct this situation and appointed MG Beevers permanently as the Adjutant General.”

The retired brigadier general, who has served with the California Guard and the Air Force for 40 years, with 15 of those years serving as a full-time officer with the California Military Department, is seeking $1.6 million in lost compensation over the antisemitic statements, Stars and Stripes reported.  

In January 2023, the Los Angeles Times reported that Magram had been “involuntarily” transferred, which a National Guard spokesman told the outlet was “parallel” to being fired. Magram was transferred to the U.S. Air Force retired reserves after reports came out that he used military members to carry out personal tasks in addition to preparing a fighter jet to frighten protesters and get them to disperse in 2020. 

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Magram told Fox News that those were not the reasons he was fired and said he was removed because he exposed Beevers’s antisemitic behavior six separate times to Newsom’s office. Beevers made statements saying, “How Jewish can you get,” in regard to a Jewish military member using their military discount to purchase a vehicle, along with other comments about Jewish stereotypes, which Magram said other senior officers also witnessed, he told the outlet. 

While Newsom did not respond to Fox News’s request for comment, he directed them to the California Military Department which told the outlet that Magram’s lawsuit was “retaliatory and baseless” and that he was fired for making the department “lose faith, trust, and confidence” in Magram’s ability to be a leader within the Air National Guard.