Jewish Brigadier General Jeffrey Magram is suing his former commanding officer, Major General Matthew Beevers of the California Air National Guard, the state of California, and Governor Gavin Newsom. Magram says that he was discriminated against by reason of his Jewish faith and was retaliated against for reporting this discrimination. Magram seeks $1.6 million in damages, according to a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on January 24.
Magram is a native New Yorker who rose up in the ranks of the California Air National Guard, receiving numerous awards and decorations. In 2001, Magram was named the Homeland Security and Plans Officer for the California Air National Guard, a position he used to assist in post-9/11 support activities and large-scale emergencies.
According to his complaint, Magram was suspended from active duty “for cause” in April 2021 and was reassigned to desk duty. When he asked his commanding officer why he was suspended, Magram was ignored; instead, his suspension status was announced to the Air National Guard and leaked to The Los Angeles Times. Magram believes this was due to his Jewish faith.
As part of a campaign to discredit Magram and push him out of the Air National Guard, Beevers allegedly coached a witness who claimed that Magram used subordinates for personal errands. This accusation relied largely on a 2013 incident where Magram was at home recovering from having part of his lung removed. As was standard practice, some airmen visited Magram and offered to assist. It was one of the visiting colleagues who offered to take Magram’s mother to Whole Foods after she mentioned that she liked their kosher food section but found the drive to be too difficult. Despite Magram not ordering anyone to do anything and the stale status of the story, Beevers made this the main reason for terminating Magram.
Beevers is said to have created a hostile and toxic work environment through a pattern of antisemitism, including saying that “Kike” lawyers ran the California State Guard. This derogatory remark was made in front of a Jewish general, whose actions as a commander Beevers delegitimized. The general soon retired.
In May 2022, Magram was barred from working in command headquarters even though he was not under investigation and no complaints had been made against him. According to the complaint, Magram was effectively “suspended…without cause or due process.” Magram states that the motivation for this ban was Beevers’ antisemitic animus. Despite reporting his commanding officer to California’s Governor Newsom, Magram’s complaint seemingly did not go anywhere due to Beevers’ interference in the process. By accepting Beevers’ words over Milgram’s, the state “facilitated” Beevers’ antisemitism, according to the complaint.
Throughout the investigation process, which Magram says was launched after he complained of antisemitism, Beevers is alleged to have done everything he could to discredit Magram’s claims, misconstrue his actions as an Air National Guardsmen, and publish false and defamatory information about him. All of this led to the Disciplinary Advisory Board (DAB) and Governor Newsom’s office forcing Magram to retire. Magram says he was treated unfavorably for being Jewish.
“MG Beevers mounted an unprecedented defamatory campaign against me, and it was supported by the Governor,” said Magram in a press release. “I want to make sure this never happens again.”
