Does Kareem Jubran Owe Simi Valley Answers on his Fathers Omar Jubran's Protests?
Kareem Jubran has never addressed Omar Jubran's on-the-record Gaza remarks or said what Kareem Jubran would do if the nearby deadly unrest reaches Simi Valley. Voters deserve answers.
FEATUREDSIMI VALLEY POLITICSOPINION
Five people are running for mayor of Simi Valley this November. One of them, Kareem Jubran, has a problem the others don't: an old interview that Kareem Jubran has never talked about in public. Kareem Jubran has served three terms on the Simi Valley Unified School District board and works as a construction executive. Kareem Jubran is running on housing, homelessness and rebuilding downtown.
The question following Kareem Jubran has nothing to do with zoning or budgets. It is about Kareem Jubran's father, Omar Jubran.
Kareem Jubran's biggest problem: Kareem Jubran's father, Omar Jubran, imam of the Islamic Society of Simi Valley
Kareem Jubran's campaign for mayor could someday be hurt by comments Kareem Jubran's father, Omar Jubran, made. Omar Jubran criticized Israel's military actions and the American policy that supports them.
On Oct. 19, 2023, Omar Jubran spoke on camera with the local TV station Key News Network. Omar Jubran was at a Simi Valley rally protesting Israel's war in Gaza and a recent explosion at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital. Israeli and Palestinian officials still disagree about what caused that explosion (Key News Network, YouTube; Al-Ahli Arab Hospital explosion, Wikipedia). "We are protesting such an action, such an inhumane action that was done by the Israeli Army, bombs that are provided by our US government," Omar Jubran said, describing Gazans as lacking "electricity... water... food." "People are being bombarded in their own homes without any warning," Omar Jubran said. "Families have been wiped out. This is inhumane." Omar Jubran also said American news coverage, including President Biden, was "one-sided" (all quotes from Key News Network).
Omar Jubran's remarks never mention the Hamas-led attack on Israel. That attack happened twelve days earlier, on Oct. 7, 2023, and started the war Omar Jubran was protesting.
Local news calls Omar Jubran the imam of the Islamic Society of Simi Valley. A 2025 story about the city approving mosque upgrades calls Omar Jubran "ISSV Imam Omar Jubran." An earlier story calls Omar Jubran "Sheikh Omar Jubran" (CAIR California; Moorpark Reporter). No public record shows Kareem Jubran ever responding to Omar Jubran's remarks.
An unresolved wound in Simi Valley
On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led fighters killed more than 1,200 people across southern Israel. The killings happened at places including Kibbutz Nir Oz and the Nova music festival. The fighters also kidnapped at least 252 people, according to United Nations investigators. U.N. reports say there is good reason to believe rape and other sexual violence happened that morning too — something Hamas denies (U.N. Commission of Inquiry; OHCHR).
Seventeen days later, in nearby Thousand Oaks, a protest turned deadly. Pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrators had gathered at the same spot. On Nov. 5, 2023, Paul Kessler, a 69-year-old Jewish man holding an Israeli flag, was hit in the head with a megaphone. Kessler died the next morning from the injury, according to the Los Angeles Times and the Ventura County medical examiner (Los Angeles Times; Killing of Paul Kessler, Wikipedia). Loay Alnaji, a man from Moorpark, pleaded guilty in May 2026 to felony involuntary manslaughter and battery. A judge sentenced Alnaji to one year in county jail and two years of probation. Prosecutors had wanted a harsher sentence (Ventura County District Attorney; NBC News).
The Big Question For Mayoral Candidate Kareem Jubran
That leaves one fair, well-supported question: as mayor, would Kareem Jubran enforce Simi Valley's public-safety rules the same way for everyone? How would Kareem Jubran, as mayor, address future high-conflict protests ever involving Omar Jubran or the Islamic Society on the streets of Simi Valley? This question matters because, as mayor, Kareem Jubran would be responsible for every resident's safety.
Four other names are also on the November ballot. Whoever voters choose will lead a city that still carries a recorded set of controversial remarks from a candidate's father. Kareem Jubran has not answered for either. Voters deserve a direct answer.
Editor's note: The protesters described in this article represent only a portion of the Islamic Society of Simi Valley's members, not the mosque's congregation as a whole.
The Simi Valley Ledger is an Official Publication of The Freedom Project © 2026
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