An attempt by radical educators to inject anti-Israel propaganda into California's public schools was derailed by the Jewish community's strong response. In Newton, Massachusetts,
Different Responses from the Jewish Communities of California and Newton
Across the United States, radicalized educators are foisting their anti-Israel agenda onto susceptible schoolchildren. Frequently this is done under the guise of the trendy “intersectionality” concept that associates the Palestinian cause with more accredited “social justice” causes. Feckless school committees and administrators fail to block the infiltration of flawed material into the classroom or reprimand teachers who misuse their classroom stature to indoctrinate students. It is left up to vigilant citizens to oppose the hijacking of public education.
This report examines two cases, one in California, and the other in Newton, Massachusetts, that evoked sharply different responses from their respective Jewish communities:
The California case involves an attempt to inject anti-Israel activism and anti-Jewish tropes into an Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum mandated by California’s legislature.
The Newton case tracks the insertion of biased units on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict into history courses by ideologically-motivated teachers.
In California, exposure of the radical politics embedded in the proposed curriculum elicited a strong reaction from the Jewish community and responsive politicians, including the governor. This impressive grass-roots response persuaded state education officials to delay the curriculum’s implementation and promise to make revisions.
In Newton, the city’s school committee has treated public concerns with disdain and disinterest. Lacking curiosity to investigate the claims of bias and factual flaws, the school committee has failed to hold the superintendent accountable for ensuring that students receive an education free from bias and indoctrination. An entire generation of Newton children are being inculcated with a distorted depiction of Israel and the Israeli-Arab conflict.
Exposing the Attempt by Radicals to Subvert a Legislatively Mandated Curriculum
The Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum was mandated by the California legislature in 2016. Its intent is to bring more attention to the experiences of ethnic groups in California that historically encountered discrimination. The groups included were Hispanics, African-Americans, Asians and Arab-Americans.
The inclusion of Arab-Americans and the heavy focus on Islamophobia reflects the political orientation of the drafters. In California, other ethno-religious groups – Jews, Armenians and various Middle Eastern Christian groups, outnumber Arab-Americans and Muslims in California and have substantive claims to having experienced discrimination and persecution. FBI statistics show Jews are far more often the target of hate crimes than Arabs or Muslims.
California’s education officials turned to academics who specialize in ethnic studies to produce a curriculum draft. Several members of the drafting group openly advocate the antisemitic Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. The curriculum reflects the drafters’ political agenda.
The BDS movement is not, as its advocates disingenuously contend, a humanitarian campaign to compel Israel to respect Palestinian rights. Its founders explicitly call for the elimination of Israel. The antisemitic nature of the BDS movement has been exposed and thoroughly documented (https://4il.org.il/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/MSA-report-Behind-the-Mask.pdf). The United States Congress, the German government and numerous state legislatures have denounced the BDS movement as antisemitic. Even the UN Human Rights Council, a forum dominated by undemocratic regimes, where denunciation of Israel is a routine procedural item, has finally acknowledged the inherent antisemitism of the BDS movement.
While the BDS movement has had no measurable effect on Israel’s economy and foreign relations, its impact is felt elsewhere. As columnist Caroline Glick points out,
BDS in America is directed primarily against American Jews. Its goal is to silence them as a political force in America. American Jews who support Israel are ostracized in universities, and even in high schools. They are subjected to abuse in every quarter.
Jewish students have been subject to increasing harassment and intimidation at California’s universities as a result of BDS activities. Anti-Israel student groups routinely disrupt activities that have anything positive to do with Israel. But even more disturbing, a recent report on the status of anti-Israel activism on college campuses found that radical faculty are the main drivers of anti-Israel activity on campuses.
