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Explore NCRI Reports on PeerK12 — in-depth research and white papers from Network Contagion Research Institute that examine antisemitism, radical influences, ideological bias, and foreign-funded curricula in K-12 education. Understand how extremist groups and disinformation networks impact schools and student safety, and empower yourself with data-driven insights to advocate for accountability and informed policy. ncri reports The Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) provides pioneering technology, research, and analysis to identify and forecast cyber-social threats targeting individuals, organizations, and communities. The NCRI is committed to empowering partners to become proactive in protecting themselves against false narratives that create rifts of distrust that impact institutions, capital markets, public health, and safety. november 25 2024 INSTRUCTING ANIMOSITY: How DEI Pedagogy Produces the Hostile Attribution Bias READ REPORT JULY 12 2024 NEWSWEEK ARTICLE | NCRI positions modern antisemitism as a national security threat, influenced by global political dynamics. What is driving the massive surge of antisemitism we have seen since last October’s campaign of terror by Palestinian terror group Hamas and Israel’s ensuing offensive in the Gaza Strip? At least part of the answer is Iran. READ ARTICLE MAY 13 2024 Contagious Disruption: How CCP Influence and Radical Ideologies Threaten Critical Infrastructure and Campuses Across the United States READ REPORT DECEMBER 21 2023 A Tik-Tok-ing Timebomb: How TikTok’s Global Platform Anomalies Align with the Chinese Communist Party’s Geostrategic Objectives READ REPORT DECEMBER 5 2023 The Anti-Transparency Portal A Financial-Analytic, Data Driven Review of Obscurities, Inconsistencies and Failures of Compliance Facing Section 117 Reporting of Foreign Gifts and Donations Received by American Colleges and Universities. Recent implementations by Department of Education 117 reporting after September 2020 make vast amounts of data impossible to fully and accurately resolve. READ REPORT july 27 2023 7/27/23 – Anti-Zionism, Antisemitism, and the Polarization Pendulum The belief that Jews have a right to self-determination in the land of Israel has invited objection since before Israel’s founding in 1948. Often couched in familiar antisemitic accusations of Jewish supremacy, bloodlust, and covert dominance, a narrative of heroic resistance to these antisemitic themes paints anti Zionism with hues of social justice and solidarity.... READ REPORT may 11 2023 The “Synagogue of Satan”:Uniting Extremist Groups in the Revival of an Antisemitic Libel Online Mentions of “synagogue” on Twitter have doubled on average since October 2022, with surges in negative sentiment for comments containing the term during the same period. The “Synagogue of Satan” is an antisemitic libel, accounting lately for nearly 20% of all comments mentioning the term “synagogue” on Twitter and is often accompanied by calls for… READ REPORT January 17 2023 Memes, Misses, and Mobilizations: An Analysis of the 2021 Hamas/Israel Conflict In this report, we juxtapose the delivery of hashtag campaigns with the delivery of missiles and real-world protests in a single ecosystem of reactivity. The aim of this report is to examine the relationship of outbursts of Middle East. conflict, rises in antisemitic and anti-zionist rhetoric, social justice outrage, anti-Israel protests and real-world antisemitic incidents. READ REPORT DECEMBER 15 2020 Antisemitic Disinformation: A Study of the Online Dissemination of Anti-Jewish Conspiracy Theories The disinformation by which Jews have been presented throughout history as the scourge of humanity, antisemitic disinformation, has been expressed in terms of threats to religion, science, power, dominant ethnic groups, nation-states, and in more modern iterations, as threats to human rights and racial justice. READ REPORT Email* Subscribe I want to subscribe to your mailing list. *

May 8, 2026 Legal challenge to SFUSD ‘Voices’ hits Mayor Lurie Liz Le Friends of Lowell Foundation (FOLF) formally requested a meeting with Mayor Daniel Lurie and senior City Hall officials, citing alleged violations of the California Brown Act in the San Francisco Unified School District’s (SFUSD) adoption of the controversial “Voices: An Ethnic Studies Survey” curriculum. Originally Posted In: https://thevoicesf.org/legal-challenge-to-sfusd-voices-hits-mayor-lurie/ < Back Friends of Lowell Foundation (FOLF) formally requested a meeting with Mayor Daniel Lurie and senior City Hall officials, citing alleged violations of the California Brown Act in the San Francisco Unified School District’s (SFUSD) adoption of the controversial “Voices : An Ethnic Studies Survey” curriculum. The legal letter , which included 53 pages of legal attachments, asserts there is “a pattern of deliberate lawbreaking at SFUSD, and it is no longer reasonably in dispute.” It seeks a discussion with the mayor, education, and policy staff, and representatives from the district attorney’s and city attorney’s offices. The request follows an earlier demand letter to the district and Board of Education, which preceded the abrupt departure of SFUSD’s legal director. FOLF board member Alisa Farenzena reiterates,“The city government sends roughly a quarter of a billion dollars per year to the SFUSD, which in return gives us ongoing budget deficits, declining enrollment, and repeated violations of California’s Brown Act. We’re asking the mayor to engage now — because, if these failures continue, the imminent public scrutiny and consequences for our students will be significant.” Although the Board of Education and Superintendent Maria Su do not report to the mayor, City Hall controls significant taxpayer funding to the school district. Friends of Lowell is urging City Hall intervention on SFUSD transparency, independent evaluation, budget stewardship, and students’ civil rights. On April 28, 2026, the Board of Education voted 6-1 to approve a roughly $7 million, five-year contract making Voices the district’s standardized, permanent high school ethnic studies curriculum. The full textbook remains unavailable, and only a hard copy is reviewable at SFUSD headquarters. Requests for on-site reviews remain restricted to short intervals during limited business hours. SFUSD paid $147,000 to the Los Angeles-based Education Leaders of Color (EdLoC) to oversee community input sessions over two Saturdays in March. The two moderators, Andrea and Ebony, introduced themselves from an organization called Social Studies Accelerator , where Andrea is also founder and entrepreneur-in-residence at EdLoC. The review committee consisted of 16 ethnic studies teachers, 15 other SFUSD educators and staff, and eight San Francisco parents. Each parent was assigned roughly to a table of four, with the other three members of the table being SFUSD employees (for example, principals, vice principals, and others). There was always an ethnic studies teacher assigned to every table. It’s unclear how the SFUSD educators were selected, but an overwhelming majority seemed familiar with the ethnic studies curriculum and were mostly in favor of it. Individual scores, from 0 to 3, were averaged out per table. Thus, a parent’s score of zero was almost always diluted when the table’s composite average was submitted. Parents were granted roughly one Sunday and five weekdays to review the Voices curriculum. It was the first time that parents had seen the full Voices textbook. Working parents faced even tighter constraints in conducting a meaningful examination. Moderators made clear from the outset that Voices was the only curriculum under consideration and that none of its content would be subject to evaluation or revision. They instructed the room to holler “content” if any feedback veered off-topic, addressed the material itself, or failed to align with the scoring criteria of a narrow, detailed four-point rubric. In the textbook’s introductory section, ninth graders are introduced to a “Power Wheel” diagram, adapted from Sylvia Duckworth’s Wheels of Power and Privilege . The wheel prompts students to identify where they stand across overlapping categories of identity, including race, sex, gender, religion, income, immigration status, and more. It explicitly frames characteristics such as White, European, cis-male, Christian, Settler, high-income, and citizen as conferring greater power and privilege, while positioning other identities as marginalized. Parents have strongly criticized the framework for presenting contested critical race theory concepts as undisputed fact, especially to incoming freshmen who have yet to complete foundational courses in U.S. history, civics, or economics. There appear to be plenty of examples of oppression in the Voices textbook, and when pressed, why there are no success stories, the counter-story response is that privileged powers permitted it as needed, high-level control remained with the powerful few. Ethnic studies is meant to foster critical thinking, but the curriculum itself presents only one side with few examples of minority success stories for analytical comparison. The review committee made clear that the Voices course embodies “liberated” ethnic studies, explicitly designed to create social justice activists, rather than conventional multicultural studies intended to expand knowledge. This orientation is consistent with comments made by an SFUSD ethnic studies teacher during the Aug. 26, 2025, Board of Education meeting, where he told a packed audience that the class aims to “create warriors,” while wearing a keffiyeh scarf. Liz Le is an entrepreneur, research strategist, 20-year San Francisco resident, poli-sci/econ maverick, and parent of two teens. Previous Next

November 18, 2021 San Dieguito board passes resolutions denouncing antisemitism, discrimination Karen Billings On Nov. 18, the San Dieguito Union High School District passed a resolution addressing antisemitism and affirming the value of Jewish students, faculty, staff, and families. Originally Posted In: http://sandiegouniontribune.com/2021/11/23/san-dieguito-board-passes-resolutions-denouncing-antisemitism-discrimination-4/ < Back On Nov. 18, the San Dieguito Union High School District passed a resolution addressing antisemitism and affirming the value of Jewish students, faculty, staff, and families. The resolution denounced the rise in antisemitic rhetoric and hate-motivated crimes and incidents that denigrate members of the Jewish community served by San Dieguito. A second resolution affirmed the protection of students against discrimination, harassment, intimidation and bullying, aiming to make changes in district procedures that could help identify and address acts of discrimination. Both resolutions were brought forward by Trustee Michael Allman. “Many parents and students in our community feel that we are failing to adequately provide a safe and nurturing environment free from discrimination, harassment, intimidation and bullying,” Allman said. “We owe it to our students and our families to minimize discrimination in all its forms.” President Mo Muir said she wanted to send a clear message that bullying and harassment of any kind is unacceptable and the board as a whole supported that schools should be an environment where all students feel welcomed and loved. The resolution on antisemitism was in response to a letter to the board from 250 students from San Dieguito’s Jewish community, pleading for a resolution against the rise in antisemitism: “We deserve to feel safe on campus,” the student wrote. “We’ve had enough of the swastikas we’ve seen tagged everywhere, enough of the hateful memes and enough of the ugly side comments and texts. We should not be afraid to wear a Jewish star necklace or post about being Jewish on social for fear of being bullied,” read the letter. “After being blindsided by standardized testing during Rosh Hashanah in September, we were reminded how little representation we have.” During public comment, parents said Jewish families are suffering due to a rise in hatred directed at their faith, identity or historical roots. Two parents said they removed children from district or Encinitas schools due to antisemitic acts. There have been reports of students being beaten up for being Jewish at Carmel Valley Middle School and San Dieguito Academy has been vandalized with anti-semitic imagery—just last week a racial slur was graffitied on the campus. (At the meeting, Superintendent Cheryl James Ward said they were able to review camera footage from campus and determined that the offenders were not district students.) Miri Ketayi, an Israeli-American parent, said her Jewish son felt uncomfortable at school during the last conflict between Israel and Hamas in May. The students’ letter referenced how teachers allowed anti-Israel and anti-Zionism rhetoric in the classroom and said they were silenced when they spoke up about it. “We are in pain because of the antisemitism in the community,” said parent Rakefet Benderly, who said her daughter does not wear her Jewish jewelry at school because she is afraid of verbal attacks and said that Holocaust jokes and hatred of Israel is showing up in her classroom. “I can’t believe this is happening again in our Jewish history and it needs to stop.” In addition to testing during Rosh Hashanah, a board meeting was also scheduled this year on Yom Kippur but later canceled—Muir said she wants to ensure those scheduling errors never happen again. The resolution condemning antisemitism passed 4-0 with Trustee Katrina Young abstaining. With her abstention, Young said it was a very nuanced and complex matter. She said she loved the premise of the resolution but did not feel that she had the adequate information and wanted to do it right, to approve a resolution that was “worthy of these kids and their request.” Newly-sworn in Trustee Julie Bronstein and Vice President Melisse Mossy understood Young’s concerns and suggested the inclusion of the words “anti-Zionism and anti-Israel bias.” Ward suggested the addition of language used in San Diego Unified’s recently passed resolution, which states that “anti-Zionism and anti-Israel bias can descend into antisemitism when they promote demonization and discriminatory double standards.” Allman agreed to the edit but Young still abstained, as she said she needed more information and wanted more student and community voices to be considered for the language. Muir and Allman had strong feelings that the resolution be passed that day. “The students have said ‘we want you to hear us’ and I heard them,” Muir said. “This is important to them.” During the Nov. 18 special meeting, the board also passed the resolution affirming the protection of students against discrimination, harassment, intimidation and bullying. It denounces discrimination, sexism, racism, xenophobia, antisemitism, Islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia and ableism that not only generate heated rhetoric, but can also result in vandalism, physical assaults and emotional trauma. The resolution has some teeth as it gives the superintendent 90 days to bring back to the board for consideration a new centralized position that will be tasked with carrying out the resolution’s intent. The new district-level position will be responsible for investigating and addressing allegations of discrimination and harassment. Bronstein questioned the original language of the resolution which listed the title of the new position as an “Anti-Discrimination Diversity Equity and Inclusion Officer”. She had hoped the position with that title would be less about investigations and more about bringing people together. She also requested that school principals be consulted on any new position like this. Ward suggested the alternative title of an ombudsman, an independent official that students could go to without fear of retaliation. Ward shared that she went to an ombudsman in college when a professor told her that Black students didn’t deserve better than a C. Ward said this position could be an existing staff member and not necessarily a new hire and part of the ongoing organizational review of the administrative positions in the district office approved last month. Young said she appreciated the focused intention on creating a safe and secure environment for students but wanted the resolution to include systemic inequity. Allman refused to add the word equity as he said it was not the purpose of the resolution. “Let’s call for the vote and vote no,” he said when Young continued to ask for equity to be added. Allman became frustrated that when Muir calls for a vote, he said Young reopens further debate. Bronstein said she didn’t see it as debate but Young explaining her point of view with her vote. “I would like this to be a little more civil,” Young said. “I feel like I got pushed into a corner and I don’t like how I had to vote last time…My heart really breaks with the last vote and it’s breaking with this one.” Young ended up voting in favor of the “imperfect” resolution because she wanted to show that she does care about this topic but said often when she offers an idea or suggestion, the discussion is cut off or others on the board take a hard line and do not offer to compromise. Muir said no one is pressuring her and told Young to just vote the way she wants to. Muir said she heard what Young had to say but she was making the same argument without any progress: “It’s nothing against you, I have to push the meeting forward,” Muir said as the special meeting had already gone an hour over its allotted time. After the two-hour special meeting ended, the board met for another six hours for its regular meeting. Student board representatives took notice of the exchange, mentioning it during the student reports at the regular meeting that followed. “We are very disappointed in the way the board members conducted themselves,” said Olivia Pacheco, the La Costa Canyon representative. “The way the board acted would not be allowed on our campuses.” During her board report, Muir responded to Olivia’s comments on the board’s discussion. “Everybody on this board is passionate about what goes on with our children…we want all kids to succeed,” Muir said. “Sometimes that comes across as not what we’d like but everyone has what’s best for children at heart.” After a summer of activism following the death of George Floyd, groups of SDUHSD students have been protesting since August 2020 demanding that the school board address racial inequities and diversity. Students made it onto a board agenda in January 2021 to talk about their efforts with Diversify our Narrative— encouraging the district to incorporate more texts by BIPOC authors in English and literature courses and to have more classroom discussions on identity bias and race. A board policy on equity was approved in September 2020, including strategies to promote equity in district programs such as adopting curriculum and instructional materials that accurately reflect the diversity among student groups, building a positive school climate, promoting the employment and retention of a diverse staff and ongoing professional learning with the San Diego County Office of Education. Superintendent Ward thanked students for speaking out. Since coming on board last month she has connected with multiple student groups across the district. “We hear all of you. I want you to know that we do hear you,” Ward said, adding they are committed to the DEI work to ensure all “kiddos” feel loved and are able to put their best foot forward at school. “It’s an all-hands on deck effort that we need to have. This is a work in progress, we will continue to grow. Our goal is to continue to get better and better at serving our community.” Previous Next

July 16, 2024 US Jewish Groups Condemn Anti-Zionist Resolutions Dion J. Pierre Resolutions Considered by American Federation of Teachers Originally Posted In: https://www.algemeiner.com/2024/07/16/us-jewish-groups-condemn-anti-zionist-resolutions-considered-by-american-federation-of-teachers/ < Back A coalition of US Jewish groups on Monday denounced the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), one of the largest educators’ unions in the country, for including anti-Israel resolutions in the agenda of its upcoming annual convention. The resolutions, seven in total, run the gamut of anti-Zionist ideology, calling for the end of US military assistance to Israel while falsely accusing the country of “genocide,” a ceasefire in Gaza that would halt Israel’s mission to clear Hamas from the territory, and divestment from Israel in the form of selling AFT’s Israel bonds. Another resolution accuses supporters of Israel of “weaponizing” antisemitism to shield Israel from criticism. On Thursday, StandWithUs, New York City Public School Alliance, Educators Caucus for Israel, and Partners for Equality and Educational Responsibility in K-12 (PeerK12), said the measures “undermine the safety and well being of Jewish students, families, and educators in public schools” and foster a culture of hate. “Each one of these anti-Israel, anti-Zionist and anti-Jewish resolutions is based on propaganda and politically subversive and ideologically driven lies, exposing yet again the deeply unsettling and obvious lack of merit, or even the slightest desire of the AFT to adhere to indisputable facts and historical accuracy that one might expect from a national association,” PeerK12 co-founder Nicole Bernstein said in a press release on Monday. StandWithUs director of K-12 Educator Outreach David Smokler added, “We call on school boards and school superintendents to make it clear to teachers that they may not bring biased materials into their classrooms. Teachers must teach students how to think, not what to think.” If passed at AFT’s convention on July 22-25, the resolutions would mark the most severe condemnation of Israel and Zionism passed by a teachers’ union and continue the anti-Zionist movement’s march through K-12 schools, which The Algemeiner has covered extensively . Antisemitism in K-12 schools has continued to increase every year, according to the ADL’s latest data. In 2023, antisemitic incidents in US public school increased 135 percent, a figure which included a rise in vandalism and assault. “School-based harassment in 2023 also included one-off incidents such as when a middle school administrator received a note containing antisemitic death threats or when a high school student threatened their Jewish classmates, stating that if they supported Israel, they would beat them up,” the civil rights group said in its Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents 2023. “Given the insidious nature of bullying, compounded by the fact that many children may not feel empowered to report their experiences, it is likely that the actual number of school-based antisemitic incidents was significantly higher than the data reported in the audit.” The problem has led to numerous civil rights complaints filed with the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR). Earlier this month, the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law announced that the Community School of Davidson, a charter school located in North Carolina, agreed to settle a civil rights complaint alleging that administrators failed to address a series of disturbing antisemitic incidents in which a non-Jewish student was called a “dirty Jew” and told that “the oven is that way,” and battered with other denigrating comments too vulgar for publication. The abuse, according to the complaint, began after the child wore an Israeli sports jersey. As part of a settlement with OCR, the school has agreed, among other things, to issue a statement proclaiming a zero tolerance policy for racist abuse, institute anti-discrimination training for teachers and staff, and “develop or revise” its approach to responding to racial bigotry. That case was not the first the Brandeis Center pursued on behalf of K-12 students. In February, it filed a complaint alleging that the Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) in California has caused severe psychological trauma to Jewish students as young as eight years old and fostered a hostile learning environment. Previous Next

June 24, 2024 The Child Soldiers of Ethnic Studies Neetu Arnold How American students are radicalized against the West Originally Posted In: https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/child-soldiers-ethnic-studies < Back Shortly after the start of the organized pro-Palestinian student riots on campuses across the country last fall, the Rutgers University chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) issued a set of demands that followed a standard template now evident at multiple universities. In addition to divestment from Israel, incorporating “anti-Palestinian racism“ into all mandatory DEI training and race-based curricula for faculty and staff, and the creation of an Arab Cultural Center, the students demanded that Rutgers “hire additional professors specializing in Palestine and settler-colonial studies and institute a department of Middle East studies.” Since then, Rutgers and other universities have caved to the demands of the mob. Middle East and Islamic studies centers became avenues for foreign governments to purchase influence and prestige a long time ago. But today, these centers play a much broader role in national politics, law, scholarship, and culture. And the drivers are no longer just foreign political actors, but increasingly domestic ones, too. In this context, student activists’ apparently spontaneous demands to establish more Middle East studies departments, to hire more Palestinian and Middle East faculty, and to integrate Palestine into DEI and ethnic and race-based curricula should be viewed instead as the intentional expansion and consolidation of leftist institutional power. This has meant the creation of jobs and patronage for a new phalanx of progressive sectarian foot soldiers under the umbrella of ethnic studies. Many of these programs aim to create a reserve of activists who cover a wide array of ethnic and identity grievances and causes that extend beyond the halls of academia, with recruitment beginning in grade school. From a young age, an increasing number of American students are being fed anti-Western and anti-Israel material funded and distributed by a constellation of dark money, left-wing groups and foreign governments. Worse, their success to date can largely be attributed to backing, financial and otherwise, from our own federal government. The nuclei of Middle East education at American universities are the Middle East and Islamic studies centers. There are around 50 such centers distributed across the country, depending on how you count them. Columbia University alone hosts three: the Center for Palestine Studies, the Middle East Institute, and the Sakip Sabanci Center for Turkish Studies. These centers are no strangers to controversy. For at least two decades, scholars and policymakers alike have decried the centers’ whitewashing of Islamic extremism and anti-Israel bias. Yet the centers have remained mostly untouched, and a few new ones have even appeared. Throughout their history, these centers have taken money from both the federal government and foreign governments. For instance, archived documents retrieved by the National Association of Scholars show that Georgetown’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies (CCAS) relied heavily on foreign countries in its early days during the 1970s. Arab countries contributed two-thirds of the funding needed to help Georgetown leaders reach their $6.1 million fundraising goal for CCAS. During this same time, the foreign governments of Oman, Libya, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) contributed more than $1 million for various professorships at CCAS. Today, the center is one of about a dozen Middle East National Resource Centers (NRC) that receive more than $3 million in funding from the federal government. Harvard University’s Center for Middle East Studies started in the 1950s with funding from the Ford and Rockefeller foundations and then-American-owned oil company Aramco. Soon thereafter, it received funding from the federal government as an early NRC. Beginning in the 1980s, the center helped secure tens of millions of dollars in funds primarily from Turkey and Saudi Arabia both for its own faculty and for affiliated programs at Harvard. The original purpose for the centers, established in the 1950s, was to produce policy-relevant information that the government could use to develop sound Middle East foreign policy. Relatively little expertise on the region existed in the United States at the time, which made getting up to speed a national security priority. But it’s hard to see that purpose in what passes through the centers and their affiliated faculty today. Today, the old foundations have combined with new ones to push for more ideological education on the Middle East not only on college campuses, but also in K-12 education. While it’s easy to dismiss the centers as too niche or academic to have any real influence, this would be a mistake. For one, these centers have long produced area experts that populate U.S. government agencies and the foreign service. The degeneration of the education provided by these programs into its current activist form tracks with the increasing activism of government bureaucrats, such as the political appointees and staff members of several government agencies who signed a letter objecting to the administration’s Israel policy, and the various State Department officials who have resigned in protest. But the toxic influence extends beyond government bureaucracy. Federally funded Middle East centers produced more than 2,500 instructional materials between 2000 and 2020, of which over 60% were intended for use by K-12 educators. Content matter ranged from climate justice to Islamophobia to youth activism. These centers also conducted over 22,000 outreach programs throughout the same time period, of which over 20% were intended for K-12 educators. Both the instructional materials and outreach programs are part of the centers’ mandate from the federal government, so our taxpayer dollars directly fund these programs. The University of Texas at Austin’s Center for Middle East Studies, along with other NRCs at the school, used federal funds in 2021 to host a critical race literacy workshop, where K-12 teachers “(Un)learn[ed] patterns of whiteness in literacy teaching.” The university claims on its website that the event supported “instructional goals for literacy standards for the State of Texas.” Or consider a toolkit on “Women and Gender in the Middle East” produced by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies. Their set of readings directs students to a YouTube video of an overview of Edward Said’s Orientalism, produced by a channel called “Invictapalestina.” For those students who prefer a book, the toolkit points them to an anthology of Arab feminist writing, including by Columbia University professor Lila Abu-Lughod, who, ironically, in the past has criticized the “focus on gender-based violence” in Arab and Islamic countries as it “leave[s] aside the violence of states … like Israel.” Middle East faculty at top universities train the next generation of anti-Israel and anti-American activists by training K-12 teachers. For instance, New York University’s Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies partners with Jordan-based nonprofit Global Nomads Group to host an annual fellowship program for grades 7-12 teachers. During the fellowship, teachers create curricula to teach students about the Middle East. New Utrecht High School teacher Nathan Floro’s curriculum, to take one example, would ensure students have a “basic understanding of orientalism and be able to critique various media through a post-colonial lens.” NYU also funded Newton Public Schools teacher David Bedar, whose fellowship at NYU focused on redeveloping college-level content for high school students on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA), throughout 2018 and 2019, acquired Bedar’s curriculum materials and found in a detailed analysis that the course favored the Palestinian over the Zionist narrative of the conflict by distorting and omitting facts. Global Nomads Group offers its own series of “youth courses” promoting similar messages. In a lesson plan within their “Human Rights” course, Global Nomads claims students will learn the difference between equity and equality and why “marginalized people are denied human rights.” They also offer courses on “Art in Action,” “Ocean Health,” and in a twist of irony, “Overcoming Bias.” On its website, Global Nomads discloses that its Student to World program “is supported by the Stevens Initiative, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, with funding provided by the U.S. Government, and is administered by the Aspen Institute. The Stevens Initiative is also supported by the Bezos Family Foundation and the governments of Morocco and the United Arab Emirates.” Other donors listed on the group’s website include Qatar Foundation International. In 2021, Yale University’s Council on Middle East Studies hosted a summer conference for New Haven Public Schools teachers where they received free access to films featuring former Women’s March co-chair and antisemitic activist Linda Sarsour, and a list of books, many of which advocate for looser immigration policies. The event primarily featured Palestinian and other Arab speakers and panelists. The one session that featured an official from the American Jewish Committee consisted of a discussion about centering the Mizrahi and Sephardic Jewish experience—in other words, challenging what the Columbia School of Social Work orientation guidebook calls “Ashkenormativity.” Foreign governments also support these programs, whether directly or indirectly by funding the Middle East centers themselves. Some centers, such as the Saudi-funded King Fahd Center at the University of Arkansas, were started with funding from foreign governments. Others have received periodic funding from foreign governments, such as the United Arab Emirate’s funding to UCLA’s Center for Near Eastern Studies. Still others work in partnership with foreign governments to host teacher workshops. Qatar Foundation International (QFI), the American arm of the Qatar Foundation, is a common collaborator for these programs. QFI funds professional development workshops for Arabic language teachers through Arabic Teacher Councils. The councils are hosted by schools such as George Washington University, Georgia State University, and the University of Chicago. In their early days in the 1950s and 1960s, Middle East studies centers were beneficiaries of funding by large private foundations, such as the Rockefeller Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation, and the Ford Foundation, which, in turn, enjoyed close relationships with the government. Today, the old foundations have combined with new ones to push for more ideological education on the Middle East not only on college campuses, but also in K-12 education. Left-wing organizations such as the Open Society Foundations and the Tides Foundation actively fund efforts to bring K-12 education in line with progressive dogma and socialize American kids into its politics. This same network of organizations funds many of the pro-Palestinian student demonstrators who have taken over elite campuses. George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Westchester People’s Action Coalition (WESPAC), and the Tides Foundation are just a handful of the organizations that have financially supported the student protests. For instance, the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights has received at least $355,000 from Rockefeller Brothers Fund and $300,000 from Open Society Foundations, according to The New York Post. U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights member Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA) hosts a project called “Teach Palestine,” where educators disseminate instructional materials and teaching strategies on the Middle East. Teach Palestine is coordinated by two educators affiliated with the Liberated Ethnic Studies initiatives nationally and in California. Between 2017 and 2023, the Open Society Foundations and Rockefeller Brothers Fund cumulatively gave MECA $1.3 million. Teach Palestine includes testimonials from educators who actively teach about the region in their classrooms. Once students arrive on campus and are exposed to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in further detail, little is needed to radicalize them. One teacher goes beyond the third grade curriculum standards by fitting “lessons about the Middle East into the nooks and crannies of our day.” Her description of Israeli history is that it is a “European colony” for the Jewish people that has been continually committing ethnic cleansing since its founding. A librarian brought MECA members to teach children about the “similarities between Israeli and US settler colonialism.” A sixth grade teacher had her students write acrostic poems on settler colonialism as part of a curriculum that focused on “centering Palestinian youth voices” and connected the Palestinian youth experience to Black Lives Matter. She proudly states that “some strong activism and advocacy could come” if students were pushed to the “next level” when engaging in her lesson activities. The Proteus Fund, which connects “philanthropy with the frontlines of social justice,” is another key player. Since 2016, the Proteus Fund and its lobbying arm Proteus Action League have received $16 million from the Open Society Foundations. Aside from Open Society Foundations, Proteus lists nearly 40 funding partners, which includes the Tides Foundation and Rockefeller Brothers Fund. One of Proteus’ recent initiatives, the RISE Together Fund, claims to oppose intolerance against “Black, African, Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian (BAMEMSA) communities.” As part of this initiative, they offer organizations immediate and flexible grants through its Rapid Response Fund. Since Oct. 7, Proteus has focused on K-12 advocacy, coordinating legal support, and connecting attorneys with those who have lost educational opportunities due to protests. In the latter half of 2023, Proteus gave a cumulative $700,000 to 35 organizations for flexible spending grants. The beneficiaries of these recent grants include pro-BDS organizations such as the Arab Resource and Organizing Center, Adalah Justice Project, and the Palestinian Youth Movement. Some of these organizations have been tied to the recent wave of demonstrations among high school students. New York City’s Community Education Council for District 14 partnered with several groups, including the Palestinian Youth Movement, to encourage a 700-student protest. The Arab Resource and Organizing Center hosted walkouts for Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) students. BUSD teachers covered for protesters by marking these students as legitimately “excused,” even though school policy said otherwise. Last month, hundreds of NYC school kids staged a pro-Palestinian walkout and protested at the Department of Education in Lower Manhattan. The walkout was organized by Teachers Unite and the Palestine Youth Movement, along with NYC Educators for Palestine, Al-AWDA: The Palestine Right to Return Coalition, Movement of Rank-&-File Educators (MORE), and Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM). Similar movements in New Jersey, Oregon, and elsewhere in the country also involve mushrooming “educators for Palestine” organizations that are contracted to develop curricula and organize student action. It would be one thing if this educational infrastructure simply resulted in American school kids learning a biased set of facts about Israel and Palestine. But simply teaching even skewed history is not the goal, as evidenced by the many “Free Palestine” student protesters who apparently didn’t even know what they were protesting. The goal, rather, is to teach school students a framework of values that they can apply blindly to every social and political issue. To see how this looks in practice, consider one teacher’s comment at a March QFI-funded Arabic Teachers Council workshop. Attendees were asked how they enact social justice education in their classrooms. The teacher responded: Instead of asking them [students] “what do you think about this topic,” we talk more about principles and values and structures. Right, like I asked them last week “Do you think we have freedom of expression here at [inaudible] about any social, political, or religious topic?” So, we talk about structures versus the topic itself specifically because some of them are afraid that if they speak specifically about the topic that something might happen. Later in the workshop, teachers were presented a social justice rubric they could use in classrooms. One of the rubric components assesses how well students produce “insights from social justice theme(s).” Students who want to exceed expectations must demonstrate their understanding of social justice themes by incorporating evidence, such as observing and applying power structures. This “education” is indistinguishable from so-called protest “toolkits” that “teach Palestine” groups put together for school kids, which is made up of “talking points,” “chants,” and “demands”—that is, material designed to develop “activists” or foot soldiers to be deployed on the streets at will. Unsurprisingly, the talking points and “demands” grade school kids are taught to recite are identical to those of their college counterparts and mentors, serving the same purpose of recruitment and consolidation of institutional power. In NYC, for instance, the demands were to “Support Palestinian-led curriculum initiatives about Palestinian culture and history. Mandate education about Palestine in history curriculums that centers Palestinian perspectives and experiences. Redirect city funding away from policing and into our public schools, prioritizing low-income Black and Brown communities.” Once students arrive on campus and are exposed to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in further detail, little is needed to radicalize them. As an organizer for SJP told The New Yorker in December: “S.J.P. is oriented in a special way. The idea is to appeal to people who know nothing.” As we deal with the fallout of the anti-Israel protests over the coming months, it will be tempting to look for easy solutions. Perhaps universities can rework their policies to prevent future disruptions. Maybe even some programs can be defunded. But the process that led to this was years-long, requiring the coordination of dozens of organizations and millions of dollars in funding. Undoing it will require reversing the proliferation of sectarian fake disciplines and leftist identitarian studies programs, and replacing activist curricula with fact-based lessons that promote critical thinking—a tall order, to be sure. Middle East education at all levels needs a complete overhaul. It has gone from an attempt to help inform our geopolitics and augment our security posture against the various threats facing the United States in the region, to a factory of apologists for America’s enemies and advocates on their behalf. Now, they have brought the threat home. Previous Next

November 8, 2025 States are pushing for more scrutiny of antisemitism in schools Carolyn Thompson & Michael Casey Tensions over the Israel-Hamas war have spilled into schools around the U.S., with advocates reporting a rise in antisemitic harassment since the 2023 surprise attack on Israel. While some argue school leaders have failed to take the threat seriously, others warn criticism of Israel and the military campaign in Gaza are interpreted too often as hate speech. Originally Posted In: https://apnews.com/article/school-antisemitism-education-free-speech-83ec7b892f8fba16db1d75619a0a5073 < Back In the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas two years ago, high school teacher Josh Hirsch posted comments on social media in support of Israel. It was unrealistic for Hamas to expect a ceasefire, he wrote, as long as they were holding hostages. Soon afterward, a former student called for his firing. A note taped outside the door of his Adams County, Colorado, classroom contained his wife’s name and their home address. And a sticker that appeared on his chair read: “Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.” The reaction startled Hirsch, the only Jewish teacher in his school building. For the first time in his 14-year career, he considered quitting. He stayed and joined an educators’ advocacy network created by the Anti-Defamation League , a way he saw to make schools more inclusive of diverse viewpoints. “I’ve been a teacher and tried to keep my focus on being the best teacher I could,” he said. Tensions over the Israel-Hamas war have spilled into schools around the U.S., with advocates reporting a rise in antisemitic harassment since the 2023 surprise attack on Israel. While some argue school leaders have failed to take the threat seriously, others warn criticism of Israel and the military campaign in Gaza are interpreted too often as hate speech. The Trump administration has not punished school systems the way it has hit colleges accused of tolerating antisemitism, but schools are still facing pressure to respond more aggressively. Several states have pressed for new vigilance, including legislation that critics say would stifle free speech. Both conservative and liberal states apply more scrutiny Lawmakers in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Tennessee have passed measures to increase school accountability for complaints of antisemitism, and a law signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, will provide training to identify and prevent antisemitism in schools. In Arizona, the Democratic governor vetoed a bill on how to deal with reports of antisemitism in schools, calling it an attack on educators. Many of the measures, including one signed by Oklahoma’s Republican governor, call for adoption of a definition of antisemitism that casts certain criticism of Israel as hate speech. “These bills make it clear that Oklahoma stands with our Jewish communities and will not tolerate hatred disguised as political discourse,” said Kristen Thompson, a Republican state senator in Oklahoma who authored the legislation. Dozens of states have adopted the definition promoted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, which is also recognized by the U.S. State Department. It lists 11 examples of antisemitic conduct, such as applying “double standards” to Israel or comparing the country’s policies to Nazism. While supporters of this definition of antisemitism say it is necessary to combat evolving forms of Jewish hate, civil liberties groups warn it suppresses pro-Palestinian speech. Trump administration approach contrasts with attacks on colleges The Trump administration has leveraged antisemitism investigations in its efforts to reshape higher education, suspending billions of dollars in federal funding to Harvard, Columbia and other universities over allegations they tolerated hate speech, especially during protests over the Israel-Hamas war . The White House has not gotten as involved at the K-12 level. At congressional hearings, House Republicans have taken some large school systems to task over their handling of antisemitism, but the administration largely has left it to the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights to address complaints. In one of the cases under investigation, a complaint described students at the Berkeley Unified School District in California asking Jewish classmates what “their number is,” referring to numbers tattooed on Jews during the Holocaust. It also said teachers made antisemitic comments and led walkouts that praised Hamas. The district did not respond to a request for comment. In another California case, the family of a 14-year-old girl filed a federal lawsuit last year alleging she had to leave University Preparatory Academy, a charter school in San Jose, in 2023 because of antisemitic bullying. After the Hamas attack, she said students called her names, including “terrorist.” The California Department of Education and the school said they could not comment on pending litigation. Nationwide, the ADL recorded 860 antisemitic incidents in non-Jewish schools last year, ranging from name-calling and swastikas etched on lockers to antisemitic materials being taught in classrooms. The number was down from over 1,100 recorded in 2023, but well above numbers in prior years, according to the ADL. A Massachusetts teachers union pushes back A Massachusetts state commission formed last year to combat antisemitism found it was a “pervasive and escalating problem” in schools. At one meeting, a commission co-chair, Democratic state Rep. Simon Cataldo, said the Massachusetts Teachers Association was sharing antisemitic resources with teachers, including a kindergarten workbook that describes Zionists as “bullies” and an image of a Star of David made of dollar bills. The union said those were singled out among hundreds of images in art and posters about Palestinians, and links to those materials were removed. The union said it has engaged in efforts to confront increases in both antisemitism and Islamophobia and accused the commission of “offensive political theater.” “Those who manipulate antisemitism to achieve political objectives — such as undermining labor unions and public educators — are following the lead of the Trump administration,” the union said in a statement. Margaret Litvin, an associate professor of Arabic and comparative literature at Boston University, said the commission was “deliberately conflating criticism of Israel with prejudice against Jews and bias against Jews.” That approach will be used to justify “heavy-handed” interference by the state in school district affairs, said Litvin, co-founder of the Boston-area Concerned Jewish Faculty and Staff group. Controversy reaches the biggest teachers union The tension reached the National Education Association, the nation’s largest teachers union, which this summer weighed a proposal to drop ADL classroom materials that educators use to teach about the Holocaust and bias. Backers said the ADL had an outsize influence on school curricula and policy, with an underlying pro-Israel viewpoint. Delegates at the union’s representative assembly narrowly voted to approve the proposal, but they were overruled by the NEA board of directors. Union President Becky Pringle said the proposal “would not further NEA’s commitment to academic freedom, our membership, or our goals.” In the aftermath, the ADL invited K-12 educators to join a new network called BEACON: Building Educator Allies for Change, Openness, and Networks, which it said is intended to help educators learn from each other how to address and combat antisemitism and other forms of hate. Hirsch, the teacher in Colorado, was among hundreds who expressed interest. Some of the blowback he faced stemmed from his online commentary about local activist organizations. After donating money to Black Lives Matter groups and supporting them with a sign in his yard, he expressed feelings of betrayal to see the groups expressing support for Palestinians and not Israel. He said he was surprised by the reaction to the posts in his predominantly Hispanic school community. A former debate coach, he aims through his work with the ADL network to help students share their opinions in constructive ways. “If we’re giving them the opportunity to hate and we’re giving them the opportunity to make enemies of someone, it really is counterproductive to what we’re trying to do as a society,” he said. Previous Next

November 23, 2025 Qatar's Got Talent Eve Barlow Essentially Hosier is in the business of identifying who the next big thing will be. He is on the hunt for future anti-Israel, anti-America, anti-West political superstars, and he is urging pro-Israel networks to come together to mitigate these rises. If Qatar produced a reality talent contest for upcoming American insurgent politicians, Hosier would be the one spotting the winners. Originally Posted In: https://evebarlow.substack.com/p/qatars-got-talent?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web < Back The week of Zohran Mamdani’s election, I met a really interesting guy at a Shabbat dinner. Not Jewish. He kept making sure that was understood, but to me he was as comfortable at a Shabbat table as most Jews. Turns out since graduating college, he has worked in and around the State of Israel in public affairs in various capacities. Dillon Hosier has now turned his time to his brainchild ICAN (Israeli-American Civic Action Network. He is CEO. At the dinner, the topical concern of what Mamdani’s election “means” and “what now” took precedence. Hosier indicated that he had identified Mamdani as a very real threat in 2023 because he has been monitoring emerging political dangers at local levels across the United States. Essentially Hosier is in the business of identifying who the next big thing will be. He is on the hunt for future anti-Israel, anti-America, anti-West political superstars, and he is urging pro-Israel networks to come together to mitigate these rises. If Qatar produced a reality talent contest for upcoming American insurgent politicians, Hosier would be the one spotting the winners. He whipped out his iPhone and showed one of the tech tools ICAN has initiated. I was blown away. Here was a live map of America, featuring red and green spots according to the most precarious areas for future Mamdanis. Alarmingly there is an incoming “Mamdani Strip” (Hosier’s term) in New York, full of more and more copycat candidates. Many are members of the DSA: Democratic Socialists of America, which is not officially tied to the Democrats but which works within its electoral system and runs candidates in their primaries. You know the story of AOC, right? Tonight onstage in West Hollywood, Hosier gave a presentation of ICAN’s objectives, before he was joined by three incredible voices I am proud to call friends: John Mirisch (former Mayor of Beverly Hills, now city council member), Loay Alshareef (Saudi-born, UAE-based reformed Muslim, and Abraham Accords activist) and Dr Sheila Nazarian (Persian Jewish activist, Fox news contributor, and plastic surgeon). Mirisch is an Ashkenazi Jew who has always been confounded by antizionism, and has tied his mast to Israel since he was growing up in LA. Nazarian fled Iran with her parents via Pakistan then Vienna, before they received papers to come to America. Alshareef is a would-be posterchild for a new Middle East. He is based in the UAE, was radicalized as a child to hate Jews and Christians but had his own awakening about Islamism. He prays, he fasts, and he believes that there is a way to modernize Islam so that those who practice can not only co-exist in the Western world, but so that the Middle East can evolve out of its past, normalize relations with Israel and cease to demonize America and the West. Alshareef is a really exceptional human. To be in his presence is to feel a sense of calm about the future. All three were together tonight to discuss Mamdani, who promotes radical Islamist ideals, preaches the genocide lie about Gaza, and the Apartheid lie about Israel, and has often been found supporting the screams of “From the river to the sea.” “Mamdani has never been to Israel,” opens Alshareef, who says he would accept an invitation to sit down with New York’s incoming Mayor. Whether he will receive one or not is another question. I don’t believe Mamdani to be a good faith actor. Neither does Alshareef, who has visited Israel more than a handful of times, and says that almost immediately everything that an Arab Muslim has been indoctrinated to hate about Israel is shattered completely by the experience of going there. Dr Nazarian noted that Congressman Richie Torres once said about the DSA that they ask only two foreign policy questions in order to secure funding and support for a prospective candidate. The first is that any candidate must promise to support the BDS movement against Israel. The second is that they must promise to never visit Israel. No wonder AOC doesn’t know where the Jordan river is. And yet, so many play along. The motivation cannot possibly be integrity but opportunism. For money, for political power, for fame and instant success. And yet what is the cause of this unholy marriage between leftists and Islamism? According to Alshareef it’s two-fold. First, the American Left suffer from the same guilt that the Europeans experience, and they believe that to support the radicals is to support the “right cause”. “What they don’t realize,” he says, “is that they are the first sheep to the slaughter.” Second, they are totally ignorant to – and don’t understand –the Middle East. They have handed human rights to extremists and radicals who only seek to misuse the liberal freedom that America is giving them. The idea is to destroy democracy through democracy itself. “Listen to those of us who know,” says Alshareef. “This is so dangerous.” Alshareef, as mentioned, is a reformed Muslim, and makes a distinction that he insists is not a majority position. He doesn’t waste time denying that the majority position in the Muslim world is not yet shared by him, but were Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords it could change everything. Saudi’s leader Mohammad Bin Salman according to Alsharif is earnest and honest, and does want to commit to the peace deal, and yet his hesitation is due to the position of Saudi among the Muslim world, and the pressure on him from other Arab nations to insist upon some recognition for the Palestinians in advance of signing. Saudi is a key piece of the puzzle. If and when they join the Abraham Accords, many other Muslim countries will follow. The issue is that Mamdani and his ilk are also yet to meet Alshareef in his evolved peaceful state. “He is not peaceful,” says Alshareef. “He is dishonest.” He explains that there are two types of Muslims; those who fled their countries to start anew, and those who believe that Muslims like Alshareef should not be tolerated, and that America should be turned into a caliphate, where eventually Muslims will wind up murdering other Muslims. Case in current point: Sudan. According to Alshareef, too many moderate Muslims are silent. “Speak up. Distance yourself from the radicals!” he says. It’s worth watching this 8-minute clip of Alshareef explaining his viewpoint after Dr Nazarian pushed back with her own reality-based fears of Islam, due to her experiences fleeing the Islamic Regime of Iran. Upon coming to America, Dr Nazarian studied at Columbia University, and took classes on Islam, only to read the Quran and discover the verses detailing the Muslim impression of Jews as a sworn enemy who need to be eradicated. Alshareef’s response is so sensible it should be the real radical approach. Essentially, for him it comes down to moving away from a politicized interpretation of the Quran that is completely irrelevant in the modern day. If only Alshareef had run for the New York mayoral position, yet he has more important things to do. Today, President Trump announced that he is going to ban the Muslim Brotherhood, and label it a foreign terrorist organization. A great move. “But the devil is in the details,” says Mirisch. Indeed. How will this be enforced? And the question still looms large about Qatar’s tentacles on US soil, and the already seismic damage of decades and billions of dollars infiltrating not just university education with its anti-American ideology, but high school programs too. Alshareef believes that Qatar could join the future map of the Middle East, but only if it does two things. Separates itself from Muslim Brotherhood, and eradicates Al Jazeera. “Al Jazeera made many of us believe Bin Laden was a hero,” he says. “They were the exclusive outlet for his videos. They made us feel indifferent to 9/11. In Arabic, AlJazeera is the official spokesman for Hamas. In English, it’s the official spokesman for the LGBT community.” Maddening, and the exact distortion that the Islamists are so brilliant at. It’s as though we live in a parallel universe. The useful idiots who know nothing about the Middle East are being led blindfolded by regressive radicalized Arab Mamdanis who will discard of them the instant they no longer serve a purpose, while those of us who have been pushed out of the so-called “liberal” room are sitting alongside the warriors of progress in the Arab world who have more reverence for America, Israel, President Trump, Christianity and Judaism than a questionable proportion of our white majority neighbors. Last week I had the honor of witnessing Omer Shem Tov, released Israeli hostage, speak at Sinai Temple in Beverly Hills. Shem Tov was captured from the Nova festival. He paced the stage for an hour uninterrupted, seamlessly recalling the “light” version of the story of his 505 days in captivity. Shem Tov’s mother Shelly was one of my first interviewees in Israel in the months after October 7. She left an enormous impression on me, and her determination to bring her son back from hell stayed with me. I remember she told me she could not even brush her teeth without the guilt of knowing her son may not be able to do the same. When he was released, I cried. I could barely hold back tears as he walked out to a standing ovation of hundreds last Thursday. He recalled how he was held in a cage underground in pitch black darkness for 50 successive days of those 505. He received one pita or less per day. He found faith in the tunnels. He wraps teffilin every morning now. He talks to G-d every day. He believes in miracles. The way Shem Tov spoke, and the way Alshareef speaks, is light years away from the victim-orientated, power-hungry, truth-avoiding gang of progressive Western elites and wannabes. They have worked overtime to shut them out, but these voices cannot be repressed. They refuse. They defy intimidation. They are brimming with a purpose that cannot be faked. We must uplift them. ICAN too is providing an essential service. Here is Hosier with his presentation . You can see four local California politicians, and on the left hand column is how JPAC (Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California) is scoring future Mamdani’s. It’s marking them according to housing, environment, policing, social policies etc, but crucially it doesn’t pick up where they’ve voted on issues surrounding Israel and the Middle East. ICAN does factor these in, and scores them accurately. If they’re red it means they’re future Mamdani’s. If they’re green, they’re not. Not only does ICAN identify where the problem candidates are, it’s identifying where the wrongly maligned candidates are. This analysis then becomes crucial for killing bills, such as the Ethnic Studies bill in California, because accurate intelligence is available for who to target. We cannot afford more Mamdanis. We cannot afford any more successes for any political candidates in America who would support what happened to Omer Shem Tov in Hamas captivity, or who would refuse to protect the vision for the Middle East that Loay Alshareef so passionately wants to help actualize. To find out more about ICAN, visit their website . Photos by Joseph Pal @palphotography on Instagram. Previous Next

July 19, 2024 Anti-Israel resolutions on docket for US teachers union JNS News Desk The American Federation of Teachers will vote on proposals that fuel “discrimination and hatred against Jews,” critics say. Originally Posted In: https://www.jns.org/anti-israel-resolutions-on-docket-for-teachers-union/ < Back At its upcoming convention in Houston, which begins on July 22, the American Federation of Teachers plans to vote on several anti-Israel resolutions, including those that oppose “weaponization” of Jew-hatred, and advocate divestment from Israeli bonds and halting U.S. military aid to Israel. “These resolutions not only marginalize our Jewish students, families and staff but also contribute to an environment of fear and hostility in our schools,” said Tova Plaut, founder of the New York City Public School Alliance. “By targeting Zionism and falsely equating it with colonialism and racism, these resolutions promote a dangerous narrative that fuels discrimination and hatred against Jews,” added Plaut, whose organization—along with StandWithUs, Educators Caucus for Israel and Partners for Equality and Educational Responsibility in K-12—condemned the resolutions. Amy Leserman, chair of the Educators Caucus for Israel, said that “it is astounding that AFT leadership has allowed this, and so many other, blatantly bigoted resolutions to move forward, when they are clearly motivated by values contrary to the purpose of the AFT.” Previous Next

November 23, 2025 The Ideological Erosion of College Readiness Tamar Caspi & Sharon Ceresnie Sorkin California’s Ethnic Studies mandate, which took hold over the past five years, coincides with a sharp decline in statewide test scores for grades 3-8 and 11 in English Language Arts and math. While activists spent years crafting curricula that demonize America, Israel, Jews, and the West, students were robbed of the opportunity to master fundamentals. Originally Posted In: https://www.realcleareducation.com/articles/2025/11/23/the_ideological_erosion_of_college_readiness_1149189.html < Back A stunning new report from the University of California, San Diego documents what many educators have feared: incoming college students are less prepared than ever. This “steep decline in the academic preparedness” of incoming college students isn’t limited to advanced subjects; it’s hitting the bedrock of learning: literacy and numeracy. These are the skills upon which all higher-order thinking depends. The report points to pandemic disruptions, the removal of standardized tests like the SAT, and grade inflation masking academic weakness. But these are symptoms, not causes. The deeper problem is an ideological takeover of America’s K-12 system -- an approach that dismisses standardized tests as “products of white supremacy” and inflates grades to preserve the illusion of success. It’s an approach that relies on a teaching philosophy that promotes activism in the classroom for causes like decolonization (“down with America”) and anti-racism (solving racism with more racism), all at the expense of core academic proficiency. No one made this clearer than Cecily Myart-Cruz, head of Los Angeles’s teachers union, who said : “ It’s OK that our babies may not have learned all their times tables. They learned resilience. They learned survival. They learned critical-thinking skills. They know the difference between a riot and a protest. They know the words insurrection and coup.” California’s Ethnic Studies mandate, which took hold over the past five years, coincides with a sharp decline in statewide test scores for grades 3-8 and 11 in English Language Arts and math. While activists spent years crafting curricula that demonize America, Israel, Jews, and the West, students were robbed of the opportunity to master fundamentals. This is a cautionary tale for the rest of the country. Minnesota ’s ethnic studies mandate will take effect in 2026–27. Michigan has considered similar proposals. Nationally, ideologically-driven curricula like Rethinking Schools -- endorsed by the National Education Association, the country’s largest teachers union -- are spreading rapidly. If California’s experience is any guide, academic decline will not remain a regional problem. The irony is painful: these ideological experiments claim to uplift minority and disadvantaged students, yet they harm them most. Low-income families, English-language learners, and first-generation college aspirants suffer when schools trade core skills for political agendas. Recent research shows widening excellence gaps; even high-achieving students from disadvantaged backgrounds are falling further behind. The ripple effects are not trivial: mastery of basic mathematics is a gatekeeper for access to STEM pathways, and strong reading comprehension is essential for civic and informational literacy. A high school diploma that no longer signals readiness wastes time and money for students and the state, and it undermines social mobility. Public education’s primary duty is to teach what is demonstrably necessary for the next stage of life. If mandatory ethnic studies courses or ideologically organized curricula prevent that duty from being fulfilled, they must be rethought. The modern university and the modern high school exist in a contract: high schools certify that graduates possess the fundamentals needed to succeed in college, and colleges admit on the expectation that those fundamentals exist. But the UCSD data show that even admitted students with “acceptable” high school credentials may still lag significantly in readiness. Schools must recommit to the basics: coherent writing, mathematical reasoning, scientific analysis, and evidence-based thinking. Schools should publicly track and report not just representation goals and qualitative indicators of representation, school climate, discipline, and engagement, but also measurable growth in reading, mathematics, science attainment, and readiness for tertiary education. And inflating grades to make students look more successful than they actually are only exacerbates the problem. While there may be some inherent biases in the tools we use to measure academic success, research shows these tests are critical predictors of success in higher education. According to researchers at Brown University , while disparities do exist in standardized test outcomes, these disparities cannot be solely blamed on test biases. NAEP ’s own interpretive guidance makes clear that demographic variables correlate with scores and do not by themselves establish causality. Doing away with meaningful grades and standardized tests entirely only does a disservice to the very students the ideologues aim to lift up. We should, of course, strive to make measurement tools as unbiased as possible, but we must do this without sacrificing the ability to measure, and thereby promote, meaningful achievement. This is an educational emergency. Every American who believes in equal opportunity must resist the ideological capture of our schools. In order to lift up all students to meet their highest potential, we should be fighting against the ideological takeover in America’s K-12 system. Curricula should unite, not divide. Schools should prepare students for success based on skills, not activism. If we fail to act, we risk sacrificing an entire generation’s potential on the altar of politics. The UC San Diego report should serve as a wake-up call. Academic preparedness is not a partisan issue; it is a national imperative. If we want students to thrive, we must restore rigor, accountability, and a shared commitment to excellence. Anything less is a betrayal of the very students these ideological experiments claim to serve. Tamar Caspi is a co-founder of PeerK12, a San Diego-based grassroots movement defending Jewish civil rights. Sharon Sorkin is the Director of Community Engagement at the North American Values Institute. Previous Next

January 21, 2026 Education Matters: Final findings of San Dieguito human swastika incident Marsha Sutton PeerK12 co-founders Nicole Bernstein and Tamar Caspi responded to the findings in a statement, writing, “The district’s response is riddled with contradictions that defy logic." Originally Posted In: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/01/21/education-matters-final-findings-of-san-dieguito-human-swastika-incident/ < Back The San Dieguito Union High School District fulfilled my Public Records Act request for the final investigation results of the “human swastika” incident that happened last May at a district high school and found that three of the four allegations against the district had merit. Yet the family of the targeted student and the organization that filed the complaint on the family’s behalf remain unsatisfied. The incident occurred when eight San Dieguito Academy students formed the shape of a swastika on the school’s athletic field. The display was timed for an SDA Jewish student to see as he was taking a flying lesson over the field. The SDA principal and assistant principal, Cara Dolnik and Charles Adams, did not report the incident to the district superintendent, Anne Staffieri. Instead, PeerK12 , a civil rights nonprofit organization, reported it immediately after learning of it in late August last year. As a result of the SDA administrators’ failure to report the incident when it occurred, the district accepted a resignation letter from Dolnik and reassigned Adams to the district office for unspecified duties. Unconfirmed reports suggest the eight students may have been suspended. On Sept. 11, 2025, PeerK12 filed a complaint with the district through the Uniform Complaint Procedures process which alleges violations of state laws or regulations. Specifically, the complaint was filed on behalf of the student and family for “the failure of the district … to respond to, report, and remedy a targeted antisemitic hate incident that occurred on May 30, 2025” on the SDA campus. The complaint alleges discriminatory religious harassment, timed as it was to be viewed by a fellow Jewish student. The district’s internal investigation was coordinated by Evelin Medina, SDUHSD’s director of community resolution and compliance, and Tracy Olander, SDUHSD’s director of human resources. Although some of the findings have been redacted to protect the identity of the student, the district substantiated Allegation 1 – that “a group of [redacted] deliberately formed a human swastika on school grounds timed to coincide with a planned [redacted].” According to the findings, “The preponderance of the evidence established that a majority of the [redacted] involved knew they were forming a swastika” and that “one [redacted] was primarily responsible for coming up with and organizing the shape …” The evidence, according to the district, supports that “many of the [redacted] involved were peer-pressured to participate, and at least [redacted] sat up at one point during the [redacted] when they realized what shape they were forming.” Second allegations Allegation 2 was divided into three parts, with 2a entirely redacted except to note that the finding was not substantiated. According to PeerK12, 2a alleged that the incident was a hate crime, but the district did not find evidence to support the charge. Allegation 2b – that the school’s administration did not promptly investigate or discipline those involved – was substantiated. It was found that the delayed response of the school’s administration to investigate the May incident was “a failing of their professional responsibilities” and that the response to the incident “was substandard and fell below the professional expectations for administrators of their experience and training.” However, the 2b findings did note that the evidence was “insufficient to establish that the delay was due to discriminatory reasons,” citing the timing of the incident which took place on the last day of the 2024-2025 school year and the start of the summer recess. Allegation 2c – that administrators did not implement measures to protect [redacted] from further harm or retaliation following the May incident – was substantiated. However, the findings state that “appropriate supportive measures were put in place” following the family’s meeting with district officials on Aug. 28. Corrective actions According to the final findings, corrective actions are being taken, one being that the district “publicly acknowledged the incident, recognizing the failure in response and protocols, and committed to addressing the situation moving forward.” In addition, appropriate personnel action was taken to address the school administrators’ response to the incident. The district states that it is working “to develop community restoration activities and public acknowledgement of the harm the May incident has caused” … by engaging in “ongoing professional development and education to provide a greater understanding to district students, staff and community.” The district is working with a number of organizations – including the National Conflict Resolution Center and the local branch of the American Jewish Committee – to train staff and implement stronger standards. The district also plans parent engagement nights, “staff listening circles,” and ongoing lessons for “students on the topic of antisemitism, hate language and symbols.” Reaction PeerK12 co-founders Nicole Bernstein and Tamar Caspi responded to the findings in a statement, writing, “The district’s response is riddled with contradictions that defy logic. It publicly labels the conduct a hate crime, then denies that finding in its own report. It claims the investigation was impartial, yet assigns it to its own attorney. Administrators are removed or reassigned, then the district insists no policy was violated.” That the district needs to bring in outside consultants to explain to students and staff that swastikas are hate symbols, Bernstein and Caspi said, “If that lesson still needs to be taught, it raises serious questions about the district’s judgment and culture – and helps explain why these incidents keep escalating instead of stopping.” The complaint was based on SDUHSD board policies 5131.2 addressing bullying, 5145.3 addressing discrimination and harassment, and 5145.9 which states in part, “The Governing Board is committed to providing a respectful, inclusive, and safe learning environment that protects students from discrimination, harassment, intimidation, bullying, or any other type of behavior that is motivated by hate.” Hate-motivated behavior, as defined by the district’s board policy, “is any behavior intended to cause emotional suffering, physical injury, or property damage through intimidation, harassment, bigoted slurs or epithets …” The complaint also cited violations of four California state education codes:— 201 (All pupils have the right to participate fully in the educational process, free from discrimination and harassment) – 220 (prohibits discrimination in educational programs receiving state funds based on protected characteristics) – 234 (mandates that local school agencies prevent and address discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying …) – 234.1 (prohibits discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying based on the actual or perceived characteristics …). Ed Code 234.1 also specifically states that there is a requirement that “if school personnel witness an act of discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying, they shall take immediate steps to intervene when safe to do so.” Family statement Peer K12 provided the following statement from the Gordon family whose son was targeted: “We lost trust in the district when it chose to investigate itself through its own attorney. That decision made clear to us that minimizing liability mattered more than accountability for an antisemitic act and examining how school leadership handled – and then mishandled – what occurred. It has felt less like a genuine effort to understand what went wrong and more like an attempt to explain it away. As a result, the findings were not surprising … and reflect a process that has felt dismissive of the harm done and insulting from start to finish. Because the district’s so-called corrective actions amounted to recycling the same failed responses it previously claimed were working,” the family said “there’s no reason to expect change. The worst part," according to the Gordons, "is that the district consulted outside organizations who excluded our family, our child, and PeerK12 who has advocated for us throughout this entire ordeal. That eight students formed a human swastika targeting a Jewish student and the school administration failed to protect that child … raises serious concerns about leadership, training, and culture,” stated the Gordon family. The appeal PeerK12 appealed the district’s findings on Nov. 19 and received confirmation of receipt from the state on Dec. 5. The California Department of Education issued a decision of the appeal on Jan. 5, the subject of which is titled “discrimination based on religion” and found that “the appeal has merit in part.” The conclusion states that “the school failed to adequately respond to peer-to-peer discrimination based on religion once it became aware of it.” The CDE determined that additional and more specific corrective actions are required by the district for “a proper remedy.” Because the family is considering options for next steps, this is not over and word is the district “is not off the hook.” Marsha Sutton is an education writer and investigative opinion columnist and can be reached at suttonmarsha@gmail.com . Previous Next

April 30, 2024 PeerK-12 Official Statement Expressing Strong Objections at the Politicization of San Diego Unified School District’s Jewish American Heritage Month Proclamation PeerK12 It is deeply concerning that the school district has chosen to politicize Jewish American Heritage Month, just as they did Arab American Heritage Month with the inclusion of Edward Said and Doris Bittar, by endorsing figures who polarize and detract from the celebration of a rich and diverse heritage. Originally Posted In: < Back We express our profound disappointment and disapproval regarding the inclusion of individuals like Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, and others in the proclamation for San Diego Unified School District's Jewish American Heritage Month, as posted in the agenda for Tuesday, April 30th school board meeting . These individuals are known for their divisive and politically motivated stances that are starkly anti-American and anti-Israel. Their controversial views are Marxist and are not representative of the Jewish community and undermine the purpose of this observance. It is deeply concerning that the school district has chosen to politicize Jewish American Heritage Month, just as they did Arab American Heritage Month with the inclusion of Edward Said and Doris Bittar, by endorsing figures who polarize and detract from the celebration of a rich and diverse heritage. These decisions are not only a significant oversight but also a severe misjudgment that politicizes and tarnishes the intent of such commemorations. By doing so, the district has regrettably used both heritage months as political pawns, which is unacceptable and deserving of strong condemnation. This proclamation is the antithesis of the Resolution Condemning Antisemitism that SDUSD adopted on October 26, 2021 in both spirit and content as it is not "inclusive and reflective of best practices and the full diversity of the Jewish people and Israeli-Americans." PeerK-12 is committed to values that foster unity, respect, and understanding across all communities - therefore, we demand immediate correction and oversight to ensure that such missteps are not repeated. We urge the school district to uphold the spirit of this heritage month by celebrating figures who unify rather than divide, reflecting the true values of our community and country. Materials, appropriate figures, videos, curricula, and additional resources for Jewish American Heritage Month can be found here: https://jewsinschool.org/jewish-heritage-month and here: https://jewishamericanheritage.org/for-educators . * * * PeerK12 For all media inquiries, please contact info@peerk12.org Previous Next

February 8, 2026 'Israelis steal kidneys': Teacher gets fired in California after sharing antisemitic video Lara Sukster Mosheyof “There’s no chance we would allow such a person to enter classrooms,” a local Israeli told N12. Originally Posted In: https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-885891?fbclid=IwZnRzaAP1t_dleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEepWru < Back A teacher was fired in San Diego, California, after uploading an antisemitic video saying that “Israelis steal kidneys, livers, and eyes,” N12 reported on Saturday. A former member of the San Diego Unified School District in California , the teacher, identified as Nasreen Atassi, was removed from the staff after the Jewish community pressured the authorities. “There’s no chance we would allow such a person to enter classrooms,” a local Israeli told N12. According to StopAntisemitism, Atassi was a special education teacher. In the shared video, the teacher claimed that Israel “stole the protests, like they always steal from people – including body parts such as kidneys, livers, and eyes.” The declaration came as a reference to American Jews ' support for demonstrations by Iranians in the US. Jewish community responsible for official complaint In a declaration to N12, Dr. Halevi Feldman, a board member representing House of Israel – Balboa Park, shared the information that the House's community has a person responsible for collecting data regarding antisemitism cases. This source, who prefers to remain anonymous, documents the antisemitic acts and "passes them on to the relevant authorities.” Feldman noted that the community's actions were mostly responsible for getting Atassi punished. By sharing the case online, responding to posts, tagging the authorities, and sending complaints to the body employing the former teacher, the complaint against the antisemitic video ended in the firing decision. Atassi was removed from the education body less than a day from the time the video was shared online, said Feldman, explaining that "additional steps were taken behind the scenes" for it to happen. He added that the House of Israel community was not surprised to encounter the video, “We’re no longer shocked when we see things like this, but we absolutely do not intend to give up or remain silent, and certainly not to allow such a person to be part of San Diego’s education system.” Previous Next

February 3, 2026 ZOA Settles Antisemitism Lawsuit With Cherry Hill School District Mia Resnicow In June 2024, the ZOA filed a complaint on behalf of a Jewish student at Cherry Hill High School East and his parents relating to the conduct of the school and the school district in response to alleged harassment, intimidation, bullying and free speech violations of said student. Originally Posted In: https://www.jewishexponent.com/zoa-settles-antisemitism-lawsuit-with-cherry-hill-school-district/ < Back The Zionist Organization of America announced on Jan. 20 that it reached a settlement in its lawsuit against Cherry Hill Public Schools in New Jersey. In June 2024, the ZOA filed a complaint on behalf of a Jewish student at Cherry Hill High School East and his parents relating to the conduct of the school and the school district in response to alleged harassment, intimidation, bullying and free speech violations of said student. “I think one important aspect of this resolution, that I think applies to other cases, is the importance of educating your school community about the problem of antisemitism, helping the community understand how antisemitism can be expressed today, making it clear to your school community that the district or the university will have zero tolerance for antisemitism, however it’s expressed, and that is going to hold wrongdoers accountable,” Susan B. Tuchman, the director of ZOA’s Center for Law and Justice, told Philadelphia Jewish Exponent. The complaint alleged that school officials retaliated “harshly, undeservedly and outrageously” against the student for making complaints of bullying and harassment. “The antisemitic threats, harassment and intimidation were so offensive, severe and pervasive that they created a hostile environment for [the student] limiting his ability to participate in and benefit from High School East’s programs and activities,” the ZOA stated in the filed complaint. After Oct. 7, 2023, students at Cherry Hill High School East allegedly came to school wearing keffiyehs, waving Palestinian Arab flags, and shouting “Free Palestine.” The Jewish student took two short videos of the other students, expressing his opinion that the students were endorsing Hamas. According to the complaint, the videos did not violate any of the school’s rules or policies. The complaint also alleged that the Jewish student’s friend overheard Arab Muslim students in the school bathroom discussing a plan to jump the student for taking the videos. After reporting the incident to school officials, the school officials allegedly failed to address the threats. Another incident described in the filing involved the Jewish student being harassed in the school’s cafeteria by other students, and then being taken to speak with school officials, who allegedly threatened the student, telling him, “If you post any more videos, you’re out of here.” A day later, the student was suspended for four days in October 2023. The complaint also alleged that school officials publicly blamed the student for one of the incidents, saying that someone was putting misinformation on social media, causing problems at school. According to the complaint, no actions were taken against the other students. Under the settlement, which was executed in May 2025, the school district is required to expunge any information and evidence relating to disciplinary action taken again the Jewish student, continue to provide education on antisemitism as part of its mandatory Holocaust education, commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day annually, and during the week of Holocaust Remembrance Day starting on April 21, 2025, maintain a table of books in the district’s libraries that commemorate Jewish history. Additionally, the settlement required the school district to issue a statement on its website promising that all perpetrators of antisemitism would be held accountable in the district and include data about the rise in antisemitic incidents in New Jersey. The statement also included the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism. According to Tuchman, after the settlement was executed, the ZOA and the school district disagreed on one of the terms of the settlement. The settlement agreement stated the school district was required to issue a statement and post the statement on its website. “When we said that, it was with the knowledge that the district regularly issues statements to the community, whether it’s by email or by letter,” she explained. The ZOA brought the matter to court in June 2025, and then the court’s decision was released last month, and, Tuchman explained, “determined that simply posting the antisemitism statement on the website was a fair reading of the party settlement agreement.” Overall, Tuchman said the ZOA is very pleased with the outcome of the settlement agreement. “It shouldn’t have to take a settlement agreement to get the district to educate the community about this area’s problem of antisemitism, which infected its own district,” Tuchman added. “But overall, yes, we are very pleased with the outcome.” Cherry Hill Public Schools did not respond to a request for comment from Philadelphia Jewish Exponent prior to publication. Previous Next

Explore PeerK12's comprehensive resources on Ethnic Studies in K-12 education. Understand its ideological origins, potential impacts, and learn how communities can advocate effectively protect their students from radical ideologies, ensure transparency in their school districts, and provide unbiased curriculum for their children. Ethnic Studies in K-12: What’s Really Happening & Why It Matters Ethnic Studies is being introduced into classrooms across the country; often without transparency, oversight, or accountability. At PeerK12, we’ve been on the front lines of this issue - supporting families, exposing harmful curriculum, and holding school systems accountable. We don’t just explain the problem. We help you understand it, challenge it, and stop it. Isn’t Ethnic Studies Supposed to Be a Good Thing? It sounds good: equity , inclusion , 'teach real history '. But underneath that language is a framework rooted in activism, ideology, and political outcomes - not balanced education. Ethnic Studies grew out of the 1968 Third World Liberation Front movement, and it was designed to reimagine education through a lens of power , identity , and systemic oppression . Those terms are all taken from Karl Marx's "The Communist Manifesto" - and they've been repackaged into ethnic studies and presented to students across America, with California being ground zero. Ethnic studies isn't about education - it's about politics. The goal of 'authentic ' and 'real ' ethnic studies is to 're-educate students away from traditional American values (Judeo-Christian ) and into becoming Marxist-style socialists . Real 'authentic' Ethnic Studies is about changing the entire value system of American students. They achieve this by teaching students to reject everything America stands for: democracy , free speech, capitalism, individual choice, and pluralism . What’s happening in schools right now? Growing concerns from families and educators include: Politicized classroom environments Lack of parental visibility into curriculum Classroom dynamics that divide students along racial identity lines Documented incidents of bias and discrimination - including antisemitism This isn’t hypothetical. We’re seeing the real-world impact play out in classrooms every day. PeerK12 is tracking this issue at every level: education policy, classrooms, and real-world incidents. Our Analysis Covers: California ethnic studies legislation (AB 101, AB 1468 , AB 715 ) Curriculum breakdowns and red flags Real cases impacting students and families We provide real insight from the front lines and advocate for Jewish civil rights at the State level, where the most important laws, ed code and curriculum decisions are made. Is the San Dieguito Union High School District (SDUHSD) System Officially Broken? Is the San Dieguito Union High School District (SDUHSD) Officially Broken? PEER K12 Sep 21, 2025 CA AB 715: Governor Newsom Signs Antisemitism "Civil Rights" Bill That Protects Absolutely No One What began as a promising civil-rights bill to protect Jewish and Israeli-American students in California’s public schools has been gutted beyond recognition. Nicole Bernstein Oct 9, 2025 To Protect Zionism, We Must Reject Ethnic Studies We cannot protect Jewish students while endorsing a curriculum that teaches others to hate Jews. And we cannot defend Zionism while legitimizing an ideology that slanders it as oppression. Nicole Bernstein May 20, 2025 1 2 3 4 PeerK12 OpEds & Blogs Real World Impact What’s Happening in Schools Right Now: Curriculum is being approved with little to no transparency Districts are creating their own content with no oversight Classrooms are becoming politicized Students are being divided - not unified When ideology replaces education, students feel targeted or silenced, classrooms become divisive, and trust in schools breaks down - which results in dozens of formal complaints and lawsuits being filed just to ensure Jewish civil rights are protected. PeerK12 can help navigate through all of this - you don't have to try and deal with this alone. Click arrows or play button to scroll through real world examples of ethnic studies PhD 'experts' and their social media, lessons, trainings, mobilizations, legislative action alerts etc. Incidents in K-12 Collection - click to enlarge images Portland Teachers Union December 2023 ARE (Association of Raza Educators) San Diego - Ceasefire Now - rally at Jimmy Gomez' office Incidents in K-12 Collection - click to enlarge images 1/61 Ethnic Studies in California: Litigation & Complaint Tracker Litigation Tracker California Department of Education Federal Office of Civil Rights Jewish Families vs State of California & California Dept. of Education The Louis D. Brandeis Center and StandWithUs filed a landmark lawsuit in February 2026 against the state of California, the State Board of Education, the CDE, and Superintendent Tony Thurmond — described as the first lawsuit against a state over failure to protect K-12 Jewish students — citing incidents in Berkeley, Los Angeles, Santa Clara, San Francisco, Campbell Union, Fremont, Etiwanda, and Oakland. Berkeley USD The Deborah Project sued Berkeley USD over its use of ethnic studies materials alleged to foster discriminatory beliefs about Israel and the Jewish community, without offering parents a chance to review the contents. A California Superior Court ruled the materials could be discriminatory, establishing a landmark precedent. Campbell Union High School District Named in the February 2026 Brandeis Center and StandWithUs lawsuit against the state; the district was cited for a high-profile incident in which six Branham High students formed a human swastika on the football field and posted it with a Hitler quote. East Bay Times Hayward Unified School District The Deborah Project sued for release of records related to ethnic studies instruction; the district settled and agreed to pay the group's legal fees. Los Angeles USD A suit filed by the Deborah Project alongside a Jewish parents' group was dismissed after two and a half years in December 2024. Jewish Currents A separate suit by Jewish teachers challenged collective bargaining laws, alleging the teachers' union helped create an ethnic studies curriculum described as antisemitic. Mountain View-Los Altos UHSD The Deborah Project sued for records related to ethnic studies instruction; the district settled and agreed to pay the group's legal fees. Oakland USD The state of California sued Oakland USD in March 2026 after the CDE found the district had discriminated against Jewish students in multiple instances and the district then failed to complete the required corrective actions by the March 1 deadline. Palo Alto USD The Brandeis Center and Cohen Williams LLP filed a Brown Act complaint in Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara, alleging the district violated open meeting laws by misleading the public about its ethnic studies curriculum and graduation requirement. Santa Ana USD The Brandeis Center, ADL, and AJC filed suit in Orange County Superior Court in September 2023, alleging the district developed ethnic studies courses in secret infected with antisemitism; the district settled in February 2025, agreeing to halt three courses pending redesign and paying $43,000 in legal fees Sequoia Union High School District Six families of students at Woodside and Menlo-Atherton high schools, represented by The Deborah Project and Ropes & Gray, filed a federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court (Northern California) alleging rampant antisemitism, inaccurate instruction, and deliberate indifference by administrators. University Prep Academy (San Jose charter school) A student and her parents filed a federal lawsuit against the charter school and its executive director, also naming the Santa Clara County Office of Education and the California Department of Education as defendants, over months of antisemitic bullying. Ethnic Studies: Webinars & Podcasts Start at the Beginning: The Ethnic Studies Origin Story Discover hidden connections between historical activism, controversial educational mandates, and today’s fierce ideological battles unfolding inside classrooms nationwide. After you see this video, you'll understand precisely how concepts such as intersectionality, decolonization, land acknowledgements, and dismantling systems of power have quietly reshaped curricula -and why this matters profoundly, even if you don't have kids currently attending K-12 schools. Ethnic Studies All Categories Play Video Play Video 04:37 UNDERSTANDING ETHNIC STUDIES IN 5 MINUTES OR LESS Hey Everyone, I finally made a short explainer video onto the subject of Liberated Ethnic Studies. This is a good one to share with friends who don't see the concern. Please like share and if you haven't subscribe! All of the in-depth videos are on the live page. The subject is heavy and nearly every parental advocate is covering it because it is that urgent. Music Ben Sound License code: O0CETJWKOQ7YK6GO Play Video Play Video 13:13 Ethnic Studies: Education or Indoctrination? California is proposing a mandatory ethnic studies class that is so far-left, that even California’s liberal media are expressing concern. It will teach California high school students that capitalism is an oppressive system akin to white supremacy, and word like Misogynoir, Positionalities, and cis-hetero-patriarchy. And YouTube decided to instantly demonetize this episode before it had a title, tag, description, or was even made public. I wonder what Google felt was too controversial? How did the bots read this episode? SUPPORT US: Patreon.......►https://www.patreon.com/americauncovered SOCIAL: Facebook...► https://www.facebook.com/America-Uncovered-1819821761677650/ Instagram..► https://www.instagram.com/chinauncensored Twitter........► https://twitter.com/USUncovered us news red pill gender equality president trump political news Play Video Play Video 02:06 Mother Testifies Against Ethnic Studies Bill: “Not Everything That Sounds Good IS Good” Kofi Montzka, a Minnesotan attorney and mother of three, testified against H.F. 1269 on March 21, 2023. "We used to have a race-based system. We got rid of it, and now you all are trying to bring it back.” For more information on this legislation and how to contact your legislators, go to www.americanexperiment.org/bait-and-switch/ Play Video Play Video 05:40 What Students REALLY Learn in Ethnic Studies Classes? Curious about what students REALLY learn in ethnic studies classes? Watch this video to find out the eye-opening insights shared by students themselves! What Students REALLY Learn in Ethnic Studies Classes? Play Video Play Video 02:31:03 California Forum on Ethnic Studies in Public Schools Are ethnic studies classes giving students a broader perspective—or pushing ideological agendas? The California Forum on Ethnic Studies in Public Schools is your chance to speak up. This live-streamed, citizen-hearing style event brings students, parents, and educators together to share their real-world experiences—directly with policymakers—fostering honest dialogue about what’s happening in classrooms across California. Join us as we tackle the tough questions: 🔹 Are ethnic studies courses meeting ed code standards? 🔹 How can we keep education free from political bias and discrimination? 🔹 What should parents, teachers, and lawmakers do next? This is your opportunity to take action and be heard. Whether you’re a concerned parent, a passionate educator, or a student with firsthand experience, your voice matters. Play Video Play Video 01:15:56 Ethnic Studies: From Radical Roots to Government Mandate Join the Institute for Liberal Values with the Coalition for Empowered Education livestream discussing the problems with Liberated Ethnic Studies and what the coalition is doing about it. Play Video Play Video 01:03:07 4. Teach Ethnic Studies - The Racist Roots and History of Critical-Liberated Ethnic Studies Understand the racist roots and history of Critical-Liberated Ethnic Studies and the ideologies and structures that guide and inspire the DEI efforts in today’s educational institutions. 1. Ideological Subversion: Increase your understanding of the process of ideological subversion in social justice education. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucjhIilHoYw 2. Guiding Principles: Infuse the Empowered Social Justice Guiding Principles into social justice teaching and learning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtRG3iPK8Dg 3. Standards and Resources: Use the Empowered Social Justice framework and resources to teach ethnic studies in grades 9-12. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD1DD10RtIw 4. Teach Ethnic Studies: Use the Empowered Social Justice framework and resources to teach ethnic studies in grades 9-12. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghES0tnAWuA Download the free Empowered Social Justice Resources and learn more: https://tinyurl.com/DrLeeESJR Play Video Play Video 01:08:11 1. Ideological Subversion: Empowered Social Justice Resources Video Series about the Empowered Social Justice Resources: 1. Ideological Subversion: Increase your understanding of the process of ideological subversion in social justice education. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucjhIilHoYw 2. Guiding Principles: Infuse the Empowered Social Justice Guiding Principles into social justice teaching and learning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtRG3iPK8Dg 3. Standards and Resources: Use the Empowered Social Justice framework and resources to teach ethnic studies in grades 9-12. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD1DD10RtIw 4. Teach Ethnic Studies: Use the Empowered Social Justice framework and resources to teach ethnic studies in grades 9-12. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghES0tnAWuA Download the free Empowered Social Justice Resources and learn more: https://tinyurl.com/DrLeeESJR Frequently Asked Questions What is ethnic studies, and how is it different from multicultural education? ETHNIC STUDIES: "Ethnic studies is the interdisciplinary study that centers Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders, Chicanx/Latinx, American Indians/Native Americans, and Africana/Black/African Americans who have experienced, survived, and resisted settler colonialism, racism, and hegemonic systems of oppression. Using ethnic studies epistemology, content and pedagogy, ethnic studies aims to educate students to be socially, politically, and economically conscious of their personal connections to local and (trans)national histories. Students study topics through the intersectional lenses of race, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexuality, ability, language, immigrant status, and class. They analyze indigeneity, white supremacy, oppression, privilege, and decolonization, and work toward empowering themselves as anti-racist leaders in social justice activism." MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION: As established in California SB 48, this includes the contributions of all ethnic, religious, LGBTQ+, and disabled communities to California and U.S. history. What does CA's AB 101 entail? AB 101, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2021, mandates a one-semester ethnic studies course for high school graduation starting with the class of 2030. High schools were supposed to offer this course beginning in the 2025–26 school year. However, this mandate was contingent on state funding, which was never allocated, rendering the mandate null and void. Is ethnic studies currently a graduation mandate in California? No - although AB 101 mandated ethnic studies for high school graduation by the Class of 2030, the law’s implementation is contingent on state funding, which was estimated at roughly $276 million. As of early 2026, California's AB 101 ethnic studies requirement remains largely unfunded, with no new funding included in the 2025-26 budget. Since AB101 remains totally unfunded, the mandate is not active, yet many districts are already implementing courses anyway, often with little public transparency (and multiple resulting lawsuits statewide). Funding Status: The mandate is technically inoperative or paused in many districts due to a lack of state funding. Budget Shortfall: Governor Newsom did not include funding for the 2025-26 fiscal year, citing a $2.9 billion state budget shortfall. Impact on Districts: Without state funds, districts are struggling to cover costs for teacher training and curriculum development, leading some to pause implementation. Future Outlook: The requirement is contingent upon future funding appropriation, with observers looking to future budget revisions for updates. LAST UPDATED: March 2026 What are the legal requirements for ethnic studies courses? Ethnic studies courses must not promote bias, bigotry, or discrimination, must be appropriate for all students, and cannot include or promote religious doctrine. All curriculum must be fact-based, and not promote communism as a preferred ideology over democracy and capitalism. These requirements are outlined in Education Code §§ 51225.3(a)(1)(G) and Article 4 Section §§ 51530. Do schools have to use the state’s model ethnic studies curriculum? No. Districts can choose from four options: A course based on the state’s model curriculum. An existing ethnic studies course. An A–G approved ethnic studies course (meeting UC/CSU requirements). A locally developed course, approved by the school board at a public meeting. However, any course used must have ethnic studies as its primary content and comply with anti-bias laws; and: By law, ethnic studies courses: Must not promote bias, bigotry, or discrimination. Must be appropriate for students of all backgrounds. Cannot include or promote religious doctrine. These rules are outlined in Education Code §51225.3(a)(1)(G). Why is there so much concern about antisemitism in ethnic studies? Hundreds of incidents and lawsuits have documented antisemitic content or behavior in ethnic studies programs. Jewish and Israeli-American students have been excluded or vilified in some lessons. After October 7, 2023, many of the leading PhD experts in ethnic studies glorified Hamas and minimized Jewish perspectives. In Oakland, more than 30 Jewish families had to transfer their children out of the public school district due to the hostile and dangerous environment that ethnic studies had created inside classrooms. The Congressional House Ed & Workforce Committee (Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education) has held two official Congressional hearings to investigate the rise of antisemitism in K-12 and found a direct link to Ethnic Studies as one of the root causes: May 2024 and September 2025 The 2024 California Commission on the State of Hate found that these issues are widespread and unmonitored. The California Department of Education has investigated and found that the following three school districts are guilty of violating the civil rights of their Jewish students, teachers, and faculty with their ethnic studies curriculum: Campbell Union High School District Santa Clara Unified School District (USD) Tamalpais Union High School District (home district and alma mater of CA Governor Gavin Newsom) Ethnic studies related lawsuits in CA school districts: CA Department of Education Berkeley USD Hayward USD Los Angeles USD Mountain View–Los Altos UHSD Palo Alto USD San Diego USD Santa Ana USD Sequoia Union High School District Federal Office of Civil Rights Investigations due to ethnic studies implementation (Title VI - National Origin Discrimination Involving Religion): Berkeley USD Fullerton USD Lammersville USD Los Angeles USD Oakland USD Placentia-Yorba Linda USD Roseville City School District San Francisco USD West Contra Costa USD Why did AB 1468 (ethnic studies "content standards") fail to pass the CA legislature? AB 1468 (Feb 2025) would've created official content standards, curriculum frameworks, and state compliance monitoring for ethnic studies by 2028. It also included: A mandatory advisory committee made up mostly of scholars in the four “core” disciplines. A statewide mandate for districts to submit all ethnic studies curricula to the state by June 30, 2026 (which would have been before the proposed state standards would have been adopted). A new role for the CA Dept. of Ed to monitor compliance, but without clear mechanisms for enforcement. The bill faced tremendous negative pressure from teachers unions due to the curriculum transparency requirement. The bill also faced negative pressure from organizations (including PeerK12 and our coalition partners) due to the dangers of elevating ethnic studies to the same level as math, English, Science, etc. and would have resulted in it becoming an admissions requirement for UC and CSU. Read more about this bill here: https://www.peerk12.org/post/a-new-ethnic-studies-bill-in-california-overview-of-ab-1468 Who decides what gets taught in ethnic studies classes? Currently, local school boards approve the curriculum, but there are no specific guidelines in place - outside of the guardrails in AB101 - added to ensure school districts would not include any of the removed bigoted, antisemitic, and biased content that previously made the model curriculum unusable. Dozens of lawsuits sprang up across California as school districts failed to implement any of the guardrails or protections, especially around the Jewish American experience and the Israel-Palestinian Wars. Doesn’t California already require inclusive and diverse education? Yes. SB 48 (2011) requires inclusive instruction on the contributions of all cultural groups, including LGBTQ+, religious, and disabled people. Ed Code § 51204.5 and § 60040 mandate inclusive and bias-free materials. These laws already allow multicultural education without ethnic studies-specific mandates. Is there effective oversight for ethnic studies courses? No, there is no effective oversight. While AB 101 prohibits bias and discrimination, there is no enforcement mechanism. The State Board of Education does not vet local curricula unless districts adopt the state model. The Attorney General’s 2024 legal alert reiterates anti-bias obligations but admits no active enforcement. Ethnic studies remains largely unregulated, with unvetted and often divisive materials being introduced into classrooms. Submit a Question on Ethnic Studies Didn't find the answer you were looking for? Submit your question here and we will get back to you - and potentially add your question to our FAQ's to help others better understand this issue as well. First name* Last name Email* Submit Your Question* Submit

June 24, 2025 Ramona Unified postpones high school ethnic studies course for 2025-26 Julie Gallant Ramona Unified School District high school students will continue to be offered the traditional English II course only while plans to pilot an “English 2/English 2 Honors: Ethnic Perspectives in Literature” course are put on hold. Originally Posted In: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/06/24/ramona-unified-postpones-high-school-ethnic-studies-course-for-2025-26/ < Back A proposed ethnic studies literature course for high school students in the Ramona Unified School District is being postponed because funding has not been provided for its implementation. Starting with the 2025-26 school year, all districts in the state were required to offer the course following a state framework that provides an opportunity for students to learn about the histories, cultures, struggles and contributions of historically marginalized groups in America. But the district’s Education Services Department announced last month that ethnic studies is not currently a required course because funding was unavailable. The current state budget doesn’t include funding — estimated at $276 million — that would trigger the ethnic studies graduation requirement, said H.D. Palmer, a spokesperson for the state Department of Finance. He attributed it to “limited available ongoing resources.” Beginning this fall, Ramona Unified students entering ninth grade would have been the first class required to pass a one-semester class at some point during their high school years. Daryn Drum, president of the school board, said the state provided funds to the district to develop the curriculum but not to implement the course. “RUSD staff chose to develop a curriculum that is specific to Ramona and this community instead of just adopting a curriculum that was developed elsewhere,” Drum said in a June 20 email. “Our staff did an admirable job in the creation of the curriculum and they are to be commended. “This is the first time that RUSD staff has taken on a task like this and they put in many long hours to produce a thought-provoking experience for our students.” Drum said if and when the legal requirement to offer and/or require an ethnic studies course is confirmed, Ramona Unified will take steps to implement the course. To be ready, staff will continue refining the course’s instructional units, he said. Trustees had discussed plans to pilot the new ethnic studies curriculum by trying it out in classrooms this fall. It was scheduled to be reviewed for approval by trustees in May 2026, according to a staff report. After discussions, the board in January 2024 approved a course titled, “English 2/English 2 Honors: Ethnic Perspectives in Literature.” Several staff members were involved in writing the curriculum for the course, including Julia Shotwell, Nicole Del Castillo and Laura Nelson. Trustee Maya Phillips said she believes the district is taking the correct action to reverse its decision to require high school students to participate in ethnic studies during the next school year. “The course had been presented as a pilot program, but in practice, it would have made participation mandatory,” Phillips said in a June 15 email. “The district has also acknowledged what I have been stating since February … in the absence of state funding, there is no requirement to offer the course.” Phillips, who has stated her opposition to the ethnic studies curriculum in the past, said she believes it violates federal law. “In my view, the Ramona Unified School District’s ethnic studies units are deeply rooted in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) ideology and promote racially discriminatory frameworks,” Phillips said in the email. “DEI frameworks have been directly addressed and prohibited under President Trump’s executive orders.” Phillips said she is concerned that if the district was to continue with the curriculum it could jeopardize the district’s eligibility for federal funding. At the April 22 school board meeting, trustees discussed the value of an education on topics such as race, heritage and culture and debated the merits of teaching high schoolers about social activism. At the time of the discussion, Ramona Unified’s course was still being crafted. Trustee Rodger Dohm said it may be healthy for students to talk about their heritage, backgrounds and perceived injustices. “For some, it’s going to be a relief to talk about it and an opportunity for healing,” said Dohm, who favors students celebrating ethnicities and culture through their traditional food and clothing. “It’s important we do talk about it. People can come together and unite as one and become one Ramona family. “The curriculum should not be saying, ‘I am a victim,’” he added. “It should be the other way around. It should say, ‘Here’s our heritage. How can I persevere through the challenges I have.’” Trustee Dan Summers said he was “uncomfortable” with material that encouraged students to act on social justice. Summers said he also thought the content negatively portrayed America, particularly regarding its description of slavery and treatment of Native Americans. “I don’t think we should encourage people of this age group to become social activists,” said Summers, who is also chair of the American Liberty Forum of Ramona. Until an official appropriation is made and the requirement is triggered, the district will continue to offer its traditional English II course only, according to the May 20 memo. The decision was made “to ensure that teachers and students are not placed in a position of division or uncertainty around a course offering that is not yet mandated,” it states. ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE Previous Next

February 26, 2026 French teacher sues UN school in New York after enduring ‘15 months of hell,’ Jew-hatred Aaron Bandler “Although the school didn’t terminate her, it was essentially constructive termination, because the environment had become so hostile that she was unable to work there,” Lauren Israelovitch, of the National Jewish Advocacy Center, told JNS. Originally Posted In: https://www.jns.org/french-teacher-sues-un-school-in-new-york-after-enduring-15-months-of-hell-jew-hatred/ < Back A Jewish woman, who taught at the United Nations International School in New York for about 30 years, is suing the school, alleging that it ignored her reports of experiencing Jew-hatred on campus and responded by subjecting her to a retaliatory investigation. Robert Weingrad told JNS that his wife, Nadine Sébag, 65, experienced “severe depression” as a result of what she experienced at the school and that she has been suffering from back and muscle issues as well as digestive problems, increased blood pressure and anxiety. “UNIS had long known about this,” he said, of his wife’s experience. Weingrad emailed school officials multiple times, including the school’s executive director, Dan Brenner, expressing concern about what his wife had endured, he said. He also attended a meeting with Sébag, Brenner and other school officials in March 2023 after he objected to her being required to attend a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) meeting without knowing the allegations against her, according to a lawsuit that the National Jewish Advocacy Center filed on behalf of Sébag in the New York Supreme Court on Feb. 12. The school eventually told Weingrad to stop contacting Brenner directly, which he obeyed, per the suit. “It was a very frustrating and troubling time for us, and then it remained that way to Nadine until June of 2024, the last time she was at the school,” he told JNS. “She had 15 months of hell at that school.” In 2022, Sébag, who is French and who was tenured at the school, was transferred from its Queens campus, which had closed, to its Manhattan campus, where she shared an office with two French teachers. One, Nehad Soliman, a Muslim who wears a hijab, made repeated “antisemitic and anti-French remarks grounded in long-standing, derogatory stereotypes” while sharing office space with Sébag, including that “Jews are driven by money, that Jews control UNIS and New York and that French people are inherently racist,” according to the lawsuit. On Feb. 13, 2023, Soliman put her cell phone in Sébag’s face and demanded that she respond to an “offensive” cartoon from the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo . When Sébag didn’t immediately respond, Soliman went “into an angry tirade regarding France’s restrictions on religious attire in public schools” and accused Sébag of objecting to her hijab, per the suit. Sébag told Soliman that she did not have an issue with the hijab but opposes women being forced “to wear religious attire against their will when men were not subject to comparable requirements,” the suit states. Soliman then filed a complaint against Sébag, accusing her of discrimination. The school subjected Sébag to an investigation that lasted more than a year, according to the suit. ‘Completely fabricated’ Lauren Israelovitch, senior litigation counsel at the National Jewish Advocacy Center, told JNS that “the most shocking aspect was the fact that Ms. Sébag worked at the school for a little over 30 years, and that the person who initially filed the complaint against her ultimately admitted that that complaint was completely fabricated in front of a number of people.” “Nonetheless, UNIS continued the investigation against her,” Israelovitch said. According to the suit, Sébag was required to attend a meeting with school administrators and Soliman in September 2023. At the meeting, Sébag asked Soliman if she had ever commented on her Islamic faith or hijab. “No,” Soliman said. Still, the probe continued. “What the person leading the investigation said was, ‘Well, yes, in her culture, sometimes “No” can mean “Yes,” and so we need to still continue the investigation,’” Israelovitch told JNS. Eeqbal Hassim is described in the lawsuit as “a multicultural educational consultant retained by UNIS from Australia” with a background in Islamic studies, and was tasked with mediating Soliman and Sébag’s dispute. “He doesn’t appear to be qualified to handle employment disputes or have any sort of credentials in employment compliance law or anything of the sort,” Israelovitch said. Another teacher at the school, Isabelle Chu, alleged to Hassim that Soliman had “expressed anger” against Sébag for being Jewish and repeatedly said that anyone who crossed her would “pay accordingly,” according to the suit. When Chu, who is not Jewish, defended Sébag’s Jewish identity, Soliman “physically assaulted” her, the suit states. Chu was among the “multiple teachers” who reported having “personally observed Ms. Soliman engage in threatening and harassing conduct” toward Sébag and others, and “they themselves had experienced similar behavior,” per the suit. Weingrad told JNS that his wife “was afraid of this woman, because this woman made it clear and said to her that ‘if anybody crosses me, I’ll make them pay.’” “My wife’s been teaching for 30 years. She lives in another world. She never heard that from another teacher. It sounded thuggish to her,” he said. He said that Sébag was new to the Manhattan campus and “didn’t want to make waves.” “She had all this going on, and she just sat on it for a while,” Weingrad said. Hassim later acknowledged that Soliman “required immediate evaluation and professional intervention,” but that never took place. Instead, she was given tenure, per the suit. Sébag sent eight complaints to the school between February 2023 and June 2024 about “antisemitic harassment and retaliation she experienced at the hands of Ms. Soliman and UNIS administrators.” All were ignored, according to the suit. ‘Fearful and isolated’ Weingrad told JNS that his wife wrote of “her fear” of Soliman in the complaints, and Sébag “was spiraling, and she was insecure and fearful and isolated.” During the investigation, a superior asked Sébag about her religion, according to Weingrad. “Just very, very crazy stuff,” he said. Due to health issues stemming from the situation, Sébag went on six months of paid leave starting in August 2024. In February 2025, she resigned, according to the suit. Israelovitch told JNS that “although the school didn’t terminate her, it was essentially constructive termination, because the environment had become so hostile that she was unable to work there.” “Ultimately, she was advised by her physician that that environment was just too toxic for her to return,” she said. Weingrad said he doesn’t think his wife would ever be comfortable teaching at the school again and is unsure if she will ever teach again at all. “She wanted to retire at age 67, not 64. That’s always been made plain to UNIS,” he said, adding that her plan was “chiefly interrupted and terminated due to what happened to her.” Weingrad and his wife are “taking it day by day.” “The suit was just filed, we’re sober about it,” he said. “We’ll see what happens.” Israelovitch told JNS that she hopes that “the school will learn from this and treat everybody in the school equally.” “When a Jewish teacher expresses concern or reports an antisemitic incident and complaint, the school should be responding, and in this case, she was completely ignored,” she said. Lupe Todd-Medina, a spokeswoman for the school, told JNS that it “stands firm against these baseless allegations.” “We are confident that this matter will be addressed through the proper legal process and that our institution’s integrity and reputation will be upheld,” Todd-Medina said. The lawsuit alleges that while the private pre-K to grade 12 school describes itself as secular, the UNIS promotes Islamic religious programming and imagery. It further states that the school maintains substantial financial ties to certain U.N. member states, including the Sultanate of Oman and the State of Qatar, and has a governance structure closely linked to them. According to the suit, the permanent representatives of Qatar and Oman serve as honorary trustees of the UNIS Board. The lawsuit states that Qatar pledged around $60 million to the school in 2023 and that Oman, by 2020, provided “cumulative support reportedly exceeding $55 million” to the educational institution. “One could certainly question, if the school is getting millions of dollars from Qatar and Oman, then could it be that it might not be pleasing to those donors if antisemitism is handled the way it ought to be,” Israelovitch told JNS. Previous Next

April 10, 2025 Bay Area high school districts cited, must provide anti-bias training to teachers John Fensterwald Following investigations, the California Department of Education has verified incidents of antisemitism in two neighboring San Jose-area school districts. In separate decisions, the department ordered both the Campbell Union High School District and Santa Clara Unified to provide anti-discrimination training, and in the case of Santa Clara Unified, training in students’ rights against retaliation. Originally Posted In: https://edsource.org/updates/bay-area-high-school-district-cited-must-provide-anti-bias-training-to-teachers < Back Following investigations, the California Department of Education has verified incidents of antisemitism in two neighboring San Jose-area school districts. In separate decisions, the department ordered both the Campbell Union High School District and Santa Clara Unified to provide anti-discrimination training, and in the case of Santa Clara Unified, training in students’ rights against retaliation. In the most recent case, the department ruled on April 4 that lessons in an ethnic studies course at Branham High in Campbell Union discriminated against Jewish students. A parent and Bay Area Jewish Coalition Education and Advocacy filed a complaint and appealed to the department after the district dismissed it. They complained that two teachers in an Ethnic Literature class they had designed presented content regarding the Israel/Palestine conflict that could encourage antisemitism. Not identified by name in the state report, Teacher A acknowledged doing a lesson on the conflict in a “community circle” that was not included in the curriculum. As part of the theme on colonialism, students discussed whether Israel is a settler colonial state, although the students heard only one side. It included a video from a rabbi wearing a Palestinian flag that said “A Jew is not a Zionist” and a reading from Paulo Freire’s “Pedagogy of the Oppressed.” “In order for the information to be unbiased, there would have needed to be a video that reflected a pro-Israel perspective. This would have encouraged students to create authentic answers regarding the questions provided in the lesson,” the state report said. The second instance of bias pertained to a student project on “Genocide of Palestinians. The report found that Teacher B didn’t question the students on their report during a class presentation and then posted the presentation to a social media site of class projects. “The legal issue is whether the teacher responded adequately so as to ensure a non-discriminatory and balanced learning environment,” the report said. The failure to comment on the slide presentation” could have been interpreted by the student audience as approval of the presented thesis.” The district, which can ask the department to reconsider the decision, did not respond to a request for a comment. The district must provide at least an hour-long anti-bias training for all English language arts and social studies teachers by the start of the next school year. “We are seeing discrimination against Jews in classrooms throughout the state and hope this precedent will lead to schools taking a more nuanced approach that doesn’t harm Jewish students,” said Miller Saltzman, Ethnic Studies Coalition Director for the Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California. Santa Clara Unified decisions The department issued separate rulings on Jan. 24 in which it verified allegations of bias on two separate incidents that occurred after the October slaughter by Hamas of 1,200 Israelis which led to reprisals and the invasion of Gaza by the Israeli army, with deaths of thousands of Palestinians. One involved a clear violation of the district’s policy on handling controversial issues, although that was outside of the department’s jurisdiction. A teacher assigned students projects on genocide and modeled the conflict in Gaza as an example for the class. It contained a one-sided, politically charged perspective that described Israeli actions against Gazans that “amount to the crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution” and used other inflammatory language. The district’s own internal investigation acknowledged the teacher’s presentation was “poorly timed,” “controversial” and “politically charged.” The department went further on appeal , stating it violated the Education Code’s protection against discrimination and intimidation on the basis of ethnicity, religion and nationality. In the second incident , in February 2024, a teacher confronted a Jewish student who was a member of the Jewish Culture Club about a speaker from Israel the club had invited. In front of other students, the teacher tried to persuade the student to disinvite the speaker, whose controversial talk, the teacher said, would provoke antisemitism and reflect badly on the student. Although the district’s own investigation concluded that the teacher’s “conduct was objectively offensive considering the power imbalance between [the Teacher and the Student]” and the student’s identification of Jewish, the district ruled there was no clear discrimination or harassment. On appeal, the state concluded otherwise, noting that under state law, schools should “promote tolerance and sensitivity” and “minimize and eliminate hostile environments.” The unnamed student filed the complaint and the appeal. In its ruling, the department required the district to train all high school staff on students’ right to be free of discrimination, harassment and intimidation base on race, ethnicity, religion and nationality. The District shall also “continue to take appropriate actions to protect (the student) from retaliation for bringing the Complaint/Appeal,” the ruling said. Previous Next

October 7th will mark the anniversary of the horrific Hamas terror attack - the deadliest against Jews since the Holocaust. This PeerK12 page offers schools guidance on supporting Jewish students and staff around the day of remembrance, including trauma-informed counseling, quiet reflection spaces, and academic flexibility to honor cultural and emotional needs. OCTOBER 7TH The Massacre of October 7 marks the horrific events when Hamas invaded Israel's sovereign borders and carried out the most heinous acts of terror against civilians, marking the deadliest attack against Jews since the Holocaust. The massacre of over 1200 Israelis and the brutal kidnapping of 252 people (including babies, women, girls, boys, men, and the elderly) - many of whom were held in brutal captivity for more than 780 days - has profoundly impacted communities worldwide, including Jewish students, staff, and families in every city and country around the globe. Compounding the pain of this anniversary is the fact that many anti-Israel groups plan and implement K-12 events to celebrate the Hamas attack. We urge school administrators, principals, school board members, and district staff to take proactive measures to protect the emotional well-being and safety of your students and staff during this critical and vulnerable time. INSIGHTS Many students may still be grappling with grief over the loss of loved ones, the collective trauma of the attacks, and the added weight of religious holidays and obligations that occur on the Jewish Calendar during this period: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Simchat Torah and Shmineih Atzeret. We encourage schools to utilize the resources provided to ensure that Jewish students feel safe, respected, and included. The Importance of Sensitivity October is a particularly challenging time for Jewish students, especially with the one-year commemoration of October 7th coinciding with major Jewish holidays. Educators and administrators must be aware of the increased need for sensitivity and understanding in dealing with Jewish students. Safe & Quiet Spaces for Reflection Schools should provide Jewish students with quiet spaces for prayer, reflection, or emotional relief. These spaces are critical during the commemoration of October 7th, when some students may need a break from school activities. Why This Should Matter to You Recognizing the emotional and cultural significance of this period for Jewish students is vital for creating an inclusive and supportive school environment. By adopting policies that reflect empathy and understanding, schools can help Jewish students navigate their academic responsibilities while honoring their cultural and emotional needs. Counseling Support for Trauma Many Jewish students may be dealing with post-traumatic stress related to the violence of October 7th, especially if they have family ties to Israel. School counselors should be prepared with trauma-informed practices to help students navigate these challenges. Flexible Academic Deadlines Offering Jewish students the flexibility to postpone assignments and exams during the High Holidays and the October 7th commemoration period ensures they can participate fully in their religious observances without academic penalties. Awareness & Training for Educators Educators should receive training on the cultural and emotional significance of Jewish holidays and the impact of October 7th on their Jewish students. Schools can provide professional development sessions to ensure educators approach these subjects with the sensitivity and respect they deserve. october 7th documentaries These documentaries should be used in coordination with teacher training. Some of these films may not be appropriate for children under the age of 16. Some were held hostage in Gaza. Others watched their parents be murdered before their eyes. One survived by pretending to be dead beneath his mother’s body. One 11-year-old girl recalls being forced to sit next to her sister’s lifeless body. In a series of intimate, unscripted conversations, Montana Tucker sits down with eight children - ranging in age from 9 to 17 - who recount, in their own words, the horrors they endured that day. The documentary offers no narration, no statistics, no political framing — only the voices of the survivors themselves. Through these harrowing testimonies, the film strips away headlines and politics, revealing something far more enduring: truth through the eyes of children. WATCH TRAILER Another, just 12, speaks about being kidnapped and beaten after being dragged across the border. A teenage girl reads a final message she never got to send her murdered father. These moments are devastating, but they are also full of strength and resilience. As Montana Tucker observed, “These children don’t wallow — they endure. They grieve — but they also laugh. ”

September 14, 2024 Parents want to 'collaborate' over new ethnic studies course Ava Kershner “The room was divided, almost as if you had two opposing sides,” said Nicole Bernstein, a concerned parent and co-founder of PeerK12. Originally Posted In: https://www.10news.com/news/local-news/san-diego-news/parents-want-to-collaborate-over-new-ethnic-studies-course < Back A meeting grew tense Thursday night as the San Dieguito Union High School District took in feedback on the new Ethnic Studies unit being implemented next year across the state. “The room was divided, almost as if you had two opposing sides,” said Nicole Bernstein, a concerned parent and co-founder of PeerK12. But not every parent wants their kids in the course just yet, saying this year’s pilot program of the class seems to focus on the negative events certain ethnic groups went through- rather than positive. “Ethnic studies is supposed to bring us together, not rip us apart,” said Bernstein. The reason this course is getting a test run now is because a California state law is requiring the unit for all students- starting with the graduating class of 2029-2030. The State Board of Education is guiding the design of the course, but 10News was told teachers and the community will have a say as well. “And I feel like we're not being included in the way that we would want, which is simply as partners, we're parents, they're the educators, let us collaborate together,” said Bernstein. The County Office of Education will be giving teachers training on how to pilot these units as soon as next week. Teachers will then try out the first unit of the course and return with feedback. Feedback that parents want to add in as well- however, big changes in the actual curriculum may not be made due to demands from the state. “I encourage the parents who wanted a delay, I want to remind them that, their engagement, it's not over. So the input has to be evaluated through the lens of can that input be incorporated and we still comply with the requirements of ethnic studies,” said Rimga Viskanta, SDUHSD Board of Trustees President. The next community engagement night for SDUHSD where you can give your feedback on the ethnic studies course, will be Sept 17 at Earl Warren Middle School at 5:30 p.m. Previous Next

July 21, 2025 Lawsuit filed against Palo Alto school district over ethnic studies Lisa Moreno Parent Alan Crystal and the Louis D. Brandeis Center, a law firm that works to fight antisemitism, filed a lawsuit against the Palo Alto Unified School District on July 21, alleging that the Board of Education violated the Brown Act by passing an Ethnic Studies graduation requirement. Originally Posted In: https://www.paloaltoonline.com/education/2025/07/21/lawsuit-filed-against-palo-alto-school-district-over-ethnic-studies/ < Back Parent Alan Crystal and the Louis D. Brandeis Center, a law firm that works to fight antisemitism, filed a lawsuit against the Palo Alto Unified School District on July 21, alleging that the Board of Education violated the Brown Act by passing an Ethnic Studies graduation requirement. The Brown Act is the state’s open meeting law that ensures government agencies like school boards meet in public, give notice of those meetings and refrain from gathering a majority outside of meetings to discuss district-related topics, among many other limitations. Districts across the state are grappling with backlash after attempting to follow through on a 2021 state mandate to create an ethnic studies requirement. Palo Alto Unified is no different and for months has endured controversy through social media posts, failed recalls and complaints after adopting the course on January 23. Crystal filed a Brown Act complaint against the board on Feb. 21, claiming it passed the requirement a year early and that board President Shana Segal spoke with a majority of board members about the course outside of the meeting. “I don’t think this should be a legal matter. I think the board should look at this, realize what’s happened and want to rectify it,” Crystal said in a March interview with this publication. He had hoped that the board would pause its ethnic studies requirement or redo the vote, he said. But the complaint was later dropped, according to the District Attorney’s Office. “The DA’s Office determined the available evidence was insufficient to find a violation of the Brown Act as alleged by Mr. Crystal,” Sean Webby, a spokesperson for the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, told this publication. Now, Crystal, who has raised three kids in the district, filed a Brown Act lawsuit instead. District officials pushed back against the complaint. “The allegations misrepresent the facts, misapply the law, and politicize a local curriculum decision,” Superintendent Don Austin wrote in a message to this publication. “This appears to be the next step in an unsuccessful local attempt to allege Brown Act violations to stop the implementation of Ethnic Studies courses.” The lawsuit makes the same claims as the Brown Act notice, alleging the board of education adopted the course a year early, without telling the public. “They purported to ‘confirm’ that completion of ethnic studies would ‘remain a graduation requirement beginning with the Class of 2029,'” stated a press release from Brandeis. “No such graduation requirement existed at the time of the January 23, 2025, meeting, and, therefore, no such graduation requirement could be confirmed. At a September 12, 2023, meeting, former school board members expressed interest in creating the new Ethnic Studies requirement for the Class of 2028. Ultimately, board members agreed with staff recommendation to create the Ethnic Studies requirement for the Class of 2029. The board did not officially vote at the meeting. “I’d say we would be open to hearing an adjustment to the timeline if you suddenly decide you’re ready to go sooner,” former board member Jennifer DiBrienza said at that meeting. At the next school board meeting on October 10, 2023, the board passed the new requirement through its consent calendar, which means there was no further discussion on the item. The item stated the ethnic studies course requirement would begin with the class of 2029-2030 , a year later than discussed in the previous meeting. The Palo Alto Unified School District said this was a typographical error but the lawsuit claims it intentionally misled the public. “The suggestion that the Board ‘pushed through’ this requirement without proper notice is simply false,” Austin wrote in a statement. “The vote occurred in public, the agenda was posted in compliance with the Brown Act and public input was provided over an extended period of time.” The lawsuit also alleges that the district let specific groups in the room during the Ethnic Studies board meeting and that board members met in private to discuss the course. Crystal and the law firm said they agree that the ethnic studies course has the potential to educate students to “build a more just society,” according to the lawsuit, but argued that Palo Alto’s course may cause discrimination. “PAUSD’s actions are part of a concerning trend emerging in K-12 schools where board members act behind closed doors and without the required public notice in order to approve K-12 curriculum that may be controversial, inflame bigotry, and even be unlawful,” Brandeis Center CEO Kenneth Marcus wrote in a statement. While the complaint was filed in February, the Brandeis Center joined the lawsuit on July 21, filing an amended complaint on behalf of both itself and Crystal. The district believes the lawsuit represents a pattern “across the entire state from those who do not support the course in various formats and configurations,” Austin wrote. “We will vigorously defend against this baseless lawsuit and stand behind both the transparency of our process and the value of the course itself,” he wrote. Previous Next

Explore PeerK12's comprehensive resources on Ethnic Studies in K-12 education. Understand its ideological origins, potential impacts, and learn how communities can advocate effectively protect their students from radical ideologies, ensure transparency in their school districts, and provide unbiased curriculum for their children. WELCOME TO THE ETHNIC STUDIES LEARNING HUB The Ethnic Studies Origin Story Uncovering the History Behind Education’s Most Controversial Discipline Whether you're a seasoned expert or simply curious, this session will challenge your assumptions, equip you with new insights, and leave you better prepared to engage in one of America's most critical and ongoing debates. Discover hidden connections between historical activism, controversial educational mandates, and today’s fierce ideological battles unfolding inside classrooms nationwide. After you see this video, y ou'll understand precisely how concepts such as intersectionality , decolonization , land acknowledgements , and dismantling systems of power have quietly reshaped curricula—and why this matters profoundly, even if you don't have kids currently attending K-12 schools. CA ethnic studies violations & lawsuits New February 24, 2026 First ever lawsuit by Jewish parents against a US State : The coalition of Jewish parents in this lawsuit are suing the California government of failing to protect Jewish students from a surge of antisemitic harassment, violence, and propaganda in the state’s public schools. ETHNIC STUDIES related LAWSUITS in california Berkeley USD Hayward USD Los Angeles USD Mountain View–Los Altos UHSD Palo Alto USD San Diego USD Santa Ana USD Sequoia Union High School District JEWISH PARENT COALITION SUES STATE OF CALIFORNIA, THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION & STATE SUPERINTENDENT TONY THURMOND INVESTIGATIONS: California Department of EDUCATION The California Department of Education (CDE) has investigated and found that the following three school districts are guilty of violating the civil rights of their Jewish students, teachers, and faculty with their ethnic studies curriculum: Campbell Union High School District Santa Clara Unified School District ( USD) Tamalpais Union High School District (home district and alma mater of California Governor Gavin Newsom ) federal office of civil rights investigations Title VI - National Origin Discrimination Involving Religion Berkeley USD Fullerton USD Lammersville USD Los Angeles USD Oakland USD Placentia-Yorba Linda USD Roseville City School District San Francisco USD West Contra Costa USD California department of justice California Department of Justice: Office of the Attorney General Legal Alert to School Districts on Curriculum January 9, 2024 California’s Education Code also requires that curricula and instructional materials used in public schools: Reflect the diversity of the State by including a study of the role and contributions of protected groups (Ed. Code, § 51204.5); Accurately “portray the cultural and racial diversity” of society (Ed. Code, § 60040); Not contain any matter reflecting adversely on persons because of their race, sex, color, national origin, or ancestry. (Ed. Code, § 51501); Not teach or promote religious doctrine (Ed. Code, § 51225.3, subd. (a)(1)(G)(v). Download the Legal Alert PDF California Commission on the State of Hate 2023-2024 REPORT FINDS THAT Ethnic studies FUELS DIVISION & HATE CALIFORNIA Commission on THE State of Hate Annual Report Highlighting Ethnic Studies Dangers, Calls for Pause February 2025 The California Commission on the State of Hate’s 2023-2024 Annual Report provides a critical examination of ethnic studies implementation, education policy, and hate prevention efforts in California schools. The report highlights serious concerns about bias, enforcement failures, and the lack of oversight in ethnic studies curricula, which must be addressed before further educational mandates are pursued. Read the 2023-2024 State of Hate Report debunked studies on positive outcomes Studies Fail to Support Claims of New California Ethnic Studies Requirement A law mandating the course for all public high school students is based on two unreplicated studies that distort the data. RICHARD SANDER & ABRAHAM WYNER Last fall, when California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a measure that could require every California public high school student to take an “ethnic studies” course to graduate, he alluded to two studies commonly cited by advocates to justify the measure, claiming the research shows that ethnic studies courses “boost student achievement over the long run—especially among students of color.” But the experiment on which these conclusions are based is so muddled, and the data reported is so ambiguous, that in fact they support no conclusion, either positive or negative, about the effects of this particular ethnic studies course in these particular schools and times. Far from demonstrating the value of ethnic studies courses, these studies merely demonstrate how easy it is in our overheated political environment to subvert statistical analyses for political purposes. Debunking the myth that ethnic studies promotes educational outcomes "The work they present fails many basic tests of scientific method, and it should not have been published as written, much less relied upon in the formulation of public policy." Read the Article March 28, 2022 WEBINARS & VIDEOS ON ETHNIC STUDIES Ethnic Studies All Categories Play Video Play Video 04:37 UNDERSTANDING ETHNIC STUDIES IN 5 MINUTES OR LESS Hey Everyone, I finally made a short explainer video onto the subject of Liberated Ethnic Studies. This is a good one to share with friends who don't see the concern. Please like share and if you haven't subscribe! All of the in-depth videos are on the live page. The subject is heavy and nearly every parental advocate is covering it because it is that urgent. Music Ben Sound License code: O0CETJWKOQ7YK6GO Play Video Play Video 13:13 Ethnic Studies: Education or Indoctrination? California is proposing a mandatory ethnic studies class that is so far-left, that even California’s liberal media are expressing concern. It will teach California high school students that capitalism is an oppressive system akin to white supremacy, and word like Misogynoir, Positionalities, and cis-hetero-patriarchy. And YouTube decided to instantly demonetize this episode before it had a title, tag, description, or was even made public. I wonder what Google felt was too controversial? How did the bots read this episode? SUPPORT US: Patreon.......►https://www.patreon.com/americauncovered SOCIAL: Facebook...► https://www.facebook.com/America-Uncovered-1819821761677650/ Instagram..► https://www.instagram.com/chinauncensored Twitter........► https://twitter.com/USUncovered us news red pill gender equality president trump political news Play Video Play Video 02:06 Mother Testifies Against Ethnic Studies Bill: “Not Everything That Sounds Good IS Good” Kofi Montzka, a Minnesotan attorney and mother of three, testified against H.F. 1269 on March 21, 2023. "We used to have a race-based system. We got rid of it, and now you all are trying to bring it back.” For more information on this legislation and how to contact your legislators, go to www.americanexperiment.org/bait-and-switch/ Play Video Play Video 05:40 What Students REALLY Learn in Ethnic Studies Classes? Curious about what students REALLY learn in ethnic studies classes? Watch this video to find out the eye-opening insights shared by students themselves! What Students REALLY Learn in Ethnic Studies Classes? Play Video Play Video 02:31:03 California Forum on Ethnic Studies in Public Schools Are ethnic studies classes giving students a broader perspective—or pushing ideological agendas? The California Forum on Ethnic Studies in Public Schools is your chance to speak up. This live-streamed, citizen-hearing style event brings students, parents, and educators together to share their real-world experiences—directly with policymakers—fostering honest dialogue about what’s happening in classrooms across California. Join us as we tackle the tough questions: 🔹 Are ethnic studies courses meeting ed code standards? 🔹 How can we keep education free from political bias and discrimination? 🔹 What should parents, teachers, and lawmakers do next? This is your opportunity to take action and be heard. Whether you’re a concerned parent, a passionate educator, or a student with firsthand experience, your voice matters. Play Video Play Video 01:15:56 Ethnic Studies: From Radical Roots to Government Mandate Join the Institute for Liberal Values with the Coalition for Empowered Education livestream discussing the problems with Liberated Ethnic Studies and what the coalition is doing about it. Play Video Play Video 01:03:07 4. Teach Ethnic Studies - The Racist Roots and History of Critical-Liberated Ethnic Studies Understand the racist roots and history of Critical-Liberated Ethnic Studies and the ideologies and structures that guide and inspire the DEI efforts in today’s educational institutions. 1. Ideological Subversion: Increase your understanding of the process of ideological subversion in social justice education. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucjhIilHoYw 2. Guiding Principles: Infuse the Empowered Social Justice Guiding Principles into social justice teaching and learning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtRG3iPK8Dg 3. Standards and Resources: Use the Empowered Social Justice framework and resources to teach ethnic studies in grades 9-12. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD1DD10RtIw 4. Teach Ethnic Studies: Use the Empowered Social Justice framework and resources to teach ethnic studies in grades 9-12. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghES0tnAWuA Download the free Empowered Social Justice Resources and learn more: https://tinyurl.com/DrLeeESJR Play Video Play Video 01:08:11 1. Ideological Subversion: Empowered Social Justice Resources Video Series about the Empowered Social Justice Resources: 1. Ideological Subversion: Increase your understanding of the process of ideological subversion in social justice education. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucjhIilHoYw 2. Guiding Principles: Infuse the Empowered Social Justice Guiding Principles into social justice teaching and learning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtRG3iPK8Dg 3. Standards and Resources: Use the Empowered Social Justice framework and resources to teach ethnic studies in grades 9-12. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD1DD10RtIw 4. Teach Ethnic Studies: Use the Empowered Social Justice framework and resources to teach ethnic studies in grades 9-12. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghES0tnAWuA Download the free Empowered Social Justice Resources and learn more: https://tinyurl.com/DrLeeESJR LATEST PEERK12 BLOG ARTICLES ON ETHNIC STUDIES 1 2 3 frequently asked questions about ethnic studies What is ethnic studies, and how is it different from multicultural education? ETHNIC STUDIES: "Ethnic studies is the interdisciplinary study that centers Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders, Chicanx/Latinx, American Indians/Native Americans, and Africana/Black/African Americans who have experienced, survived, and resisted settler colonialism, racism, and hegemonic systems of oppression. Using ethnic studies epistemology, content and pedagogy, ethnic studies aims to educate students to be socially, politically, and economically conscious of their personal connections to local and (trans)national histories. Students study topics through the intersectional lenses of race, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexuality, ability, language, immigrant status, and class. They analyze indigeneity, white supremacy, oppression, privilege, and decolonization, and work toward empowering themselves as anti-racist leaders in social justice activism." MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION: As established in California SB 48, this includes the contributions of all ethnic, religious, LGBTQ+, and disabled communities to California and U.S. history. What does CA's AB 101 entail? AB 101, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2021, mandates a one-semester ethnic studies course for high school graduation starting with the class of 2030. High schools were supposed to offer this course beginning in the 2025–26 school year. However, this mandate was contingent on state funding, which was never allocated, rendering the mandate null and void. Is ethnic studies currently a graduation mandate in California? No - although AB 101 mandated ethnic studies for high school graduation by the Class of 2030, the law’s implementation is contingent on state funding, which was estimated at roughly $276 million. As of early 2026, California's AB 101 ethnic studies requirement remains largely unfunded, with no new funding included in the 2025-26 budget. Since AB101 remains totally unfunded, the mandate is not active, yet many districts are already implementing courses anyway, often with little public transparency (and multiple resulting lawsuits statewide). Funding Status: The mandate is technically inoperative or paused in many districts due to a lack of state funding. Budget Shortfall: Governor Newsom did not include funding for the 2025-26 fiscal year, citing a $2.9 billion state budget shortfall. Impact on Districts: Without state funds, districts are struggling to cover costs for teacher training and curriculum development, leading some to pause implementation. Future Outlook: The requirement is contingent upon future funding appropriation, with observers looking to future budget revisions for updates. LAST UPDATED: March 2026 What are the legal requirements for ethnic studies courses? Ethnic studies courses must not promote bias, bigotry, or discrimination, must be appropriate for all students, and cannot include or promote religious doctrine. All curriculum must be fact-based, and not promote communism as a preferred ideology over democracy and capitalism. These requirements are outlined in Education Code §§ 51225.3(a)(1)(G) and Article 4 Section §§ 51530. Do schools have to use the state’s model ethnic studies curriculum? No. Districts can choose from four options: A course based on the state’s model curriculum. An existing ethnic studies course. An A–G approved ethnic studies course (meeting UC/CSU requirements). A locally developed course, approved by the school board at a public meeting. However, any course used must have ethnic studies as its primary content and comply with anti-bias laws; and: By law, ethnic studies courses: Must not promote bias, bigotry, or discrimination. Must be appropriate for students of all backgrounds. Cannot include or promote religious doctrine. These rules are outlined in Education Code §51225.3(a)(1)(G). Why is there so much concern about antisemitism in ethnic studies? Hundreds of incidents and lawsuits have documented antisemitic content or behavior in ethnic studies programs. Jewish and Israeli-American students have been excluded or vilified in some lessons. After October 7, 2023, many of the leading PhD experts in ethnic studies glorified Hamas and minimized Jewish perspectives. In Oakland, more than 30 Jewish families had to transfer their children out of the public school district due to the hostile and dangerous environment that ethnic studies had created inside classrooms. The Congressional House Ed & Workforce Committee (Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education) has held two official Congressional hearings to investigate the rise of antisemitism in K-12 and found a direct link to Ethnic Studies as one of the root causes: May 2024 and September 2025 The 2024 California Commission on the State of Hate found that these issues are widespread and unmonitored. The California Department of Education has investigated and found that the following three school districts are guilty of violating the civil rights of their Jewish students, teachers, and faculty with their ethnic studies curriculum: Campbell Union High School District Santa Clara Unified School District (USD) Tamalpais Union High School District (home district and alma mater of CA Governor Gavin Newsom) Ethnic studies related lawsuits in CA school districts: CA Department of Education Berkeley USD Hayward USD Los Angeles USD Mountain View–Los Altos UHSD Palo Alto USD San Diego USD Santa Ana USD Sequoia Union High School District Federal Office of Civil Rights Investigations due to ethnic studies implementation (Title VI - National Origin Discrimination Involving Religion): Berkeley USD Fullerton USD Lammersville USD Los Angeles USD Oakland USD Placentia-Yorba Linda USD Roseville City School District San Francisco USD West Contra Costa USD Why did AB 1468 (ethnic studies "content standards") fail to pass the CA legislature? AB 1468 (Feb 2025) would've created official content standards, curriculum frameworks, and state compliance monitoring for ethnic studies by 2028. It also included: A mandatory advisory committee made up mostly of scholars in the four “core” disciplines. A statewide mandate for districts to submit all ethnic studies curricula to the state by June 30, 2026 (which would have been before the proposed state standards would have been adopted). A new role for the CA Dept. of Ed to monitor compliance, but without clear mechanisms for enforcement. The bill faced tremendous negative pressure from teachers unions due to the curriculum transparency requirement. The bill also faced negative pressure from organizations (including PeerK12 and our coalition partners) due to the dangers of elevating ethnic studies to the same level as math, English, Science, etc. and would have resulted in it becoming an admissions requirement for UC and CSU. Read more about this bill here: https://www.peerk12.org/post/a-new-ethnic-studies-bill-in-california-overview-of-ab-1468 Who decides what gets taught in ethnic studies classes? Currently, local school boards approve the curriculum, but there are no specific guidelines in place - outside of the guardrails in AB101 - added to ensure school districts would not include any of the removed bigoted, antisemitic, and biased content that previously made the model curriculum unusable. Dozens of lawsuits sprang up across California as school districts failed to implement any of the guardrails or protections, especially around the Jewish American experience and the Israel-Palestinian Wars. Doesn’t California already require inclusive and diverse education? Yes. SB 48 (2011) requires inclusive instruction on the contributions of all cultural groups, including LGBTQ+, religious, and disabled people. Ed Code § 51204.5 and § 60040 mandate inclusive and bias-free materials. These laws already allow multicultural education without ethnic studies-specific mandates. Is there effective oversight for ethnic studies courses? No, there is no effective oversight. While AB 101 prohibits bias and discrimination, there is no enforcement mechanism. The State Board of Education does not vet local curricula unless districts adopt the state model. The Attorney General’s 2024 legal alert reiterates anti-bias obligations but admits no active enforcement. Ethnic studies remains largely unregulated, with unvetted and often divisive materials being introduced into classrooms. Submit a Question on Ethnic Studies Didn't find the answer you were looking for? Submit your question here and we will get back to you - and potentially add your question to our FAQ's to help others better understand this issue as well. First name* Last name Email* Submit Your Question* Submit

December 15, 2023 A different perspective Destiny Avila Ramirez BVH student meeting marks first steps to ensuring a safe community Originally Posted In: https://bonitavistacrusader.org/15897/opinion/a-different-perspective/ < Back On Dec. 5, Bonita Vista High’s (BVH) student-run publication’s the Crusader ’s Editorial Board members and Opinion Editors met with three BVH Israel Club members to discuss a recent editorial cartoon that had sparked conflict within the BVH community. For the Crusader, our goal was to take the first step towards creating a safe environment for the vulnerable individuals in our community—as stated in a Staff Editorial published on Nov. 13 by the publication. An editorial cartoon depicting a student’s view on the current Israel-Palestine conflict was published on the publication’s online website on Oct. 23 and featured in the third issue print of the Crusader which was distributed on the BVH campus on Nov. 3. After reading out a prepared message regarding the editorial cartoon in a Sweetwater Union High School District meeting (SUHSD) board members addressed the unintended harm the editorial cartoon may have caused and discussed the first step to meet with the Israel Club members; in hopes to listen to their personal experiences and insights regarding the Israel-Hamas war, and its impact on them. The meeting included BVH principal Lee Romero, the Crusader ’s advisor Eric Helle, Israel Club advisor Jennifer Ekstein and former journalist Tamar Caspi—who was given the role of mediator by SUHSD. After taking part in a provided lunch, we settled in our seats and took in the environment. Caspi opened the discussion assessing that the meeting was a safe space for all and a place for understanding. Before any comments and input, Caspi prioritized context in regards to the graphic and the publications editing and publishing process. As the meeting progressed comments and various voices were heard as attendees commented from various sides of the room. The meeting was to ensure Israel Club members could voice their opinions, stories and concerns in regards to the Crusader’s published editorial cartoon and impacts of the current Israel-Palestine conflict. The Israeli Club members shared their stories regarding the extreme danger and fear that they feel, experienced or notice. I felt the room’s atmosphere shift as students shared their true emotions, stories of the past and their current reality—involving loved ones in Israel or companions in tragedy. These stories have some common components: closeness to death, living in fear and cultural repression. Hearing voices from another perspective truly opened my mindset and the understanding I had prior to the meeting. As I listened to them, I began to greatly empathize with the students and their fears. The editorial cartoon is to be left upon interpretation, but hearing the interpretations from another view allowed me to understand the new information to uncover and provide the publication with another outlook. I recognized the impacts of the conflict and how previously I had exposure to only one side of the conflict. In relation to the self reflection I had during and after the meeting, Caspi emphasized how one sided one’s algorithm on social media can be. She described the power social media holds and how specific content may be concealed to be aligned with a user’s interest and opinions. Several attendees expressed their experiences with social media algorithms, me being one of them. Over a period of time I have come to realize the power of social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram when it comes to filtering the content I see. Understanding the huge impact one’s social media algorithm has, I have realized the importance of understanding and researching all perspectives. Following the meeting, I hope for a growth of understanding within the community and for all students to feel safe to do things such as share their fears and thoughts. As I was exposed to new information, I was given the opportunity to reflect upon my own beliefs and understanding of students around me. Moreover, as the meeting opened a safe platform for the jewish students on campus to share their stories and voices, our publication fulfilled a needed step towards creating a safe community. Previous Next

May 26, 2025 Opinion: The California ethnic studies mandate is a train wreck Marsha Sutton AB 101 was ill-conceived from the start: no enforceable guidelines, no state standards, no penalties for ignoring guardrails that prohibit discrimination, not even a real definition of what ethnic studies actually means. Originally Posted In: https://timesofsandiego.com/opinion/2025/05/26/california-ethnic-studies-mandate-train-wreck/?fbclid=IwY2xjawKp_mBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFicGJSMktkYU4xWUp5cGdaAR6OZ9gEzk1Rrq3-kqKUEphbhoByjVQ386BUJsAZB0NHbQ_NGWZxdNV0r9xe_w_aem_BYTC-jhS2UpD8W0kmhBCSw < Back There’s no mincing words: the California ethnic studies mandate is a train wreck. Since the passage of Assembly Bill 101 in 2021 that requires California public school students in the class of 2029-2030 to take a course in ethnic studies to graduate high school, districts have been floundering around for four years trying to figure out what to do. AB 101 was ill-conceived from the start: no enforceable guidelines, no state standards, no penalties for ignoring guardrails that prohibit discrimination, not even a real definition of what ethnic studies actually means. What were legislators thinking? That everyone would suddenly gather together in unity, form a happy circle, hold hands and sing Kumbaya? The ethnic studies mandate has sown confusion and division, hardly the original objective of bringing students and communities together in harmony. I’ve witnessed so much waste in time, money and public resources watching local school districts try to create coursework from scratch while attempting to balance varied and heated perspectives and navigating the pitfalls without a clear roadmap for guidance. Meanwhile, with attention focused on non-academic matters, test scores and basic skills continue to decline. For background, the state produced an abominable first draft of an Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum for schools to use. It was a poor substitute for actual state standards and was riddled with bias and leftist ideology that often included blatant antisemitism and anti-capitalist content. Although that first draft was rejected by the state after receiving thousands of complaints, a newer version was developed that was supposed to provide a more neutral curriculum. However, those responsible for developing that first version disavowed the revised version and began to advance their own set of materials. Now known as the Liberated Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum Consortium , those authors and supporters have been providing their instructional materials to school districts, despite the state issuing notices to districts to avoid using the “liberated” version. By all accounts, this “liberated” version approaches the subject based on an oppressed/oppressor dichotomy, and students are often asked to self-identify with one group or the other. As a result, the takeaway has been a not-so-subtle message: If you are descended from a white European background, your inherited, entitled status makes you guilty of being part of a despicable class of people. Challenging, actually overthrowing, that system of oppression is a worthy objective. Besides white European descendants, Jews and Asians have also been categorized as oppressors because, in general, many members of both groups have found some degree of success in America. Because Israel has been positioned as a colonial settler entity with no ancestral right to the land, ignoring the obvious historical fact that Jews have been living on that land for centuries, anti-Zionism, which has often crossed over into outright antisemitism, has become a key component of the liberated ethnic studies model. A Los Angeles Times story published May 14, states that the “liberated” curriculum is a guide to teach students about “contemporary social movements that struggle for social justice and an equitable and democratic society, and conceptualize, imagine, and build new possibilities for a post-racist, post-systemic-racist society.” How are educators to teach high-level principles such as these, designed initially for college-level coursework, to teenage students, many of whom are only 13 and have yet to take a class in U.S. history or social studies? It’s astounding that state legislators would support such a mandate and would leave it up to individual school districts for follow-through, with little to no guidance on how to proceed and a model curriculum ripe for abuse. Social justice pursuits The state’s official curriculum only offers a menu of options and leaves the actual development of ethnic studies up to each school district, so it’s easily hijacked and leaves open plenty of room for lessons that go well beyond the purported effort to focus on the four traditionally identified ethnic groups that have been historically overlooked in high school classes: Black-, Native-, Latine- and Asian-Americans. An important point is that a model curriculum, even this one at 700 pages, is no substitute for the creation of rigorous state standards that specify what should be taught (and maybe even more relevant in this case, what should not be taught). All other classes the state requires to earn a high school diploma have written state standards; ethnic studies is the sole exception. Districts proceeded under the assumption that the mandate was indeed a mandate, even though a clause in AB 101 clearly states that the provisions of the bill are operative only upon state funding, which was estimated at the time to be $276 million. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget presented earlier this year did not provide funding for ethnic studies, and state officials have indicated that no funding will be forthcoming for the 2025-2026 year. This leaves districts in a quandary. They’ve been forced by the state’s passage of AB 101 to develop what they were told would be a mandate — and now it’s technically not. In the LA Times article, Troy Flint, chief communications officer for the California School Boards Association , said the ethnic studies requirement has been problematic since its inception. And because funding might come through at some point in the future, “school districts are in a bind because there is a possibility a mandate could be implemented, but it’s uncertain.” Do districts shelve their work over the past four years, offer ethnic studies as an optional elective, or move forward with their own decision to require ethnic studies for high school graduation? Although supporters of the radical “liberated” curriculum want to maintain the requirement, a more reasonable option is to offer ethnic studies as a choice, letting students decide if this is a course worth their while. An even better option is to shelve the whole thing for some time if needed in the future, instead of expending more money to hire and train teachers to deliver the class. Legislative failure What’s currently in place is an ethnic studies mandate that’s unfunded — so theoretically inoperative — and districts are left with what? A dilemma, a betrayal by the legislature, and a lot of expended time and money after being forced to prepare for a course that’s now not legally required. Elected officials, including the governor, who supported AB 101 should be doing some soul-searching at this point. They unleashed a mess and left school districts high and dry. Compounding that headache for school boards has been having to deal with hours of often confrontational public comments over the past few years from community members and parents expressing their disparate views. Meanwhile, the amount of taxpayer money spent on this thankless pursuit and ultimate failure by our state’s elected officials to provide sensible and workable legislation is inestimable. Marsha Sutton is an education writer and opinion columnist and can be reached at suttonmarsha@gmail.com . Previous Next

October 23, 2022 How a photo of Hitler in a 7th-grade classroom sparked a debate over antisemitism and school oversight Kristen Taketa Parents and Jewish community members say a teacher’s inclusion of the photo in a classroom display shows the need for ‘real education’ on antisemitism. Originally Posted In: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2022/10/23/how-a-photo-of-hitler-in-a-7th-grade-classroom-sparked-a-debate-over-antisemitism-and-school-oversight < Back Almost a year ago, hundreds of Jewish San Dieguito students pleaded for their school board to do something about antisemitism they said they experienced at school, ranging from offensive comments and internet memes to vandalism and having to take standardized tests on Rosh Hashanah. Then, weeks later, somebody found two large swastikas painted in the boys’ bathroom at Torrey Pines High School. Now, community members are once again calling on the district to fight antisemitism in the weeks after a student protested a teacher’s photo of Adolf Hitler in her classroom. But little change has yet been made as San Dieguito Union High School District board and community members disagree on how to move forward, whether to punish those involved or take a more restorative approach, and how best to monitor curricula and teaching methods. A seventh-grade teacher at Carmel Valley Middle School had posted a Hitler photo on a classroom wall display next to photos of revered leaders including Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi, according to images of the wall and interviews with parents. The teacher posted words above the photos such as “Themes” and “Evidence”; above Hitler’s photo, she put the word “Patterns.” A student in the class complained to the teacher about the photo late last month, and the student’s parent contacted the principal and the Anti-Defamation League. School staff eventually took down the photo. Civil rights groups, Jewish organizations, parents and community members said that regardless of the teacher’s intent, it was confusing and harmful in associating Hitler with a group of inspirational, positive world leaders without providing context or explanation. “To be clear, images of Adolf Hitler in the classroom without proper context can be deeply offensive and hurtful to members of the Jewish community. Particularly for younger students who are impressionable,” the ADL’s San Diego chapter said in a statement last week. “Regardless of the teacher’s intent, the impact was felt in the classroom and beyond.” Interim Superintendent Tina Douglas said in a statement that the district was “deeply sorry” for the display and promised to hold anti-bias training for faculty and staff, convene a “listening session” with Jewish leaders and examine the classroom material. She didn’t say whether any disciplinary action had been taken with the teacher. “We are responsible for creating a safe school culture, which is done with the teacher’s presence, words, and practices, and we know that we did not meet that standard with the recent situation at (Carmel Valley Middle School),” Douglas said in the statement. When asked for comment by the Union-Tribune, the teacher referred to the district for comment. The photo struck a nerve in the Jewish community, which has seen a rise in antisemitism in the past two years, including in San Dieguito schools. “Our community is more anxious now than I’ve ever seen it,” said Heidi Gantwerk, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of San Diego County. “This was one of what seemed to be multiple incidents and statements and actions that are signs antisemitism is increasing all around us.” The ADL recorded 38 incidents of antisemitism in San Diego County last year, including harassment and vandalism. The group recorded 367 statewide, up 27 percent from 2020. And nationwide, there were 2,717 incidents of harassment, vandalism and assault reported, the most ADL has recorded since it began tracking them in 1979. Last fall, 250 Jewish San Dieguito students wrote a letter pleading with the school board to combat antisemitism in the district. In response to the students’ letter, the school board passed a resolution condemning antisemitism in November, as well as another resolution “affirming the protection of students against discrimination, harassment, intimidation and bullying.” That resolution ordered the superintendent to propose a new position of an anti-discrimination officer who would enforce it. The district has not hired an anti-discrimination officer. San Dieguito spokesperson Miquel Jacobs said in an email that the district held professional development and training for staff in diversity, equity and inclusion over the course of a year, and now the principals of all the district’s 10 schools are working on implementing that training in schools. Jacobs added that all 10 schools have been deemed “No Place for Hate” as part of an anti-bias school program hosted by the ADL. “SDUHSD has taken the safety and health of our students and staff as our top priority,” Jacobs said. Several Jewish leaders said they think the Hitler photo is an example of how antisemitism often gets overlooked or left out, even from discussions or lessons about racism and bias. “What happens, I think, sometimes is antisemitism is not addressed specifically in situations where anti-bias training is in place,” Gantwerk said. “That’s where you get to a point where a picture of Hitler on the wall seems like a provocative learning tool, when in fact it’s really symbolic of tremendous evil against a people.” Some parents and community members said they don’t think the district is doing enough in the weeks following the Hitler photo incident. Some have said they want to see the teacher be fired. “Quite frankly, I’m disappointed not to have seen more action or transparency from the school or the school district on what they have done or are doing to investigate the underlying issue,” said Gerard Filitti, senior counsel at the Lawfare Project, a national Jewish civil rights advocacy group. “We’ve heard words, but words are not really meaningful without action.” Jonathan Gale, a parent of a seventh-grader in the teacher’s classroom, said he had his child moved to a different teacher’s class after the incident. He said he interpreted the photo as subtle antisemitism that can be easy to gloss over. “The school needs to do more. They need to really own it and take accountability and address it in a way that’s a more blatant type of hate,” Gale said. A group held a protest before San Dieguito’s most recent board meeting last week. The protesters said they were upset that the board had placed a discussion-only item — not an action item — about the incident at the end of its agenda. The meeting ended up lasting six hours, until 11 p.m. Other parents in the district were more sympathetic to the teacher and called for grace, saying they don’t believe the teacher meant to portray Hitler as a good person. Adrienne Suster, a Jewish parent to a ninth-grader at Canyon Crest Academy, said that while the teacher’s inclusion of the Hitler photo was “misguided and wrong,” she believes it was intended as a lesson about examining history and critical thinking. She said she’s concerned that recent news coverage of this incident has only seemed to present one side of the story, one that condemns the teacher. “There is a history of antisemitism in this district and in our community, and our Jewish community is just sick and tired of it,” Suster said. “However, I don’t think this specific case was a case of antisemitism.” Rachelle Fischer, who is Jewish and parent to two San Dieguito students, said she knows the teacher is good, because she taught her daughter, who is now in high school, two years ago. Fischer said she suspects the teacher “genuinely didn’t realize” kids would be upset about the photo. “I’m definitely not condoning what she did; I was 100 percent offended by what she did. But I think she should be educated and not punished,” Fischer said. Gantwerk, who was invited to talk with Douglas and other district administrators, said she’s encouraged by district leaders’ conversations. She said she wants to see two things from the district: more oversight over curricula — especially over how topics such as World War II, the Holocaust, Judaism and Israel are taught in school — and more training for staff on how to address antisemitism and treat it “just as seriously as any other form of racism or hate.” “There’s an opportunity here for real education of faculty and students, and I hope the district takes advantage of that opportunity,” Gantwerk said. At last week’s board meeting, trustees discussed the possibility of creating a committee to address the incident and prevent something like it from happening again. But they disagreed over who should be on it and when it should convene. Trustee Julie Bronstein said she wants Jewish community leaders on the committee. Trustee Katrina Young said she wants a teacher on the panel while Trustee Maureen “Mo” Muir disagreed and said it should rather be a “safe place for parents.” Bronstein, who is Jewish, said she also wants Jewish leaders to be consulted more before forming a committee. “As a proud and active member of the Jewish community, and a member of Congregation Beth Israel my entire life, I am fully supportive of the formation of a committee in our school district — but I believe that the formation of a committee without the involvement of Jewish community leadership and lacking any clear directive or strategy would result in failure,” Bronstein wrote in an email. Trustee Michael Allman said in an email that he wants to form a committee now and shares community frustrations over how long it is taking for the board to do something concrete. “There is no reason to wait, and community meetings can take place in parallel to committee work,” he said. Allman said he thought the Hitler photo incident spoke to a bigger issue of curriculum transparency. He suggested, for example, putting syllabi and course materials on easily accessible websites so that community members, not just parents, can see them. “The fact that the picture was up since school started is kind of troubling,” he said. “Did nobody else see it? Did anyone ever question what is the lesson here?” Calls for curriculum transparency and community input have been a common call among conservatives who have criticized how some schools are teaching ethnic studies and about LGBTQ issues. Young disagreed with Allman, saying course materials should remain only within the circle of teacher, student and parent and that not just anybody should be offering input on curricula. “I think we get into dangerous territory when anyone can look at that syllabus,” she said. After about an hour, board members couldn’t agree on how to form a committee, so they settled on having Allman and Bronstein meet with interim Superintendent Douglas as a start. Previous Next

May 20, 2025 To Protect Zionism, We Must Reject Ethnic Studies | Algemeiner Nicole Bernstein When a movement tells you — clearly and proudly — that it opposes everything you stand for, the most self-respecting thing you can do is believe them. Originally Posted In: https://www.algemeiner.com/2025/05/20/to-protect-zionism-we-must-reject-ethnic-studies/ < Back There are two hard truths at the core of the ethnic studies mandate debate currently raging across California, which continue to generate intense division and a growing number of lawsuits. For those of us in the Jewish community, acknowledging these truths is urgent. Wherever ethnic studies — and its ideological sibling, DEI — are implemented , Jewish students have faced some of the most egregious violations of Constitutionally protected civil rights our country has experienced in recent times. The first hard truth is that to teach “authentic” ethnic studies (as its architects intended), one must categorically reject Zionism. That’s not a flaw in the system — it’s the point. The second point follows with painful clarity: you cannot fight antisemitism while embracing the very ideological framework that perpetuates it. Zionism is inseparable from the Jewish people — it is our identity, our origin story, our homeland, and our essence. And yet, across California classrooms — and increasingly across the country — Zionism is being smeared, redefined, and dismantled by the purveyors of “authentic” ethnic studies. And it’s showing up in the vast majority of school districts, classrooms, and colleges across America. Ethnic studies teaches that Zionism — and even Israel’s existence — is something to be rejected. But the vast majority of Jews worldwide believe Zionism simply means that the Jewish people have the right to live freely and safely in their own homeland. Calling Zionism “racist” isn’t education — it’s hate dressed up as justice. This isn’t a misunderstanding, or the fault of “a few bad teachers.” Hostility to Zionism is not incidental — it is central to the ethnic studies project . By its own definition , ethnic studies is not about cultural understanding. It is a radical ideological framework born out of revolutionary Marxism and the Third World Liberation Front. It’s about dismantling systems it views as oppressive — “white supremacy,” settler colonialism, and capitalism. From its inception, ethnic studies was designed to “decolonize ” the world — which in practical terms, means the dismantling of Western democracies, including the United States and Israel. This is not my interpretation. It is, nearly word-for-word, how ethnic studies scholars describe their own discipline. One ethnic studies professor, Dr. Marcelo Garzo Montalvo, describes the curriculum as rooted in a “fundamental critique of power,” with the explicit goal of “engagement” with “white supremacy, settler colonialism, racial capitalism, and other global structures of power.” He explicitly states that California’s high school ethnic studies requirement “has no other origin besides [Third World Studies] and their relevant demands.” The curriculum’s origins lie in revolutionary movements, not multicultural education. Those familiar with the origins of the Third World Liberation Front know this: Zionism was never going to be recognized as the Jewish liberation movement. Ethnic studies would never portray it as progressive, aspirational, or worthy of respect . Ironically, Zionism is the only real-world example of the very “decolonization” ethnic studies claims to pursue. And yet, rather than celebrate it, ethnic studies revives a familiar tactic: taking whatever society deems the ultimate evil and projecting it onto the Jews. That’s the danger: ethnic studies packages ancient hate as modern “social justice.” And in ethnic studies, it’s not just present — it’s institutionalized . At this point, any effort to add “balance” to ethnic studies through Holocaust education or occasional references to Sephardic Jewish diversity is utterly futile. And still, some major Jewish organizations continue to try and reform ethnic studies from within — offering feedback, drafting addendums, proposing lesson plans. Why? Out of fear, or perhaps the belief that being “at the table” means having a say? The answer is a cocktail of fear, ignorance, wishful thinking, and institutional groupthink. Many hoped ethnic studies could be tamed — turned into a tool for inclusion, maybe even used to elevate Jewish identity alongside others. They believed that by having a seat at the table, they could influence what’s on the menu. But the truth is: we were never meant to be at that table . Not as equals. Not when Zionism — central to Jewish identity — is framed as part of the problem. And so long as we continue to assert our right to self-determination in our ancestral homeland (Zionism), we will always be portrayed as the villain. The more we try to sanitize the ethnic studies movement as a plea for inclusion, the more legitimacy we give to the latest iteration of Jew-hatred that seeks to destroy us. We cannot protect Jewish students while endorsing a curriculum that teaches others to hate Jews. And we cannot defend Zionism while legitimizing an ideology that slanders it as oppression. The solution to ethnic studies is not reform, it is rejection. Zionism is the civil rights movement of the Jewish people. It deserves to be taught with truth, not twisted into a caricature. Not reduced to a slur. And if defending Zionism means standing alone, so be it. It wouldn’t be the first time. It won’t be the last. When a movement tells you — clearly and proudly — that it opposes everything you stand for, the most self-respecting thing you can do is believe them. Previous Next

February 26, 2026 EXCLUSIVE: The First Antisemitism Lawsuit Against a U.S. State Maya Sulkin & Frannie Block The filing claims Jewish children across California are bullied by peers, targeted by teachers, and taught curricula that portrays them as oppressors - with the state failing to intervene. Originally Posted In: https://www.thefp.com/p/exclusive-the-first-antisemitism < Back A coalition of Jewish parents and civil rights organizations have filed the first antisemitism lawsuit against a U.S. state, accusing the California government of failing to protect Jewish students from a surge of antisemitic harassment, violence, and propaganda in the state’s public schools. The filing accuses the state of offering only “toothless remedies” to the scourge of antisemitism through a “glacial and opaque administrative process.” The suit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and the Israel-advocacy group StandWithUs on behalf of several Jewish families. Defendants include a number of state agencies, among them the California Department of Education. The lawsuit comes more than two years after the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel, which the Brandeis Center alleges triggered an unprecedented wave of antisemitic incidents in California’s schools that has never been adequately addressed. In 2024, the most recent year for which data is available, antisemitic incidents reached their highest-ever recorded levels in the United States, with violent assaults on Jewish people increasing 21 percent compared to the previous year. California is one of the few states with a constitutional provision explicitly guaranteeing an equitable and free education, according to Marci Lerner Miller, the director of legal investigations with the Brandeis Center. The lawsuit explicitly cites this provision in arguing that pervasive antisemitism in California’s public schools has “deprived [Jewish students] of equal access to educational benefits and opportunities.” In the last year there have been many lawsuits filed against universities, accusing them of failing to combat antisemitism and prompting the federal government to freeze billions of dollars in college funding. But now, concern is being raised that antisemitism originates earlier, before students even set foot on a college campus. Elementary school students in Brooklyn, for example, have been taught about the Middle East using a map that entirely excluded the state of Israel , as part of a classroom program funded by the Qatari government. In Queens, a high school teacher had to flee from a mob after her students discovered she attended a protest in support of Israel. In California, under the guise of “ethnic studies ,” high school teachers are telling students that “Zionists,” or anyone associated with the state of Israel, are “oppressors” and settler colonialists. In one particularly shocking instance, students at a high school in Silicon Valley were asked to consider the “Effect of Israel’s Bombing of Gaza” on climate change as part of a physics assignment. This worrying trend in schools is what caused the Brandeis Center to act. The complaint details incidents across more than a dozen California school districts, citing instances of student-on-student harassment and violence, teacher-led antisemitism and biased curricula, and the systematic segregation of Jewish students who complain about antisemitic instances in their respective schools. Now, concern is being raised that antisemitism originates before students even set foot on a college campus. “The parents who are in the complaint, they’ve done everything right. They’ve gone through the proper steps. They filed these complaints with the district. Some of them have appealed the decisions. They’ve waited months, years in some cases, and some have never gotten decisions,” Miller said. “They’ve gone through the process that they’ve always assumed would protect their children, and it hasn’t done that.” One of the plaintiffs in the case, Melissa Alexander, said her 12-year-old son now “refuses to speak about his Jewish heritage and wear his Jewish star anymore at school” due to the way he was treated by one of his teachers. The suit claims the teacher, whose public social media accounts were allegedly “filled with virulently antisemitic and anti-Israel content,” allegedly targeted the student with fabricated misconduct allegations because he wore Israel-related T-shirts and a Star of David necklace to school. The complaint also alleges that the teacher accused him of being too loud in class, telling the 12-year-old that he had done something “egregious and dangerous.” When Alexander asked what her son had done, the teacher allegedly told her “it did not matter.” Alexander’s son received “Unsatisfactory” grades in the class, and was told that he might not be able “to matriculate to eighth grade.” “None of [the child’s] other teachers raised concerns about his behavior, and aside from the class with this teacher, [he] was a straight-A student,” the claim alleges. The school never took action against the teacher, according to the complaint. “Watching my son navigate these challenges has broken my heart,” Alexander said. In another striking example, a third-grade girl at Kester Elementary School in Los Angeles—identified in the complaint as Student B—planned to perform in the school talent show in 2024, singing a song by an Israeli Eurovision contestant and carrying a poster that included the Israeli flag. Before she could take to the stage, a teaching assistant allegedly stopped the 9-year-old and told her that “Israel is a racist apartheid state, and by supporting Israel, you are being racist.” The lawsuit claims she was barred from performing with her poster. The family has since moved her to a different school. One of the plaintiffs in the case, Melissa Alexander, said her son now “refuses to speak about his Jewish heritage and wear his Jewish star anymore at school.” Two more plaintiffs in the case, Dawn and Michael Rosenthal, allege that in 2024, their son, B.R., transferred to Daniel Pearl Magnet High School—named for the Jewish journalist murdered by terrorists in Pakistan in 2002—specifically to escape antisemitism at his previous school, Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies. At Sherman Oaks, his peers allegedly called him “shitcan Jew ,” and taunted him with “Heil Hitler ” salutes. As a solution, administrators allegedly suggested he eat lunch alone in a segregated space rather than with his classmates. In November 2022, during a physical education class, a group of students chased him around the track yelling “Let’s get the Jew, ” tripped him, and beat him until he lost consciousness. The school did not suspend a single attacker. Some were placed back in B.R.’s classes, according to the complaint. Daniel Pearl Magnet was supposed to be a fresh start. Instead, the complaint alleges, it became another incubator of antisemitism. B.R.’s honors chemistry teacher repeatedly displayed a “Free Palestine” poster and refused a principal’s request to remove it. On October 7, 2025 - the two-year anniversary of the Hamas massacre - the teacher allegedly wrote on the whiteboard: “Oy vey, it’s free,” with an arrow pointing to “FREE PALESTINE.” When the Rosenthals complained, the school offered to pull B.R. from the class entirely and enroll him in a solo online course through a credit-recovery platform, costing him both in-person instruction and his honors designation. The teacher was ultimately removed, but not for any of this - he was arrested on felony charges after stapling a student’s arm. Beyond individual incidents of harassment, the complaint also devotes substantial attention to what it describes as the infiltration of “antisemitic propaganda” into the classroom. It focuses particularly on an unauthorized curriculum created by members of the Oakland Education Association , which was used in a December 2023 teach-in that reached students across grade levels, including kindergartners. The curriculum’s materials included a read-aloud of the children’s alphabet book P Is for Palestin e, in which “I is for Intifada,” and is defined in the book as “rising up for what is right, if you are a kid or a grown-up.” The complaint notes that the word intifada refers to two periods of sustained violence in which more than a thousand Israeli civilians - including children - were killed in suicide bombings of buses and cafés carried out by Palestinian terrorist organizations. A worksheet included in the same curriculum asked elementary school children to draw “the Zionist leaders of Israel receiv[ing] money and support.” Another worksheet referred to “Zionist bullies ” who are “always scaring” and “arresting” Palestinian children. Despite widespread public reporting about the teach-in at the time, and the Oakland Unified School District’s own statement that it was unauthorized, the complaint states that no teachers who participated were ever disciplined. One parent who raised the alarm about this curriculum, Ivy Chesser, alleges in the suit that when she raised concerns to the administration, she was “ignored, dismissed, or offered only paltry solutions that reflect a tolerance for antisemitism. ” “I chose to be a part of this lawsuit,” Chesser said, “because I am afraid for the future my children will face after generations are allowed to be indoctrinated with antisemitism and anti-Americanism in our classrooms.” “The California education system is teaching the state’s children that Jewish Americans and Israelis are racists, white supremacists, oppressors, and baby-killers who should be shunned,” said Kenneth Marcus, founder and chairman of the Brandeis Center and a former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights. “The result is not surprising: Jewish children and children perceived as Jewish are bullied and excluded by their peers and harassed by their teachers, who silence, mock, and even segregate them if they speak out.” The lawsuit is seeking widespread changes to how the state of California prevents and addresses antisemitism, including “by investigating and addressing past acts of misconduct, taking proactive measures to stop future discrimination, and forbidding California’s schools from being commandeered as centers of antisemitic indoctrination.” “We’re hoping to give Jewish students the same opportunities as every other student in California to a free and equal public education, which is their guaranteed constitutional right,” said Miller. “Unfortunately, we have to do this through the lawsuit, because all of the other methods the parents and we tried have not been enough to accomplish that.” Previous Next

January 22, 2025 Poll of High Schoolers Shows Many Are Taught That America Is ‘Inherently Racist’ Kevin Mahnken As President Trump renews his pledge to combat unpatriotic education, survey evidence suggests that controversial teachings are alive and well. Originally Posted In: https://www.the74million.org/article/poll-of-high-schoolers-shows-many-are-taught-that-america-is-inherently-racist/ < Back As Donald Trump’s return to the White House threatens to reignite public debates about how schools teach subjects like civics and American history, newly released polling shows that many students are exposed to critical messages about the country and its government on a near-daily basis. Published on Wednesday by the journal Education Next , the survey of 850 high schoolers reports that 36 percent say their teachers either “often” or “almost daily” argue that America is a fundamentally racist nation. No less striking, roughly the same proportion of respondents said they frequently heard claims that African Americans are victims of discrimination by racist police officers and an unjust economic system, while whites contribute the most to racism in society. At the same time, large numbers of adolescents also absorb comparatively positive views about the United States, with 56 percent saying their teachers regularly discussed the progress made toward racial equality since the 1970s. The data offer a somewhat rare student perspective on a question that has roiled education politics for much of the last five years: whether the tenets of critical race theory, a contentious and little-understood academic field that scrutinizes the relationships between race and power, have trickled from university campuses down to K–12 classrooms. In both his 2020 and 2024 campaigns, President Trump warned that students were subjected to ubiquitous anti-American bias in their lessons and pledged to root out CRT from public school curricula. University of Missouri professor Brian Kisida, the lead author of the polling analysis, said that the student responses made clear that teachings opposed by Trump and his allies had taken root in many schools as “the function of a certain progressive politics.” “I’m sure there are schools where it’s not happening at all,” Kisida said. “I’m also sure that there are schools where it’s happening quite a bit, and it’s really ingrained in the approach that those schools take.” While they burned especially hot between the 2020 election and the 2022 midterms, controversies over instruction on race, gender, and sexuality have quieted in recent months, subsumed by the larger disputes that helped power Trump’s reelection. But in his inauguration address Monday, the president signalled that he has not given up his aim of cleansing education of unpatriotic themes, announcing that he would take aim at “an education system that teaches our children to be ashamed of themselves.” The commitment echoed his earlier promises to defund schools that teach CRT. Whether Washington has the authority to meaningfully alter K–12 teaching remains in doubt; curricular choices ultimately rest at the local level, though experts have observed that a GOP-led Department of Education could penalize school districts for teaching material deemed racially discriminatory. Further uncertainty clouds the true prevalence of indoctrination in American school systems. Even if significant minorities of students say they encounter progressive concepts throughout their time in high school, the authors of the report note that they are far from universal. Gary Ritter, Kisida’s co-author and dean of the Saint Louis University School of Education, said he was surprised by the occurrence of apparently ideological programming in high schools, but that he also believed teacher bias was not overwhelming or uniformly left-coded. “I expected there to be roughly zero of this, and there’s obviously more than zero of it going on,” Ritter said. “Still, I don’t think it’s a problem.” ‘It doesn’t feel one-sided’ In an interview alongside Kisida, Ritter said he had been relieved by high schoolers’ responses to explicit questions about partisan animus and self-censorship. Specifically, 77 percent of survey respondents said that they were either never or rarely made to feel uncomfortable about disagreeing with their teachers’ stated views. Over half of students, by contrast, said their teachers typically encouraged them to share different opinions. While 18 percent said their teachers had spoken negatively about Republicans, slightly more said that they’d heard Democrats disparaged. What’s more, he added, educators appear to deliver affirming statements about race in America with some frequency. Forty-two percent of students said their teachers cited the United States as “a global leader” in securing equal rights for its citizens, exactly the same proportion as said they’d heard their teachers express support for the Black Lives Matter movement. “I wanted to know if these statements were made as much as people said, and if they were one-sided,” said Ritter. “We’re hearing various claims, and it doesn’t feel one-sided.” Some of the messaging tested in the poll veers more toward advocacy than simple observation. Along with the sizable number of teachers who praised Black Lives Matter, considerable numbers argued “often” or “almost daily” that African Americans should receive an advantage in the hiring process (22 percent) or college admissions (21 percent), students reported. Nearly one-in-five respondents said their teachers made frequent calls for reparations to be made for slavery. But it is a challenge to interpret the exact nature of classroom references to concepts such as institutional racism or white privilege. Majorities of students said they had heard teachers voice two phrases often held in tension with one another: “Black lives matter” (64 percent) and “All lives matter” (53 percent). Jonathan Zimmerman, a professor of education and history at the University of Pennsylvania, said it was necessary to understand whether teachers were inviting open-minded discussion of such ideas or delivering an unsubtle form of propaganda. The wording of one poll question simply asked participants if their teachers had used one of a list of phrases — including “anti-racist ,” “systemic oppression ,” “decolonization ,” and “the 1619 Project ” — without specifying whether they were described approvingly, or even properly defined. “Some of the kids saying that they heard the phrase ‘inherently racist country’ will have heard it in the context of a discussion, and some heard it as part of something resembling indoctrination,” Zimmerman said. “The question is the relative proportion of those.” Thaw in the culture war? Though the second Trump administration is only getting underway — the president’s nominee for U.S. Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, has yet to undergo a confirmation hearing — Republicans have loudly announced that they plan to attack what they view as unchecked political interference in K–12 learning. When preparing his third run for the presidency, Trump himself vowed to strip federal funding from any school teaching critical race theory or “gender ideology,” a promise renewed in the conservative Heritage Foundation’s “Project 2025” policy document. Meanwhile, during Trump’s four years out of office, GOP lawmakers across 18 states passed laws restricting the teaching of what they often call “divisive concepts.” Similar bills have been filed and debated in 25 other legislatures. Still, the uproar over equity efforts and identity politics in schools had appeared to be settling over the last year. The prominent parent advocacy group Moms for Liberty, which has energetically challenged library books and curricular materials it considers divisive, faltered in its efforts to win school board seats throughout 2023, and the pace of new anti-CRT legislation slowed considerably compared with the early days of the Biden administration. More evidence for the apparent thaw came in an analysis released last week by the libertarian Cato Institute. According to policy researcher Neal McCluskey’s ongoing tracker of culture war disputes in school districts, 2024 saw the fewest such conflicts since 2020, when COVID-related school closures set off a wave of parental dissatisfaction. The gradual end of online learning, along with the spectacle of the 2024 campaign, may have diverted outrage away from local clashes, McCluskey argued. Trump’s second term will likely bring a resumption of hostilities. Earlier polling has indicated a broad acceptance of instruction on the facts of slavery and discrimination throughout American history, but also widespread skepticism of teaching strategies such as separating students into different identity groups to talk about racial matters. In Education Next‘s poll, 14 percent of students — more than one in eight — said they had been separated along racial lines for discussions of racism. Kisida noted that good instruction must “walk a tightrope” between candor about the shortcomings of American society and an equally comprehensive accounting of the strides that have been made to overcome them. “There’s a general idea that parents want their kids to learn a sense of pride and patriotism about the United States,” he said. “So there has to be a good balance where we’re able to talk about all of the struggles, but also talk about the successes.” Dealt a harrowing blow by their loss of Congress and the presidency last November, Democrats may opt to formulate a new line of argument on cultural dust-ups in schools. At the urging of progressives and academics, the party spent much of the Biden administration attempting to counter GOP claims of political influence over schools. Zimmerman said schools should encourage discussion of thorny issues among older students, while cautioning that educators needed to recognize the line between teaching and preaching. “It’s false to say that all teachers are telling kids to hate America and that America is racist. But it’s also false to say that none of those ideas have penetrated our schools.” Previous Next

November 4, 2023 Union-Tribune Community Advisory Board member resigns due to repost on personal Facebook Staff Writer Members volunteer their time and talents, and agree to adhere to guidelines, including a prohibition on hate speech or targeting of other people or communities Originally Posted In: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2023/11/04/union-tribune-community-advisory-board-member-resigns-due-to-repost-on-personal-facebook/ < Back Last weekend, The San Diego Union-Tribune learned that Lallia Allali, one of the emeritus members of our Community Advisory Board and a contributor to our Community Voices Project, had reposted a graphic and deplorable antisemitic image on her personal Facebook page. Several people shared it on X, formerly Twitter, tagging national organizations and calling for her removal from various posts, including those with the Union-Tribune. Once we had the opportunity to confirm that Allali had reposted it, we accepted her resignation and removed her from the list of board members and contributors on our website. We received several related letters and emails from individuals and community leaders, to which we responded. Our Community Advisory Board, created in 2017, is comprised of people from all walks of life with the purpose of creating connections and offering insight to a range of ideas and experiences to help the U-T better serve the region. Similarly, the Community Voices Project, created in 2020, is made up of a mix of voices, including various genders, religions, political affiliations, ages and races, from neighborhoods throughout the county, with the goal of offering thoughtful, thought-provoking and civil discussion. Members volunteer their time and talents, and agree to adhere to guidelines, including a prohibition on hate speech or targeting of other people or communities. Those who violate those standards, as was the case with our emeritus board member, are disqualified from serving. Among the criteria for participation on the advisory board is being committed to advancing civil discourse on critical issues. While we seek out people who will amplify the perspectives in their own communities, the overarching purpose is to bring people together “to tap into the experiences, knowledge and perspectives of our diverse community in order to serve and improve the greater San Diego region.” Our goal through these projects is to promote civility, build understanding and contribute to the betterment of our community. We will continue to pursue this goal. Previous Next

October 27, 2021 San Diego School District Commits to ‘Fighting Antisemitism,’ Citing Rise in Hate Crimes Dion J. Pierre The San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) adopted a resolution Tuesday denouncing antisemitism and promoting education about the Holocaust, citing a rise in recent years in anti-Jewish harassment on its campuses. Originally Posted In: https://www.algemeiner.com/2021/10/27/san-diego-school-district-commits-to-fighting-antisemitism-after-debate-citing-rise-in-hate-crimes/ < Back The San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) adopted a resolution Tuesday denouncing antisemitism and promoting education about the Holocaust, citing a rise in recent years in anti-Jewish harassment on its campuses. “The Board of Education denounces the rise in antisemitic rhetoric and hate-motivated crimes and incidents that denigrate Jewish students and staff in the communities served by SDUSD,” said the resolution, passed at Tuesday night’s board meeting. It also “affirms the rights” of Jewish students, staff and families to work to revise school materials “to ensure they are inclusive and reflective of best practices and the full diversity of Jewish people including those in California and San Diego.” The second largest district in the state, SDUSD serves over 120,000 students from pre-school through 12th grade. Jewish groups cheered the resolution’s passage, with the local Anti-Defamation League office calling it “an important message to the community that antisemitism has no place in our schools.” “With the rise of antisemitism across the country, SDUSD and other school districts cannot ignore the reality that Jewish communities face. According to the FBI’s most recent hate crimes report, 57 percent of reported religious-based crimes were directed against Jews — even though Jews make up only 2 percent of the country’s population,” Kelsey Greenberg Young, ADL San Diego Education Director, told The Algemeiner. “While the purpose of this Resolution is to demonstrate that SDUSD is committed to fighting antisemitism and all forms of hate, there are those who attempt to wield forums like these as a political tool in advancing the agenda of fringe activists who sought to derail the true intent of the Resolution, which is to ensure safe and welcoming classrooms for our students,” Greenberg Young commented. The heated debate at Tuesday’s board meeting included testimony from Jewish students, according to a local CBS affiliate report, including one current student who told of seeing posters at school that “labeled Jews ‘colonizers.'” An opponent of the measure who also spoke charged the district with working with “proven Islamophobic organizations.” The resolution specifically rejected the notion “that Jewish students or the Jewish population are somehow responsible for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” It also directs the district’s Superintendent to work with Jewish groups and the recently-created Governor’s Council on Holocaust and Genocide Education, to develop and promote a speaker’s bureau on genocide. Previous Next