End Jew Hatred (EJH), the grassroots Jewish liberation movement, rallied more than 200 community members to protest California’s proposed Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum and Jew-hatred in education. The Lawfare Project is a proud partner of EJH and we were honored to take part in organizing and supporting this important protest against a biased and misleading curriculum that reinforces negative stereotypes and perpetuates hatred.
Although the proposed model curriculum has undergone three rounds of drafting, it still contains elements of Jew-hatred and must not be enacted in its current form. The importance of this issue manifested itself in a major outpouring of support from every member of the community - of different races and religions - who showed up this weekend for the #TeachLoveNotHate protest.
More than 4,500 supporters tuned in online to watch the protest live. CLICK HERE to view the video.
California aims to highlight discrimination against other marginalized groups, but still fails to underscore the lived experience of Jews or the traumas they continue to endure. We will no longer be silenced or allow dangerous tropes to run rampant in American schools. Our children should not be indoctrinated with discriminatory views of the Jewish people. We have every right to speak out against the ignorance that California’s proposed Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum exemplifies. We demand that Governor Newsom acknowledge there is systemic Jew-hatred in the education system, and that he work to end it.
This fight is incredibly important and will continue until we see real change in the way that Jewish groups and individuals are treated. Micha Danzig, National Board member of Herut and an EJH activist put it best, saying “it is about Jews, and our allies in the fight against Jew-hatred, saying that enough is enough. Saying loudly and proudly that we are no longer going to stand by and let people gaslight us about systemic Jew-hatred in education and in so-called ‘academia.’”
While this protest was a monumental step in the fight to remove Jew-hatred from our education system, this fight is far from over. EJH demands immediate action from the California State Board of Education, including:
- Requiring the Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum to include the full Jewish experience as a targeted minority in America and remove Jew-hatred
- Training teachers and administrators about systemic Jew-hatred in education and how to dismantle it
- Implementing mandatory study of the Holocaust and the expulsion of Jews from Middle East and North Africa for years K-12, and of systemic discrimination against the Jewish community in America
- Investigating why blatant Jew-hatred was included in the initial drafts and mandating these drafts not be used
With the help of Californians and allies who took a stand this weekend, we are one step closer to ending Jew-hatred in education. We also want to give a special shout out to Club Z and Yad Yamin for their tremendous work in organizing this successful protest on the ground, and would like to highlight the over 20 co-sponsoring organizations including:
Almost Jewish Atlanta Israel Coalition Artists 4 Israel Be Counted 4 Israel Black and Jewish Unity Canadian Anti-Semitism Education Foundation (CAEF) Emunah Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET) Herut North America Institute for Black Solidarity with Israel Israel’s Legal Rights Jews Against Antisemitism Canada Michigan Jewish Action Council Proclaiming Justice to the Nations Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (SPME) Shield of David Zionist Organization of America
We are in this fight together. Visit EndJewHatred.com to get involved and check out these actions you can take TODAY to fight systemic Jew-hatred in education:
- Attend your next local school board meeting. Demand that it reject any curriculum that creates divisiveness and promotes Jew-hatred. For more information about the ethnic studies curriculum, contact action@endjewhatred.com
- Write to your local school board. Ask to see what its curriculum and lesson plans say about Jews. If you see any Jew-hatred, contact action@endjewhatred.com. Keep your officials accountable. Remember, they work for you
- Demand your school adopt a policy to end systemic Jew-hatred in education. For sample policy language contact action@endjewhatred.com
- Know your rights to an education free of discrimination. Report any curriculum that promotes discrimination and Jew-hatred. Contact about@thelawfareproject.org if your children are being victimized
- Demand your school offer mandatory training in anti-Jewish discrimination. Contact info@clubz.org and about@thelawfareproject.org
- Contact Governor Newsom. Demand he recognize systemic Jew-hatred in education and act to dismantle it. He can be reached at governor@governor.ca.gov
