States are pushing for more scrutiny of antisemitism in schools

In the aftermath of the Oct attack on Israel by Hamas two years ago high school lecturer Josh Hirsch posted comments on social media in aid of Israel It was unrealistic for Hamas to expect a ceasefire he wrote as long as they were holding hostages Soon afterward a former learner 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 coach in his school building For the first time in his -year career he considered quitting He stayed and joined an educators advocacy setup created by the Anti-Defamation League a way he saw to make schools more inclusive of diverse viewpoints I ve been a tutor and tried to keep my focus on being the best trainer I could he explained Tensions over the Israel-Hamas war have spilled into schools around the U S with advocates reporting a rise in antisemitic harassment since the surprise attack on Israel While selected 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 measure 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 Numerous 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 announced Kristen Thompson a Republican state senator in Oklahoma who authored the rule 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 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 tuition suspending billions of dollars in federal funding to Harvard Columbia and other universities over claims they tolerated hate speech especially during protests over the Israel-Hamas war The White House has not gotten as involved at the K- level At congressional hearings House Republicans have taken a few large school systems to task over their handling of antisemitism but the administration largely has left it to the Guidance Department s Office for Civil Rights to address complaints In one of the cases under study 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 noted teachers made antisemitic comments and led walkouts that praised Hamas The district did not respond to a request for comment In another California occurrence the family of a -year-old girl filed a federal lawsuit last year alleging she had to leave University Preparatory Academy a charter school in San Jose in because of antisemitic bullying After the Hamas attack she mentioned students called her names including terrorist The California Department of Teaching and the school disclosed they could not comment on pending litigation Nationwide the ADL recorded 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 recorded in 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 uncovered it was a pervasive and escalating trouble in schools At one meeting a commission co-chair Democratic state Rep Simon Cataldo revealed the Massachusetts Teachers Association was sharing antisemitic guidance 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 revealed those were singled out among hundreds of images in art and posters about Palestinians and links to those materials were removed The union commented 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 society educators are following the lead of the Trump administration the union reported in a declaration Margaret Litvin an associate professor of Arabic and comparative literature at Boston University reported 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 declared Litvin co-founder of the Boston-area Concerned Jewish Faculty and Staff group Argument reaches the biggest teachers union The tension reached the National Schooling 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 commented the ADL had an outsize influence on school curricula and protocol 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 disclosed the proposal would not further NEA s commitment to academic freedom our membership or our goals In the aftermath the ADL invited K- educators to join a new setup called BEACON Building Educator Allies for Change Openness and Networks which it explained is intended to help educators learn from each other how to address and combat antisemitism and other forms of hate Hirsch the tutor in Colorado was among hundreds who expressed interest Specific 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 help for Palestinians and not Israel He announced he was surprised by the reaction to the posts in his predominantly Hispanic school public A former debate coach he aims through his work with the ADL structure to help students share their opinions in constructive procedures 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 declared The Associated Press mentoring coverage receives financial aid from multiple private foundations AP is solely responsible for all content Find AP s standards for working with philanthropies a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP org 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