The community unites against biased ethnic studies model curriculum

A draft of the the first state level curriculum on ethnic studies in the country is now available on line through the Department of Education.  Public comment will be open until August 15.

From the JNS:  Proposed anti-Israel ethnic-studies curriculum in California has Jewish community on alert

Tammi Benjamin, tireless fighter against anti-Semitism on campus has weighed in already:  

“[It] is deeply troubling—not only for its shocking omission of any mention of Jewish Americans or anti-Semitism or its blatant anti-Israel bias and praise of BDS, but for its clear attempt to politically indoctrinate students to adopt the view that Israel and its Jewish supporters are part of ‘interlocking systems of oppression and privilege’ that must be fought with ‘direct action’ and ‘resistance.’

From Central pacific regional director (ADL) of the the Anti-Defamation League Seth Brysk:

“This is nothing more than an attempt by fringe activists to highjack the model ethnic-studies curriculum for California high schools in the service of radical political goals.”

From Masha Merkulova the executive director of the nationwide Zionist youth group, Club Z:
|“The proposed California curriculum intentionally excludes Jews as an ethnic group that has faced oppression; presents a one-sided narrative of the only Jewish state; and provides a mouthpiece for the bigoted BDS movement"

From the executive director of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, Asaf Romirowsky, the draft represents a “one-sided politicized curriculum, especially as it relates to Israel and the Middle East.”

From the LA Times:   California’s proposed new ethnic studies curriculum is jargon-filled and all-too-PC.

....a current draft of the model curriculum, drawn up by a committee of teachers and academics and headed to the State Board of Education, is an impenetrable melange of academic jargon and politically correct pronouncements. It’s hard to wade through all the references to hxrstory and womxn and misogynoir and cisheteropatriarchy.

From the Progressive Zionists of California:
PZC Calls for Significant Changes to Antisemitic Ethnic Studies Sample Curriculum

...We are deeply disappointed that the current draft promotes the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement and other anti-Israel narratives, while excluding the Jewish community as a diverse and frequently targeted ethnic group.

Its no surprise that  at least some of the drafters of the model curriculum, Theresa Johnson, Theresa Montano and Samia Shoman have a history of anti-Israel agitation and bias.

Outraged?  Stand With Us has some practical suggestions for action

Stop Anti-Israel Hate in California Public Schools

To submit feedback about the curriculum, follow these steps: 

Download the public input form here.
Fill out the form, respectfully requesting the removal of BDS and other anti-Israel bias from the model curriculum.
The form asks for references to specific pages, so please include page 2 of this document, as well as pages 234, 237, 242, 256, and 264-269 of this document.
Add a general comment to the form urging the state to add lessons about American Jews as an ethnic group, including those who fled the Holocaust, oppression in the Middle East, and discrimination in the former Soviet Union.

Email the form to ethnicstudies@cde.ca.gov

Consider signing this petition at change.org  

Stop institutionalized bigotry in CA public schools