‘This is an anti-Jewish zone.” That’s what bullies told a Jewish middle school student in Washington state after a months-long harassment campaign.
In North Carolina, Jewish students were targeted with antisemitic graffiti, and one student hijacked the school PA system to say, “Heil Hitler.” An eighth grader told a fellow Jewish student, “You’re the reason I hate all Jews.” In Kansas, students compared Judaism and Satanism and accused a Jewish classmate of cannibalism.
While much of the national attention has focused on the egregious antisemitism exploding on American college campuses, from Columbia in New York to UCLA in California, the situation in K-12 schools is equally alarming and potentially more harmful. Grade students are younger, less able to advocate for themselves, and face tremendous peer pressure.
Jewish students face challenges from the Left and the Right, from their teachers and administrators, and even from school boards in the form of hostile anti-Israel rhetoric, discrimination, and blatant antisemitism. Every community has multiple K-12 schools, making this an urgent, widespread concern that demands our attention.
To address these challenges, our communities must hold all schools accountable to provide Jewish students with a safe learning environment and teach all students tolerance instead of hate. Acts of hatred not only hurt those targeted but also poison the entire learning environment. School is already challenging for kids and teenagers; they should not also have to navigate the stormy waters of antisemitism.
One significant battleground is the school curriculum. Our children deserve an education free of religious and political bias. Instead of indoctrinating them, they should be encouraged to think critically.
In Texas, for instance, Christian advocates are pushing for a curriculum that prioritizes Christianity over other religions, violating the First Amendment’s guarantee of separation between church and state. Teaching the Christian Bible as truth belongs in churches, not public schools. Yet a proposed third-grade unit teaches that Jesus was the resurrected Messiah foretold in the Hebrew scriptures.
Another section speaks positively about the Crusades – responsible for the decimation of countless Jewish communities – and asks students to imagine themselves as crusaders. Jewish Federations across Texas are actively opposing this unconstitutional effort.
Blatant antisemitism
Recently, several schools in Montgomery County, Maryland, in the suburbs of Washington, were defaced multiple times with antisemitic graffiti. The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington helped organize community efforts to work with law enforcement and school officials to address these incidents. Fortunately, Jews and non-Jews in Montgomery County came together to condemn the hatred and remove the offensive graffiti.
In response to the events following October 7, some teachers have displayed “From the river to the sea, Palestine must be free” posters, justified the Hamas attacks, and accused Israel of committing genocide, creating a hostile environment for Jewish students.
Meanwhile, initiatives to “Teach Palestine” as part of “liberated” ethnic studies depict Israel as a settler-colonial state and portray Jews as white, privileged oppressors. These portrayals of Zionism and Zionists – encompassing most Jews – as racist usurpers are ideologically flawed and factually incorrect.
In Portland, for example, the teachers’ union posted a curriculum that described Zionists as bullies, described Israel as a settler-colonial state, and asked students to color a map of Israel with the flag of Palestine. Only after advocacy from the Jewish Federation and other groups did the Portland Association of Teachers agree to remove these materials “for further review.”
The situation in the Santa Ana Unified School District is particularly concerning. Decision-making meetings were reportedly intentionally scheduled on Passover to limit Jewish participation, and a Jewish member of the curriculum steering committee was dismissed by another member as having a “colonized Jewish mind.” The Jewish Federation of Los Angeles, which has advocated for non-biased, inclusive ethnic studies, was disparaged as being full of “racist Zionists.” The antisemitism is blatant.
Sadly, these are just a few examples of a growing, dangerous nationwide trend.
What must be done?
To address this challenging problem, we need a coordinated effort to help communities engage educational decision-makers through advocacy, education, and awareness. Reversing these troubling trends will require sustained, collaborative efforts. These are the steps Jewish Federations, with their extensive experience in relationship-building and community engagement, are prioritizing alongside community allies:
1. Build the team: Assemble the right community partners, both within and outside the Jewish community, including parents.
2. Expand relationships: Engage not only federal and state decision-makers but also school boards, city and county councils, education officials, and civic organizations.
3. Gather the data: Collect detailed information on each incident for reporting to school officials, and law enforcement if necessary, building cases with policymakers, litigation when appropriate, and public awareness campaigns. Expand tools to analyze and report this data.
4. Educate school officials: Meet with school administrators to explain how antisemitism affects students, Jewish and non-Jewish alike. Encourage them to adopt the IHRA working definition of antisemitism and remind them of their obligations under the US Constitution, Title VI of federal civil rights laws, and applicable state or local laws to ensure schools are free from discrimination based on religious beliefs or shared ancestry.
5. Organize teacher trainings: Bring in experts to help teachers understand antisemitism and how to respond to it effectively.
6. Provide positive curricula: Share inclusive and diverse curricula available from numerous community resources.
7. Encourage positive student-to-student interactions: Promote programs that foster positive interactions between Jewish and non-Jewish students, such as Be the Narrative, to demystify rhetoric and build understanding.
8. Promote interfaith understanding: Develop or enhance relationships with other communities to promote understanding and dialogue, countering narrow ideologies and imposed viewpoints.
As our children return to school, we owe it to them to be their voices and advocates against the antisemitism they face. The school environment has become toxic in many places, and if we don’t act quickly, this will only worsen. By working together, we can increase understanding and reduce bias, ensuring a safer and more inclusive environment for all students.
The writer is the vice president of community relations at Jewish Federations of North America.