Racist indoctrination in K12 schools in the US

For many Jews in the US, the necessity to feel safe, and for their children to be safe in their daily environment, the school, is a primal need. This primal need is more important than what happens at the border with Mexico, or with Roe vs Wade, or to the economy.  Many Jews will vote on November 2024 accordingly.

Dear Teacher:

I hope that you will join the Jews in supporting their basic need to feel and be safe as Jews: In November, vote for Representatives who are against racist indoctrination in K12 schools.

Racist indoctrination has many shades and colors. For specific details on one, see my Letter below.

Jaime Kardontchik, PhD (Physics)

Silicon Valley, California

Letter

One:

City Lit Books, a Chicago bookstore, removed the novel by Gabrielle Zevin, “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow”, from its book club poll due to “concerns about the author’s Zionist view”. [July 2024]

(Gabrielle Zevin is a well-known novelist: The New York Times recently included her novel in the “100 Best Books of the 21^st Century”. Born in New York, she is the daughter of an American-born Jewish father and a Korean mother.)

Two:

A lecture at the San Jose State University, California, by a Jewish Studies professor of California State University at Long Beach, Jeffrey Blutinger, about ‘How to achieve peace between Israel and Palestine’ was cut short by the university, and the police evacuated him from the classroom through a tumultuous pro-Palestine mob who objected to having a “Zionist” on campus. [February 2024]

Three:

A lecture about Black Holes at the University of Las Vegas, Nevada, by an Israeli professor in Physics, Asaf Peer, was cut short by the university. The professor was told to leave the conference room after only fifteen minutes of his talk: Palestinian protesters had burst into the room and continuously and vociferously interrupted the lecture. The professor – who did not agree with the University’s decision – was escorted off campus for his own safety. [February 2024]

And so on.

What is next? Ban Albert Einstein from the classroom, another Jew with Zionist views? Not only the Black Holes will disappear, but also the GPS in your mobile phone and car: GPS – the ability to find precisely where you are and help you reach your destination – will not work without using Einstein’s General Relativity theory.

Dear teacher:

Think about where this anti-Semitism in the US will lead you to. Will you become complicit and allow it to take roots also in K12 schools? Perhaps you do not care: after all, most teachers and K12 students are not Jews. This is why the civilized Germany – the birth place of Beethoven and Goethe – found so easy to impose anti-Jew indoctrination and laws when the Nazis came into power in 1933. The Nazi Youth in Germany intimidated people in the streets, as the anti-Semite mobs do today in the streets and universities in Europe and the US. These mobs succeeded in Germany because they found a fertile ground of supporters, or simply ‘do not care’ people, within the academic circles in schools and universities.

Open anti-Semitism is not in fashion today, due to the memories of the Holocaust, but anti-Zionism – the opposition to the idea of a Jewish State – is instead the buzzword nowadays: it sounds innocuous, acceptable as a basis for a philosophical or scholarly debate.

But it is not. It is used in the US to mark, intimidate, and cancel the Jews. Anti-Zionism ideology is at the root of the many wars waged by the Arab countries against Israel. As President Joe Biden clearly pointed out on May 2021, following the previous conflagration between Hamas and Israel, responding to a question of a reporter during a press conference:

President Biden at a press conference with South Korean president Moon Jae-in on May 21, 2021, responding to a reporter’s question about the Israeli-Arab conflict. Recording time: 18:51 minutes.

“Let us get something straight here. Until the region [the Middle East] says unequivocally that they acknowledge the right of Israel to exist as an independent Jewish state, there will be no peace”.

Jewish students in K12 schools – who are minors – should not be subjected to anti-Semitic indoctrination disguised first as anti-Zionism, followed then by the demonization of Israel, and ending with calls for the elimination of Israel (“From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free”). School Districts that insist on teaching the anti-Zionist ideology and demonize Israel (as some school districts in my state California already try to do), should be sued for violating Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [1], for violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 [2], and for going against the will of the people, bill HR185 passed by Congress in 2008 [3]. The classroom should be a place for education, not racist indoctrination.

For many Jews in the US, the necessity to feel safe, and for their children to be safe in their daily environment, the school, is a primal need. This primal need is more important than, and independent of, what happens at the border with Mexico, or with Roe vs Wade, or to the economy. It is a fundamentally basic and sane attitude of living beings: their need for them and their children – first of all – to feel and be safe. Many Jews will vote on November 2024 accordingly.

Dear Teacher:

I hope that you will join the Jews in supporting their basic need: In November, vote for Representatives who are against racist indoctrination in K12 schools, and against anti-Jew harassment in and near schools: Intimidation and bullying are not protected free speech.

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References

[1] Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human rights states:

“… Education shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups …

“… Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children”.

[2] Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance.

[3] HR 185 Bill (year 2008) adopted by the US Congress. This bill states that “Middle East refugee resolutions which include a reference to the Palestinian refugee issue must also include a similarly explicit reference to the resolution of the issue of the Jewish refugees from Arab countries”.

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Dear Teacher:

I am not a fan of teaching the Arab-Israeli conflict in K12 schools in the US: K12 public schools already struggle to teach the basic tools and subjects that children need to succeed in life (English, Math, the History of the United States and Civics come to mind). The Arab-Israeli conflict is not one of them. It would be wiser to concentrate on the basics and avoid diverting funds, teacher resources and precious student hours to this subject. However, if the National Education Association [4] or some local school districts insist, then both perspectives – the Arab and the Jewish perspective – should be included and discussed in class!

For the Jewish perspective, check the September 2024 edition of my book “The root of the Arab-Israeli conflict and the path to peace”. It is available for free download at:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/364057784_The_root_of_the_Arab-Israeli_conflict_and_the_path_to_peace

Recommend the book for inclusion in any course that deals with any aspect of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

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Note

[4] The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest union in the US: It represents 3,000,000 teachers in elementary and secondary public schools in the 50 states of the US. Its leadership is aligned with the leftist wing of the Democratic Party.

The NEA adopted on July 2022 a resolution (called “New Business Item” or NBI) in support of “Teach-Palestine-only” in K12 schools, in all grades, from kindergarten to high-school, and in all the 50 states. This resolution (“NBI 13”) says:

“NEA will support members who educate students and other members about the history, geography, and current state of affairs of the Palestinian people. NEA will provide state affiliates with a clear protocol for members doing this work to utilize when they are under attack.”

Multiple anti-Israeli resolutions were proposed at the last NEA’s national convention in July 2024. The NEA is not forthcoming nor open to the public about the fate of these NBI-s.  Here are some of them:

NBI # 6: “The NEA will use existing digital communication tools to educate members and the general public about the history of the Palestinian Nakba”

NBI # 7: “NEA will use existing digital communication tools to educate members about the difference between anti-Zionism and antisemitism.”

NBI # 8: “NEA will use existing digital media resources to write and distribute an article educating members about the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, including how it is connected to the broader labor movement, legislative efforts to restrict speech in relation to BDS, and NEA members’ participation in the movement.”

NBI # 9: “NEA will use existing digital media resources to communicate the Palestinian Trade Union call to action to ‘End all Complicity, Stop Arming Israel’ to NEA members.”

NBI # 29: “The NEA will use our existing media outlets to defend educators’ and students’ academic freedom and free speech in defense of Palestine at K-12 schools, colleges, and universities.”

NBI # 50: “The NEA will use existing media channels to publicize our opposition to spending billions of dollars in Federal funds to send weapons to the Israeli military that are used in genocide in Gaza.”

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Note:

The above article is being sent to teachers in K12 schools and professors at universities in the US. If you agree with its contents, feel free to send the link to this article to US citizens, and encourage them to vote in the November 2024 elections.

If you agree only with part of the article, or you would like to add, feel free to copy/paste/modify and resend. Just sign the new letter in your name.