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Pennsylvania School District Pushes Anti-Zionist Talking Points in Honors History Course Curriculum

Illustrative: Thousands of anti-Israel demonstrators from the Midwest gather in support of Palestinians and hold a rally and march through the Loop in Chicago on Oct. 21, 2023. Photo: Alexandra Buxbaum/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

The Wissahickon School District (WSD) in Ambler, Pennsylvania is presenting as fact an anti-Zionist account of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to its K-12 students by using it as the basis for courses taken by honors students, The Algemeiner has learned.

“On May 14, 1948, Israel declared itself an independent nation: Based on a [United Nations] Mandate but not supported by other countries in the region; Recognized by the US and much of the non-Arab world; Expelled up to 750,000 Palestinians from their land, an event called ‘al-Nakba,’” says the material, provided by virtual learning platform Edgenuity, which implies that Israel is a settler-colonial state — a false assertion promoted by neo-Nazis and jihadist terror groups.

“Nakba,” the Arabic term for “catastrophe,” is used by Palestinians and anti-Israel activists to refer to the establishment of the modern state of Israel in 1948. Based on documents obtained by The Algemeiner, the material does not seemingly detail the varied reasons for Palestinian Arabs leaving the nascent State of Israel at the time, including that they were encouraged by Arab leaders to flee their homes to make way for the invading Arab armies. Nor does it appear to explain that some 850,000 Jews were forced to flee or expelled from Middle Eastern and North African countries in the 20th century, especially in the aftermath of Israel’s declaring independence.

“The creation of the State of Israel sparked a series of conflicts between Israel and Arab nations,” says the presentation, which is used for the Honors World Studies B course.

Another module reviewed by The Algemeiner contains a question based on a May 15, 1948, statement from The Arab League — a group of countries which adamantly opposed Jewish immigration to the region in the years leading up to the establishment of the State of Israel and refused to condemn antisemitic violence Arabs perpetrated against Jewish refugees — after Israel declared its independence. The passage denies that Jews faced antisemitic indignities when the land was administered by the Ottoman Empire, a notion that is inconsistent with the historical record, and asserts that “Arab inhabitants” are “the lawful owners of the country.”

Following the passage, students are asked to agree with its contents as a prerequisite for proceeding to the next module. That means selecting as the correct answer the choice which says “the creation of Israel failed to consider Arab interests.”

The course content is an outrage, Steve Rosenberg of the North American Values Institute (NAVI) told The Algemeiner during an interview, stressing that the content’s appearing in a K-12 setting is an example of far-left ideologies creeping into US public schools.

“It manifests itself as antisemitism, but this really represents the illiberal woke DEI [diversity, equity, and inclusion] taking over public school curriculum,” Rosenberg said. “We all talk about the tunnels that Hamas built from Gaza into Israel, and Hezbollah from the north into Israel, but they also built tunnels leading into America — and have done so through our schools.”

NAVI’s stated mission is to ensure K-12 education “remains focused on unity, excellence, and equal opportunity for all students” while combating “divisive ideologies” and championing “North American values” such as freedom and opportunity.

“Through our work at NAVI we have seen that there are more teacher trainings on the pro-Palestinian, or pro-Hamas, side of things and we can’t keep up,” Rosenberg explained. “School administrators and school boards are ignoring this because they either don’t wish to take the fight on, don’t know how to take the fight on, or are part of the problem.”

One parent — who agreed to be interviewed on the condition that she be allowed to speak anonymously because her young child still attends school in the Pennsylvania district — told The Algemeiner that antisemitism in WSD has long been a problem and that its inclusion in the curriculum will lead to more anti-Jewish violence, such as last month when a far-left and anti-Israel activist gunned down two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, DC, as they were leaving a Jewish museum event.

“Since we raised this issue, parents have sent us more and more anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian curricula, and as we saw with the murders right in the middle of Washington DC, it’s clear that people are being radicalized,” the parent said. “I feel that our efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion have conveniently excluded Jews, and that’s coming to a head now because there is now more antisemitism in the world than there is against any other group of people. But the diversity, equity, and inclusion programs have not adapted, nor have any plans to adapt, to this new world in which we live.”

They continued, “I feel isolated. So many people are content putting their heads in the sand and pretending this isn’t happening. All I want is for my children to receive an education free of anyone’s personal political views. Here, we have this very far-left school board. They just don’t get it, and they’ve made no efforts to get it.”

The parent added that the school district holds events which celebrate the cultures of every minority group except Jews. Presiding in part over this alleged erasure of the Jewish community is the new incoming superintendent, Dr. Mwenyewe Dawan, who has served as assistant superintendent for the past few years. Dawan has been accused of fostering antisemitism while maintaining questionable associations, according to NAVI.

“Our research has shown that Dr. Dawan has a very close relationship with Keziah Ridgeway, a teacher who was essentially put in the rubber room after threatening Jewish parents with actual physical threats of gun violence on social media,” Rosenberg said. “She and Dr. Dawan have been classmates and schoolmates, and we know that Dr. Dawan has refused to meet with the Jewish parents she abused.”

Ridgeway, a history and anthropology teacher in Philadelphia who promoted anti-Israel activism in the classroom, was placed on administrative last year for social media posts alluding to violence against certain Jewish parents whose names she allegedly posted on social media. Supporters of Ridgeway argue she was the victim of a smear campaign.

“Our goal is to work with parents and try to help them with answers and with strategy around how to deal with the administration,” Rosenberg said. “There is a very unfavorable school board here, they have no real governance, and because there are no term limits, its officers can be in office for pretty much as long as they want.”

Writing to The Algemeiner, WSD said it has “no comment” about the anti-Zionist course materials and any allegations accusing Dawan of misconduct.

Antisemitism in K-12 schools is receiving increased attention, notably in California, after years of falling under the radar.

In March, the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law filed a civil rights complaint which recounted the experience of a 12-year-old Jewish girl who was allegedly assaulted on the grounds of the Etiwanda School District in San Bernardino, California — being beaten with a stick, told to “shut your Jewish ass up,” and teased with jokes about Hitler. According to the court filings, one student admitted that the behavior was motivated by the victim’s being Jewish. Despite receiving several complaints about the treatment, a substantial amount of which occurred in the classroom, school officials allegedly declined to punish her tormentors.

“While an increasing number of schools recognize that their Jewish students are being targeted both for their religious beliefs and due to their ancestral connection to Israel, and are taking necessary steps to address both classic and contemporary forms of antisemitism, some shamefully continue to turn a blind eye,” Brandeis Center founder and chairman Kenneth Marcus said in a statement at the time of the filing.

Additionally new Anti-Defamation League (ADL) research — produced by its Ratings & Assessment Institute and the Center to Combat Antisemitism in Education — shows a surge of antisemitic incidents on K-12 campuses in recent years. As previously mentioned in the organization’s annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, 1,162 such incidents occurred in 2023 and 860 occurred in 2024. Since 2020, antisemitic outrages at K-12 schools have increased by 434 percent.

As parts of its research, the ADL conducted surveys and focus groups to get a better sense of the problem in K-12 private and independent schools, which are the main focus of the civil rights group’s new initiative because they “operate outside of the direct oversight of public education systems, meaning they typically have greater autonomy in shaping their curricula, policies, and disciplinary procedures, which can lead to inconsistent responses to antisemitism.”

Among surveyed school parents, 25.2 percent said their children had experienced or witnessed antisemitic symbols in school since Hamas’s massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the ADL’s recently unveiled findings. Perhaps more striking, 45.3 percent of surveyed parents reported that their children had experienced or witnessed some form of antisemitism since the Hamas atrocities of Oct. 7, and 31.7 percent said their children had “experienced or witnessed problematic school curricula or classroom content related to Jews or Israel.”

Parents are displeased with schools’ handling of the issue, the ADL said. Focus groups told its experts that schools decline to denounce antisemitism or resort to denying altogether that it is fostering a negative learning environment which causes student discomfort and precipitous declines in academic performance. In a poll, over a third of parents have said their local school’s response “was either somewhat or very inadequate.”

Moreover, diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, which were purportedly meant to improve race relations, abstain from recognizing antisemitism as a form of hatred meriting a focused response from administrators. The Algemeiner has previously reported that many of those programs also ignore antisemitism because they actively contribute to spreading it. Due to this, schools often lack authority figures who understand antisemitism, its subtle and overt variations, leaving Jewish students with no recourse when they become victims of hate.

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.

The post Pennsylvania School District Pushes Anti-Zionist Talking Points in Honors History Course Curriculum first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Shock Poll: Most Jews Approve of Trump’s Job Performance, Strike on Iran

US President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, Feb. 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

A new Siena Research poll finds that a majority of Jewish voters in New York approve of President Donald Trump’s job performance and his handling of the Israel-Iran war.

The survey found that a majority of Jewish respondents, 57 percent, approve of the job Trump is doing in his second term as president, compared to 42 percent who disapprove.

Even more striking, 64 percent of Jewish voters say they approve of Trump’s handling of the Israel-Iran conflict, signaling strong alignment with his foreign policy stance in a community that has historically leaned Democratic in national elections.

The poll results highlight a notable political shift in one of the most reliably liberal constituencies in the country. In 2020, Trump won only about 30 percent of the Jewish vote nationally, and similar trends held in New York. But since his return to office in the 2024 election, a victory that itself stunned many observers, Trump has emphasized an aggressive pro-Israel posture, including increased military aid and unwavering rhetorical support during Israel’s war with Iran and Hezbollah.

The Israel-Iran war, which erupted earlier this year following escalating attacks between Israel and Iran, and Tehran’s deepening involvement with proxy forces in Lebanon and Syria, has become a key flashpoint in international politics and a central issue for American Jews. Trump has repeatedly vowed to back Israel “without hesitation,” and his administration has taken steps to provide military resupply, expand intelligence sharing, and block UN resolutions critical of Israeli operations.

In response, his approval ratings among Jewish voters, particularly Orthodox and pro-Israel segments, appear to have climbed sharply.

“This marks a significant departure from previous voting patterns,” said Lauren Saperstein, a political scientist at NYU focused on Jewish American voting behavior. “Trump has successfully tapped into security concerns, especially in light of the Iran threat, and that’s resonating with voters who may have disagreed with him on other issues in the past.”

Past data has suggested Orthodox Jewish voters tend to favor Republican candidates more heavily, while Reform and secular Jews lean Democratic. The new 57 percent approval figure indicates broader support than Trump has previously received from the Jewish electorate in New York.

Democrats, for their part, have struggled to maintain a cohesive stance on the Israel-Iran conflict. Many Democrats criticized Trump for deciding to strike at Tehran’s nuclear facilities, arguing that the president unnecessarily risked causing a broader regional war.  Within the Democratic Party, divisions over Israel policy have widened, with younger progressives more likely to criticize the war and push for conditions on US aid to its longtime ally.

The poll results could have significant implications for upcoming congressional races in New York, where Jewish voters represent a sizable and politically active bloc. Several House districts in Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island could be influenced by the shift in sentiment, particularly if Democrats are seen as divided or insufficiently supportive of Israel.

As the conflict in the Middle East continues, Trump appears to be benefiting from his strong messaging in favor of Israel and against antisemitism.

The post Shock Poll: Most Jews Approve of Trump’s Job Performance, Strike on Iran first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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The Anti-Israel Mob Never Mentions Women’s Rights in Israel — Compared to the Middle East

Paris 2024 Olympics – Judo – Women -78 kg Victory Ceremony – Champ-de-Mars Arena, Paris, France – August 01, 2024. Silver medallist Inbar Lanir of Israel celebrates. Photo: REUTERS/Arlette Bashizi

In parts of the Middle East, women still live in deeply patriarchal, often brutal systems. Changes exist more on paper than in practice. Power remains in the hands of men, religious systems, and political elites — and this repressive treatment often goes unchallenged.

This happens in places like Gaza under Hamas, in Afghanistan under the Taliban, in Iran under the ayatollahs, and even in Saudi Arabia, where “reforms” like women driving made headlines in 2018.

Let’s be clear: not every Muslim-majority country treats women this way. In places like Jordan, Egypt, and Turkey, many women work, study, and participate in public life. But even there, legal protections and personal freedoms often lag behind. And in the four examples mentioned — Gaza, Iran, Afghanistan, and Saudi Arabia — women face severe, institutionalized oppression. These are not fringe cases; they reflect the governing ideologies of millions.

Now contrast that with Israel.

In Israel, the only liberal democracy in the region, both Jewish and Arab women live with rights and freedoms unheard of in most of the Middle East.

In Israel, women:

  • Vote and run for office
  • Serve as Supreme Court judges, ministers, professors, doctors, and CEOs
  • Join the military, even in combat roles
  • Protest publicly without fear of being shot or jailed
  • Choose how to dress, where to work, whom to marry, and what to believe
  • File police reports and expect legal protection

Women in Israel are not just present, they lead. They command battalions, fly fighter jets, debate in the Knesset, run start-ups, and shape policy. Gender equality is not perfect — no country is — but legally, all women are fully protected.

And this is the part that’s almost never said: Arab women in Israel also enjoy more rights than in any Arab country. They study in top universities, vote freely, become doctors, lawyers, and leaders. Yes, some face traditional cultural pressures in their communities, but under Israeli law, they are citizens with equal rights, and legal recourse when those rights are violated.

Can the same be said for women in Gaza, ruled by Hamas? For women under the Taliban in Afghanistan? Or for the brave Iranian women imprisoned for removing their headscarves?

If you are a self-respecting feminist in the West, this should be a moral line: Israel is the only place in the Middle East where women are truly free. In Tel Aviv, if a woman is raped, she can go to the police. She’ll be heard, investigated, supported.

In Tehran, she might be blamed. In Riyadh, she could be imprisoned. In Kabul, she might be killed. In Gaza, she might be forced to marry her rapist.

So ask yourself: if you support women’s rights, why are you aligning with regimes or movements that strip women of their humanity?

Something is deeply broken when women in free societies chant slogans for groups that would silence, veil, and imprison them. When feminists march with Palestinian flags, are they aware that under Hamas, there is no LGBTQ+ freedom, no feminist activism, no legal protections for women?

You don’t have to support every policy of the Israeli government to recognize this truth: Israel is the only country in the Middle East where a woman can live as a full, free citizen.

Western feminists need to wake up. When you champion groups like Hamas or regimes like Iran “for the cause,” you are betraying the very values you claim to fight for.

Until that realization comes, I ask just one thing: If you truly care about women, why on earth are you standing against Israel?

Sabine Sterk is the CEO of Time To Stand Up For Israel. 

The post The Anti-Israel Mob Never Mentions Women’s Rights in Israel — Compared to the Middle East first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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The Mob’s Efforts to Colonize the American Mind

Tucker Carlson speaks on July 18, 2024 during the final day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Photo: Jasper Colt-USA TODAY via Reuters Connect

A few days before Israel began Operation Rising Lion, Facebook blocked my account. I cannot thank Mark Zuckerberg enough for that mitzvah. Instead of having to watch neo-Hellenistic Jews do anything possible to hide their Judaism and people try to to steal the spotlight, I got to witness an endless array of Iranian dissidents thanking Israel on X. 

They post Persian graffiti blessing Israel, the horrific history of the 46-year-old Islamic Republic, as well as what little protests they are able to engage in. And they remain as stunned as the rest of us at the protests both here and in Europe — which are in favor of the sociopathic, homophobic, misogynistic regime in Iran that is stifling not just their people’s freedom, but the lives of their families.

Qatar, China, Russia, and Iran have been unquestionably successful at one thing: the colonization of the American mind. Through antisemitic professors, “ethnic studies,” infiltration of leftist media (hello, Washington Post), and an intense disinformation campaign on social media, leftists have been fed a steady stream of lies and propaganda to the point that the protesters are ardently embracing a regime that kills women for showing their hair in public, hangs gay people, and considers child rape sacred.

In 2018, Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff published The Coddling of the American Mind. They discussed how a culture of “safetyism” interferes with social, emotional and intellectual development. In retrospect, that seems to have been Stage I of what’s now called the red-green alliance.

Stage II is a complete colonization — OK, obliteration — of brain cells. Disinformation so steeped in anti-facts it makes the Soviets look like amateurs. All of which led to a cognitive dissonance so septic some protesters simultaneously hold up posters celebrating both gay pride and the mullahs who would hang them.

It also led to a mass conformity during precisely the period when most healthy teens and 20-somethings rebel. There is only one word for this level of mass conformity: cult.

But for the moral inversion to be complete — for young women in the West to support the most evil patriarchy that has ever reigned — something else had to happen: a complete soullessness. Morality begins in our souls. If you choke off the soul — through a negation of spirituality, creativity, nature — you can easily be convinced to do anything and feel nothing. Thus, the increasing political violence here and in Europe.

Meanwhile, on the far right, Qatar has exerted a different sort of disinformation trap: buying off “influencers” to mouth jihadist talking points without even flinching. A recent exchange between Tucker Carlson and Glenn Greenwald over an alleged Osama bin Laden letter is truly jaw-dropping. The mastermind of 9/11 didn’t hate the US or the West, according to these two pundits. Three thousand Americans lost their lives because of US support for … Israel. 

I would say that they both should win Academy Awards for their performances — but I actually think they believe it. We always knew that the Arab world excelled at propaganda. But this surpasses the KGB in its ability to turn formerly mildly intelligent men into Islamist puppets.

All of this will no doubt get far worse, even after Iran is freed. But we’re already seeing hopeful signs in Gen Z. Yes, older Gen Zers can barely be distinguished from their millennial teachers. But at least in New York City, millennials took leftism to such an extreme — trying to use Gen Z as their own puppets — that younger Gen Zers have begun to rebel: pushing back against the lies even in the classroom. 

But the onus for real change begins in the home, where morality is either learned or spat on. And, of course, houses of worship, which needed to be depoliticized yesterday. We need to return to a world that privileges values over politics, education rooted in facts not opinions, a media that returns to objectivity.  

A millennial here recently said to me: “There’s no such thing as objectivity.” I responded: “Is this a table?” She nodded. “Is it made of wood?” She reluctantly nodded again. “So can we agree on the fact that this is a wooden table?” She got angry. “Yes, but so what? That’s basic.” Yes, I said. But that’s where we are: returning to the basics. Facts, values, morality — all represent the foundation of this great country. And if we’re ever going to return to it, we need to start there.

Just as the Iranians are about to do.

Karen Lehrman Bloch is editor in chief of White Rose Magazine. A version of this article was originally published by The Jewish Journal.

The post The Mob’s Efforts to Colonize the American Mind first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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