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Rising Antisemitism in K-12 Schools Demands National Attention
As I walked through the US Capitol on May 8th — the day of the Congressional hearings on Antisemitism in K-12 schools — I was imbued with a sense of hope. As the Director of K-12 Educator Outreach for StandWithUs — an international, nonpartisan organization dedicated to combating antisemitism — I had the unique opportunity to attend these hearings in person. It was a moment that many had been waiting for, a chance to bring the harassment and bullying that Jewish students and teachers endure to the forefront of national consciousness.
Since the appalling terrorist attack against Israel on October 7, reports of antisemitism in K-12 public and independent schools across the country have surged to shocking levels. Each week, I engage with teachers, administrators, students, and parents who reach out to StandWithUs for support. They share harrowing stories of discrimination and harassment rooted in their Jewish identity.
Reflecting on my days as a high school teacher and administrator, it’s disheartening to see how the landscape has changed. Disciplinary measures that were once seen as fair are now used selectively to target Jewish students, while their aggressors often face no consequences.
Educational materials, rather than being vetted for accuracy and educational value, are hurriedly pulled from the internet, including platforms like TikTok, which perpetuate misinformation about the October 7, the war against Hamas, and countless other issues.
Numerous teachers’ unions, whose mission is to improve working conditions for educators, have shifted their focus towards taking one-sided positions against Israel, or worse. My former union, the Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA), has been deeply mired in controversy over antisemitism for months.
The MTA recently held an “anti-racism” panel featuring speakers that Jewish groups decried as boosting “antisemitic and anti-Israel falsehoods.” Two Massachusetts legislators described the event as “two hours of anti-Israel and antisemitic propaganda.” Some unions have also promoted curricula that border on or cross the line into indoctrination. This shift is not only damaging to the impartiality expected of educational institutions, but also undermines the professionalism of teachers.
During the Congressional hearings, some lawmakers displayed a deep understanding of the pervasive and enduring nature of antisemitism in educational settings. Representative Kathy Manning (D-NC) gave a strong overview of the problems that are reported to StandWithUs every day. She also raised critical concerns about the corrosive influence of propaganda on social media platforms such as TikTok.
Representative Kevin Kiley (R-CA) sharply questioned Berkeley School Superintendent Enikia Ford Morthel about her district’s contract with the Liberated Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum Consortium (LESMCC), an organization condemned by many, including elected officials, for promoting antisemitic narratives.
He said, “[LESC] grew out of the initial working group to form California’s model ethnic studies curriculum [which] was universally condemned as antisemitic; fourteen members of the legislature, all Democrats, said it is difficult to fathom why the state of California would to actively promote a narrative about Jews that echoes the propaganda of the Nazi regime … so it was revised, but this liberated ethnic studies consortium offers the original version … they split off from the group and said we’re going to stick with the original antisemitic version and that’s the version that you went out and decided to have in your classrooms, is that right?”
Dr. Morthel smiled, thanked him for his question, and told him he was factually incorrect, because they didn’t purchase curriculum from the LESC, they designed it in-house: the money they paid LESC was simply for them to be a “thought partner.” This attempt to sidestep the issue only raises more disturbing questions. Why would any school district pay a group of extremists to be a “thought partner” for anything, let alone ethnic studies courses that are supposed to help fight racism?
However, other members of the committee seemed less prepared. Even worse, Representative Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) tried to actively undermine the fight against hate by giving a representative from the ACLU a platform to promote misinformation about the widely adopted International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism. He also seemed to whitewash the long history of systemic discrimination Jews faced across the Middle East, prior to the establishment of the State of Israel.
The hearing was a promising start, yet two hours is scarcely enough to tackle the widespread problem of antisemitism in schools. It is imperative that further investigations are conducted into the many different ways bias and bigotry are finding their way into our schools. Teachers’ unions must be held accountable when they encourage educators to sidestep state curriculum standards and district policies and promote misinformation into the classroom. Congress should increase funding to the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights to enable it to thoroughly investigate and address violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act in publicly funded schools.
The media, too, must play its part by treating antisemitic incidents in schools with the gravity and urgency they deserve. As it stands, Jewish students and teachers are suffering, students are being indoctrinated, and our educational system is woefully unequipped to address these issues. It is time for a systematic effort to ensure that schools remain places of learning and growth, not platforms for indoctrination or institutionalized antisemitism.
David Smokler is the director of K-12 Educator Outreach for StandWithUs, an international nonpartisan education organization that supports Israel and fights antisemitism.
The post Rising Antisemitism in K-12 Schools Demands National Attention first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire
Explosions send smoke into the air in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, July 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
The spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing said on Friday that while the Palestinian terrorist group favors reaching an interim truce in the Gaza war, if such an agreement is not reached in current negotiations it could revert to insisting on a full package deal to end the conflict.
Hamas has previously offered to release all the hostages held in Gaza and conclude a permanent ceasefire agreement, and Israel has refused, Abu Ubaida added in a televised speech.
Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have hosted more than 10 days of talks on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day truce in the war.
Israeli officials were not immediately available for comment on the eve of the Jewish Sabbath.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on a call he had with Pope Leo on Friday that Israel‘s efforts to secure a hostage release deal and 60-day ceasefire “have so far not been reciprocated by Hamas.”
As part of the potential deal, 10 hostages held in Gaza would be returned along with the bodies of 18 others, spread out over 60 days. In exchange, Israel would release a number of detained Palestinians.
“If the enemy remains obstinate and evades this round as it has done every time before, we cannot guarantee a return to partial deals or the proposal of the 10 captives,” said Abu Ubaida.
Disputes remain over maps of Israeli army withdrawals, aid delivery mechanisms into Gaza, and guarantees that any eventual truce would lead to ending the war, said two Hamas officials who spoke to Reuters on Friday.
The officials said the talks have not reached a breakthrough on the issues under discussion.
Hamas says any agreement must lead to ending the war, while Netanyahu says the war will only end once Hamas is disarmed and its leaders expelled from Gaza.
Almost 1,650 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed as a result of the conflict, including 1,200 killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies. Over 250 hostages were kidnapped during Hamas’s Oct. 7 onslaught.
Israel responded with an ongoing military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in neighboring Gaza.
The post Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel
People hold images of the victims of the 1994 bombing attack on the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) community center, marking the 30th anniversary of the attack, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Irina Dambrauskas
Iran on Friday marked the 31st anniversary of the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish community center in Buenos Aires by slamming Argentina for what it called “baseless” accusations over Tehran’s alleged role in the terrorist attack and accusing Israel of politicizing the atrocity to influence the investigation and judicial process.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the anniversary of Argentina’s deadliest terrorist attack, which killed 85 people and wounded more than 300.
“While completely rejecting the accusations against Iranian citizens, the Islamic Republic of Iran condemns attempts by certain Argentine factions to pressure the judiciary into issuing baseless charges and politically motivated rulings,” the statement read.
“Reaffirming that the charges against its citizens are unfounded, the Islamic Republic of Iran insists on restoring their reputation and calls for an end to this staged legal proceeding,” it continued.
Last month, a federal judge in Argentina ordered the trial in absentia of 10 Iranian and Lebanese nationals suspected of orchestrating the attack in Buenos Aires.
The ten suspects set to stand trial include former Iranian and Lebanese ministers and diplomats, all of whom are subject to international arrest warrants issued by Argentina for their alleged roles in the terrorist attack.
In its statement on Friday, Iran also accused Israel of influencing the investigation to advance a political campaign against the Islamist regime in Tehran, claiming the case has been used to serve Israeli interests and hinder efforts to uncover the truth.
“From the outset, elements and entities linked to the Zionist regime [Israel] exploited this suspicious explosion, pushing the investigation down a false and misleading path, among whose consequences was to disrupt the long‑standing relations between the people of Iran and Argentina,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.
“Clear, undeniable evidence now shows the Zionist regime and its affiliates exerting influence on the Argentine judiciary to frame Iranian nationals,” the statement continued.
In April, lead prosecutor Sebastián Basso — who took over the case after the 2015 murder of his predecessor, Alberto Nisman — requested that federal Judge Daniel Rafecas issue national and international arrest warrants for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over his alleged involvement in the attack.
Since 2006, Argentine authorities have sought the arrest of eight Iranians — including former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who died in 2017 — yet more than three decades after the deadly bombing, all suspects remain still at large.
In a post on X, the Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations (DAIA), the country’s Jewish umbrella organization, released a statement commemorating the 31st anniversary of the bombing.
“It was a brutal attack on Argentina, its democracy, and its rule of law,” the group said. “At DAIA, we continue to demand truth and justice — because impunity is painful, and memory is a commitment to both the present and the future.”
31 años del atentado a la AMIA – DAIA. 31 años sin justicia.
El 18 de julio de 1994, un atentado terrorista dejó 85 personas muertas y más de 300 heridas. Fue un ataque brutal contra la Argentina, su democracia y su Estado de derecho.
Desde la DAIA, seguimos exigiendo verdad y… pic.twitter.com/kV2ReGNTIk
— DAIA (@DAIAArgentina) July 18, 2025
Despite Argentina’s longstanding belief that Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah terrorist group carried out the devastating attack at Iran’s request, the 1994 bombing has never been claimed or officially solved.
Meanwhile, Tehran has consistently denied any involvement and refused to arrest or extradite any suspects.
To this day, the decades-long investigation into the terrorist attack has been plagued by allegations of witness tampering, evidence manipulation, cover-ups, and annulled trials.
In 2006, former prosecutor Nisman formally charged Iran for orchestrating the attack and Hezbollah for carrying it out.
Nine years later, he accused former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner — currently under house arrest on corruption charges — of attempting to cover up the crime and block efforts to extradite the suspects behind the AMIA atrocity in return for Iranian oil.
Nisman was killed later that year, and to this day, both his case and murder remain unresolved and under ongoing investigation.
The alleged cover-up was reportedly formalized through the memorandum of understanding signed in 2013 between Kirchner’s government and Iranian authorities, with the stated goal of cooperating to investigate the AMIA bombing.
The post Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Jordan Reveals Muslim Brotherhood Operating Vast Illegal Funding Network Tied to Gaza Donations, Political Campaigns
Murad Adailah, the head of Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood, attends an interview with Reuters in Amman, Jordan, Sept. 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Jehad Shelbak
The Muslim Brotherhood, one of the Arab world’s oldest and most influential Islamist movements, has been implicated in a wide-ranging network of illegal financial activities in Jordan and abroad, according to a new investigative report.
Investigations conducted by Jordanian authorities — along with evidence gathered from seized materials — revealed that the Muslim Brotherhood raised tens of millions of Jordanian dinars through various illegal activities, the Jordan news agency (Petra) reported this week.
With operations intensifying over the past eight years, the report showed that the group’s complex financial network was funded through various sources, including illegal donations, profits from investments in Jordan and abroad, and monthly fees paid by members inside and outside the country.
The report also indicated that the Muslim Brotherhood has taken advantage of the war in Gaza to raise donations illegally.
Out of all donations meant for Gaza, the group provided no information on where the funds came from, how much was collected, or how they were distributed, and failed to work with any international or relief organizations to manage the transfers properly.
Rather, the investigations revealed that the Islamist network used illicit financial mechanisms to transfer funds abroad.
According to Jordanian authorities, the group gathered more than JD 30 million (around $42 million) over recent years.
With funds transferred to several Arab, regional, and foreign countries, part of the money was allegedly used to finance domestic political campaigns in 2024, as well as illegal activities and cells.
In April, Jordan outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s most vocal opposition group, and confiscated its assets after members of the Islamist movement were found to be linked to a sabotage plot.
The movement’s political arm in Jordan, the Islamic Action Front, became the largest political grouping in parliament after elections last September, although most seats are still held by supporters of the government.
Opponents of the group, which is banned in most Arab countries, label it a terrorist organization. However, the movement claims it renounced violence decades ago and now promotes its Islamist agenda through peaceful means.
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