Using Ethnic Studies to Malign Jews May Get Harder

Even once the war in Gaza has concluded, its foul residue here in the United States will still remain. Antisemitism certainly did not appear in this country as a result of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks, but many American Jews were caught off-guard by the persistent strength and resilience of the animosity toward our community. Many of us believed that anti-Jewish hatred had been banished to the shadows of the political extremes in the modern era, and we were startled by both by its breadth and depth.

One of the fronts on which this fight was waged long before Oct. 7 has been the argument in California over ethnic studies. Teaching the state’s high school students about cultural and ethnic diversity attracts widespread support among voters. But the particulars about how these sensitive topics are presented in the classroom have become much more controversial. The content of these classes has turned out to be an especially fertile ground for familiar antisemitic tropes, and ongoing tensions in the Middle East have provided a convenient excuse for those who despise both the Jewish state and the Jewish people to ratchet up their invective to even higher levels. Unsurprisingly, the Gaza war has provided an opportunity for them to further intensify their propaganda efforts.

For many years, the Jewish Legislative Caucus has led the fight to exclude antisemitic content from ethnic studies courses. After Governor Newsom signed legislation creating a mandate for high schools to offer ethnic studies, the stakes became even higher. To his credit, Newsom has worked with the Jewish caucus to discourage (although not forbid) the inclusion of such content in class materials. But the most determined advocates for the most virulent types of anti-Jewish content, led by advocates for the so-called Liberated Ethnic Studies curriculum, are tenacious and resourceful, so variations of their curriculum continue to spread throughout the state.

But two separate events occurred in the state capitol last week that have combined to place considerable obstacles in the path of those who would kidnap an ethnic studies course to further antisemitic sentiment. The first was a barely-noticed line item in Newsom’s revised budget proposal, which contained no funding for the ethnic studies mandate. When Newsom signed the original legislation establishing the ethnic studies requirement, the bill stated that the classes would only be offered “upon appropriation.” In other words, the legislature and governor would need to provide funding to pay for the creation and implementation of this new mandate. 

Because Newsom’s new budget does not offer any money for the class, the mandate will not take effect when the school year begins this fall. While many schools and school districts already offer these classes (some of which are drawn directly from the Liberated Ethnic Studies curriculum mentioned above), the lack of a requirement will slow the spread of ethnic studies in California schools. The governor’s advisors cite the state’s rapidly growing budget deficit as the reason for the lack of funding, but it’s easy to see how a potential presidential candidate might want to avoid a fight as fractious as this one. This maneuver delays the fight and therefore gives Judaism’s defenders a chance to better prepare themselves for it.

The other sign of progress came from the Jewish Caucus, whose members joined forces with their colleagues in the Black, Latino and Asian Pacific Caucuses to sponsor legislation strengthening protections for K-12 public school students against antisemitism and discrimination. The Jewish Caucus had previously been concentrating its efforts specifically on the debate over ethnic studies, but recognizing that antisemitism has become a more encompassing challenge in the state’s schools, a more comprehensive legislative remedy is a much smarter approach. Even more importantly, the ferocity of the opposition to a bill designed to solely address questions surrounding ethnic studies made passage extremely unlikely. A more all-encompassing approach has already gained broader support in the legislature, and its passage will provide greater protection for Jewish students in all aspects of their education.

The fight against antisemitism is never-ending. But a key battleground here in California now looks more hopeful.

Dan Schnur is the U.S. Politics Editor for the Jewish Journal. He teaches courses in politics, communications, and leadership at UC Berkeley, USC and Pepperdine. He hosts the monthly webinar “The Dan Schnur Political Report” for the Los Angeles World Affairs Council & Town Hall. Follow Dan’s work at www.danschnurpolitics.com.