The San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) Board of Trustees passed a resolution on October 26 to include the teaching of antisemitism in the ethnic studies curriculum.
The resolution stated that “reports of white supremacist, antisemitic, anti-Jewish, and anti-Israeli graffiti, bullying, harassment, and violence on SDUSD campuses has been on the rise in recent years such that administrators, teachers, and student leaders need updated and readily available training and resources to prevent and address antisemitism in all its forms” and acknowledged that “anti-Zionism and anti-Israel bias can descend into antisemitism when they promote demonization, discriminatory double standards, and/or delegitimization of Israel and its existence.” “The Board of Education denounces the rise in antisemitic rhetoric and hate-motivated crimes and incidents that denigrate Jewish students and staff in the communities served by SDUSD,” it read.
The resolution also stated that the board “supports balanced and open classroom discussion, including the use of unbiased and politically neutral materials on issues like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict” and condemns “content that delegitimizes the right of any people, including Jews and Palestinians, to self-determination,” but this provision was later removed.
ADL San Diego Regional Director Tammy Giles said in a statement, “We are deeply appreciative of the San Diego Unified School District’s action in affirming that antisemitism and anti-Jewish rhetoric have no place in our classrooms. This commitment to fighting antisemitism will ensure students feel safe and supported in their identities. With over 50,000 individuals of Jewish descent living in the city of San Diego, ADL welcomes the District’s willingness to partner in creating a more inclusive and equitable space for learning for all students.”
Associate Dean and Director of Global Social Action Agenda at the Simon Wiesenthal Center Rabbi Abraham Cooper similarly said in a statement, “All of the credit for this breakthrough resolution goes to local Jewish parents who drew a line against demonizing Israel and the inevitable bullying of Jewish students and teachers in San Diego schools who love Israel and are proud of their heritage.
“We hope that the example set by the community-based activists in San Diego will inspire Jewish parents and decent people everywhere to oppose and if necessary, overturn efforts to import the Middle East conflict into the classrooms and halls of our nation’s public schools.”
StandWithUs CEO and Co-Founder Roz Rothstein praised the resolution as a “positive step,” telling Jewish News Syndicate that it uses the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. “While language about teaching the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was removed from the original version, district policy still requires such topics to be covered in an unbiased way,” she said. “We will continue to work with students, parents and other members of the community to build on this resolution.”
On October 8, Governor Newsom signed a bill into law requiring ethnic studies to be taught in all state schools starting in 2029.
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