Thus far, Congress’s “contribution” had been the now-infamous and histrionic House committee hearing in which Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), an apologist of former president Donald Trump (who associates with virulent antisemites), grilled three college presidents.
This week, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) will introduce a resolution, which Khanna shared with me, encouraging schools to teach digital literacy and history relating to the Holocaust, World War II and antisemitism. The bill encourages “a comprehensive reform in history education and digital literacy to ensure a nuanced and accurate understanding of pivotal historical events, including the Holocaust and World War II; urges all educational institutions to prioritize and integrate a comprehensive history of the Holocaust, with a specific emphasis on how antisemitism existed before, during, and after the Holocaust; and supports allocating federal funding for educational institutions to carry out this education and digital literacy.”
As remarkable as the bipartisan backing is the support from an array of Jewish organizations ordinarily at odds on Israel and other issues. A news release that will accompany the bill’s introduction includes comments from the ADL, J Street, the American Jewish Committee and StopAntisemtism.
“At a time when antisemitic incidents and attitudes are at historic levels, we must make sure future generations learn the history of antisemitism and the consequences of inaction,” Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the ADL, said. He also thanked the sponsors for promoting “the value of students having access to age-appropriate Holocaust education.”
Likewise, J Street commented: “This is a priority for the entire Jewish community. In this time of rising misinformation, antisemitism, and other forms of hatred and bigotry, it’s essential to give students the proper tools and historical context to ensure they can identify and reject misinformation and those seeking to use antisemitism and division to further their own goals.”
Some members of Congress might want to go further than the bill does, conditioning federal funding to institutions that fail to institute these changes. And some members might object to including antisemitism with no mention of Islamophobia. However, the mere introduction of the bill accomplishes three important goals.
First, the bill implicitly recognizes that anti-Zionism manifested in hate crimes and in campus demonstrations calling for eradication of Israel is antisemitism. The State Department’s definition of antisemitism includes efforts to single out and/or delegitimize the Jewish state. These include: “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor,” and “Applying double standards by requiring of it a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.” This measure rightly underscores that plans to eradicate Israel in the guise of Palestinian liberation (“from the river to the sea”) are unacceptable.
Second, the bill strips away the notion that action against antisemitism is an attack on DEI. The bill does not prohibit colleges from following a DEI model. However, colleges need to recognize that antisemitism, the world’s oldest and most ubiquitous hatred, can and should be part of anti-bigotry efforts. This should come as a relief to many progressive Jews who feared they were being asked to choose between support for DEI and measures against antisemitism. That false choice only benefits right-wingers seeking to create an emotional wedge issue.
Finally, the bill not-too-subtlety reminds institutions of higher learning that their job, after all, is teaching. Although focus has centered on shouting matches and student demonstrations, the bill reminds us that colleges and K-12 schools have done a lousy job teaching about antisemitism and the Holocaust. The primary job of college presidents is not to issue public declarations on contentious issues but to ensure that students are equipped with a robust education and the skills needed to navigate in a diverse country.
When one-fifth of young Americans think the Holocaust is a myth, educators need to take responsibility for their appalling failure. Beyond speech codes, demonstrations and public apologies, colleges would do well to get back to teaching about a subject critical to living in a pluralistic democracy and a contentious would. Perhaps this bill will give them a shove in the right direction.
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