“Liberated” Ethnic Studies: Jews need not apply

Abstract

Implementation of Ethnic Studies (ES) classes in K-12 schools has been a contentious issue across the U.S. for several years, especially in the state of California. Due to vociferous challenges to California’s Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum (ESMC), a new offshoot of ES called “Liberated” Ethnic Studies (LES) emerged. The Liberated Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum Consortium (LESMCC) focuses on four historically oppressed groups in the U.S. – Blacks, Latinos, Indigenous Peoples, and Asians/Pacific Islanders – and there is a clear focus on Palestine and Israel’s supposed oppressive, colonial, apartheid regime. There is little mention of Jews and anti-Jewish hatred (antisemitism) in the curriculum. Despite increasing antisemitism in the U.S., there continues to be strong resistance to teaching about Jews and antisemitism in the high school ES classroom. This article analyzes the potential arguments for the continued exclusion of Jews in ES and whether Jews have a place within its framework.