California's proposed Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum (ESMC) will be implemented in high school classrooms across the state and is likely to be a model used in developing curricula across the country. Initially, drafts of the curriculum excluded Jews and even included anti-Jewish content. The collective efforts of Jewish organizations and individuals in California improved matters, but there remains pressure from the BDS movement to remove Jewish identity, definitions of antisemitism, and Jewish lesson plans from the curriculum. Join for a timely conversation with leading Jewish communal professionals on the role ethnic studies curricula plays in the BDS movement’s strategies, the impact this curriculum may have on how both the Jewish-American experience and antisemitism are taught throughout the country, and how you can make a difference in your own community around similar issues.

Speakers:

Tyler Gregory
Executive Director
JCRC of the San Francisco Bay Area

Alisa Finsten
Senior Vice President of Community Engagement
Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles

Note: Prior to being approved by State Board of Education at its March meeting, there is a public comment period during which individuals may provide input into the final draft of the ESMC through January 21. If you would like to provide input prior to our scheduled program on January 20, here is a link with additional information and a place to submit comments.