Combating antisemitism in K–12 schools

One of the most impactful ways that schools can combat antisemitism is to ensure that their staff understand what causes harm to Jews and have the confidence, tools, and strategies to address bias incidents. Investing in staff training is a crucial part of this work, such as partnering with an organization that specializes in Jewish inclusion and contemporary antisemitism or working with a more general anti-bias provider with the commitment and skills needed to specifically address antisemitism.

JCRC Greater Boston’s K-12 Initiative, which is supported by CJP, can provide professional development on a variety of topics related to combatting antisemitism, fostering Jewish inclusion, and promoting more inclusive school communities. Below is a small selection of our partners who offer unique expertise in educating about contemporary antisemitism from an anti-bias perspective. For additional recommendations catered to your school or district’s particular needs, please reach out to us.

• School officials should make strong, clear statements that antisemitism is unacceptable and will not be tolerated, both at the start of each school year and regularly on other appropriate occasions, such as on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 27 of each year.
  
  
• When an antisemitic incident occurs, school officials, particularly superintendents and principals, should speak out clearly, forcefully, and with specificity as to the type of hate, rather than using vague language around all forms of hate. Communication to the school community should be timely following an incident.
  
  
• School administrators should communicate clearly and consistently to the entire school community (inclusive of the community in which the school is located), including all students and families, about school values and rules, including policies governing bullying, harassment, discrimination, protests, walkouts, postering, vandalism/graffiti, and social media. School administrators should make it clear that antisemitism is prohibited under these values, rules, and policies.

Jewish American Heritage Month takes place in May of each year and is a way to celebrate the contributions that Jewish communities have made to American history, culture, and society from our nation’s founding to the present. Creating opportunities to positively uplift the identities and cultures that make up your school community is crucial to fostering a welcoming environment. Too often, students only learn about Jews in the context of persecution and victimization, most frequently in the Holocaust. Celebrating JAHM provides students with positive representations of Jewish American culture. Below are some suggestions and resources for JAHM programming. We encourage you to reach out to us or your local Jewish communal partners for additional ideas or to collaborate in this work!1 

• Learn about Jewish American history: Use resources like Stories that Shaped a Nation, a new standards-aligned curriculum designed by the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History, to showcase the integral role Jewish American’s have played in our history
  • For an in-depth look at the Stories that Shaped a Nation curriculum and ways it can be implemented, check out this webinar organized by JCRC in partnership with the Weitzman Museum
• Feature Jewish stories in your children’s literature: For elementary level learners, the PJ Library curates a diverse selection of children’s literature that highlight Jewish culture and heritage

• Explore Jewish art: The Jewish Museum has a robust resource on Jewish Immigration Experiences through Art, offering a way to tell the powerful stories of resettlement in the United States through art created by Jews.
  
  
• Showcase the diversity of Jewish identity: Jewish identity varies widely. Use the resources below to explore some of the intersections between Jews and other social identity groups in American history.
  • Beyond a Single Story: Exploring the Diversity of Jewish Identity: Facing History and Ourselves
  • Jewish LGBTQ+ Heroes: Keshet
  • Teaching Resources: Jewish Women’s Archive
  • The History of Black Jews in America: Unpacked for Educators