House Education Committee Report Alleges Antisemitic and Political Materials in Philadelphia and Berkeley Classrooms
The U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce released a majority staff report on October 21 alleging that antisemitism and political activism had entered K-12 materials in the School District of Philadelphia and California's Berkeley Unified School District, with the investigation also covering the National Education Association (NEA). Committee Chairman Tim Walberg said parents send their children to school to learn reading, writing and math, not to be taught to hate Israel or embrace radical political causes, and that schools receiving taxpayer dollars must be held accountable when they fail to protect students from antisemitism. The committee said the investigation followed a rise in antisemitic incidents after October 7, 2023; according to the Anti-Defamation League, K-12 antisemitic incidents increased by 135 percent in 2023.
Among the Philadelphia examples cited, the report said a world history assignment asked students to honor a resistance movement and listed a campaign the report described as Hamas-endorsed as an option, and another lesson asked students to label the United States and Israel as terrorists. In Berkeley, the report said an ethnic studies unit featured a map labeling Israel as Palestine and praised figures with histories of antisemitic remarks. The report also said the NEA had funded groups the committee identified as sources of problematic materials, including Rethinking Schools and the Zinn Education Project, and noted the NEA had moved away from working with the Anti-Defamation League.
District responses were also reported. Philadelphia told the committee it would centralize social studies curriculum writing and is pursuing termination proceedings for its social studies curriculum director, while Philadelphia Superintendent Tony Watlington told the committee the district's curriculum does not indoctrinate students. The committee said its investigation into Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia remains ongoing. GSM presents the claims and responses above as reported and takes no position.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：费城学区总部大楼。图片来源：费城学区官方图片，经 Philly Daily News 图库
