UPDATE: The class in question is now completed and the organizers will have to apply for a new five-year approval to continue teaching it. ADL is in continuing dialogue with LAUSD about this process. We have asked the District to evaluate the curriculum more critically in the future and to refuse ongoing approval if it continues to include blatantly ahistorical and factually incorrect materials.
The Anti-Defamation League has received reports about a two-day workshop offered to Los Angeles United School District (LAUSD) educators by The Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR USA) entitled “Learning about Islam and the Arab World.” Teachers are eligible to receive LAUSD salary points if they attend and complete the homework. The syllabus covers various topics related to the Arab and Islamic worlds, including a 75-minute session titled “Palestine/Israel” and a 45-minute session titled “Palestine Today: No Way to Treat A Child.” According to one report, reading material for the Palestine/Israel session includes a handout that is a revision of a primer on the conflict originally published by MERIP, the Middle East Research and Information Project.
The handout is problematic. It contains substantial misrepresentations and distortions of established historical facts, omissions of relevant facts, and inflammatory language. Additionally, reports of the way in which the class is taught strongly suggest that it is one-sided and presents a consistently anti-Israel and anti-Zionist perspective. On the other hand, we are aware that the instructor openly stated that the workshop presented only the Arab perspective of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and that he encouraged participants to both fact-check course content and to explore the Israeli perspective independently.
We understand that LAUSD provides salary points to its teachers for a broad spectrum of professional development opportunities. However, it is imperative that any LAUSD teacher interested in learning about Israel and the Middle East has access to accurate and unbiased information. We have offered LAUSD educational resources for this or any other professional development class that purports to teach about the history of Israel or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. These resources include this list of online resources and this timeline of key dates in Israel’s history.
ADL has worked with LAUSD to raise awareness about and monitor classes being taught for salary credit on the Israel-Palestinian conflict. We will continue to explore ways to assist LAUSD in its efforts to ensure that LAUSD teachers have fair and relevant resources on this subject.
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