In recent days, the chaos at Columbia University and other colleges has once again reminded Americans about the sheer amount of anti-Semitism that is running rampant at American colleges and the degree to which it has pervaded our institutions of higher learning. But this comes as little surprise to anyone who has been paying attention to the state of American higher education to any degree over the last few years. This problem is far more widespread than the most recent headlines.
The anti-Israel rot in our education system runs a whole lot deeper than a bunch of college inmates once again taking over the asylum. Whether parents realize or not, America’s K-12 government schools are also replete with anti-Israel hatred and propaganda. And in order to address it, we need to take on the education cartel — composed of teachers’ unions, bureaucrats and politicians — that promotes and perpetuates it
Back in December, almost 40 parents’ groups publicly called on the Biden administration to address anti-Israel rhetoric and propaganda in government schools. Their concerns were well founded.
Research recently published in City Journal outlines just how anti-Israel political ideologies have spread throughout primary and secondary educational institutions. This includes “‘Liberated ethnic studies’ curricula, like the one mandated by California” and other lessons where Israel is routinely described as “an egregious example of ‘settler colonialism’ and oppression of ‘indigenous people.’”
A December report published by The FreePress outlines even more despicable examples, including a pre-K lesson on “ethnic noses.” Meanwhile, scores of teachers in New York City earlier in 2024 attended a seminar where they got information on how to get around so-called “censorship” while indoctrinating students about the “Israeli occupation” and “ongoing genocide in Gaza.” Countless other examples abound and require only a minimal amount of effort to dig up.
Most of this pseudo-curriculum is being pushed by the political leanings of radical progressive teachers’ unions, according to a City Journal article, which is completely unsurprising. Just as with other political causes, most of the unions have been very open about their ideological leanings when it comes to Israel.
The simple fact of the matter is that, at the end of the day, bureaucrats, teachers’ unions and politicians are focused far more on political outcomes from public schools than they are on quality education. At the same time, most of this education cartel is ideologically captured by whatever pop-ideological trends are captivating national politics at any given time and whatever the radical left’s political coalitions demand of them. At this moment in time, that means most of these include anti-American civics, biology defying gender ideology, Critical Race Theory and — yes — anti-Israel, pro-Hamas propaganda.
There are, however, other issues that also need to be addressed, such as anti-Israel organizations working to inject their own pro-Hamas perspectives into curricula around the country. At the same time, the Qatar Foundation International — at the direction of the pro-Hamas Qatari government — has been giving money and resources to education departments and institutions to further the pro-Hamas Qatari government and ruling class’s geopolitical ends.
Israel is a vital American ally. Israel has a right to exist. Hamas’ barbaric, terrorist tactics have no place in a civilized world. These should not be controversial statements — especially not in classrooms supported by American tax dollars. Yes, these issues must be addressed where they arise, and school systems need to be completely swept clean of anti-Semitism and anti-Israel propaganda. But playing Whac-A-Mole with a broken and flawed system is not a long-term solution to the problem. Education freedom is.
Political actors posing as educators simply will not have the power to corrupt our institutions and brainwash American students if the American people stand up and demand that we put that power back in the hands of parents and students. It’s that simple. The best way to avoid disturbing surprises in our children’s classrooms is to create a system where transparency is a given. The best way to ensure that hateful and pernicious ideologies do not infect public school curricula is to give parents the power to choose which curricula their children are going to learn from — whether that’s at a traditional public school, charter school, private school or through homeschooling.
That is the future of American education, and it’s a future that more and more parents are pushing for every single day. If we want to root out anti-Semitism and anti-Israel propaganda in public schools, then we need to disempower the terrorist sympathizers in our midst and radically re-empower the American people.
Ryan Walters is Superintendent of the Oklahoma State Department of Education. You can follow him on X: @RyanWaltersSupt.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller.