Jewish Teachers Los Angeles (JewTLA)

When I was in the IDF I was in Rooster Psychological Operations and my job was to sneak roosters under Hamas leaders' windows to crow at 3am. Every night. For six years. I am breaking the silence. No joke, JewTLA members are all teachers in Los Angeles. But we’ve been asked if we report bigoted antisemites to the IDF.

Something has gone very wrong with religious hatred in America. But not in quite the way I expected. I started looking at ten years of FBI hate-crime data, comparing anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim hatred. What I found surprised me. But before the statistics, two children. At Southern Hills Middle School in Boulder, Colorado, a Jewish eighth grader endured nearly two years of anti-Jewish harassment. Classmates called Jews dirty and contaminated. They played a game called “Jew touch tag." Nazi salutes and Holocaust jokes were directed at him. Then a classmate fashioned a Chromebook charging cord into a lasso, put it around the Jewish child's neck and dragged him backward from his chair while calling him a Jewish slur. Police were called. The harassment continued. Eventually, the boy stopped wearing his Star of David and stopped telling people he was Jewish. His family ultimately removed him from Southern Hills because of concerns for his well-being. Boulder Valley School District is now in pre-investigation mediation with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights and ADL. There has not yet been a final OCR finding or settlement. Now the second child: At Mace's Lane Middle School in Cambridge, Maryland, fellow students repeatedly targeted a 12-year-old Muslim girl. During one incident, students threatened to remove her hijab. During another, a student punched her in the back of the head and attempted to forcibly remove her hijab while students called her a terrorist. Her family filed a federal civil-rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights. OCR took up the complaint, but there has not yet been a publicly reported final resolution, settlement or finding. A student puts a cord around a Jewish boy's neck. A student punches a Muslim girl in the head, tries to tear off her hijab, while students call her a terrorist. Two children. Two American public schools. Two unmistakable acts of religious hatred. Neither child's experience is less serious because another child somewhere experienced something worse. This isn't an atrocity competition. But these two children made me wonder about something larger: Where have we succeeded in reducing religious hatred in America, and where have we failed? So I went to the FBI data. Because there are more Jews than Muslims in the United States, I adjusted the FBI hate-crime incident numbers for the estimated size of each population. Here is what it looks like:

Antisemitism. Now with a fitness tracker. A Nov. 8 Philadelphia bike protest targets six Jewish-owned eateries. Its flyer: “These Zionist establishments must go!” Teachers: this is why history needs more than a worksheet. inquirer.com/news/philadelph…

Jewish education: where arguing can mean the lesson is going beautifully. Chavruta pairs learners to study a text, ask questions and challenge each other’s ideas. A classroom tip from JewTLA: disagree all you like. Bring evidence. Imagine that on the internet.

Teacher attire is teacher speech: At Orange County School of the Arts (CA) CDE found a teacher’s lessons and Israel-shaped watermelon shirt created a discriminatory environment for Jewish and Israeli students. All teachers must get antisemitism training. Class, meet consequences. standwithus.com/news/legal/c…

The election may not have gone your way. We’re Jewish teachers. We’ve faced rooms where nobody did the reading and everyone had an opinion. We’re qualified for this moment. Have coffee. Find your people. Join JewTLA jewtla.jewishlausd.org Despair is understandable. But it’s not a lesson plan.

A swastika is not a “challenging perspective.” It’s a swastika. After one was found at Sharon HS on Nov. 3, officials named the antisemitism, informed families, and offered student support. Good. Protecting Jewish kids shouldn’t require a debate club. sharonma.gov/m/newsflash/Hom…

Some Americans woke up celebrating. Others woke up Googling real estate in Israel. Jewish educators woke up with the same job: protecting Jewish students and standing up to hate. Elections change who's in charge. They don't change our homework. Stop watching from the sidelines: Join JewTLA. We've got work to do. jewtla.jewishlausd.org

Donate $180 to JewTLA. That's ten times chai. 🕎 And it’s still cheaper than the therapy you’ll need after Election Day. jewtla.jewishlausd.org/donat…

Teachers spend 180 days a year telling kids their voice matters. Today is the open-book test. Go vote. 🗳️ #ElectionDay Go to vote.israelusa.org for the best pro-USA pro-education choices.

Canoga Park HS: 11 substantiated allegations, parents pulling Jewish kids out. Some teachers’ defense: It’s not antisemitism if Jewish kids can’t hear it. Kids should be looking for a lunch table, not a safer school. But congratulations. You’ve solved the witness problem. @LASchools

If Jews appear in your K-12 curriculum only when we’re being murdered or put on trial over Israel, your syllabus needs remedial work. Teach Jewish life: literature, arts, science, languages, sports, humor. We’re a people. Not a tragedy with discussion questions. @LASchools