Jewish Legal Group Urges Trump to Probe K-12 DEI Programs Over Antisemitism Concerns

A Jewish legal advocacy organization is calling on the Trump administration to initiate an extensive inquiry and suspend federal funds from K-12 educational institutions suspected of fostering antisemitism through their DEI—diversity, equity, and inclusion—programs.

The Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law dispatched a significant 15-page correspondence to U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon, highlighting proof that Jews have been characterized as "fundamentally racist [and] oppressive." The communication also asserts that Jewish students are facing discrimination with the aim of advancing DEI initiatives for other underrepresented communities.

The organization claimed that DEI programs promoting anti-Jewish sentiment not only contravene the Civil Rights Act of 1964 but also go against President Trump’s Executive Order from January 20, which he characterized as "unlawful and unethical." This executive order aimed at prohibiting these types of initiatives.

"If President Trump genuinely wants to put an end to radical indoctrination in primary and secondary schools, he ought to begin by addressing some of the anti-Semitic teachers we've identified," stated Kenneth Marcus, chairman and CEO of the Brandeis Center and formerly the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education.

"Ironically, some of the most severe forms of antisemitism are emerging from 'progressive educators' who spread anti-Jewish hate under the guise of 'liberated ethnic studies' and social justice education," Marcus stated to The Post.

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The letter sent on April 28 to McMahon highlights clear instances of school staff and educators criticizing Israel and Jewish people, especially in California, such as:

• A California school district’s Office of Equity sent a notice to educators and personnel saying, "Keep Hands Off Sacred Lands from Shelmond to Jerusalem" and "Zionism Is Racial Discrimination."
• A second-grade instructor at a Berkeley elementary school asked her 7-year-old pupils to pen messages on adhesive notes criticizing American backing for Israel, with one example being "Stop bombing babies." According to the grievance, these notes were subsequently displayed outside the classroom of the sole Jewish educator at the institution.
• The Los Angeles Unified School District sanctioned resources for a "Free Palestine" gathering, and the educator overseeing this event supplied students with content that labeled Israel as "Occupied Palestine." The same educational material employed antisemitic stereotypes to vilify both Israelis and Jewish individuals.

The civil rights organization additionally mentioned that teachers' unions in California and Massachusetts support DEI initiatives.

based, antisemitic teachings.

A unauthorized curriculum known as "Teach Palestine" is proliferating throughout the U.S., thanks to the teachers' unions, according to statements from attorneys at the Brandeis Center.

The complaint alleged that school districts are partnering with external organizations such as the Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC), permitting these entities to "brainwash" students with their own DEI-driven, anti-Jewish ideologies.

The letter stated, “We have proof that school districts in California cities such as San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley have permitted AROC to enter their premises and interact with students outside of regular classroom settings, exposing them to propaganda and harmful rhetoric targeting Jews and Israel.”

The attorneys from the Brandeis Center informed McMahon, "There has been a growing and alarming trend where anti-Semitism is becoming more prevalent as part of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives implemented in K-12 educational institutions throughout the U.S. Teachers, school unions, and outside vendors introducing this anti-Semitic material contribute to student indoctrination with hateful rhetoric against Jews and Americans. This creates a detrimental atmosphere for Jewish pupils, which contravenes Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964."

"Any strategy to remove federal funding following Trump's executive order must incorporate measures aimed at addressing educators who support or facilitate anti-Semitic teachings, lessons, programs, or events camouflaged under 'DEI,' " the organization stated.

The team requested McMahon to:

• Examine and, where evidence supports, suspend federal funds from school districts that decline to tackle or "deliberately carry out" actions that harm Jewish and other students under their supervision.
• Examine anti-Semitic diversity, equity, and inclusion resources endorsed by educators and their unions, outside consultants, as well as supposedly "freed" ethnic studies programs being integrated into secondary education institutions.

"We at the Brandeis Center have observed how DEI initiatives can be employed by educators, teacher unions, and external organizations to incite anti-Semitism in elementary and secondary schools," stated Rachel Lerman and Denise Katz-Prober from the Brandeis Center in their correspondence.

Jewish parents and children are enduring—and continue to endure—harm from diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives that instruct students, among other things, to view Jews as wicked 'oppressors' deserving of marginalization, exclusion, and rightful persecution through discrimination, harassment, or worse.

The DEI framework classifies Jews and Jewish children as "oppressors" who are considered "white" and "privileged," irrespective of their skin tone or familial background, according to the center.

Numerous supporters of diversity, equity, and inclusion have likewise commended and rationalized the Hamas terrorist assaults on Israel that occurred on October 7, 2023, referring to them as rightful "resistance." They misleadingly educate kids into believing that the State of Israel is a "'settler-colonial'" and 'apartheid' state with no entitlement to existence.

The Department of Education in the USA did not provide an immediate statement.

McMahon’s organization initiated a civil rights investigation into the Chicago Public School System after they launched a remedial program exclusively benefiting Black students, excluding other underperforming students from receiving similar support.

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