Most of us believe that every person, no matter our religion, where we come from, or what we look like, deserves to live with freedom, safety, and belonging. Yet, those with White nationalist ideologies seek to build a country that is only for themselves, and people like them. At the core of this belief is antisemitism, which transcends Jewish people and drives anti-Black racism, contempt of people of color, and xenophobia.
With the rise of White nationalism, the number of antisemitic threats in K-12 schools and on college campuses has escalated, fueled even more by recent events in Israel and Palestine. Although easy solutions do not exist, it remains imperative for educators, students, and families to work together to create safe and welcoming school communities for all.
To that end, we’ve curated a list of resources from respected organizations to help educators teach the history and significance of the Holocaust and to help educators, families, and students address antisemitism and anti-Jewish bias and incidents in schools.
Shine a Light
Shine a Light is a modern-day initiative to spotlight antisemitism. Their site presents numerous articles, lesson plans, videos, podcasts, and discussion guides to support teaching about the Holocaust and understanding, addressing and responding to contemporary antisemitism and acts of hate in schools. Resources are categorized by grade level, and are sourced from a variety of partners.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum offers extensive teaching materials to support lessons on the Holocaust and related topics, such as Nazism and Jim Crow. Educators can request resources for use in their classrooms and access some lesson plans in Spanish, in addition to accessing a series of videos designed to provide guidance on teaching the Holocaust that include classroom-ready lessons, digital learning tools, and classroom strategies.
Anti-Defamation League
Founded in 1913, The Anti-Defamation League works “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all.” For educators and families, the organization offers multiple lesson plans, strategies, and tools for use in the classroom and at home to help young people understand and challenge antisemitism.
A Community Guide for Opposing Hate
Written by the Bard Center for the Study of Hate, Western States Center, and the Montana Human Rights Network, this manual provides a step by step guide for those who want to “do something” about hate in their communities, not only immediately after an incident, but also for the longterm. In addition to guidance, the comprehensive publication includes several common scenarios to think through and plan for before a hate incident occurs.
Echoes & Reflections
Echoes & Reflections empowers middle and high school educators with dynamic classroom materials and professional development to help teach the history and significance of the Holocaust. Their teaching resources include lesson plans, activities, podcasts, and a timeline, along with educator programs to foster confidence and amplify the skills needed to teach about the Holocaust in a comprehensive and meaningful way.
A Very Brief Guide to Antisemitism
The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights empowers rabbis and cantors to advance democracy and human rights for all people in the United States, Canada, Israel, and the occupied Palestinian territories. This free guide provides context, language, and tools to help fight antisemitism, along with all other forms of racial, cultural, religious, and gender oppression.
Understanding Antisemitism at its Nexus with Israel and Zionism
This resource is designed for policymakers and community leaders, aiming to enhance their understanding of the issues that intersect at the nexus of antisemitism, Israel, and Zionism. It was welcomed in the U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism as a valuable tool to raise awareness and increase understanding of antisemitism.
Dismantling Antisemitism: A Message Guide
How we talk about antisemitism is critical — it shapes how we understand it, how we fight it, and how we stop its use for political gain. In 2020, in deep collaboration with Jewish organizing partners around the country, Bend the Arc: Jewish Action worked with Uprise to develop this message guide as a tool to help stop the increase in antisemitism and imagine a future in which Jewish people — and all people — can live free and safe in a thriving multiracial democracy.
Understanding Antisemitism: An Offering to Our Movement
This paper, from Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, helps develop an understanding of anti-Jewish ideology and help Jews engage more deeply in the collective fight against White supremacy. It was authored by a multi-racial, multi-ethnic, intergenerational team and offers new perspectives and analysis as we all navigate the shifting, treacherous terrain of white supremacy, nationalism and state violence.
Speaking Out Against Bigoted, Dehumanizing Rhetoric: What We Can Do
The Western States Center and their partners at Princeton’s Bridging Divides Initiative have the shared goal of strengthening inclusive democracy. They released a new guide that documents the recent surge in antisemitic and Islamophobic hate incidents, explains the link between rhetoric and violence, and provides suggestions and resources to take action.
Responding to Antisemitism in the Classroom
Facing History & Ourselves uses lessons of history to challenge teachers and their students to stand up to bigotry and hate. The organization has compiled lessons, teaching ideas, and videos from their collection on combating antisemitism in the 21st Century to help educators structure reflection and learning in classrooms around contemporary events and the histories that inform them.
Skin in the Game: How Antisemitism Animates White Nationalism
Eric K. Ward is a nationally-recognized expert on the relationship between authoritarian movements, hate violence, and preserving inclusive democracy. He wrote a seminal article, "Skin in the Game: How Antisemitism Animates White Nationalism," in which he explains how antisemitism forms the core of White nationalism, arguing that we must come to terms with the centrality of antisemitism to white nationalist ideology so that we can identify the fuel that White nationalist ideology uses to power its anti-Black racism, contempt of people of color and xenophobia.
He also spoke at an NEA-hosted webinar where he further examined how antisemitism has a real impact beyond just hate crimes, and how White nationalists utilize bigotry toward the Jewish community in order to deconstruct democratic practices, thereby eroding faith in democracy.
Watch the webinar recording
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