▶ 0:09:00The subcommittee on early childhood, elementary and secondary education will come to order. I note that a quorum is present. Without objection, the chair is authorized to call recess at any time. Good morning. Over the past two years, the Committee on Education and Workforce has been instrumental in investigating the horrifying rise in anti-semitism at universities across the country.
▶ 0:09:22Following this committee's oversight, several prominent university presidents have stepped down and we have seen important reforms at leading Progress, however, remains uneven and far too many Jewish students continue to face discrimination, harassment, and civil rights violations at universities across the country. This jarring state of affairs is unfortunately not limited to higher education.
▶ 0:09:52Anti-semitism is also a growing problem in our K12 education system. At some schools in my home state, California, the anti-semitic environment is so hostile that Jewish children are withdrawing and transferring to other schools. Even the California Department of Education has found ethnic studies curricula to be anti-semitic in multiple school As with higher education, there are clear factors driving anti-semitism in K12 schools.
▶ 0:10:20Today's hearing will address these underlying causes. First, teachers colleges increasingly prime faculty to see themselves as activists rather than educators, prioritizing divisive ideologies and casting Israel as an oppressor instead of focusing on preparing future Second, local and national teachers unions abuse their monopolies to put anti-semitic activism into action.
▶ 0:10:47Take the National Education Association for example, which the committee recently announced it will investigate. The NEA uses its position as the largest union in the country to spread anti-semitism nationwide. In July, its representative assembly unbelievably voted to ban one of the nation's premier anti-semitism watchd dogs, the Anti-Defamation League.
▶ 0:11:12Third, an expansive network of outside groups partners with school districts to promote the use of instructional material that traffics an anti-semitic tropes. Such groups often advance foreign interests and an anti-Israel These driving factors incite severe discrimination against Jewish students and teachers, forcing many to move schools to avoid being targeted by their peers and colleagues.
▶ 0:11:40Administrative malaise or even prejudice at the school school district and state level has allowed anti-semitism to fester and even become normalized. Many of the incidents documented by our witnesses today truly shock the conscience.
▶ 0:11:57I will tell you that I have also met uh personally with uh many students in our K12 system who have had to live through things that we would never have imagined in this country. Uh outright discrimination. Uh sometimes uh you know the discrimination and the the bigotry uh is couched uh cloaked in in simply uh you know anti- uh Israel rhetoric or in other tropes.
▶ 0:12:27Sometimes it's just outright undisguised anti-semitism that they are confronted with as they're just going about their lives trying to get an education in our public school system. This disgraceful reality that we are faced with that one of the world's most ancient retrograde prejudices has deeply infected our public education system demands decisive action.
▶ 0:12:51We must use every tool available to protect students across America and to stop poisonous ideologies from corrupting their My colleagues and I are committed to understanding why anti-semitism has gone unchecked at the K12 lever level and to ensuring a safe learning environment for Jewish students. I look forward to hearing the testimony of our witnesses today as it will certainly inform this committee's ongoing work.
▶ 0:13:20And with that, I'll turn to the ranking member for an opening statement.
▶ 0:13:23Uh thank you very much much, Mr. Chairman. Thank you to the witnesses. We can all agree that schools are responsible for creating safe learning environments for students, teachers, and faculty free from discrimination, harassment, and violence. There is no question that anti-semitic acts of harassment and intimidation have increased, especially since October 7th of 2023. And as I've said repeatedly in this committee, we must do more.
▶ 0:13:52But this is now the 11th hearing we've had on anti-semitism in the past few years. And what has happened? Are things better? No. Anti-semitism is on the rise and tensions and divisions have increased. As the mother of Jewish children, I know and understand that we can and must do more to protect Jewish students and Jewish Americans who are threatened, harassed, and attacked because of who they are.
▶ 0:14:18But once again, I do not see the work of this committee as productive in accomplishing the stated goal. Today's hearing and multiple past hearings have been used to attack schools and their leaders and educators rather than to have a substantive discussion about how to curb Some on this committee recently belittled and shamed the now former president of Northwestern University, Michael Schill, a descendant of Holocaust survivors.
▶ 0:14:46This was personal beyond policy differences. They gloated when he resigned. Excuse me. And that does not stop the spread of One of our strongest tools is the Office for Civil Rights in the Department of Education. OCR is dedicated to investigating and resolving civil rights violations, including anti-semitic instances at schools and universities.
▶ 0:15:11But the Trump administration fired almost half of OCR staff and closed seven of their 12 regional offices. Instead of offering real solutions, Republicans employ anti-semitism as an excuse to turn our nation's civil rights laws upside down and undermine public education. We have seen this most prominently with higher education and it is clear the committee is now seeking to do the same thing to our local public elementary, middle and high schools.
▶ 0:15:39The reality is that the Trump administration and congressional Republicans are using the real plight of Jewish students experiencing anti-semitism to destabilize institutions they don't approve of, whether institutions of higher education or teachers unions. And if you wonder why, here's a quote from the Academy magazine last spring.
▶ 0:16:00Quote, "Donald Trump is coming for America's universities and higher education workers for the same reason that Bonito Mussolini demanded loyalty oath in 1931 and Victor Orban launched a vicious smear campaign against Hungary's premier university in 2019. Our commitment to open inquiry over propaganda, to persuasion over coercion, and to democracy over dictatorship provides a check on authoritarian rule.
▶ 0:16:29And I will add that all of this is happening while Republicans in Congress continue to refuse to address the anti-Semitic cancer that is metastasizing in their own party, including in the Trump White House and against the backdrop of the promotion of white Christian nationalists into key government roles.
▶ 0:16:47I have consistently called out the multiple Trump White House officials with ties to anti-semitic extremists, but my colleagues have not, including the liaison to the Department of Homeland Security, the communications director for the Office of Management and Budget, the Deputy Press Secretary of the Department of Defense, who posted Nazi slogans on her social media accounts and promoted the anti-semitic great replacement conspiracy theory.
▶ 0:17:13The leader of President Trump's anti-semitism task force agreed that the president could revoke someone's Jew card and shared a post on social media from the formal former leader of a white supremacist group or organization that called for the quote nazification of America. The current White House deputy chief of staff for policy, Steven Miller, is known as a racist and a white nationalist.
▶ 0:17:39The rabbitical assembly called for his firing during the first Trump administration because of his white supremacist views. And so did 25 Jewish members of Congress who wrote these hateful views have no place in our government, much less steps from the Oval Office. At this time of rising anti-semitism, xenophobia, racism, and white supremacy, we must forcefully call out and refuse to accept intolerance or hate anywhere within our government.
▶ 0:18:07And now Steven Miller has far-reaching influence in the White House. In an interview, President Trump said that it would be a downgrade if he appointed Steven Miller as national security adviser. Instead, saying that Steven is much higher on the tote totem pole than that. Mr. Chairman, you just criticize the trafficking of anti-semitic tropes, and you said to use every tool possible.
▶ 0:18:30What will truly help Jewish students and Jewish Americans will be to determine why the Trump administration has been infiltrated by white nationalists and anti-semites and to ascertain their reasoning for demand dismantling the office of civil rights. Defunding universities and undermining public schools will hurt students Jewish and other instead of providing them a safe place to learn.
▶ 0:18:56If this committee truly cares about Jewish students and fighting anti-semitism, we do have an obligation. We have an obligation to, as the chairman said, use every tool possible and to exert our full authority. So therefore, Mr. Chairman, I move that the subcommittee on early childhood, elementary, and secondary education, subpoena Steven N.
▶ 0:19:14Miller, White House Deputy Chief of Staff to policy to become to come before this committee as a witness no later than 30 days from the date of adoption of this motion to answer for the Trump administration's anti-semitic actions and to answer for defunding the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights, which will exacerbate anti-semitism at our nation's General has made a motion to authorize a subpoena in accordance with rule 11, clause 2K6 of the rules of the House of Representatives.
▶ 0:19:43That motion will be held in demands and we will continue.
▶ 0:19:48I look forward to the discussion on the motion and I yield back.
▶ 0:19:52I will now introduce our witnesses. Our first witness is uh sorry actually before I do that pursuant to committee rule 8C. All members who wish to insert written statements into the record may do so by submitting them to the committee clerk electronically in Microsoft Word format by 5:00 p.m. 14 days after this hearing. And without objection, the hearing record will remain open for 14 days to allow such statements and other extraneous material noted during the hearing to be submitted for the official hearing record.
▶ 0:20:18I note that some of our colleagues who are not permanent members of this subcommittee may be joining us at today's hearing. And I will now introduce our witnesses. Our first witness is Ms. Nicole Neely, the president and founder of Defending Education in Washington DC. Our second witness is Brandy uh Shuetinsky, the director of education and national security at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington DC.
▶ 0:20:41Our third witness is Rabbi Jill Jacobs, the CEO of Terua, the rabbinic call for human rights in New York, New York. And our f fourth witness is Miss Rachel Lurman, the vice chair and director of appeals and critical motions at the Louis D. Brandeise Center for Human Rights Underlaw in Los Angeles, California. We thank the witnesses for uh being here today and we look forward to your testimony.
▶ 0:21:06Pursuant to committee rules, I would ask that you each limit your oral presentation to a threeminut summary of your written statement. As committee members a have many questions for you, the clock will countdown from 3 minutes. However, pursuant to committee rule 8D and committee practice, we will not cut you off your testimony until you reach the 5minute mark. I would also like to remind the witnesses to be aware of their responsibility to provide accurate information to the subcommittee. I will first recognize Miss Neely for your testimony.
▶ 0:21:34Chairman Kylie, Ranking Member Bonamichi, and distinguished members of the subcommittee. Thank you for inviting me. We all saw what happened at universities following October 7th. Less wellknown though is how K to2 schools across the country have faced similar problems. Discrimination and harassment based on national origin or shared ancestry is never acceptable. But when directed at minor children who are unable to defend themselves, it is particularly vile. Yet frighteningly, our ch our our country's learners are now being taught the world's oldest hatred by the very people entrusted to shape young minds.
▶ 0:22:04Many teachers today are activists. In most states, aspiring teachers must obtain credentials through education schools before entering the classroom. However, America's schools of education now instruct teachers to view the world through an oppressor oppressed matrix in which inconvenient minorities like Jews and Asians are categorized as oppressors, that teaching is a political act, and that the job is to cultivate social justice activists and change agents. It's little wonder that our children are being used as foot soldiers to avenge perceived historical Unions are manipulating teachers.
▶ 0:22:35Activists have spent the last decade infiltrating the nation's two largest teachers unions to enlist them in the fight against Israel, an effort that has yielded significant dividends. Unions have s served as a superhighway to disseminate Jew hatred for years with support for anti-semitic resolutions coordinated through special interest caucuses like Educators for Palestine. In July, NEA members voted to sever ties with the Anti-Defamation League at their annual meeting, only walking back the vote following massive backlash. This is an issue not only at the national level, but also state and local.
▶ 0:23:03Back in 2021, unions in LA and San Francisco both voted on BDS resolutions. More recently, the Massachusetts Teachers Association has obsessed over Israel, voting on several anti-Israel resolutions, hosting multiple webinars on the topic and promoting biased resources. Activist networks create an echo chamber. Classroom anti-semitism is reinforced by outside activist networks like the Arab resource organizing center or A-Rock which currently has a memorandum of understanding with San Francisco Unified to provide workshops and classrooms focused on cultural empowerment.
▶ 0:23:33A-RO regularly leads disruptive pro Palestine protests shutting down the Bay Bridge in 2023 and occupying Senator Alex Padilla's office two weeks ago. And groups like BLM at school and the Middle Eastern Children's Alliance provide teachers with lessons and activities that can be incorporated into the school day. Accordingly, teachers spread biased information. In classrooms, an alarming number of teachers have exploited their authority over students to teach a one-sided version of the conflict to captive audiences of minors, demonizing Israel, and pressuring student newspapers to even alter coverage of the war.
▶ 0:24:04Others have tried to influence co-workers, lobbying peers to donate to Hamas linked charities, and confronting colleagues with differing views. Administrative inaction encourages bad behavior. Sadly, anti-Jewish incidents haven't been adjudicated with the same determination as similar acts committed against other ethnic groups, sending a clear message to students and families that not all individuals are valued equally. Districts avoided making public statements after 107, unlike the way they did after the death of George Floyd and the Atlantic spa the Atlanta spa shooting.
▶ 0:24:32Other districts simply swept under the rug. In California's Sequoia Union District, the school dismissed swastikas at a school as mere Buddhist religious symbols. Pro Palestinian walk-outs frequently facilitated by administrators were tolerated at a time when walkouts on other issues would be punished, demonstrating a clear viewpoint discrimination issue. K to2 anti-semitism is now a self-perpetuating ecosystem and pupils are paying the price.
▶ 0:24:56Although it won't be easy to address this problem, identifying the root causes and vectors is a critical first step because American children deserve an education free from bias and Jewish students deserve an education free from harassment so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it interferes with their learning. Thank you.
▶ 0:25:14Thank you very much. Uh I'll next recognize Dr. uh Shuatinsky for your Chairman Riley, Vice Chair Miller, Ranking Member Monichi, members of the subcommittee, on behalf of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies Thank you.
▶ 0:25:40On behalf of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies Program on Education and National Security, thank you for the opportunity to testify. The sharp rise of anti-semitism in our nation's universities and K- through2 schools, those sparked by the terrorist attacks of October 7th, 2023, is part of an upsurge that has been many years in coming. Elected officials and community leaders have started to address the problem in educational settings and materials, but there is considerable amount of work to still be done.
▶ 0:26:08FDD's education and national security program is researching root causes, which include domestic malign actors and foreign funding. We have started to uncover some disturbing findings. There are multiple ways that anti-Jewish and anti-American ideology is becoming institutionalized in K through2 education, including teacher training programs, foreign funded materials, radical union members, and curriculum development organizations.
▶ 0:26:36FDD has found foreign funding going directly to developing curriculum and K- through2 teacher salaries in multiple states. Multiple public school districts receive funds from Qatari Foundation International, an instrument of the Qatari Royal Family that is somehow able to operate as a 501c3 nonprofit in the United States outside of foreign agent registration act regulations. Outside organizations frequently partner with school districts to provide teacher training and curriculum development.
▶ 0:27:06This has opened the door for malign domestic actors such as the Arab Resource and Organizing Committee known by its acronym A-Rock. In 2023, A-Rock not only provided teacher training, but also direct services to students in San Francisco's public schools. On October 7th, on its Instagram page, this organization endorsed the kidnapping, rape, torture, and murder of,200 Israelis calling for a protest in front of the Israeli embassy on October 8th.
▶ 0:27:35Within two weeks, A-Rock had produced a toolkit guide for K through2 students on how to conduct student walkouts. A-Rock is but one of many malign domestic actors that have ties to US designated foreign terrorist organizations that are developing curriculum for children as young as kindergarten.
▶ 0:27:54Our research has also found universities to be a source that spreads anti-Jewish biased materials into K- through2 schools because they train teachers and develop programs and For example, the University of California at Santa Cruz works closely with the Liberated Ethnic Studies Coalition, a group that celebrated October 7th to introduce anti-Jewish curriculum into California schools through the new ethnic studies mandate.
▶ 0:28:21The connections between universities and K- through2 school districts must not be ignored. FDDD has uncovered evidence that the nation's largest teachers unions, such as the United Teachers, Los Angeles, are perpetuating anti-ionism and anti-semitism in our schools. Across the nation, groups that are hostile to the Jewish state and even to the Jewish people have found multiple avenues of influence through which they can quietly shape our education system.
▶ 0:28:46The most pressing need right now is for transparency so that parents and their elected representatives can see what is taught in children's classrooms, who is providing it, and who is paying for it. Thank you again for the opportunity to testify, and I look forward to your
▶ 0:29:01Thanks very much. I'll next recognize Rabbi Rabbi Jacobs for your testimony.
▶ 0:29:05Thank you, Chairman Kylie and Ranking Member Bonomichi for the opportunity to testify before you today. I'm Rabbi Jill Jacobs, the CEO of Trua. There have been a call for human rights which represents more than 2,300 rabbis and caners who serve Jewish communities in 47 states. We work to advance democracy and human rights. I'm also a graduate of public schools and the parent of two public school students. Rabbis are on the front lines of fighting anti-semitism in schools, both supporting families and bringing issues to school officials.
▶ 0:29:35They know the pain of Jewish children who have encountered swastikas graffitied on school property and more. and classmates who are performing Nazi salutes and they've heard their peers mocking the murders of Israeli Jews. Most most school professionals are committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of Jewish students. But anti-semitism permeates our society today just as it has in so many places for more than 2,000 years. Schools as well as workplaces, political arenas, and professional associations are not immune.
▶ 0:30:05The response must be education, not punishment. So my message is simple. Anti-semitism in schools is serious. We have a responsibility to ensure that Jewish students and all students are safe. Unfortunately, Congress and this administration are taking a dangerous and wrong-headed approach that subordinates the needs of Jewish students to a political agenda.
▶ 0:30:26Half a year into this administration, the evidence is clear that our government is more focused on defunding public education, weakening labor unions and philanthropies, and cracking down on immigrants than on keeping Jewish children or adults safe. The Jewish community has spoken loud and clear. In April, a survey of US Jews showed that the majority disapprove of the administration's approach to anti-semitism.
▶ 0:30:48Our community is pained that this administration is cynically using our fears as justification for dismantling the very democratic institutions and protections that have kept Jews safe. Federal action this year mirrors Project Esther, a plan developed by the Heritage Foundation without participation by Jewish organizations or anti-semitism experts and which wrongly frames the core institutions of liberal democracy as a threat to Jews and to American civilization.
▶ 0:31:15If we really want to put student safety first, we need to invest in the following. First, education. We can't just punish or sanction our way out of this problem. We need schools to be better equipped to teach about and respond to anti-semitism. Vilifying our teachers, our school systems, and teachers unions, or cutting public education funding doesn't do anything to help Jewish children or teachers. Second, prevention. Congress should urge the administration to restore the hate crime prevention and response program it authorized.
▶ 0:31:45This administration has eliminated virtually every prevention tool, including $46 million in hate crime prevention grants. The nonprofit security grants program is important, but our children need a better plan for their security than bulletproof glass and barricades. Third, democracy. Jews are terrified about the erosion of our constitutional rights, including freedom of speech, worship, and association, and due process. These are the rights that have allowed us to flourish and to be safe in the United States. Fourth, inclusion and equity.
▶ 0:32:13Jews need programs to promote inclusion and respect for all groups. The assault on diversity, equity, inclusion ultimately doesn't in increase Jewish safety, especially not for Jews who are also people of color, disabled, or transgender. These programs must better serve Jews, not be eliminated. Fifth, protection for all students. The administration's singular focus on anti-semitism to the exclusion of other forms of bigotry singles out Jewish students. Some have expressed fear that they will be scapegoed for harsh measures taken in their name.
▶ 0:32:43Finally, I implore you to lead by example and speak out against the admin against anti-semitism. This administration and members of Congress must take the same stand in anti-semitism that they're asking of schools, universities, unions, and other entities. An administration truly dedicated to Jewish protection would not be inhabited by cabinet members and staff who openly espouse anti-semitic and other bigoted beliefs, some of whom have ties to to neo-Nazi and white supremacist organizations.
▶ 0:33:12Nor would in an administration committed to fighting anti-semitism have pardoned the January 6th insurrectionists, many of whom promote anti-semitic conspiracies. And an administration committed to fighting anti-semitism would not have dismantled the Office for Civil Rights, the only office with the expertise and mandate to investigate instances of anti-semitism and other bias in schools and universities. Nor would such an administration be breaking down the separation of church and state and encouraging the imposition of Christianity in schools.
▶ 0:33:41We need solutions that protect Jewish students and the democratic institutions that make it possible for Jews and other minorities to flourish in our country. Thank you for your attention and I look forward to answering your questions.
▶ 0:33:54Thanks very much. And lastly, Ms. Lorman, you're recognized for your
▶ 0:33:57Thank you. Good morning, Chairman.
▶ 0:34:01Talk button. Chairman Riley, Ranking Member Bonnet Mei, and members of the House Education and Workforce Committee. I'm honored to appear before you to address the rising anti-semitism in our K through2 schools. I'm the vice chair of the Louis Dbrandise Center for Human Rights Under Law, which I joined as a full-time lawyer after almost three decades in private practice as an appellet lawyer.
▶ 0:34:26I'm testifying on behalf of the Brand I Center to tell you that real children in Cal K12 schools are being harassed, excluded, and silenced just for being Jewish or because bullies think they are Jewish. This has to stop. A lot of attention has been focused on anti-semitism in higher ed. As you mentioned, I'm here to tell you that the problem in K12 is even larger.
▶ 0:34:52Thanks to anti-semitic messaging by teachers and third-party contractors like Arach and Liberated Ethnic Studies Coalition, Jewish students in K12 schools are being bullied and shunned by their peers solely because of their Jewish heritage and their connection to Israel, the homeland of the Jewish people.
▶ 0:35:11No child should have to hide their identity or endure harassment because of their identity in an American As you know, title six protects Jewish students who are targeted on the basis of their Jewish ethnic identity in both college and in K12. Executive order uh for combating anti-semitism that was issued in 2019 EO 138899 confirms this.
▶ 0:35:37It also requires agencies that apply title 6 to consider the IRA definition of anti-semitism when they analyze allegations of Ira is clear that criticism of government policies uh Israel's government policies just like that leveled at any other country is not anti-semitic but demonizing the Jewish state saying it has no right to exist or using a double standard might well be.
▶ 0:36:04Let me say a word about teachers unions which play a very significant role in bringing anti-semitic and anti-Israel content into the classroom. The unions indoctrinate school teachers, inviting them to participate in events celebrating the October 7 massacre.
▶ 0:36:23Celebrating one teacher uh that I work with resigned from the union after receiving this bulletin which went to all teachers in San Francisco and he has since uh been attacked the union as a result. According to the union, sorry, teachers who resign from the union are disloyal to their colleagues and are freeloading.
▶ 0:36:51Unions in California and Massachusetts, among others, create and provide teachers with instructional materials that teach hate. For example, teachers are instructed to tell young children that a group of bullies called Zionists stole Palestinian land by force. They even provide coloring books telling very young children to draw Zionist leaders taking money to harm Palestinians.
▶ 0:37:21The message is clear. Zionists are evil and Jews who do not renounce their religious or ethnic allegiance to the state of Israel are also evil. So, it's no surprise that Jewish teachers and students are shunned by their peers or that Jewish students are bullied to the point that their families are moving them out of their public schools.
▶ 0:37:41I urge this committee and Congress to act decisively to ensure that our civil rights laws are enforced, that schools are held accountable, and that every child in America is able to learn in an environment free from fear and hostility. Thank you. Thank you very much for your testimony. Under committee rule nine, we will now question witnesses under the fiveminute rule. I'll first recognize the chairman of the full committee, Mr. Wahberg of Michigan for five minutes.
▶ 0:38:10Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thanks to the panel for being here. Um, let me make a couple comments initially as uh coming from what I've heard. I I I respect highly um and uh appreciate my Democrat colleagues or Democratic colleagues is the proper Um, and I understand that the rhetoric at times is talking a game that they're expected to talk by sadly
▶ 0:38:40the radical Uh but dur during this past their past opportunity and majority um these issues that they're expressing concern that we aren't dealing with and yes we are weren't addressed including the feckless office of civil rights who weren't doing their job and uh probably could have continued to
▶ 0:39:10do what They haven't done except for the fact that October 7th exposed the anti-semitic rot within our graves of academ our educ higher education Co helped to expose multiple concerns in our K12 classrooms as parents for the first time in many cases got a chance to see what was happening or not happening in their school classrooms.
▶ 0:39:38And so the uh luxury of having served on this committee now into my 17th year allows me to look at back historically and say this is why it's finally come to a head and we have to deal with this. And the first aspect is exposing what's going on.
▶ 0:39:59so we can take action and we will As our committee dives deeper into oversight of anti-semitism in K12 schools, it'd be helpful to get a clearer picture of the most problematic districts in this space. Miss Lurman, in in your view, which school districts are the worst actors when it comes to failing to address or even encouraging
▶ 0:40:25Turn on my machine. Let me preface by saying that I live in Los Angeles and am most aware of what's happening in California. Uh the Brandeiser Center is centered in Washington DC and has offices in New York. But um I am seeing in California particularly in the Bay Area in San Francisco and Oakland and Berkeley uh some really alarming uh things.
▶ 0:40:50Uh I'm aware of schools in Massachusetts and Philadelphia that are also experiencing similar things. Uh and we um have are taking action in New York against origins school which also has very severe problems.
▶ 0:41:09Um Dr. Shuatutinsky and Miss Neely, given the work you've done all across the country, are there any school districts you would add and highlight to this list? Yes. Um, San Diego, Philadelphia, New York City public schools, Chicago.
▶ 0:41:29Miss Neie,
▶ 0:41:30Montgomery County, Maryland, and Fairfax County public schools come to mind in the the immediate region.
▶ 0:41:36Thank you. Our committee has conducted extensive oversight into anti-semitism in higher education. Miss Neely, can you please describe whether universities are contributing to anti-semitism in the K12 space specifically? And if so, how?
▶ 0:41:52University created curriculums are problematic because they give the impremature of legitimacy. Um, as chairman Kylie knows, you've looked extensively into the Brown University's choices program. um that is assumed to be beyond reproach because of Brown University's reputation itself. But that program was underwritten by the Cutter Foundation and is full of historical distortions about the state of Israel. That is only one of many. But universities are are are giving the impression that these programs are completely legitimate and acceptable.
▶ 0:42:21Uh thank you Dr. Shuatinsky. Uh, and Miss Lairman, did did do you want to add any uh thing about how anti-semitism and higher education is contributing to the uh to the rot in in developing the public schools in K12?
▶ 0:42:36Yes, I I can give a really good example. So, University of California, Santa Cruz has has a critical race and ethnic studies department that is a direct funnel of their graduates into the K through2 public school system. And because of the mandate, the requirement for students in California to take an ethnic studies class to graduate, it's making these teachers, these new graduates, the the the leaders in these K- through2 classrooms.
▶ 0:42:59And we look at the curriculum that they're creating, it's not just anti-Israel and anti-Jewish, it's anti-American, and it's calling for students to commit to engaging in activism rather than
▶ 0:43:10Thank you. And and Miss Burman, I'm sure you would add more, but my time is expired and I've got to abide by the rules. I yield back. Uh,
▶ 0:43:18ranking member Bonamichi of Oregon is
▶ 0:43:20Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Rabbi Jacobs, you said in your testimony that if we fight anti-semitism in ways that only divide Jews and their neighbors, we are only isolating Jews in ways that so greater division and that ultimately make Jews less safe. Is the Trump administration's approach the best way to reduce anti-semitism in schools? And if not, what would be more effective?
▶ 0:43:43Thank you. Jews have found success and have flourished and found safety in this country because it's a liberal democracy with strong protections for the rights of both individuals and groups including religious groups and different ethnic groups. Something that I've heard very often from students is that the Trump administration's hyperfocus on anti-semitism is actually marginalizing Jewish students and that many Jewish students are afraid that the attacks, for example, on universities.
▶ 0:44:12The defunding of medical research in the name of fighting anti-semitism, which does nothing of course to fight only serves to further marginalize Jewish students. And what we need is a comprehensive approach that is going to protect the rights of all students.
▶ 0:44:27Unfortunately, instead, the Trump administration is trying to dismantle democracy and as we've already heard, including eviscerating the Office for Civil Rights, which is the office that has both the mandate and also the expertise to address instances of anti-semitism and other bias.
▶ 0:44:45Thank you. Um just a couple days ago a um US senator a Republican US senator said America is a white homeland. Uh so so Rabbi are the policies of the Trump administration and statements like that uh the policies like mass deportation, repealing environmental protections, promoting white Christian nationalist ideals and individuals. Are those consistent with Jewish values?
▶ 0:45:09These policies are absolutely not consistent with Jewish values. Judaism has a thousands year-old history that is based around figuring out how to create a system and a society that is just for everybody. And unfortunately, the Trump administration's attacks on immigrants, gutting of social services means that this country is no longer able to serve the needs of everybody. And we find that many members of our own society are are being marginalized.
▶ 0:45:38And the Jewish community has been very outspoken for many many years, hundreds years, uh, defending the rights of immigrants, defending the rights of those who are in need, defending of course public
▶ 0:45:50And, uh, u, Rabbi, we know that this country was founded on freedom of religion. So when we see this administration flouting the US Constitution, we see people being picked up without due process off the streets, what is what message does that send to the Jewish community?
▶ 0:46:08Well, this sends a message that the administration is not actually concerned with what the Jewish community is saying that it wants and what Jewish leaders are asking for, including this this administration's attack on the separation of church and state will certainly result in the imposition of a certain type of Christianity in schools in a way that only makes Jewish students less safe.
▶ 0:46:31We heard this even earlier this week in the president's remarks at the Museum of the Bible saying that he wants to bring more religion into school which certainly will be Christianity and that of course makes Jewish students and students other students who are not Christian less safe in their schools.
▶ 0:46:46Absolutely. And in the remaining time, Rabbi, will you please tell us about Project Esther which you mentioned in your written testimony? Who wrote it? What are the consequences if its policies are implemented? Project Esther is a plan that was written by the Heritage Foundation without participation of Jewish organizations or of experts on anti-semitism. And it purports to be about addressing anti-semitism.
▶ 0:47:10But actually, it casts many or most of the institutions of liberal democracy as anti-semitic and sets out a plan for dismantling them. And bizarrely, it even criticizes the Jewish community for its sub for for its approach to anti-semitism and its supposed complacency on anti-semitism. So instead of addressing the issues that the Jewish community is actually bringing to the table, Project Esther is all about dismantling democracy.
▶ 0:47:39And unfortunately, the this administration seems to be following that plan laid out by the Heritage Foundation rather than what Jewish leaders and Jewish communities are asking for. Thank you. And Rabbi, we have seen particularly in in this administration uh a lot of disparaging remarks, a lot of hate speech. How does that affect the Jewish community when we see a a presidential uh dividing rather than you said prioritizing education to address
▶ 0:48:09This certainly sends a message that this administration is not interested in the safety of Jews or of other communities. Uh certainly when there's people in the administration who have ties to neo-Nazis and white supremacists, that doesn't make the Jewish community feel any safer.
▶ 0:48:23Understand? And I have a pretty long list of those, but I didn't read them all in my statement. Thank you, and I yield back.
▶ 0:48:29Mr. Harris of North Carolina is
▶ 0:48:32Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and uh thanks to all of you on the panel for uh being a part of this today. Uh very important uh important theme that uh we're talking about. Let let me just say, Miss Neie, in your view, which local or national unions have been the most problematic in terms of spreading anti-semitic course content and indoctrinating teachers?
▶ 0:48:54Well, we're going to need more than five minutes. I would start with the NEA. Um, as we talked about their annual meeting this summer, aside from their ADL vote, um, they were mocking, threatening, and harassing Jewish delegates. They denied a speaker the opportunity to recognize the 50th anniversary of the Jewish Affairs Caucus and actually laughed and clapped when a hol when the death of a Holocaust survivor in Boulder was mentioned. But going back as far as 2018, annual meeting resolutions condemned US aid to Israel um talking about apartheid atrocities and gross violations of human rights.
▶ 0:49:23Their handbook talks about using digital communications to educate members on anti Zionism and anti-semitism and has downplayed the Holocaust targeting of Jews framing as just a bigger struggle. So that's really, you know, dehumanizing that. Um, and then of course the Educators for Palestine Caucus, but the UFT in New York is also awful. The Portland Association of Teachers, I mean, we could be here all day, sir.
▶ 0:49:44Well, listen, I I agree with you. And, um, the largest teachers union in the country, the NEA that you referenced right off the bat, is for some reason aligning itself with this hateful ideology. uh you referenced this summer at their annual conference they voted to cut ties with the anti-defamation league's education materials anti- on anti-semitism and the holocaust.
▶ 0:50:07uh you referenced the 2025 handbook omitted Jews in its description of the Holocaust and referred instead and I want to just add a little bit to what you said by quoting more than 12 million victims of the Holocaust from different faiths, ethnicities, races, political beliefs, genders, and gender identification, abilities/ disabilities, and other targeted characteristics." End quote. You work with parents across the country.
▶ 0:50:35Do parents feel comfortable knowing that union that a union representing their children's teachers is promoting this anti-semitic view of
▶ 0:50:44Absolutely not. And I think that's why we've seen in places like Oakland after the Oakland education had their unsanctioned teachin about right following October 7th, we saw about 30 families leave the district. We are seeing students and families opt out of the public school system because they are scared because they feel unprotected and they feel that their teachers are inserting their opinions and this ideology into classrooms where it has no place. Well, and as you may know, the NEA has a federal charter.
▶ 0:51:08And given these anti-semitic sentiments, not to mention their other indiscretions to oppose parental rights, support CRT, keep kids out of school, would you say they're upholding the mission in their federal charter when I again quote to elevate the character and advance the interest of the profession of teaching end quote?
▶ 0:51:30Absolutely not. I think a federal charger is something that is big deal. It's sacred. With that, with great power comes great responsibility. And on every level, they have let down families, students, and stakeholders in the education system.
▶ 0:51:41So, am I safe to assume that you think the NEA should not continue to have this explicit endorsement from Congress?
▶ 0:51:48I do not, sir. No.
▶ 0:51:49And I agree. And that's why I introduced the NEA Charter Repeal Act and why I hope to see it uh move forward in this Congress. I I want to move real quickly in the few moments I have left to Mrs. Shuatutinsky. Uh we've seen local teachers unions across the country distribute anti-semitic instructional material to their members.
▶ 0:52:11In Oregon, for example, a union provided a lesson plan that stated, quote, "Israel would be a country where rules were mostly fair for Jewish people with white skin." End quote. Meanwhile, the Massachusetts Teacher Union distributed material that included a picture of a dollar bill shaped into a star of David.
▶ 0:52:31In your experience, are unions developing this material on their own or are they receiving these type of materials from outside sources?
▶ 0:52:42Both. We're seeing union members, some of these caucuses, like Miss Neely mentioned, the educators caucus for Palestine and some of the teachers unions developing curricula, but we're also seeing um unions receive curricular materials from outside sources.
▶ 0:52:55Excellent. Well, thank you. Thank you for again for all of your expertise and the input that you've shared. And um with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back my
▶ 0:53:04Uh Representative Hayes of Connecticut Connecticut is recognized.
▶ 0:53:08Thank you, sir. Thank you. I just have to compose myself because the National Education Association is made up of three million teachers, including myself, and everything that was just said is blatantly untrue. Um, Rabbi Jacobs, thank you for coming again um before Congress.
▶ 0:53:34I don't know if you were able to watch yesterday's hearing in the help subcommittee um on a very similar topic. We're on the 11th hearing on this topic. Um the chairman of the full committee made some quite pointed remarks about AFT president Randy Warden. I believe that chairman Wahlberg said that Randy who is Jewish and married to a rabbi something along the lines of quote has not said anything anything about anti-semitism.
▶ 0:54:03She is the president of the American Federation of Teachers. and she quickly responded with at least 10 examples of her very public work um to combat anti-semitism. As an expert in this area, can you explain how false charges or smears of anti-semitism undermine the difficult work we are all trying to do to combat the resurgence of this ancient problem?
▶ 0:54:27Thank you. I did see that instance that you mentioned and this was extremely offensive that there would be an accusation, a false accusation against a Jewish leader, a Jewish woman leader who has a very long history as you mentioned of speaking out against anti-semitism.
▶ 0:54:44And this is just a case in point of why so many in the Jewish community feel shortchanged by the response of this administration which often uses anti-semitism and the real fears of the Jewish community as a way to attack political opponents as opposed to actually listening to what the Jewish community is asking for and dealing with the concrete instances of anti-semitism on the ground.
▶ 0:55:08Thank you. And I think you lead me into my next um question because once again we are having our 11th hearing on anti-semitism on the left and as ranking member Bonamichi and you yourself mentioned in your opening remarks we have done nothing about um documented examples of anti-semitic behavior on the right. Can you talk a little is on the right particularly within the Trump administration?
▶ 0:55:35Can you talk a little bit about what happens when politicians use um anti-semitism as a partisan political tool as opposed to doing the actual work to help people?
▶ 0:55:47Absolutely. Anti-semitism has existed for more than 2,000 years and it exists in every space whether schools or workplaces or even the halls of Congress. And it's crucial that all of us address anti-semitism where we see it, whether within our own political camp or beyond. I've certainly in my work spent a lot of time addressing anti-semitism both on the right and also in progressive spaces.
▶ 0:56:12And I would expect the same from this administration, but as was mentioned, unfortunately, there are people who are in positions of power in this administration who have ties to neo-Nazis, who have promulgated anti-semitic stereotypes. Of course, the pardoning of the January 6th insurrectionists, ma, many of whom also push forward anti-semitic stereotypes, makes it very dangerous for Jews.
▶ 0:56:37And we've also seen as, as I mentioned, the really decimation of the Office for Civil Rights. We've seen that under presidents of both parties, both the Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Education and the Department of Justice have had success in addressing and resolving complaints of anti-semitism or other bias. But they can only do that with funding.
▶ 0:57:01And so we need to restore the funding to the office for civil rights, bring back their experts, bring back their regional offices so that they can actually concretely address the issues that Jewish students are bringing rather than what the administration is doing, which is trying to use anti-semitism to dismantle democracy.
▶ 0:57:20Thank you. And getting back to the topic of this hearing because I see that it is a backdoor attempt to attack public education, to attack the Department of Education, and to attack labor unions. As an expert in this field, I am a teacher. If a teacher is confronted with anti-semitic acts on the playground or in the classroom, are there best practices that they can turn to for how to address this and make sure that their students feel safe and that they um improve understanding within their classrooms.
▶ 0:57:51The first recourse always has to be education. So education for students, educations for education for teachers and for administrators. when instead the response as we've seen in this administration is punitive and trying to st strip funding from universities and from K to2 education that doesn't help any students that doesn't help any teachers better serve their students.
▶ 0:58:13Thank you and I yield back.
▶ 0:58:16Thank you. I'll recognize myself for uh five minutes. Uh Rabbi Jacobs, I appreciate you being here today to testify. You have leveled some uh accusations against uh this committee that I just wanted to clarify. you uh uh said that we are are demonizing teachers unions. Um but it is true that the NEA recently voted to boycott the Anti-Defamation League. Uh do you agree with that decision to boycott the Anti-Defamation League?
▶ 0:58:40I don't agree with that decision. We have heard a lot of vilification here of teachers unions, of teachers, and of administrators. And that is not helpful
▶ 0:58:50But the NEA did vote to boycott the ADL. Correct. So the NEA and other organizations engage with many different types of material. I'll say that uh TRUA's booklet on anti-semitism is part of of materials that are on the NA website, but ultimately it's the school districts, not the unions that are deciding on their
▶ 0:59:08Sure. But just to clarify, you you do disagree with the decision the NEA made to boycott the ADL. Correct.
▶ 0:59:15I disagree with that decision. The question is how to move on from there. And I believe that we need to invest in education at the local level and beyond.
▶ 0:59:24Sure, I understand that. I'm just saying be careful, please, with the accusations that were demonizing this group and that when you actually agree with us about what they're doing uh is a very bad thing. Uh you also noted that we have uh you criticized us for a hyperfocus on anti-semitism. So uh do you know roughly what percent of the American population is Jewish?
▶ 0:59:43It's about 2%. And do you know last year what percent of religious-based hate crimes were directed against Jewish
▶ 0:59:50The majority of hate crimes are against Jewish individuals. That is has been true for a long
▶ 0:59:5469%. So 2% of the population, 69% of the hate crimes. So do you think that a hyperfocus on anti-semitism? Is that the right way to characterize our work?
▶ 1:00:03Well, I'll say that the vast majority of hate crimes, particularly violent hate crimes against Jews and against other communities, are committed by people on the on the far right. And I don't see that this is
▶ 1:00:15I don't care who it's committed by. I think it's terrible whoever commits these crimes. And so I think that uh deriding us for focusing on the issue. I mean, Miss Lurman, I think I got that statistic from your your testimony. Is that right? 69% of religious based hate
▶ 1:00:28That's right.
▶ 1:00:30Oh, Mike,
▶ 1:00:31that's what's been reported by the ADL and the AJ.
▶ 1:00:34And so, I mean, do you think that the problem is that we have too much of a focus on anti-semitism given those
▶ 1:00:39I think you absolutely need to focus on this problem which has become very large. And I don't really care whether it's from the right or from the left. There's some on both sides, but there's no point like arguing which is worse. We just need to address the problem.
▶ 1:00:54Thank you very much. I couldn't agree more. And Dr. Shuatutinsky, you've uh mentioned the liberated ethnic studies curricula that's going around, especially in California. Could you tell us a little bit more about what that is?
▶ 1:01:04Sure. It's a it's a version of ethnic studies that is actually rooted in the foundation of ethnic studies which insists on putting people in either the oppressor category or the oppression category depending on a couple of things real or perceived success and skin
▶ 1:01:19Yeah. And uh there we actually had uh the superintendent of Berkeley Unified here last year uh whose district has adopted that curriculum and there was an example from a classroom uh where that she defended saying that uh from the river to the sea uh is a a valid perspective that's being presented. Um I was actually in the state legislature in California uh when the the legislature voted to mandate ethnic studies as a graduation requirement.
▶ 1:01:43And then at the same time the department of education produced a model curriculum that was liberated ethnic studies. And it was so bad, it was so blatantly anti-semitic, that the California Legislative Jewish Caucus, which was about a dozen uh Democrat lawmakers actually, uh wrote a letter saying that this state approved curriculum uh quote echoed the propaganda of the Nazi regime. I mean, what is this is their words, their actual words. What does that tell you?
▶ 1:02:11That a state adopted curriculum that would have been a graduation requirement for every California student uh is likened to Nazi propaganda by leading Democrats in the state even.
▶ 1:02:23I think it shows how uh pervasive anti-semitism and anti-Jewish bigotry is in education. But I also want to say one other thing. It also shows the bait and switch. When people hear the words ethnic studies, they think it's the study of different ethnic groups. It's not. Most decent people would agree that students should be uh learning about all of the different communities that make up the fabric of our country. That's not what the discipline of ethnic studies is, which is why we saw the blatant anti-semitism and still see it in multiple versions of ethnic studies curricula across the country.
▶ 1:02:53It's a huge problem. And just to give the kind of end of this story or at least where we are at right now, they did come up with a revised model curriculum in California. Uh because even the governor had to say the original was offensive in so many ways and would never see the light of day. Uh but then the group that came up with the original version split off and they're the ones that are now offering this liberated version. Uh but even the revised version has huge problems uh from the perspective of anti-semitism. I raised these on the floor of the assembly at the time, but it still passed.
▶ 1:03:22And now there has since been an effort to try to address those uh before this graduation requirement takes effect. But there's a huge lobbying against this by the very types of groups that we're talking about today. So uh unfortunately uh I think that it is going to be necessary for our committee to do some uh real uh investigations uh and further oversight into what's happening precisely at schools like this and with curriculum like this in California and across the country. Uh Miss Lee of Pennsylvania is recognized.
▶ 1:03:50Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, we should just get straight into it. This is yet another hearing uh for the Republicans to continue their attacks on against education and organized labor. It's about promoting rising anti-intellectualism and anti-worker sentiment at the same time because authoritarians cannot thrive in a well-educated country or a wellorganized one. We know Republicans don't care about indoctrination. Every move this administration and its extreme conservative allies make points to the contrary.
▶ 1:04:20The so-called parents right movement, which is nothing more than an attempt to suppress topics that conservatives don't like or that make them uncomfortable, is just an attempt to further indoctrinate students who they're upset might be exposed to a full world view or opportunity through education. We know this is not about protecting marginalized students, including Jewish students.
▶ 1:04:41Republicans are dismantling the Department of Education, including the Office uh for civil rights, and censoring valuable lessons and subjects by banning books, including books about the Holocaust or Anne Frank and the original sins of this country, the ethnic cleansing of the indigenous people and the enslavement of African people. In the second week uh in office, Trump issued an executive order to end so-called radical indoctrination in K to2 schooling.
▶ 1:05:07The executive order states that parents trust America's school to instill a patriotic admiration for our incredible nation. But what he's really doing is sanitizing history. Not only is patriotic admiration not quite the purpose of K to2 education, but we can't take our lead on patriotism from the same people who would rather our entire nation fail or go down and acknowledge our country's true history and the legacy of its actions.
▶ 1:05:33Uh, Rabbel Jacobs, in your testimony, you highlight the importance of safety, inclusion, and respect in schools. Do you think the Trump administration's plans for education, including teaching patriotism and banning books, will make our Jewish students or any other students feel safer, more included, or The Trump administration's approach certainly does not make Jewish students or other students feel seen and respected, and feel a sense of belonging in their classrooms.
▶ 1:05:59It's really important for both Jewish students and for other students to be able to see themselves reflected in the curriculum. So that includes having books with Jewish characters in the classroom. It includes teaching about the Jewish experience both in the context of American history and in the context of of world history and includes having a curriculum that shows a broad perspective in which every student can see their their story reflected.
▶ 1:06:23Uh unfortunately, as you've mentioned, we have seen many states adopt the project 2025 approach and start to ban books, which as you said have included books about the Holocaust, including the diary of Anne Frank.
▶ 1:06:36Thank you. Uh it's going to be really hard to do that while this administration continues to attack and erode diversity, equity, inclusion programs. For instance, we know that this administration has uh essentially threatened to cut federal funding for any schools that do not uh prioritize their own students, what they know works, the health and safety of those students over the needs or the whims of a rising authoritarian. Um these programs work. I've talked to teachers who care.
▶ 1:07:05They have made great they have taken great strides in closing equity gaps or education gaps by including students culturally in the curriculum making them feel included in the in their schools culture. It works and let's not forget it was teachers unions who led the fight resulting in a Trump appointed judge ruling against the administration to preserve schools ability to protect civil rights to students civil rights.
▶ 1:07:28Public schools have been able to withstand some of the unrelenting attacks from this administration because their labor is organized. Villainizing teachers hurts them, but it also hurts the children that we send into their classrooms every day. We ask teachers to educate diverse groups of students about the most foundational skills and reading and math and also, yes, the most harrowing instances of inhumity and our world's history. and during children's most formative years.
▶ 1:07:54The training and care that goes into developing the skill is not something we can replace with a whitewashed history video from Prageru. Uh really quickly, Rabbi Jacobs, in your testimony, you shared your organization has worked to educate schools and community partners in a way that makes community stronger instead of fearful. Do you think this administration's approach uh fosters a strong sense of community in the classroom?
▶ 1:08:16Absolutely not. You mentioned the attacks on DI. Jewish students actually need diversity, equity, inclusion programs. Jewish students sometimes need accommodations whether it's kosher food or being able to make up a test that was given on a holiday and they need to see their own stories as I mentioned being told in the classroom and in books in the classroom and so when there's DEI programs that don't sufficiently include the Jewish experience then that has to be addressed and it has to be addressed in partnership with schools and with school districts but just abolishing the whole idea
▶ 1:08:46of diversity and of belonging of every student hurts Jewish students as well as all students. Thank you. I appreciate uh your testimony today and I yield back.
▶ 1:08:55Representative Owens of Utah is
▶ 1:08:58Thank you, Chair Kelly, for holding uh very important u hearing today on anti-mitism. It's unfortunate we've been forced to have uh go to the same inquiry for the last two years um which includes private and government sector unions, higher education, teachers and college accreditation, and now K through 12. And the question we have to ask ourselves, why are we talking about kindergarten in this regard?
▶ 1:09:21Well, it's because if the goal of of evil is perpetuating and spread hate, there's no better place to start than with our young, our most innocent and most pliable. Anti-semitism is a terrible cancer that's not only threats to the well-being of Jewish students, but also the emotional and spiritual health of every other student affected by it. Children are not born to judge each other based on race, creed, color, or culture. This happens only when hatred is taught to children by angry, hate-filled, godless adults.
▶ 1:09:51I watched as my youth and and Jim Crow South, our nation growing, working to become a more perfect union. And yet, here we are in 2025 once again, seeing the divisiveness being taught throughout our entire educational pipeline. I'm here to report this will end on our watch. This committee has taken a stance against ideologues who work to infect our children with evil cancer of hate. There's no place in our classrooms and those who teach it will soon find themselves no longer compensated by American taxpayer.
▶ 1:10:21Uh Miss Neely, u your organization defending education released a report on teachers colleges last year that described colleges of education as pipelines are turning teachers and activists. Can you kind of give us a little more examples of what that looks like?
▶ 1:10:36Sure. Teachers today in teachers colleges are not learning how to be better educators, how to teach phonics. Instead, they are learning to view the world through an oppressor oppressed matrix. So, as I said in my opening statement, um groups like Jews or Asians or even males are considered oppressors. And so, we are put into these big groups. There is no respect for the dignity of an individual of in of somebody's circumstances that brought them to where they are. Um and so things like that when teachers then are going into the classroom having learned those things. Um they they spread those ideas on.
▶ 1:11:06Um and so it's these are teachers colleges that are at state schools, they are private schools. Um and the fact that our teacher licensing pipeline mandates that you must have a teaching degree from these schools, a master's degree, a PhD means that you have to marinate in these ideas steeped in critical race theory, queer theory, anti-whiteness, um privilege, things like that. um that of course you're going to come out at the other end if you have been in that program for four, six, eight years. Um a complete and utter believer and I think that's deeply
▶ 1:11:32Uh you're describing DEI I imagine the framework. Okay. Um U Miss Leman Leman you mentioned in your written uh testimony of Brandise uh center brought a a lawsuit against a school district in San California for creating ethnic studies which included anti-semit anti-semitic content. can share some of those the information that was revealed in the course of this lawsuit.
▶ 1:12:00this was a procedural lawsuit, but in the process of getting discovery, we found uh members of the the committee that approved this uh these curricula saying, "How do we handle the Jewish problem?" We saw them agreeing that it would be a good idea to hold sessions on Passover so that the Jewish members wouldn't attend. We saw one of the Jewish teachers who was on the committee called uh an effing baby and a colonialized mind.
▶ 1:12:31He was one of the ones that they did not want appearing at on the Passover meeting. Can
▶ 1:12:37uh quick question. Was there any recommend uh any any consequences to these folks when at the end of the day anything happened to these people?
▶ 1:12:45Yes, we reached a settlement with them that um they had to stop teaching these curricula that were full of anti-Israel and anti-semitic content. They agreed to work with Jewish organizations to create alternative content. They agreed that they would uh follow what we have in California. It's called um controversial issues. They have to teach both sides of something, not just one side of something. They have to let students
▶ 1:13:14Okay. Okay. Well, thank you. A real quick quick um uh Dr. Jafoskinsky. Uh in your opening statement, you discussed foreign uh funding for K through2 programs. Can you give an example of some foreign funding supporting anti-Semitic course material on or teachers?
▶ 1:13:31Yes. So part of that is coming from Qatari Foundation International where they're funding uh Arabic language and culture classes in multiple school districts in multiple states. Some of that course material then is a complete revision of history. Um obviously demonizing the state of Israel and also misdefining Jews as an ethnreeligious
▶ 1:13:50Okay. Thank you. And I just want to say thank you um for this committee for being so forward thinking and make sure this ends. We have to make sure that hatred stops teaching our kids this way. With that, I I yield back. Thank you.
▶ 1:14:02Thanks very much. Uh, Representative Manion of New York is recognized.
▶ 1:14:07Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just want to make a statement about the teachers of this country to characterize them as angry, hate-filled, godless adults, does them a disservice as what I have found teachers to be in this country.
▶ 1:14:25My colleagues, people I represented are compassionate, dedicated, intelligent educators who are trained to be sure that when they see instances of anti-semitism in their classroom that it is immediately addressed. It's not just their training that assures that those issues are addressed.
▶ 1:14:52There is a network that is built of administrators of offices of civil rights at the state and the federal level to the all children can learn in a environment that is supportive and when there are instances of racism, anti-semitism, islamophobia in the classrooms across across this country, they are addressed and they are addressed by those dedicated compassionate individuals
▶ 1:15:22that are trained effectively to make sure that all of their students are respected and can learn in a setting that is supportive, helpful, individualized. I was trained to be a teacher.
▶ 1:15:43I was not trained in a an oppressor oppressive That is not an accurate depiction of what is happening across this country and in our classrooms.
▶ 1:15:59We have members of the school board, parents, students that are constantly engaged in a discussion to asssure that any form of racism or anti-semitism is I have found the statements made to be dishonest, to be offensive, and insulting to the teachers of this country and therefore the students who learn from them.
▶ 1:16:29And with that, I yield the rest of my time to Representative
▶ 1:16:35Thank you, uh, Representative Manion. I just want to clarify for the record, a statement was made earlier by the chairman that the NEA voted to boycott the Anti-Defamation League. That is absolutely not true. Once again, this is a union of three million members. Um, I do not support uh um that vote. I mean that procedure, but their charter, the NEA's charter mandates that when the executive board puts something for a vote, it goes up to the full committee.
▶ 1:17:05There was a few members of the executive board who thought they wanted a vote on this. And that's what happens with democratic processes. You get a vote. On July 18th, NEA President Becky Pringle actually issued a statement saying that they were not putting this uh to the full committee and the NEA would not adopt this policy.
▶ 1:17:25So, it is once again just not an accurate statement to say that the NEA voted to boycott the Anti-Defamation League at their representative assembly. the executive board, which is part of their charter. When you when you are in a democratic uh process, a member may not like something, they want to put it up for a vote, you get a vote on it. You get a vote on it.
▶ 1:17:49I know that you guys don't like the idea that if you disagree with something, there can't be any dialogue, any discussion, any discourse. That's just not how it works. While I disagreed with even that proposition, I believe that those members get the right to force a discussion on it, whether you like it or not. So again, I I'm I'm I'm thinking this is the third time I've seen some of these witnesses here at this committee hearing.
▶ 1:18:18So I guess there's a shortage of people who want to who want to pedal these ideas, but we have to call it out. I encourage everyone watching this hearing to look up the information for yourself. Look at the test the footnotes in the testimony because so many egregious statements have been made today. And with that, I yield back.
▶ 1:18:40Thank you. I'd like to now recognize Mr. Mo forum one.
▶ 1:18:45Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Dr. Shu Uh, what can be done to prevent teachers from attending trainings or professional development sessions that engage in
▶ 1:19:01Thank you for that question. I just want to say um, in my testimony today, both oral and written, this isn't to demonize teachers. This is to point out a problem that is persistent and unfortunately increasing in our K- through2 school system. We're seeing a huge rise in anti-semitism in our K- through2 school system. We want teachers to have the resources available so that they can best do their job.
▶ 1:19:23Part of what's failing teachers as well as students is professional development programs that are pedled to teachers that are teaching them anti-semitic ideology.
▶ 1:19:33What can be done? We can make sure that at least at the state level, at the district level, that those credits aren't counted towards professional development credits. We can also make sure that taxpayer dollars aren't funding groups and organizations that are providing anti-semitic teacher professional development. That shouldn't be allowed. Uh thank you. Uh let's talk some more. In many cases, school districts will pay for their teachers to attend radicals uh seminars or inst institutes.
▶ 1:20:00Um when school districts set up these partnerships, are district leaders privy to the content of these programs ahead of time?
▶ 1:20:08If they're not, they should be. That's part of the responsibility of being a district administrator and a leader.
▶ 1:20:14And are principles and administrators administrators capable when it comes to anti-semitic professional development efforts proliferating in their
▶ 1:20:24Many of them are, many aren't, unfortunately. What we're seeing is there are some district administrators that can use education on what anti-semitism is. Part of that is them being able to get educated on who the Jewish people are as a people, as an ethnore-religious group, where Jewish people come from, and how being anti-Israel and anti-Zionist is anti-Semitic. And I think what that we can we can really use a lot more education and related to that. And we can also use some education related to Jewish people are not a monolith. There isn't a Jewish community.
▶ 1:20:54There are multiple communities and multiple points of views and that should be
▶ 1:20:58Well, thank you so much. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. You bet. Thank you. I'd like now to recognize Miss Wilson.
▶ 1:21:09Thank you, uh, Chair Kylie and Ranking Member Bonamishi for recognizing me. This hearing is being held to paint the picture that Democrats are anti-semitic and you're failing. All of these hearings that you've had on you did it to do that. and you failed is not working. Democrats as a party are not anti-semitic.
▶ 1:21:38I'm from Miami and I live amongst thousands of Jews, some in my own neighborhood on my own street. I was a school principal. And in all of my years of being a school principal in Miami Dade County, I never heard a child taunt a Jewish student based on their religion.
▶ 1:22:00The only anti-semitism I'm aware of was I was raised during the civil rights era and signs on Miami Beach spoke loudly. No Jews or allowed. So my So my shared struggle with Jews is clear. I believe in the separation of state. I believe in the separation of church and state. That's one of the tenants of our democracy.
▶ 1:22:29But guess who's trying to tear that down? It's Republicans. So right across the street, we have the Department of Education in shambles. It has been reduced to shambles. And the president is asking them to pull together whatever skeleton staff they have to come up with a plan to determine how we can institute prayer in schools.
▶ 1:22:58so that we can hurt little Jewish students feelings, break their hearts, and bring them to tears. How can you hold a hearing on when the president announced that this week? I believe in separation of church and state.
▶ 1:23:20And now Republicans are saying, "We're going to ask schools to be sure to post the Ten Commandments on every school classroom wall and post a crucifix on every classroom wall." And now, what is more anti-semitic than that? Breaking little Jewish children's hearts, breaking their spirits, and making them contemplate if there is a place in that school for them. How dare you?
▶ 1:23:52Such hypocrisy. So who is anti-semitic? My friends, my colleagues on the other side are truly anti-semitic when they try to come up with anti- American ideas of spreading Christianity across public schools in our nation to make our Jewish students feel ashamed of their own religion.
▶ 1:24:17With that, I have a Miss um Shu Fontiski, I noticed that you co-authored an opinion piece in the Jewish News of Northern California. That opinion piece you highlighted that Governor Nuome stood up for Jewish students by vetoing a curriculum. You also highlighted that he stood firm ensuring that bigotry was not included in the new curriculum.
▶ 1:24:47Can you confirm that Governor Nuome has stood firm against bigotry and fought in California? Are any blue states trying to mandate prayer in schools? Are any blue states trying to put crucifixes crosses on the school walls?
▶ 1:25:09Are they placing the Ten Commandments on school walls or the Lord's Prayer on the public school classroom walls? So, who is
▶ 1:25:22Governor News.
▶ 1:25:23I yield back.
▶ 1:25:26The witness may answer.
▶ 1:25:27Governor Newsome did uh veto the first draft of the
▶ 1:25:30I yield back. That's my time and I yield
▶ 1:25:33All right, we will go to the next uh w the next uh person for question
▶ 1:25:37is Mr. for me of Indiana.
▶ 1:25:42Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for the witnesses for being here today. Uh, teachers unions across the nation have been consumed by anti-semitic ideology and activism. Uh, Miss Neely, can you talk about the ways in which teachers unions perpetuate anti-semitism in K2 K- through2 schools?
▶ 1:26:01Um, sure. I think one great example comes from Southern California where the Los Angeles Union School Unified School District and the UTLA which is an affiliate of both the NEA and the AFT have actually created a provision to um u work on a joint ethnic studies commission. Um this went back as far as 2019 and is still in effect as of today because it was just resigned in 2025. Half of the people on that committee are union representatives. That committee oversees implementation of the mandated course requirements in ethnic studies and associated professional development. Professional development as Mr.
▶ 1:26:30Sha Fatinsky alluded to is deeply problematic. Um curriculum selection recommendations for expanding ethnic studies to include gender specific courses in sexual identity and and identity and also advocating for salary point credits so that ethnic studies teachers get a higher salary just for teaching that class. So this is incentivizing teachers to go down this path and to produce and and and insert this ideology into their classrooms. Um adopting curriculum from places like Brown University.
▶ 1:26:58um putting these things together, but also just across the board, we have seen these teachers unions do things like um you know push um curriculum like woke kindergarten, which has been paid for using federal tax dollars in districts like in Northern California. Um that was used in New York City public schools to have third graders saying the wheels on the tank. Third graders do not even they they still believe in the tooth fairy at that point. And so to use children as our foot soldiers, human shields in this battle of ideology is something that is so deeply unconscionable.
▶ 1:27:26and to be pressed and promoted through teachers union networks which we have obtained records through foyas of all the leaders of the educators for Palestine caucus. They are sharing these materials. They are encouraging each others to participate in these teachings like the Oakland Education Association. This is a super highway to share this hateful information with each other from coast to coast.
▶ 1:27:45Okay. Thank you. How have Jewish teachers been impacted by anti-semitism within within the unions that represent Uh teachers are also being abused by this unfortunately. Um watching some of these things um be disseminated.
▶ 1:28:02Um the Freedom Foundation actually has a number of lawsuits against teachers associations including the um Portland education Portland association of teachers um because the Portland um in Portland public schools Portland Association of Teachers has distributed anti-Israel teaching materials which drew from programs like teaching while Muslim and woke kindergarten. They have actually co-authored the Teach Palestine guide with the Oregon Educators for Palestine, urging educators to present a singular anti-Israel perspective in classrooms.
▶ 1:28:29They have published know your rights guides, teaching and organizing for Palestine within Portland public schools, which promotes and tells teachers how to get this material into classrooms. Um, and also defended the use of the phrase from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free, which is widely recognized as a call for the elimination of the state of Israel. This is just one of many issues where teachers have been left out to dry.
▶ 1:28:50There have been there was a a protest a few months ago outside of the um uh New York City uh Department of Education because those educators in that union also have been betrayed by uft um that have not stood up for them. There was a teacher in New York City public schools that came to light in this hearing last year where a teacher was chased and had to hide in a locked classroom because she was being chased by a mob. That teachers union did not stand up for her, did not defend her. If something like that happened to another teacher of a different race, of a different religion, there would be their bloody murder would be screamed.
▶ 1:29:19But the fact the silence speaks volumes and that is unacceptable.
▶ 1:29:23Are these teachers given the opportunity to leave the union or voice their
▶ 1:29:27If they are in a public sector union, thanks to the Janice decision, they are. But if they're in a private sector, if they were a private school, if they were in a private union, they are not allowed to. And I think that is something else that, you know, hopefully this committee and Congress eventually looks at.
▶ 1:29:39Okay. Thank you. Um the most important time to shape a child's mind is during the K2 K through2 education where they can develop views and morals that take take them well into within adulthood. Um Miss Shuatiski sorry about that. Um how does exposure to anti-semitic messaging from authority figures in K through2 schools affect Jewish students sense of safety and identity as well as create problematic ways of thinking of all thinking for all students?
▶ 1:30:09What it can do to Jewish students is it can make them feel like their identity is is not valid and like they're worth being targeted. So it can increase their insecurity, make them ashamed, make them feel embarrassed of the communities that they come from.
▶ 1:30:23Thank you. What mechanisms currently exist to hold K- through2 faculty accountable when when they promote anti-semitic rhetoric in the classroom or and and are those mechan uh mechanisms sufficient?
▶ 1:30:36They're not sufficient. There are mechanisms. There are standards. are education codes that districts and teachers are supposed to follow. Unfortunately, I think in the cases that we've all spoke spoken about, we've seen that all too often they're not being
▶ 1:30:47Okay. Thank you. Um, thank you for your responses and I yield back my time. Representative Adams of North Carolina is recognized.
▶ 1:30:53Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you all for your testimony today. Um, I I'm really appalled at all that I've heard. And let me just say I having been in the classroom for 40 years, having trained teachers, uh I really resent uh much of what's been said about uh our unions, particularly the the NEA. I support them. I support unions and uh and what they do for children. Uh but let me just begin by saying this pretty plainly. Anti-semitism is real.
▶ 1:31:21It's rising and it has no place in our schools. Every student, Jewish, Muslim, black, brown, or otherwise, deserves to feel safe, respected, and protected in their learning environment. And that's not up for debate. And when students tell us that they don't feel safe, we have a responsibility to listen, not to score political points, not to pit one group against another, but to take action that protects each and every child.
▶ 1:31:47But what troubles me is is how too often instead of working together on solutions, some of this committee have chosen to weaponize anti-semitism as a political tool to undermine teachers, to attack unions, and to discredit higher education. I've spent 40 years in in the classroom as a professor and I've taught in public education as well, public schools. And I'm a product of public schools. My daughter works in public schools. My grandchildren, my children all went to public schools.
▶ 1:32:16But I know what really happens in our schools. Teachers show up every day to nurture, to challenge, to protect our children, and they're not the problem. And blaming them does not does doesn't do anything to keep Jewish students safe. So, let me just turn to to Rabbi Jacobs and and ask you, uh, Rabbi Jacobs, the majority has claimed that anti-semitism in our schools is being brought there by teachers, by teachers unions, and even by academic views. And how do you respond to that assertion?
▶ 1:32:45and what do you see as the real drivers of anti-semitism in schools today?
▶ 1:32:51Thank you. I want to echo what you said. There are more than three million people who wake up every morning and teach our children in public schools. And I've seen their extraordinary work personally as a graduate of public schools as a parent of public school students. And teachers get into this profession because they care about children because they want children to learn. And we've heard accusations against teachers, against administrator, against administrators.
▶ 1:33:19And of course, we can come up with egregious examples, but the vast majority of our teachers and administrators walk into those school buildings every morning because they want to help children learn. I also want to appreciate Representative Hayes for clarifying that the NEA regional assembly did pass that resolution that was mentioned but that the board rejected it and that the NEA president showed her leadership in making a very powerful statement about anti-semitism.
▶ 1:33:45And this is actually an example of how engagement with the community is the response not punitive responses. And similarly in public schools when there is an instance of anti-semitism the response should be to engage with the school to ensure that the school's code of conduct is followed to engage with the school district and of course if it can't be resolved at that level to bring it to the office for civil rights which as we've said has been decimated let me move on if I can I have two more questions.
▶ 1:34:14So, so the office of civil rights at the department is of education is supposed to be on the front lines of protecting students, but we've seen that that office gutted and and undermined. Uh, how could the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights better serve Jewish students right now? And what resources or authority would make the the greatest difference?
▶ 1:34:34Thank you. Just over a year ago, Jewish organizations and civil rights organizations supported Representative Goldman's bill, the Showing Up for Students Act, which would have increased the OCR budget by $280 million. And that is money that is desperately needed so that the office that has the mandate to investigate and to resolve complaints as well as the experts who have the knowledge to do so can do their work.
▶ 1:35:00And so what we need to do is we need to restore funding to the office for civil rights and we need to ensure that they can investigate and resolve complaints.
▶ 1:35:08Listen, I've heard from from Jewish students in my in uh in in in various meetings. They don't want their pain to be politicized. They want to be safe. They want to be a part of a community. Uh and you know, I think what we've heard here today is pretty awful. I want to yield back to uh to the representative from Connecticut.
▶ 1:35:25Thank you for the time. I just want to clarify the record once again. The Oregon Oregon Oregon Educators for Palestine is not a teachers union. It's an advocacy group made of made up of community members, educators, but it's an advocacy group. It is not associated with any teachers union. With that, I yield back.
▶ 1:35:45Representative Fine of Florida is
▶ 1:35:48Representative Scott will first go first and then we'll go represent Mr. Fine is having waved on to the committee.
▶ 1:35:54Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um first, Mr. Mr. Chairman, um, we heard that, um, 60some percent of religious hate crimes were anti were anti-semitism. I'd like to put that in perspective. of all of the hate crimes.
▶ 1:36:11The Office of Civil Rights has pending discrimination cases, over 5,800 disability, over 3,200 race and national 2,800 and some sex discrimination, and of the category that could be um include anti-semitism, also So, of all the hate crimes, it's a small minority, the religious
▶ 1:36:42hate crimes, it could be um but we just want to put that in in perspective. Um Rabbi Jacobs, um you indicated well, you outlined many initiatives that can actually hate fight hate crimes generally.
▶ 1:37:01How effective can those initiatives be against anti-semitism if it ignores protecting all students including race, Islamophobia, homophobia, gender and disability and others?
▶ 1:37:16Thank you. When we educate about bigotry, we have to educate about bigotries, all bigotries. We have to ensure that schools are safe for all children. So that includes educating teachers and and students about anti-semitism along with racism, along with homophobia, along with Islamophobia and other and other bigotries. And that is an approach that that works.
▶ 1:37:38Uh we also have to educate against bullying because when we allow bullying and harassment into our schools then uh then that opens the door for bullying that's based in um in hate against specific groups. And unfortunately this administration also has dropped the initiatives of previous administrations to address bullying.
▶ 1:38:01And so how effective can a anti-semitism initiative be if it just ignores everything else?
▶ 1:38:11I don't believe that we can talk about anti-semitism in a vacuum. We have to make sure that American society as well as our schools are places that are safe for everybody including Jewish students.
▶ 1:38:22Thank you. This is the 11th hearing we've had on anti-semitism. We've had none on racism, Islamophobia, gender discrimination, disability Um, and the chair talks about all the oversight we've done and complains about The agency that can actually do something about it, office of civil rights is essentially being dismantled.
▶ 1:38:50I think you talked about defunding hate crime prevention grants. what is the difference between talking about the problem and actually doing
▶ 1:39:02Thanks. Well, the Jewish community is making very specific requests, including funding, as you said, hate crime prevention grants, including the Office for Civil Rights, and those are programs that will address specific instances on the ground, as well as I want to mention President Biden's national comprehensive national strategy on anti-semitism, which used every tool that the US government has at its disposal to address anti-semitism, ranging from using humanities grants to ensure that Jewish stories are hold
▶ 1:39:32to doing training for government employees at every level to school-based education. And that is an approach that was created in consultation with more than a thousand Jewish leaders. I was honored to be one of them. And that address very concrete instances of anti-semitism.
▶ 1:39:49And it's an approach that this administration has completely dismissed in favor of use of an approach that is just about attacking political opponents and cynically using the fears of the Jewish community to try to dismantle democratic institutions.
▶ 1:40:04And what about dismantling the office of civil rights which should actually enforce problems of the complaints we've had if they presented to the office of civil rights something could actually be done. Is that right?
▶ 1:40:17Yeah. And the last annual report of the Office for Civil Rights, they reported that they had resolved more complaints than in any previous year. And so this is an office that is desperately needed and has been defunded. And so we need to restore funding to that office, bring back their their expert staff as well as the regional offices which are the ones who can deal with specific cases on the
▶ 1:40:39Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just a minute. Um, Mr. Mr. Chairman, when I was citing statistics that were related to OCR cases, I recognized we were discussing hate crimes, but based on the 2024 statistics from the Department of Justice, hate crimes based on race, ethnicity, and ancestry with the majority of the cases and um religion totally was uh 23.5
▶ 1:41:12Thank you. Representative Fine of Florida is recognized. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, I have a number of thoughts. This is a deeply personal issue for me. I want to talk about a couple constituents and and issues that they have had. Um, I knew a a kid who was in seventh grade who um faced so much anti-semitism when he was in his public school that the principal um made an extra copy of his key so that he could hide in that principal's office.
▶ 1:41:41Um, that happened to me when I was a kid. And when I had children, I made a decision that I would fight to make sure that my children didn't have to go through what I did as a kid. It's a promise, by the way, I've failed to live up to because my son after October 7th got into a fight at school because he was a Jewish kid. Now, fortunately, my son's 6'2 and he's a varsity athlete. It was Jacob won. The other kid didn't end up in such great shape, but nonetheless, he never should have had to go through that. Um, I actually wear the keepa that I wear right now. I didn't wear it until May the 6th.
▶ 1:42:10I wear it because my son asked me to in honor of all the Jewish kids that do not feel safe to wear theirs. And so I literally wear a target on my head these days because that is that is what unfortunately uh we live in the world today. But when I sit in these hearings, I feel like I'm in an alternative universe. And here is why. We have solved this problem in Florida. We do not have this problem in Florida. And we don't have it because of some office of civil rights and $280 million of extra funding. We have it because we passed bills that made sense.
▶ 1:42:41For example, the state of Florida designated CARE a terrorist organization and said governments shouldn't work with organizations that say that October 7th made them happy. But not only that, we passed a bill, and this is my question. I actually want to start with Miss Neely. We passed a bill. It was my bill. The bill did something very simple. It said, as Rabbi Jacobs implied, we should not discriminate in how we deal with discrimination. And the bill was very simple.
▶ 1:43:07It said Florida adopted the IRA definition of anti-semitism, the most widespread definition of anti-semitism that is out there. And it said that you, if you are a K12 institution, you simply must treat anti-semitism the same way you treat racism. If you've got a code of conduct, delete black, put in Jew, delete racism, put in anti-semitism, and treat them the same. And when we did that, the problems ended.
▶ 1:43:33So my question to you, Miss Neil, you talked about um about how things would not be the same if it was other religious groups. Do you believe if we did something like this federally like we did in Florida, that we could address the problem nationally?
▶ 1:43:46It has been astonishing to watch across the country administrators turn a blind eye to this. We reached out to about two dozen districts after October 7th, asking them for statements, looking comparing what they said after George Floyd's murder with what happened after October 7th. Many districts were silent. Some equivocated um and some just pretended that didn't happen at all. We actually also reached out to a number of school districts that had used the Black Lives Matter school curriculum because um you remember that BLM had posted that lovely graphic of the paraglider afterwards.
▶ 1:44:13And so we said, "Well, in light of this, are you planning on using this curriculum and having this event going forward?" A schoolboard member in upstate New York in Rochester said, "Well, let's remember the role that the Jews played in the slave trade. None of us have clean hands." So when you have failed leadership at the top of a district, at the top of a state that won't do anything, as you said, you can have all the laws in the books, but if people won't get off their butts and do anything about it, it doesn't matter. Um, but I do think it takes real leadership like we've seen in Florida.
▶ 1:44:37And I think as we are seeing from this committee, to address an issue, to acknowledge an issue, this is I mean, it's the first step of a 12step program, saying that there is a problem and to pretend that there is not a problem is reprehensible. Look, I I I came up with this idea because I believed if a student at a school in Florida called a black student the n-word, they would be expelled. And by the way, they should be. But somehow when it came to Jews, everyone discovered freedom of speech.
▶ 1:45:05And and and so that is why we came up with this principle, which is you can't burn a cross. If you're the KKK on the college green, you shouldn't be able to say from the river to the sea, kill all the Jews. I mean, they're the same thing. So Dr. Shuinski and I apologize if I got your name wrong. What is your view? Again, simply passing a law that says you must treat anti defining anti-semitism and you must treat it the same way as you treat racism. Do you believe that would help solve the
▶ 1:45:31I do and I think it is the same thing as racism. We're dealing with an upsurge in anti-Jewish bigotry. Jews who are being attacked in classes and on campuses aren't being attacked because of the way they pray. They're being attacked because they are Jewish, because they are of the Jewish people.
▶ 1:45:44So, so I'm going to come back to you with this question. You know, we have the Philadelphia school district that's working with care, a an open front for Muslim terror. And and again, the head of care said October 7th made him happy. He didn't say it five minutes afterwards to be clear. He said it like a month later, not in the fog of war, and he still has that job today.
▶ 1:46:06Why do you think a local school district would choose to work with an institution that said October 7th made them happy? because the leadership in that district must agree with it and October 7th likely made them happy as well.
▶ 1:46:21So it's not the issue and this is one of the biggest problems we have in fighting anti-semitism. It's not that they're not uneducated, it's because they agree. We're going to fight this in this committee. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.
▶ 1:46:31Thank you. And thank you to all of our witnesses for your testimony. I'll now recognize Miss Bamichi for her closing
▶ 1:46:40Uh thank you very much much, Mr. chairman and and thank you to the witnesses for your testimony. As we heard multiple times, this is the 11th hearing on anti-semitism we've had in the past few years. And what has happened? Are things better? No. Anti-semitism is on the rise. Tensions and divisions have increased.
▶ 1:47:01My colleague just suggested that there's they've solved anti-semitism in Florida, but just a quick check shows that recent headlines say uh a disturbing trend of Israel related anti-semitic incidents continues in Florida and Palm Beach County leads Florida in anti-semitic instances for a second year. They did not solve anti-semitism in Florida.
▶ 1:47:22We know that schools have a responsibility to provide all students with a learning environment free from discrimination and it's the role of the federal government to help schools live up to that responsibility. Traditionally, that has been done by the Office for Civil Rights, which investigates instances of discrimination and harassment in schools. And after reviewing the facts of each claim of discrimination, then they provide a resolution agreement that's designed to bring the school into compliance with the law.
▶ 1:47:51I also want to clarify as as the rabbi did with the the discussion about the National Education Association which did not adopt the resolution uh that was proposed. The same thing with Portland uh teachers association. There's a mention that there was a problematic curriculum but without the clarification that it was withdrawn after community conversations. So we need to have a a clear record that these community conversations are really critical to making changes.
▶ 1:48:17Of course, instead of strengthening the ability of the Office of Civil Rights to uh serve students in schools, the Trump administration is slashing it about its budget, trying to eliminate the Department of Education, which houses the office and what's left of its staff.
▶ 1:48:32But more importantly, instead of working in a constructive way to actually prevent and curb anti-semitism, the administration and some in this body are using anti-semitism to undermine public education and educators and to further their effort to attack higher education. Sadly, these actions are likely to exacerbate anti-semitism uh the administration claims they want to eliminate. And ultimately, all students will suffer and so will society, the economy, and democracy.
▶ 1:49:01And again, if my Republican colleagues truly care about the well-being of Jewish students and want to fight anti-semitism, they should demand that all anti-semites and white nationalists in the Trump administration be fired immediately and that the Office of Civil Rights at the Department of Education be fully funded. We must use our full oversight authority to subpoena those White House officials who have enabled the White House to embrace bigots and anti-semmites. They are setting an example and not a good one. And we should hold them accountable for their actions.
▶ 1:49:32If my colleagues could muster the courage, we could actually prevent and curb anti-semitism and I stand ready to work with anyone on either side of the aisle to make that happen. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
▶ 1:49:43Thanks very much. There were a couple members of the uh minority who suggested that uh somehow uh we were criticizing uh teachers uh with this hearing. Nothing could be further from the truth. I have the highest degree of admiration uh for teachers across this country. What we have done is criticize specific actions of groups like the NEA. And in fact, the Democrat witness herself, Rabbi Jacobs, agreed that it was wrong for the NEA to decide to boycott the Anti-Defamation League. And of course, it is. I mean, how could anyone do that?
▶ 1:50:11say that we're gonna boycott using the materials of the Anti-Defamation League uh in our classrooms. Um and you know, when it comes to the teachers themselves, I actually want to read you a message that I received uh from a teacher who was there uh when the NEA decided to boycott the Anti-Defamation League. This is what this teacher said. I saw people line up wearing shirts accusing Jews of genocide, eager to speak against anything Jewish. They weren't improvising.
▶ 1:50:40These were coordinated, rehearsed lies. While I felt safe in my small corner of the convention, surrounded by respectful and inclusive delegates, many of my Jewish friends did not. Educators from various states did not feel safe in their assigned sections and had to find other places to sit near friends and allies. There were tears, panic attacks, silent breakdowns, but also hugs, strength, unshakable solidarity.
▶ 1:51:04And it is much worse for the students who are encountering this in schools and classrooms across the country. This ought to shock the conscience of every decent American. But what have we heard today? Our friends here on the other side of the dis come in with wild conspiracy theories about members of the administration. You want to talk about January 6. You want to subpoena Steven We're hearing about our friend Mr.
▶ 1:51:32fine who is telling us about students who have to go and hide in the principal's office at their school and you guys come in here and want to subpoena Steven
▶ 1:51:42These are serious problems in our country and we need serious people and serious leadership to deal with them. But that's what our committee is going to continue to provide. We will be investigating violations of Title Six where they occur across the country. We will be working against the poison of liberated ethnic studies and we'll be working to protect the civil rights of Jewish students across America. That is the purpose of these hearings. We have seen some progress, but we have a long way to go. With that said, the motion I will move to the motion.
▶ 1:52:11May I please clarify my comments?
▶ 1:52:14No, you may not. I want to move to uh the uh we'll now return to the gentle lady's motion to subpoena u Mr. Miller.
▶ 1:52:21Chairman, I move to the table of motion.
▶ 1:52:23The motion to table is in order and not debatable. The question is, shall the
▶ 1:52:26Mr. Chairman, I'd like a roll call vote.
▶ 1:52:29Yes, we'll take the vote first.
▶ 1:52:32The question is, shall the committee uh table the motion to authorize a subpoena? All those in favor say I.
▶ 1:52:42All those opposed say no.
▶ 1:52:44In the opinion of the chair, the eyes have it and the motion table is agreed
▶ 1:52:47Mr. Chairman, I request a roll call
▶ 1:52:49Our record vote has been requested. We'll now be voting on the motion to table. We will suspend until the clerk is in place to call the vote. The clerk will call the role. Not a table.
▶ 1:53:34Mr. Kylie
▶ 1:53:36Mr. Kylie votes I.
▶ 1:53:38Mr. Thompson
▶ 1:53:40Mr. Thompson votes I. Mr. Owens.
▶ 1:53:43Mr. Owens votes I. Miss Miller
▶ 1:53:46Miss Miller votes I. Mr. Rouley.
▶ 1:53:48Mr. Ry votes I. Mr. Mand
▶ 1:53:51Mr. Mullen votes I. Mr. McKenzie
▶ 1:53:54Mr. McKenzie votes I. Mr. Harris
▶ 1:53:57Mr. Harris votes I. Mr. Mesmer
▶ 1:54:00Mr. Mesmer votes I. Miss Bonamichi
▶ 1:54:02Miss Bonamichi votes no. Miss Hayes
▶ 1:54:06Miss Hayes votes no. Mr. Manion
▶ 1:54:09Mr. Manion votes no.
▶ 1:54:11Miss Wilson.
▶ 1:54:13Miss Wilson votes no. Miss Adams
▶ 1:54:16Miss Adams votes no. Mr. Chairman, on this vote there are
▶ 1:54:23The clerk will call the role again for any member who has not voted.
▶ 1:54:29The clerk will call the role again for any member who has not voted.
▶ 1:54:32Miss Lee,
▶ 1:54:43have all members voted? Does any member wish to change their vote? Hearing none, the clerk will report the tally.
▶ 1:54:49Mr. Chairman, on this vote, there are nine yays and five nazs.
▶ 1:54:53The eyes have it. The motion is agreed to. This hearing stands adjourned.