Antisemitism in Philadelphia schools is such a systemic problem that even CNN is paying attention. The district is under congressional investigation for its failure to handle this rampant antisemitism. Jewish students are bullied, and Jewish teachers are harassed.
Now, Jewish organizations are suing the Department of Education for failing to hold the district to prior agreements stemming from an earlier investigation into antisemitism. It is a big problem, but it is not the big problem.
Philadelphia schools’ problems with antisemitism won’t be fixed by yet more training or Holocaust modules for students. The problem is political, and so is the solution. Antisemitism in K-12 schools is a result of an illiberal ideology that divides the world into oppressed against oppressor. This ideology has captured our major educational institutions and trickled down to individual classrooms across the country.
Ismael Jimenez, director of social studies curriculum for the entire district of almost 200,000 students, has come under fire for comments that place the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel “in context.” But Jimenez is also on record calling Israel a “terrorist state,” and sharing an Assata Shakur (a member of the Black Panther Party who was exiled in Cuba) quote that “schools in America are interested in brainwashing people with Americanism… As long as we expect America’s schools to educate us, we will remain ignorant.”
Jimenez has found supporters in the influential activist group and publisher Rethinking Schools, as well as the Philadelphia branch of the Democratic Socialists of America.
The School District of Philadelphia’s social studies curriculum instructional guide, which CAMERA shared in its recent report on antisemitism in the district, is instructive.
Under Jimenez’s leadership, teachers are told to “decolonize” the social studies curriculum so that students may “critically examine power structures,” “acquire the skills and tools necessary to… challenge oppressive systems,” and “work collectively toward creating a truly just society.”
Philadelphia’s social studies guide takes inspiration from Paulo Freire,who is cited five times in the guide and quoted outright. Freire, the author of Pedagogy of the Oppressed, makes the explicitly Marxist argument that the role of education is to awaken the “critical consciousness” of students so that they may become activists and agents of social and political change. The purpose of an English class or a math class is not to teach English or math, but to use those subjects as tools of political education.
Philadelphia isn’t an outlier — it’s illustrative of a nationwide problem. Across the country, an ideological framework rooted in academic theories of power and identity has been imposed on curriculum standards and teacher training programs. Teacher unions and professional development programs increasingly frame the role of education as creating change-makers and activists. The job of educators is to get students to understand where they sit within the social and political power structure and to dismantle perceived structures of racism and oppression.
The National Education Association, the largest teachers union in the country, extols public education’s ability to “create a more just and inclusive society.” What does that mean in practice? In the NEA’s 2025 Handbook, executive director Kim Anderson tells teachers that they have the “tools we need” through scholars like Freire to “reclaim… the promise of our democracy.”
Education school courses that embed this framework are ubiquitous. A 2003 study found that Pedagogy of the Oppressed “was one of the most frequently assigned texts in courses on the philosophy of education among elite schools of education in America. In 2025, City University of New York offered “UED 72100 Scholar-Activist Praxis,” a course focused on the effort to “teach for justice.” Northeastern offers many Freire-based courses and describes culturally responsive teaching as “a pedagogy that recognizes the importance of including students’ cultural references in all aspects of learning. Courses include “EDU 5051. Culture, Equity, Power, and Influence,” which:
“Examines the broad construct of culture and explores how these characteristics impact personal identity, access to education, social mobility, power, and influence. Explores educational institutions as cultural systems and questions concepts at the heart of personal and professional interactions in teaching, learning, curriculum, and administration. Expects students… to influence and advocate for systemic change.”
And “EDU 6051. Introduction to Social Justice in Educational Settings,” which:
“Introduces the concepts of social justice, especially as they relate to educational access. Explores educational institutions as systems and questions how individuals can be agents of change in teaching, learning, curriculum, and administration… and advocate for systemic change.”
The focus on social justice advocacy extends into state requirements for teacher preparation programs, teacher licensing, and accreditation standards. For example, in Illinois, teacher preparation programs must incorporate culturally responsive teaching and learning standards. The Standards for Illinois Educators states that “Culturally responsive teachers and leaders understand that there are systems in our society, especially, but not limited to, our school system, that create and reinforce inequities, thereby creating oppressive conditions. Educators work actively against these systems in their everyday roles in educational institutions.”
In Minnesota, demonstrating “anti-racist” practices and “racial consciousness” — including teaching about “power, privilege, intersectionality, and systemic oppression”— is a stated requirement for initial and advanced licensure. In Washington state, teachers cannot renew their licenses without completing state-mandated DEI “equity-based school practices” training aligned with CCDEI standards. In California, teacher candidates must be evaluated on “equity and justice” and restorative justice practices.
Teachers are being trained to see their role as stewards of future social justice activists.
Take, for example, the annual Teach Truth Day of Action run by the Zinn Education Project and sponsored by both the NEA and the American Federation of Teachers. ZEP, and by extension the NEA and AFT, tell teachers to “teach truth” by explaining to students that structural and systemic racism exists and persists in the United States, that white students benefit from this structure of oppression, and that individuals have no agency to make change, but instead students “need to build multiracial solidarity to create system-wide change.”
This isn’t the only settled “truth.” Teachers must teach children that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and that “the same forces working to ban teaching the truth about the history of systemic racism in the United States are attacking educators who teach honestly about the history of Palestine or the current movement for a ceasefire in Gaza.”
The NEA, itself facing scrutiny from the Senate over antisemitism concerns, co-sponsors and promotes ZEP’s Teach Truth Day of Action. In a recent webinar, NEA senior policy analyst for civil and human rights, Stephanie Luongo, called the ZEP “the most incredible educators and organizers.”
Is it any wonder, then, that fixed ideas of oppressor vs. oppressed, social power structures and structural inequalities, and education as political activism, not to mention a libelous view of Israel, endorsed by our national teacher associations and taught to teachers, are then filtered down into the classroom and result in the explosion of antisemitism across the country? Jews are white, Jews are economically, politically, and socially powerful, and are, not to mention, committing genocide. When students are taught falsehoods, denied individual agency, and encouraged to see the world in binary terms of powerful and powerless, the result is predictable: antisemitism, the oldest hatred, casting Jews as scapegoats, the oldest canard.
IN SPAIN, A SACRED CITY TARNISHED BY ANTISEMITISM
Anti-bias training won’t uproot the problem, and Holocaust modules won’t get us out of this hole. The fix must be much longer and much deeper. It requires removing the illiberal frameworks that have overtaken many educational institutions. Teacher training must be rethought and redesigned, with distinct pathways created for teachers to earn accreditation. The politicized teacher unions and their advocacy networks must be confronted head-on so they can return to the business of representing hardworking educators. States must reject culturally responsive education and instead adopt and enforce policies of educational neutrality.
We all have a duty to stand up for the values under attack: pluralism, tolerance, fairness, academic excellence, and democratic self-government. Only then will the epidemic of antisemitism in our K-12 schools end.
Mika Hackner is director of research at North American Values Institute.