AB 1468: The California Jewish Legislative Caucus Introduces an Ethnic Studies Bill to Censor Public Education on Israel and Palestine
Once again, a new proposed California law aims to protect Israel’s complete impunity within U.S. society and public education.
Californians: Take action against AB 1468, a deeply problematic bill designed to gut ethnic studies in California by erasing Palestine & censoring what is taught about the root causes of anti-Arab racism + Islamophobia in California public schools by sending a letter to your Assemblymember now.
This comes at the cost of historical accuracy and the erasure of the Arab American experience, similar to the erasure of how race is taught in conservative states in the U.S. due to concern over how the subject matter may make white students feel “guilty.” And now we are in a moment in which President Trump is erasing race-based and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs from public education, all while trying to abolish public education altogether.
And in this critical moment, Democratic lawmakers from California are assembling to champion a bill that is essentially MAGA-lite: to ensure a sanitized version of the Arab American experience and history is taught in schools to avoid the truth about:
the history of Palestine
the ethnic cleansing that led to the creation of the state of Israel
the ongoing military occupation of Palestinian lands by the state of Israel
systemic apartheid practiced by the Israeli state
anything related to the genocide in Gaza which our own country, the United States, is complicit in funding and arming with U.S. tax dollars
Why? All because the facts and history about the state of Israel include the reality of Palestinian dispossession, ethnic cleansing, and death.
31 legislators across the California state Senate and Assembly have introduced AB 1468 this session which is focused on “creating curriculum standards” that censor what is taught about Israel and Palestine under the guise of protecting Jewish students from antisemitism. The legislation has been celebrated by JPAC, the Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California, the organization likely driving this legislation behind-the-scenes.
“A lack of clear curriculum standards for ethnic studies has allowed groups with biased ideological agendas to peddle factually-inaccurate and blatantly antisemitic curriculum to school districts, posing a threat to Jewish children’s safety,” Assemblyman Rick Zbur (D-Los Angeles).
Many wonder why so many Americans know so little about the history of Palestine, about Palestinians, and about Palestinian culture – this is why. Because lawmakers and lobbies have gutted our public education and bullied their colleagues into supporting suppressive and draconian curriculum in U.S. public schools.
What is Ethnic Studies? In 2021, California became the first state in the United States to pass a law to require Ethnic Studies as a graduation requirement for high school students by 2030. The Ethnic Studies curriculum required students to take a semester-long class “focused on the contributions of Asian, Black, Latino and Native Americans in U.S. history.” The original draft of the curriculum included Arab American studies under the Asian American studies section, as the Levant and Gulf regions are in Western Asia.
However, mention of the Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) Movement within the Arab American studies section came under fire from Zionist organizations, institutions and lawmakers. An organized right-wing coalition was mobilized by the Israel Lobby to strike any mention of “Palestine,” anything critical about the state of Israel, and went as far to demand the removal of the Arab American section altogether.
The reality is that of all 50 states, California has the largest Arab American population in the United States, estimated to be 533,307 people. The month of April is Arab American Heritage Month in California. Arab American history and culture is part of the history and culture of California; it cannot be erased.
After an intense fight, the Arab American studies section was not included as a part of the core Ethnic Studies curriculum, but was included within the appendix of the curriculum (along with lessons on Jews, Sikh Americans, and Armenian Americans). The model curriculum of Ethnic Studies was adopted by the State Board of Education in California in 2021.
Ironically, AB 1468 was announced via the press on the same day a U.S.-based organization asked the International Criminal Court to investigate U.S. officials - Joe Biden, Antony Blinken, and Lloyd Austin – for their complicity in war crimes in Gaza.
This is our current reality: while the ICC has been asked to investigate U.S. officials for war crimes in Gaza by a U.S.-based organization, California lawmakers are literally trying to block public school kids from learning about the war crimes those U.S. officials could be investigated for.
Rather than creating any awareness or accountability for genocidal government funded by U.S. tax dollars, the lawmakers championing AB 1468 are doing their part to ensure impunity for the state of Israel by censoring what is taught about it to ensure the public school children do not learn about what is actually happening and the history of what has happened.
Rather than stop the genocide, dispossession, or ethnic cleansing of Palestinians by the state of Israel with their legislative power and the influence and impact of the state of California, one of the largest economies in the world, these lawmakers are trying to make it impossible for public school students to learn about or understand what is actually occurring in Palestine and Israel and the history behind the ethnic cleansing and colonization of those lands that remains ongoing today.
Looking ahead, as California has seen in years past, this will be a fight; lawmakers won’t just be able to steamroll this regressive legislation through both chambers of the state legislature without facing strong opposition. There is a coalition of organizations and activists in California who have fought hard over Ethnic Studies in the past, are organized in the wake of the genocide in Gaza now, and will mobilize everything at their disposal to fight this in all branches of California state government.
We are living in a mask off moment, and these 31 California lawmakers (25% of the state legislature) have exposed themselves for who they really are and what they truly believe. They prioritize the interest of specific groups of people at the cost of others in order to further themselves - whether that is politically or ideologically. They do not believe in equality and equity and are literally willing to censor history.
Additionally, this bill may impact public education in California, but I encourage you to research if there are similar bills in the works to gut public education where you live.
Take Action Against AB 1468 Now: Californians, send a letter to your Assemblymember. Please share this link far and wide with the people you know who live within California. Drop it in your chat groups, Slacks, organizing circles, etc.
Noteworthy in the News:
Round 2 for Sanders’ JRD. Senator Bernie Sanders announces joint resolutions of disapproval to block Trump’s $8.56 billion weapons giveaway to Israel.
MSNBC cancels Ayman Mohyeldin and Joy Reid’s shows. Ayman was the most vocal critic of Israel on the network, and Joy was one of the anchors who went the furthest on providing critical analysis of the weaknesses of the Democrats.
Just Like Jared! Chief U.S. Architect in the Gaza Genocide, Brett McGurk rubs shoulders with Saudi Crown Prince MBS as he enriches himself and his firm.
Haters Gonna Hate. An image of Bella Hadid next to a map of historical Palestine went viral amongst haters.
350 U.S. Rabbis and Others Say No to Ethnic Cleansing in Gaza in NYT Ad.
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