Anti-Israel and Anti-Jewish sentiments have been on public display in university classrooms and campuses around the world, especially since Israel responded militarily to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre. According to the CAMERA (Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis) watchdog group, that hatred has also seeped into the classrooms of children from kindergarten to 12th grade.
On Sunday night, CAMERA, in partnership with the Menachem Begin Heritage Center, held a panel discussion in Jerusalem titled “Educating Hate: Antisemitism in School Curricula.” Participants discussed how anti-Israel narratives are being embedded in elementary and high schools, in the U.S., Europe and under the Palestinian Authority, and how they should be combated.
“Those who are aligned with the terrorists and have latched on to Marxist and socialist ideology as a vehicle to bring anti-Zionism to the schools under the guise of social justice,” Ricki Hollander, senior media analyst, CAMERA, explained to JNS, focusing on this phenomenon in K-12 U.S. classrooms.
Ricki Hollander, senior media analyst for CAMERA, at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem, June 8, 2025. Photo by Josh Hasten.
She cited the Brown University-funded Choices Program, a history, geography and current affairs curriculum used in 8,000 high schools across the U.S. with a biased anti-Israel agenda, saying it “paved the way for extreme antisemitism, especially since October 7.”
A study by the CAMERA Education Institute, a branch of the organization focused on fighting antisemitism and anti-Israel bias in education, revealed possible Qatari influence and funding for the Choices Program.
Hollander said the “toxic and anti-Israel ideology” emanates from the university’s Center for Middle East Studies, whose curriculum was analyzed by CAMERA and found to contain anti-Zionist and pro-BDS narratives.
On a positive note, Hollander shared that Brown University recently announced it was ending its sponsorship of the Choices Program, citing “financial considerations.” However, she believes it was activism by CAMERA and others that led to the breakup.
“This shows how important it is to expose the toxic lies promoted in schools and push back against them,” Hollander said. “We must go to those responsible—superintendents of schools, heads of social science departments, librarians, government officials focused on antisemitism in schools, etc., and work with them to make sure this propaganda stays out of schools.”