A proposed, state-wide, mandatory Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum in California is open for public comment only until Thursday, January 21. The current draft of the curriculum celebrates figures who have promoted anti-Semitism (including leaders of the Third World Liberation Front and the anti-Jewish leaders they admire); it uses racial distinctions to divide people into those who are considered white (and therefore privileged) and those who are non-white (and therefore oppressed); and in the case of Jews, it combines the two, pitting “Jews of color” against Jews who are tarred with “conditional whiteness” and its attendant “racial privilege.”
“White supremacists continue to racialize Jews as non-white,” the curriculum’s “Fact Sheet on Jewish American Diversity” acknowledges. But “many Jews with light skin identify with the idea of white-presenting,” it reads. “Light-skinned Jews…experience white privilege,” while “Jews of color like all communities of color face systemic racism.” In other words, the same kind of Jews who, in living memory, were forced into ovens for being non-white, are now identified as white –– or at a minimum, as having “conditional whiteness.” This disqualifies most Jews from the solidarity offered to other minority groups.
Nazi curricula taught that in order to usurp white privilege, Jews pretended to be white, hiding in plain sight. But surely, a modern-day ethnic studies curriculum wouldn’t perpetuate the same idea?
“Starting with immigrants, and common with actors” (actors?), the proposed California curriculum’s section on Jews teaches, American Jews have historically hidden their Jewishness by changing their names. Authors of this curriculum want to make sure California’s schoolchildren know that “this practice of name-changing continues to the present day.” Putting an even finer point on it, passing as white (what would have been called “posing” as white in an earlier era) means that Jews “[change] their position on the racial hierarchy… gaining racial privilege” (Emphasis added).
Jews are the only group in California’s proposed curriculum for whom the term “privilege” is used.
There ought to be no discussion about Jews and privilege that doesn’t begin by talking about the historically enacted and repeated genocidal ideology that revolves around Jews and privilege. For an ethnic studies curriculum to go traipsing through that discourse without a single mention of its ugly and bloody history is not a lesson about anti-Semitism. It is a repetition of it. By itself, that should effectuate a vote of no confidence in the entire franchise.
Critical race theory is not the historical equivalent of Nazism, but it doesn’t have to be: the question is whether an American education will help students widen their sense of “us,” or once again, teach students to harden their sense of “them.”
Full story at Jewish Journal.
The deadline for public comment on the proposed California Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum is Thursday, January 21. Public comments should be directed to ethnicstudies@cde.ca.gov
In the Norwegian Resistance Museum in Akershus (outside Oslo) is a tribute to the many teachers who refused to teach the Nordic racist ideology that the Quisling regime demanded. Many ended up in concentration camps where a few died, until Quisling gave up on the idea. They risked their lives to avoid corrupting children. How many California teachers will now risk their jobs?
Heck, Archie Bunker already told us that back in ’71.
I know several non-whites, primarily Asian Americans or Latinx (as Ms., oops, that’s gender-specific, Person Pelosi prefers).
One does not have to be white to be guilty of “white privilege.”
Those I know may, indeed, have some certain advantages: most have a father and a mother involved in their lives and many have learned a work ethic. Some, but not all, also have the advantage of faith.
Doug Emhoff, our nation’s first Second Gentleman (husband of Person Harris), and Senators Feinstein and Sanders are also guilty of “white privilege,” according to the new curriculum. Will the Vice-President or our Catholic governor point that out?
I think that would be Second Spouse but maybe it should just be Second Significant Other. Oh but that might offend the polyamorous so Second Squeeze?
You left out this very important paragraph:
In the midst of the largest recorded surge in anti-Semitic propaganda and attacks against Jewish people across the globe, a new framework for racial theory again counts Jews as members of the evil class. Jews, who represent roughly 0.2% of the world’s population and roughly 2% of the U.S. population, are again targeted for their “privilege.” Yet, when concerns are raised about the ways in which critical ethnic studies programs promote this type of hatred, the authors of Rethinking Ethnic Studies write, “such strong feelings are part of students’ sense-making and development.”
Very well put. White people are seen as the “evil class”.
I apologize for being narcissistic and making this about me and I apologize for leaving the subject of ethnicity but I would like to talk about what happens when other people tell your story. They get it wrong. Or at least inaccurate or they use it for their own purpose.
Catholics experience this every day and I think it is at the root of a lot of the strife we are seeing in the Church and the uptick in violence and vandalism. Joe Biden is, too me, a poor representative of Catholics in some aspects. I know many Catholics who think Pope Francis is a poor representative of Catholics in some ways. Father James Martin S. J. is considered by many to be a poor representative of Catholics in some ways.
Some Catholics wish the Church was different than it is and prefer models of Catholicism which they feel represent the love of Christ in a non-judgmental and tolerant manner; what they wish was true.
Even members of the group differ in what is important to represent. There are struggles in the Church and in the media and in the world because of this.
“Some Catholics wish the Church was different than it is and prefer models of Catholicism which they feel represent the love of Christ in a non-judgmental and tolerant manner; what they wish was true.” Ie. They want Christ on their terms, not His….
So, it seems California public schools (and, hopefully, Catholic and other private schools will not follow) deem the following guilty of “white privilege:”
St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross/Edith Stein (murdered in Auschwitz), Anne Frank, Mother MIriam, Dr. Ronda Chervin, Deacon Patrick Lappert, Father Paul Schenck, Dawn Eden, Dan Burke, Debbie Herbeck, Deacon Michael Ross, most of the Jews murdered during the Nazi holocaust, repentant abortionist Dr. Bernard Nathanson and maybe even St. Joseph, St. John the Baptist, all the Apostles, Our Lady and even our Lord Himself.
Are we not all part of the one human race?
St. Joseph, St. John the Baptist, the Apostles, Our Lady and the Lord Himself were not “light skinned.”
We really do not know what skin color they had. They spoke Hebrew and Aramaic. If one looks on line at the videos of those who still speak Aramaic and Hebrew, they are a “mixed bag” of skin and hair colors. According to the Hebrew in the Old Testament some Israelites had reddish hair, King David and Esau I think were too of them. Whether their skin was lighter or darker who knows? They were not Nordic white with super light blonde hair and skin, but most were not the color of the people of deepest, darkest Africa either. Many African Berbers have blonde hair, blue eyes and light skin.
Actually, according to an Orthodox Jewish website Esau and King David were describe as having a ruddy (reddish) complexion.
Most Middle Easterners, Arabs and Palestinians, as well as others, consider themselves “white.” What race do you think the Jews of that area were?
We don’t actually know what they looked like, which is why I said “maybe even…” The point of the article is the state’s promotion of the ideology of “white privilege” and “critical race theory.” (According to critical race theory, racial inequality emerges from the social, economic, and legal differences that white people create between “races” to maintain elite white interests in labour markets and politics, giving rise to poverty and criminality in many minority communities.)
Most Jews, probably including most at the Jewish Journal, consider themselves white.
Even Brother Biden’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission also explicitly defines white as “original peoples of Europe, North Africa, or the Middle East.”
Our faith is primarily about the Incarnation of the Eternal Son of God, Jesus; His joining the human race.
The amount of melanin in the pigment of the Holy Family and Apostles is irrelevant (while their being Jewish is not).
Actually, some Middle Easterners and Northern Africans were called Caucasian, not “White”, because of their facial features, and hair types that are similar to the lighter skinned Caucasians of the north. Some dictionaries do not use that term any more. Everything keeps changing.
My husband makes me laugh when he says such things as, “Oh, he is just a darker white guy.”
Because light skinned is not your stereotype of people from the middle east?
No, I don’t stereotype people. The lightness or darkness of one’s skin is irrelevant, whether Jewish, Muslim, Christian or agnostic.
And, you didn’t answer my question.
The point is that “critical race theory” is erroneous.
My Race: Human, My snarky comment was meant for Anonymous January 21, 2021 at 12:32pm
I like your name.
So-called “Critical Race Theory” is very, very insanely prejudiced and stupid! Are they now going to target very Rich Privileged White Males like George Soros, Silicon Valley entrepreneurs like Mark Zuckerberg, or Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos– or “Rich, Privileged Black Women,” like Oprah?? They are all jealous of the rich, powerful and successful– who today, are primarily huge political contributors to their sick, leftist liberal causes– causes like “Critical Race Theory!” Very “socialist” agenda! Throughout history, people have been extremely jealous of wealthy, smart, hard-working, successful, “privileged” Jews, and have persecuted and killed them! Are academically-high-scoring, successful, wealthy, “privileged,” fair-skinned Asians also targeted?? Will a democratic, capitalist, competitive, free society become “socialist?” Are economics and money the most important thing in life?? Is this what Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi fought and gave their lives for?? There is only one way to get rid of cruel prejudice and racism– follow Jesus Christ, open your hearts to love and serve Him and all mankind! Open your Bibles, close your stupid, atheist political books! As Dr. King said– we are all only one race– the “Human Race!”
I suspect the Northern tribes of Israel were lighter as they probably were mixed with the Gentiles. I suspect the southern tribes of Israel for the same reason were darker. We do know from Scripture that Moses’s wife was descended from Ham and darker, and it displeased Aaron and Mariam., Moses’s sibblings.
Many blonde haired or lighter skinned Italians have found out through DNA testing that they have a lot of Swiss and even English blood when the Northern tribes invaded, or visa versa.
After the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish Temple, in around 70 A.D., the Jewish Diaspora occurred, in which the Jews were again exiled from their homeland. Jews who went to Eastern Europe and then Germany, were called “Ashkenaz” Jews, and those who went to Mediterranean-area European countries, were called Sephardic Jews. Many of them married Gentiles, as had occurred in previous eras– such as when Boaz married the pagan Jewish convert, Ruth; and Boaz and Ruth became ancestors of Christ. Actually, many Jews emigrated from Israel long before the Diaspora, and settled in many different places. It’s terrible, that they have so often faced persecution! I think many ignorant lower-class people are jealous of Jews and Asians who are highly-intelligent and very gifted, and are tremendous achievers in school and in the workplace. Many very talented, famous scholars, scientists, entrepreneurs, entertainers, and artists, etc., have also been Jewish. I feel very blessed to have been born on the birthday of a favorite opera star, Beverley Sills– a devout Jew (now sadly deceased)!
Today, I sent an email to the State Board of Education, stating my view, that their new program should NOT be implemented, and why. Today is the last day they will accept comments. I got an automated reply, stating that they received my comment. Hope it helps!
Jews and Arabs are Semitic peoples, but the Jews are also a very definite race, besides religion and culture. The Jewish race and religion goes back thousands of years, in the Old Testament. I am sure that people who have irrational prejudices against anyone who looks like a descendant of White European heritage, may likewise have irrational, unfounded prejudices against other fair-skinned peoples, even fair-skinned Asians!– and how about albino Blacks, who are extremely persecuted by ignorant, prejudiced Africans, in their own countries?? ?? Sammy Davis, Jr. was a famous Jewish religious convert, but not a Jew by race, culture, language, or ethnicity. Bless him, poor Sammy Davis, Jr.– after his tragic auto accident, he became the world’s one-and-only, “one-eyed, Black Jew!” And he was so talented– bless him!
Seriously….are we SERIOUSLY as Catholics having this conversation?!…I just can’t even…. “Love One another as I have loved you”….it’s pretty simple. As Catholics we need to stand up to this rediculousness and if we are considered ‘privileged’ because we have the opinion that all are equal in the eyes of God….well then I will use that ‘privileged’ knowledge (which is by the way available to all in the Holy Bible) to turn my cheek against this new form of hate and continue to teach my kids and those around me that God loves us, we are all sinners and we all can seek redemption—no matter race, background or privilege.
Have you noticed how people become nervous of being labeled?
I remember in the ’60s an anti-war song that said “Go ahead and call me yellow.”
The Democrats came up with “They are going to call us socialist no matter what we say.” to help elevate the left wing of their party.
This is the attitude we need.
Go ahead and call me privileged.
They are going to call us privileged no matter what we say.
Critical race theory=communist BS. Communism is straight from the pit of hell. Really all we need to know.