martin luther, who lived in the 15th and 16th centuries, took issue with the catholic church’s practice of indulgences. an indulgence was essentially a monetary penalty intended to absolve one of past sins: payoffs for bad conduct. this same martin luther, centuries before the ww ii holocaust, made history as a virulent anti-semite. this so much that it is the subject to academic study.
despite jewish groups condemnation of california’s controversial ethnic studies program that has been viewed as as anti-semitic and biased, governor newsom signed it into law. he did so, however, with an indulgence.
this sin, unleashing and indoctrinating the education of jew hatred in public schools, is so great that the governor sought and paid an indulgence to do so. rather than the catholic church, holocaust museums, and others, stepped up to the plate to offer this absolution. additionally, a governor’s council on holocaust and genocide education was created. as a cynic, one can see the problem of the ethnic studies program that has to begin with marginalizing and set-aside one group from the others. this is quite an ominous beginning.
rather than taking the time to confront a difficult and complicated issue as to how to fairly and appropriately address jewish ethnic studies in the public school classroom, the state of california, with co-conspirators, are resigned to make jewish ethnic studies a lesson about genocide. thus, after the students have been taught jew hatred in the classroom, they will be taught as to what needs to happen next.
while the governor speaks of the governor’s council as providing “the tools necessary to recognize and respond to on-campus instances of antisemitism and bigotry,” the california educational system, to the contrary, will be teaching and encouraging hatred of the jewish people.
in reality, the council will do nothing to promote the positive qualities of jewish ethnicity. the fact that they are people of a strong moral code, they are people that have strong family values, they are people who promote and practice values to help others in need and make society better are of no concern. the council will not address the fact that the jewish ethnicity is actually a combination of every other ethnicity. jewish people come from all over the world including but not limited to europe, north africa, south america, asia, and africa.
california educational systems, without the benefit of an additional program to hype jew hatred, already has a lot statewide. uc merced had a problem with an educator allegedly with anti-semitic issues, san francisco state university invites terrorists to speak at the school, uc irvine has their annual hate week, a san diego teachers union just voted supporting the bds movement, and the los angeles unified school’s teachers union is on the precipice of doing the same. recently, at santa monica city college, a chabad rabbi’s car was vandalized.
how much was this indulgence paid by the governor?
the state of california will be making payments of $10 million to the museum of tolerance in los angeles, and $2.5 million for the holocaust museum’s 35,000 square foot expansion. the tauber holocaust library and archives at the jewish family children’s services holocaust center in san francisco also received $1 million for renovations. jpost
with all respect to holocaust victims, their survivors, and their families, as great as the atrocity that occurred, they must be reminded that the jewish people did not begin and did not end with the holocaust. jewish people are not something of the past. the holocaust has been weaponized to the point that jewish people are accused of being “nazis.”
the jewish people, from their inception have been subject to periods of atrocities at the hands of many peoples. martin luther’s history anti-semitism in europe occurred centuries before world war ii. from the destructions of the temples, the inquisitions, the pogroms, there are countless periods of death and destruction to be remembered..
california students must be educated of the jewish people’s historic residence in the levant. this education should include the fact that there were two temples, their destruction, the diaspora and the return to the modern state. while the holocaust is a significant chapter, jewish history is rich with many chapters. further, as stated-above, the jewish people’s role in the betterment of society should be taught.
as one individual who opposed the ethnic study’s program stated, “to say we are deeply concerned is an understatement,” she said. “while certainly not all in the ethnic studies field fall into this category, there is a vocal and active faction of extremists who have long been seeking to inject their antisemitic and anti-zionist agenda into our nation’s classrooms, and today that faction succeeded.” rossman-benjamin from AMCHA asserted, “the fact that no less than seven ‘guardrails’ were deemed necessary for preventing AB 101 from facilitating the widespread promotion of antisemitism is itself a stunning indictment of the bill and the dangers it poses for jewish students and the jewish community.” “this is a dark day for jewish students in california and the dozens of other states that historically follow california’s lead,” she said. algemeiner
organizations who took the money must be be reminded of the following: when jews attend prayer services, they are not the diary of anne frank and nor are they handed the works of nobel prize winning author, elie weisel. congregants are given a prayer book and the bible. in each and every prayer book, the kaddish, the prayer for mourning, is present. this prayer is not exclusive to any group or any period of history. it is an eternal prayer for those who mourn all who have passed.
in sum, this sad moment in california legislative and educational history is precisely why the ten commandments’ project was started. hopefully, blog posts, materials and articles generated can be used by educators to provide an honest, accurate and hopefully inspiring view of an ancient people.
be well!!
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Jewish Advocacy Group Criticizes California Governor Signing Bill Requiring Ethnic Studies in High School
Share Tweet Print Email OCTOBER 10, 2021 10:57 AM0
Jewish Advocacy Group Criticizes California Governor Signing Bill Requiring Ethnic Studies in High School
by Benjamin Kerstein
California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks to the media, at a voting center in Sacramento, California, March 3, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Gabriela Bhaskar / File.
A Jewish advocacy group on Friday strongly condemned California Governor Gavin Newsom’s signing of a law making the state the first to require an ethnic studies course for high school students.
Assembly Bill 101 (AB 101) had been opposed by some Jewish groups, who argued that it would allow schools to adopt previously proposed curricula that included antisemitic and anti-Israel material.
After its September passage in the state’s legislature, the bill was welcomed by the California Legislative Jewish Caucus for “guardrail” amendments that would prevent those materials from being taught.
AMCHA Initiative Director Tammi Rossman-Benjamin argued Friday that those changes were insufficient.OCTOBER 10, 2021 10:29 AM0
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