Progressive Politics

For years, California Democrats have defended their landmark program to put ethnic studies classes in high schools across the state. But one particular area of study threatens to unravel the Democratic consensus: Palestine.

In the past year, state lawmakers have teamed up with community groups and the lobbying coalition Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California, or JPAC, in a push to regulate the ethnic studies program. They’re aiming to pass a law that curbs local school board control over ethnic studies curricula in response to classwork focusing on the history of Israel and Palestine that they say has promoted unprecedented bigotry against Jewish students.

The bill’s backers are framing the effort as a way to ensure that ethnic studies “will combat all forms of hate,” as one of the bill’s authors, Assemblymember Dawn Addis, wrote in a March 30 op-ed. “At a time when the federal government is trying to rewrite American history by banning diversity initiatives, California must persist in elevating the lived experiences of everyone in this country,” wrote Addis, whose office did not respond to inquiries from The Intercept.