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Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, Inc., is committed to countering misinformation and disinformation in education, including content shaped by antisemitic and anti-Israel bias. A strong public education system and the robust free exchange of ideas are foundational to American society. Undisclosed foreign influence in education – including interference designed to sow division and spread hate – threatens academic excellence, educational integrity and our democracy. Hadassah affirms that curricula, teaching materials and educational policies impacting classrooms across the US must be held accountable to American communities, not foreign actors.
As a global organization that supports the Hadassah Medical Organization and its professional affiliations around the world, Hadassah recognizes and celebrates the benefits of international collaboration in education, medical partnerships and humanitarian work. Cross-cultural learning and collaboration can build understanding, advance technology, spur economic growth and accelerate life-saving health research. However, efforts by foreign and foreign-backed actors to suppress or manipulate the teaching of historical events, geography and ongoing conflicts jeopardize educational integrity and the safety of learning environments for all students and educators. Hadassah draws special attention to the ways that distorted facts, biased perspectives on Jewish history and the erasure or questioning of Israel’s very existence can shape antisemitic and anti-Israel attitudes in, and far beyond, the classroom.
All students deserve unbiased, factually accurate educational resources and a positive learning environment based on curricula developed through a transparent democratic process. Greater transparency around the foreign funding of educational institutions is necessary at the primary, secondary and post-secondary school levels. Currently, federal law only requires colleges and universities to report foreign gifts exceeding $250,000 to the US Department of Education, and the majority of K-12 schools are not required to disclose foreign gifts or funding at all.
Many K-12 schools and districts centralize recommendations for pre-approved resources or require teachers to use specific programs or curricula. However, educators and communities may be unaware that some programs receive input from foreign entities and uninformed about curriculum changes that could introduce biases or one-sided approaches to the discussion of complex issues. In the process, schools may inadvertently allow foreign actors to gain influence over what our children and young adults learn, eliminate important opportunities for productive discourse and erode educators’ independence to teach using resources that promote peace and tolerance.
Therefore, Hadassah strongly urges policymakers and school administrators to:
- Strengthen transparency requirements for foreign funding and materials in K-12 schools as well as higher education institutions and require the disclosure of funding sources.
- Require institutions and organizations that develop national curricula to disclose when updates are made to the curricula and report on foreign actors contributing to recommendations or changes.
- Examine existing educational partnerships and materials to identify content intended to foster hatred or bias, including content that perpetuates antisemitism and anti-Zionism.
- Commit to using unbiased, factually accurate educational resources and fostering a positive learning environment based on curricula developed through a transparent democratic process.