Dear friends,
At the first hearing of the Massachusetts Special Commission on Combatting Antisemitism last fall, the chairs committed to hearing voices from across the state — not just within the State House in Boston. Yesterday, we upheld that commitment by gathering at the JCC in Longmeadow for our fourth hearing, where we heard from the Western Mass Jewish community.
Over nearly five hours, we heard powerful and thoughtful testimonies from rabbis in Great Barrington, Springfield, and Northampton, who shared the experiences of their communities: the targeting of Israeli-owned coffee shops by hateful protesters after October 7, the hostile environment Jewish teachers face due to implicit antisemitic bias in training sessions, and the complexities of antisemitism across the political spectrum.
Holocaust survivor Henny Lewin spoke about the power of sharing personal narratives with young people and the meaningful conversations that follow. Educators also shared their perspectives, including a middle school teacher who powerfully expressed how the Massachusetts Teachers Association ‘betrayed the trust of educators.’
The Commission is working to shed light on the experience of antisemitism and assess existing interventions and their implementation. To that end, we heard from Dr. Russell Johnston, Acting Commissioner of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), and Erin Hashimoto-Martell, Associate Commissioner of Instructional Support.
They joined us to discuss the rollout of Massachusetts’ genocide education mandate (requiring schools districts to incorporate genocide education in both middle and high school, along with implementing the Holocaust education component of the state’s History and Social Science framework — an initiative for which JCRC led advocacy) and the 2024 directive (‘Section 98A’) requiring DESE to provide resources, curriculum guidance, and professional development on antisemitism and societal bias.
To that end, I asked DESE for their perspective on incorporating Jewish studies, Jewish heritage, and Jewish diversity in America into the broader curriculum:
I had the opportunity to question DESE on the data they are gathering as they implement the Genocide Education Trust Fund (the grants that support local education agencies to develop curriculum materials for school districts — another initiative for which JCRC continues to lead the advocacy). I appreciate their candor as they work toward 100% compliance, and hope our discussion helps clarify district-by-district efforts and the quality of support from third-party curriculum providers.
We also explored antisemitism resources, drawing on the National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, which the Commission is tasked with implementing. I pressed them on how educators can approach this work through ‘integrated’ versus ‘compartmentalized’ methodologies (explained in the video below), and was encouraged by DESE’s commitment to integrated education. I encouraged them to approach this work with that lens:
Finally, I asked DESE what support teachers need to better understand and teach about Jewish experiences more broadly. I also emphasized how we, along with the Commission, are a partner with them in this effort:
The Commission will make actionable recommendations to the Commonwealth this fall. At JCRC, our focus remains on advancing evidence-based interventions at both the state and local levels. But as the chairs have emphasized, we don’t need to wait for the final report to take action — the Commission’s role includes highlighting urgent needs in real-time.
To that end, I urge you to read Sunday’s Boston Globe editorial, which constructively calls on DESE to “contract with a well-regarded curriculum-development firm to produce a balanced lesson plan on the situation in the Middle East and the centuries of conflict that preceded it.”
“Given how fraught the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has become, the state should instead take the lead in providing a balanced and detailed curriculum for instructors to use if they teach about either the immediate conflict, now in uneasy ceasefire, or the longer history of the tensions…
Most teachers, we believe, want to teach the subject with the nuance and sensitivity it deserves but may not have the training or expertise to do so…
A state-provided curriculum would aim to be a balanced resource for the state’s teachers. Like everything else about the Middle East, it would be highly scrutinized and undoubtedly imperfect. Still, it would help reassure parents that their children were receiving as balanced an overview as possible of this complex conflict. And its existence would provide even more reason for the MTA to bring to a close its ill-advised attempt at providing content for the state’s teachers.”
I for one have no doubt that this call and Governor Healey’s direct intervention with the Massachusetts Teachers Association regarding their blatantly antisemitic learning materials comes as a result of the Commission’s work. And we must continue to focus on all the ways our schools can be safe and inclusive learning environments that foster critical thinking. The work of the Commission will continue to reflect the value and impact of having the full support and allyship of our state’s leaders in the struggle against antisemitism.
We at JCRC were so proud to have advocated for the creation and adoption of this Commission and I continue to embrace the responsibility of serving on the Commission.
I thank the Commission chairs, Senator Velis and Representative Cataldo, for their continued commitment to guiding this process with integrity.
Warm regards,
Jeremy Burton
Chief Executive Officer, JCRC of Greater Boston
