American Jewish Committee Responds to California Gov. Newsom on Anti-Hate and Ethnic Studies Initiatives

American Jewish Committee today responded to a statement by California Governor Gavin Newsom on new efforts to fight hate and discrimination and a letter from the governor to school districts regarding a curriculum for ethnic studies.

“The steps announced by Governor Newsom to tackle hate crimes are both welcome and needed, especially when bias attacks against religious and ethnic groups are increasing. AJC also supports the governor’s call for ethnic studies courses that are taught in a non-discriminatory fashion using the curriculum adopted by California in 2021 that focuses on the history, culture and many contributions of historically marginalized groups to the fabric of American society. We urge the state and local school districts to unequivocally reject Liberated Ethnic Studies instructional materials that are guided by political ideology rather than an historical foundation and are riddled with bias and antisemitism. They should have no place in California classrooms.”