The sheet describes Zionism as “an example of extreme nationalism” with a focus on “taking land from Palestinians.”
By Shula Rosen
Tenth-graders in New York received a study guide for the Regents exam that contained misinformation and strong anti-Israel views.
The incident, which Stop Antisemitism and The Jerusalem Post reported, began when a Jewish mother and her daughter complained about a study guide for the Regents exam that was riddled with anti-Israel propaganda.
A review sheet titled “Unit 10.7 – Decolonization and Nationalism, Subsection: Israeli-Palestinian Conflict” was handed out in a 10th-grade social studies class at Half Hollow Hills High School East.
The sheet describes Zionism as “an example of extreme nationalism” with a focus on “taking land from Palestinians.”
Other falsehoods in the study guide include statements that “every war ended with Israel gaining more land” and accusations that Jewish “settler movements are taking land away from Palestinians.”
The guide reduces the complex conflict between Israel and the Palestinians to one focused only on “land ownership.”
After the mother and daughter complained about the anti-Israel propaganda, the school said that the guide was neither created nor approved by the district.
According to social media users, it was believed to have been written and distributed by a teacher.
Interim Superintendent Brian Conboy told the Post that the guide was created before Hamas invaded Israel on October 7, 2023.
He added that the study sheet was generated at a time when the district was in transition and about to adopt a new Regents Exam format.
However, Conboy said that the district would be more cautious and vet all educational materials given to students.
U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) criticized the study guide, calling it a “total amoral abomination.”
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) urged New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and the State Education Department to take immediate action to “rectify this insanity.”
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) also weighed in, stating that “anti-Israel indoctrination under the guise of academic instruction is one of the pathologies of modern education.”
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