Washington State SB 5612 Concerning Holocaust Education and the companion bill HB 1624 were signed into law in April, 2019.
WAPR supports educating students about the Nazi genocide perpetrated in the Holocaust. At the same time, we have concerns about formalizing curriculum that exploits this historic catastrophe to bolster support for Israel’s violations of Palestinian rights.
In Washington state, every public high school has already for some time been encouraged to teach about the Holocaust. Washington state’s Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) has long outlined what Social Studies teachers should teach, and this has included includes the genocide of Jews and non-Jews by the Nazi regime during World War II, one of the major events of the Twentieth Century. Any credible textbook adopted by a school district includes discussion of World War II and the Holocaust. Social Studies teachers, the vast majority of whom are professionally trained in graduate programs, know that their students, as global citizens of the Twenty-First Century, must learn about Fascism’s democratic rise to power in Germany and the subsequent mass killing of Jews, homosexuals, Roma, political dissidents, and others. The ultimate lesson of the Nazi Holocaust and other examples of mass extermination is that if we do not learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it.
Thus, up until now, the state has “strongly encouraged” teaching about the Holocaust. Now, however, this new state bill mandates that the OSPI not only “must” develop best practices and guidelines for teaching the Holocaust, but it “must” do so with the guidance of only one organization, and then teachers who teach about the Holocaust “must” follow these practices and guidelines by September, 2020.
We are concerned because the one organization being used, the Holocaust Center for Humanity, is problematic. While the Center has many worthwhile lessons on the Holocaust, some of its lessons also promote the State of Israel as the solution to the Holocaust. Since the State of Israel is currently (from 1948 until now) engaging in ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, this is ironic and certainly not a best practice in Holocaust teaching.
We are concerned because the new mandated training of teachers may present only one perspective on Israel and omit Israel's ongoing ethnic cleansing, collective punishment, apartheid, and blockade of Gaza. We are also concerned that teachers are not being treated as professionals who know how to survey and choose credible and reputable material in order to supplement their textbook with additional information.
WAPR supports educating students about the Nazi genocide perpetrated in the Holocaust. At the same time, we have concerns about formalizing curriculum that exploits this historic catastrophe to bolster support for Israel’s violations of Palestinian rights.
In Washington state, every public high school has already for some time been encouraged to teach about the Holocaust. Washington state’s Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) has long outlined what Social Studies teachers should teach, and this has included includes the genocide of Jews and non-Jews by the Nazi regime during World War II, one of the major events of the Twentieth Century. Any credible textbook adopted by a school district includes discussion of World War II and the Holocaust. Social Studies teachers, the vast majority of whom are professionally trained in graduate programs, know that their students, as global citizens of the Twenty-First Century, must learn about Fascism’s democratic rise to power in Germany and the subsequent mass killing of Jews, homosexuals, Roma, political dissidents, and others. The ultimate lesson of the Nazi Holocaust and other examples of mass extermination is that if we do not learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it.
Thus, up until now, the state has “strongly encouraged” teaching about the Holocaust. Now, however, this new state bill mandates that the OSPI not only “must” develop best practices and guidelines for teaching the Holocaust, but it “must” do so with the guidance of only one organization, and then teachers who teach about the Holocaust “must” follow these practices and guidelines by September, 2020.
We are concerned because the one organization being used, the Holocaust Center for Humanity, is problematic. While the Center has many worthwhile lessons on the Holocaust, some of its lessons also promote the State of Israel as the solution to the Holocaust. Since the State of Israel is currently (from 1948 until now) engaging in ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, this is ironic and certainly not a best practice in Holocaust teaching.
We are concerned because the new mandated training of teachers may present only one perspective on Israel and omit Israel's ongoing ethnic cleansing, collective punishment, apartheid, and blockade of Gaza. We are also concerned that teachers are not being treated as professionals who know how to survey and choose credible and reputable material in order to supplement their textbook with additional information.