The Committee on Education and the Workforce met to hear testimony on "Holding Campus Leaders Accountable and Confronting Antisemitism." Opening statements were presented by: (1) Honorable Virginia Foxx, Chairwoman, Committee on Education and the Workforce; and (2) Honorable Robert C. Scott, Ranking Member, Committee on Education and the…

Dominant national myths create versions of reality that we need to deconstruct if we are to take students beyond stereotype. Using the USA as an example, histories that do not align with critical national narratives become silenced or muted. Preoccupation with Black and White dichotomies is just such a narrative that has hidden the significance of…

This "think-aloud" study examines how a group of American Jewish teenagers read historical documents that addressed what it has meant over time to be American and/or Jewish. It demonstrates that students use a variety of sense-making strategies as they read about the past, many of which fall beyond the boundaries of critical historical…

This paper explores the relationship between the teaching of history (the academic study of the past) and the teaching of heritage (meaningful stories tying people to a collective past). The research was conducted in a Jewish high school whose explicit mission involves teaching history through a US history course and heritage through an Israeli…

This response to Al-Haj's article, "National Ethos, Multicultural Education, and the New History Textbooks in Israel" argues for three theses: (1) history textbooks and the public and academic debates about their objectivity, truth, and bias fulfill a semantic function for the adults of the society; (2) contradictory ethnic narratives…

An examination of the U.S. and Israel points up ways in which the emphasis on egalitarianism in the founding political doctrines of each has determined much in its institutional practices and patterns of behavior, and the repeated efforts of each to "equalize" hierarchies imposed seemingly by social necessity. (Author/JM)

This is the last in a series of articles exploring the history of "Jewish Education" magazine, later known as the "Journal of Jewish Education," with a particular emphasis on its intersection with the history of American Jewish education and, more generally, American Jewish life. Major themes and issues that preoccupied the…

In 1917, Chaim Weizmann persuaded the British government to issue a statement (later called the Balfour Declaration) favoring the establishment of a Jewish national home in Palestine. Because of the arrival of many Jews in Palestine in the 1930s and Arab fears about Palestine's future, guerrilla fighting broke out between the two groups. When U.S.…

This anthology provides an introduction to a variety of theories about and historical types of church-state relations, past and present. It provides foreign models against which citizens can judge the strengths and weaknesses of U.S. constitutional arrangements. The analysis looks at Catholicism, Islam, Lutheranism, Calvinism, Judaism, and the…

In this high school U.S. government and U.S. history curriculum unit, students examine in depth the establishment of the state of Israel. Detailed activities are provided to teach students about the role of the United States in the creation of the nation of Israel. The materials include informational handouts for students, background information…

Reports on the history and development of courses on American studies and history in Israeli higher education. Concludes that learning about the United States is deeply embedded in the Israeli university, and U.S. historians have an important role in advancing that study. (CFR)

This unit presents five distinct options designed to allow high school students to explore a range of alternatives for U.S. policy toward the Arab-Israeli conflict. The unit includes a 10-day and a 5-day lesson plan. Both plans follow a similar sequence, first introducing the historical background of the conflict and presenting Arab and Israeli…