A congressional investigation released on Wednesday has detailed widespread antisemitism and political activism within American K-12 public schools and major teachers' unions following the October 7, 2023 attacks against Israel.
The majority staff report, called “Antisemitism in K-12 Schools” and published by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, stated that antisemitic incidents in US schools increased by 135 percent in 2023, prompting congressional inquiries into several major school districts and labor organizations.
Committee Chairman Tim Walberg said, “Parents send their children to school to learn reading, writing, and math—not to be taught to hate Israel or embrace radical political causes. Yet that’s exactly the kind of material our investigation uncovered. Jewish students deserve to feel safe in their classrooms, and parents deserve to know what their children are being taught. Schools that receive taxpayer dollars must be held accountable when they fail to protect students from antisemitism.”
Investigations opened into California, Pennsylvania, Virginia schools
Under Chairman Walberg’s leadership, the committee opened investigations into Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) in California, the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) in Pennsylvania, and Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia.
The committee selected school districts of varying size and geographic location after receiving numerous reports of antisemitic incidents. The committee noted that its inquiry into Fairfax County remains ongoing.
As part of the wider inquiry, the committee conducted a transcribed interview with Philadelphia Superintendent Dr. Tony Watlington on September 18, 2026, and also investigated the nation’s largest teachers union, the National Education Association (NEA), over allegations of antisemitism.
The committee released documents obtained through its investigations into Berkeley, Philadelphia, and the NEA while continuing its inquiry into Fairfax County.
Focusing on the SDP, the report examined the ninth-largest school district in the US, which comprises 330 schools. The district entered into a federal civil rights resolution agreement with the US Department of Education in December 2024 to address the handling of antisemitic harassment following a sharp rise in incidents after October 7, 2023. According to the congressional report, the investigation found that district curricula promoted ideology justifying violent resistance and legitimized radical groups that incite antisemitism.
Curriculum writers portrayed all resistance as righteous
For example, investigators detailed that a world history curriculum unit covering resistance movements directed students to honor a movement of their choice, listing the Gaza Great March of Return as an option, and opened by teaching that the fight to decolonize in India was not always peaceful.
The report noted that teachers were told to examine the works of Frantz Fanon, whose writings argue that decolonization is inherently violent and who is frequently cited by anti-Israel activists to justify the October 7 attacks.
The congressional report stated that the Philadelphia district’s materials also relied on resources from the Racial Justice Organizing Committee, noting that leaders of the group declared that all resistance is righteous and that there are no two sides to ‘apartheid, occupation, and genocide’.
In lessons using these materials, the report found that Philadelphia students were asked to color-code aspects of their identities as dominant or oppressed. These lessons categorized males, white people, and Christians as dominant, and black people, LGBTQ people, immigrants, and non-Christians as oppressed.
Furthermore, investigators outlined that district curricula introduce far-left activism and terms like “intersectionality,” “ally,” and “social justice” as early as the third grade. The report added that curricula recommended children’s books introducing pronouns such as “ey/em” and “ze/zir”.
According to the report, investigators established that district employees responsible for writing curricula fomented antisemitism online and among colleagues. This included the director of social studies curriculum, Ismael Jimenez, who the report noted had repeatedly rationalized violence against Jews.
The report stated that other curriculum writers maintained that all resistance is righteous. Additionally, investigators documented that the district has repeatedly partnered with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Philadelphia. The report highlighted that a representative previously suggested that curricular materials be reviewed for bias by qualified Muslim educators, and that Superintendent Watlington’s transition team included the group’s former executive director.
During his September 2026 interview with the committee, Superintendent Watlington stated that the social studies curriculum complied with district policies and did not indoctrinate students. He added that the district would standardize its curriculum by using national experts and that the social studies curriculum director was undergoing termination proceedings.
In Berkeley Unified School District, consisting of 20 schools in California, investigators examined extensive antisemitism complaints lodged by parents and students since October 7, 2023. These complaints occurred alongside the district’s adoption of liberated ethnic studies.
The report found that BUSD collaborated with the Liberated Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum Consortium, paying over $111,000 for curriculum writing and consulting since August 2023. According to the congressional findings, this collaboration resulted in lessons littered with antisemitic resources and activist ideology.
Berkeley’s ninth-grade Arab American Studies unit featured an ancestor acknowledgment of Helen Thomas. The report stated that the unit defended her remarks, which told Jewish people to leave the Middle East and go home to Poland and Germany, by framing the controversial statements as constructive activism, asserting that she was engaged in what is termed “good trouble” and that her comments had been taken out of context.
The congressional report noted that BUSD’s ethnic studies units cover topics like the seven pillars of colonization, including killing cultures and exploiting land, and feature specific lessons arguing that Asian people have been weaponized as pawns to serve a white supremacist agenda.
Leadership rationalized Hamas attacks
Berkeley elementary and high school teachers also collaborated on teaching guides that featured the alphabet book P is for Palestine. The book includes selections such as ‘I is for Intifada’. The guides recommended organizations such as the Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA) and the Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC).
Berkeley high school teachers approved an Israel and Palestine lesson set that the report stated whitewashed terrorism and portrayed the phrase "from the river to the sea" as a call for freedom and peace. The committee noted that teachers warned colleagues that the curriculum could not be shared directly with families.
Furthermore, investigators documented that district staff and students raised money through bake sales and bracelet sales for MECA. The report highlighted that the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) identified this organization as having fiscal and personnel ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a US-designated foreign terrorist organization.
At the NEA, representing more than three million educators and administrators, investigators found that antisemitism surged following October 7, 2023. This surge culminated in a 2025 delegate vote to ban Anti-Defamation League (ADL) materials.
According to internal NEA documents cited in the report, the union was already not working with the ADL because of the watchdog’s efforts to combat contemporary antisemitism. Internal memos criticized the ADL for denigrating the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.
The report also detailed that the NEA’s Center for Racial and Social Justice (CRSJ) advised against implementing a resolution by the union’s Jewish Affairs Caucus (JAC) to combat antisemitism because it utilized the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition.
Union staff wrote in a briefing document that the definition had been used by racist and nationalist actors as cover. Additionally, internal documents showed union leaders were advised to avoid action language regarding historical events in the Middle East because history is hotly contested.
Leadership was also explicitly advised that keffiyehs should be allowed at association gatherings as a sign of support for Palestine. The report confirmed that the union pledged thousands of dollars to Rethinking Schools and the Zinn Education Project.
According to the committee, these organizations published statements after October 7 rationalizing Hamas terrorist attacks by pointing to US and Israeli colonialism.
The committee concluded stating that political activism has increasingly displaced educational neutrality across American public education. This has created an environment where antisemitism is minimized, excused, and permitted to flourish.
The committee stated that “public schools should educate students, not enlist them in political causes.” The report added that “parents should be able to trust that schools will educate their children without subjecting them to radical ideology.”
The report stressed that “Jewish students are entitled to the same protection from discrimination and harassment as every other student, regardless of whether hostility toward them is expressed in overt antisemitic terms or cloaked in political rhetoric.”
The committee vowed that it “will continue to use its oversight authority to examine these issues, consider appropriate legislation, and hold federally funded institutions accountable for compliance with federal civil rights law.”