Over Jewish concerns, Bay Area district votes 5-0 to use ethnic studies textbook

The Campbell Union High School District board voted unanimously Thursday to adopt "Voices: An Ethnic Studies Survey" As the textbook for its ethnic studies courses across six high schools serving 8,600 students in the San Jose area for a six-year period.

Jewish community leaders and advocates raised concerns before and during the vote. Oleg Ivanov, executive director of the northern California region for StandWithUs, stated that the book "mentions Jews but lacks a meaningful discussion of what antisemitism is, how it works and why it has risen dramatically since the Hamas massacre on Oct. 7, 2023." He said the textbook "distorts Jewish identity and experiences by ignoring Jews, who are not 'white' in any sense of the term, as well as antisemitic threats from white supremacists and other hate groups," And that it "teaches about 'diaspora' communities but never mentions how that word is rooted in Jewish history."

Ivanov also noted the curriculum "repeatedly uses 'resistance' and other terms that extremists have weaponized to promote hatred and violence, with no clear definitions or guardrails," And called for the district to "engage with the Jewish community in good faith to address these concerns."

Tali Klima, spokeswoman for the Bay Area Jewish Coalition, objected that the district approved "a year-long mandatory course after reviewing only a textbook that teachers are not even required to use," Warning that "by approving this course without meaningful oversight, the board has effectively handed educators a blank check to introduce political content into a required class." She referenced "a documented history of discriminatory classroom materials" In the district.

In April 2025, the California Department of Education determined that two teachers' "ethnic studies material and instruction" In the district "discriminated against Jewish students," According to a report.

Marci Lerner Miller of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law stated that "within a short period of time, the state of California found that Campbell Union High School District failed to adequately respond to Jew-hatred and that the district's ethnic studies materials discriminated against Jewish students," And warned the adoption "undermines the inclusive environment the district claims to offer its students and sends a disturbing message to Jewish families."

During public comment, a Jewish student described a "painful rise in antisemitism," Recounting that the state education department found the district failed to respond adequately after a student told a teacher, of a Jewish peer, "Don't talk to that Jew. That's why the Holocaust happened." The student also noted a teacher's assignment asked whether Hamas members are terrorists or freedom fighters, saying "these incidents leave Jewish students feeling humiliated and unsafe." She urged the board to delay making the course mandatory "until you have thoroughly reviewed the complete framework and established meaningful accountability."

A parent similarly asked the board not to make the course mandatory, citing "serious antisemitic incidents" And the state's previous findings of bias in district ethnic studies materials.

District Superintendent Robert Bravo responded that the vote concerned textbook adoption, not the graduation requirement, and stated: "What I didn't hear tonight was specific objections to anything in this book, maybe some general objection again to the use of the 'oppressor' framework, but nothing specific, nothing that is factually inaccurate in the book."

Trustee Elisabeth Halliday, speaking via video, said she had read the textbook and took community concerns seriously but that "disagreement with the framework is not evidence of bias and indoctrination." She stated: "There is some talk about and lessons about 'oppressed' and 'oppressor.' The fact of the matter is there are people who have been systemically oppressed, purposefully, for centuries in our nation and other nations, and I don't think that learning about that is going to make people less patriotic or feel guilty."

Board Clerk Linda Goytia said the textbook "does not address or focus on Palestinian or Jewish issues at all" But centers on Black, Latino, Native American, and Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. She noted one sentence mentioning Jews under the Spanish Inquisition and questioned its inclusion without context. Goytia concluded: "At this point in time, I can't find anything in this volume that would make any Jewish student feel unsafe."

The Jewish Community Relations Council Bay Area told JNS the district "must ensure thoughtful and accurate representation of Jewish identity, history and lived experiences in its ethnic studies program" And said it looked forward to continuing work with district leadership.