Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Israeli media outlet: Security incident reported in the Gaza Strip
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson: No new date or venue has been set for the meeting between Araghchi and Witkoff, and no negotiations will take place until the outcome is guaranteed
Palestinian platforms: Settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque complex under the protection of the occupation police
Palestinian platforms: The IOF detonated a booby-trapped robot east of the al-Zaytoun neighborhood, south of Gaza City
Syrian Defense: We call on all parties in Sweida to cooperate with security forces and exercise restraint
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese Army is continuing its investigations and will later announce any information that does not affect the confidentiality of the investigation
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: It has not yet been determined whether the detainees belong to ISIS or another organization
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Around 10 people of different nationalities, including Lebanese nationals, were detained
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese army arrested a number of people in the Matn area of Mount Lebanon with possession it has not disclosed
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: We have strong indications that there are martyrs, injuries, and trapped people in the Salah al-Din area

How an Israeli lobby infiltrated US education

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Mintpress News
  • 15 May 2022 16:11
  • 9 Shares
6 Min Read

Mintpress news investigates how the Institute for Curriculum Services (ICS) pushing a Zionist narrative within the US education system.

  • x
  • How an Israeli lobby infiltrated US education

According to Mintpress news, the Institute for Curriculum Services (ICS), a pro-"Israel" "educational" institution, has attempted to make textbook edits to school curriculums in the US.

In Virginia in 2018, the Virginia Coalition for Human Rights (VCHR) halted the adoption of textbook edits made by ICS in the state.

The ICS claims it increases the accuracy of "Jewish and Judaism history" within the US curriculum, however, it appears to be more focused on promoting a Zionist anti-Palestinian narrative.

ICS alleged that it has improved public education in the US. MintPress News investigated how ICS distorts the facts about "Israel" in American classrooms.

In 2018, a Virginia activist Jeanne Trabulsi was present during a Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) webinar featuring ICS in which its director detailed how the organization works with Jewish Community Relations Councils (JCRCs) to alter textbook revisions. 

After the webinar, Middle Eastern Policy (IRmep) sent a request to Virginia’s Department of Education, under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, for all documents submitted by ICS, JCPA and JCRCs.

Altered state

IRmep discovered that the Jewish Community Federation of Richmond and the JCRCs of Greater Washington, Richmond, and Tidewater submitted ICS-proposed amendments to the Virginia Department of Education.

Changes to school textbooks included the following:

-Settlers be referred to as "communities," occupation” replaced with “control of,” “wall” with “security fence,” “occupied territories” with “captured areas,” and “militant” with “terrorist.”

-A proposal was done to discourage students from conducting their own searches online and instead rely on the Anti-Defamation League's website and JewishVirtualLibrary.org.

-References to "Palestinian Territories" be erased.

-Alter maps so Al-Quds and the Golan Heights be recognized as Israeli instead of occupied.

According to Mintpress, ICS operates as a nonprofit under the 501(c)(3) status of San Francisco’s JCRC and is a grantee of the Schusterman Family Foundation, which also funds the American "Israel" Education Foundation, an American "Israel" Public Affairs Committee charity organizing congressional visits to "Israel."

ICS not only hosts textbook modifications but also teacher training. Currently, 90 locations in the United States have sponsored ICS seminars, with over 6,000 instructors participating. Trabulsi enrolled in their signature course, "Teaching the History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict Using Primary Sources." She characterized their teaching approaches as follows:

"They are highly selective about what documents they do include in their teaching modules. If you didn’t know the story of the Arab world and Israel, you’d think they’re pretty good. I remember one student remarking that the Israelis have offered peace to the Arabs so many times, what else could the Arabs possibly want?”

At the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs and IRmep’s annual "Israel" Lobby Conference, Trabulsi stated that the “VCHR believes that ICS is enmeshed with and funded by Israel affinity groups that drive their pro-Israel advocacy. We believe that this results in biased and inaccurate textbooks and teacher training."

Related News

Senate blames Secret Service failures for Trump assassination attempt

South Korea warns US chip tariffs threaten economy, global supply

Across the board 

MintPress requested any materials supplied by ICS, JCPA, JCRCs, or Jewish federations during curriculum and textbook review procedures from education agencies or boards in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Because textbook and curriculum decisions are determined at the local district level in nineteen states, information on proposed revisions is not accessible. Fourteen states reported no such contacts. Eleven states and the District of Columbia had not responded as of the time of writing. California, New Mexico, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Kentucky, on the other hand, gave information on correspondence with ICS, their states' Jewish federations, and JCRCs.

In Kentucky, ICS changes centered on including allusions to ancient "Israel" and the Holocaust in the text. The Jewish Federation of New Mexico issued an ICS assessment of social studies standards to their state's education administration, recommending that "Nation of Israel" be changed to "State of Israel." In South Carolina, ICS evaluations of a National Geographic Learning and Cengage Learning textbook highlighted the addition of allusions to Palestinian terrorism.

In California, where ICS is located, JPAC, the Jewish Community Relations Councils of San Francisco and Sacramento, and the Jewish Federations of Greater Los Angeles and the Desert forwarded recommended amendments made by ICS to the state's education department. The groups praised California for accepting earlier ICS modifications in their cover letter.

Numerous publishing textbooks were reviewed by ICS with the following changes:

-Erasing "Palestine" and "West Bank" references

-Changing "Palestine" to "Judah"

-Adding "mandate" and "region" to Palestine references

-Erasing references to "Palestinian cultural heritage"

-Altering the idea of Jews "Settling" in Palestine to "joining Jews already there"

-Erasing referencing "Israel's" capture of the West Bank in 1967

In Louisiana, the North Louisiana Jewish Federation, Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans, and Jewish Federation of Baton Rouge wrote to the state Department of Education on behalf of ICS, recommending that ICS revise content published by some publication companies.

Alterations include erasing mentions of "Israel" seizing territory, mentions of "the Green Line," "Historic Palestine", erasing mentions of Israeli human rights abuses, and mentions of Palestine as a "Country," and many more such as adding references of "Palestinian terrorism."

Eradicating Palestine's existence and indigenous Palestinian identity was a frequent topic throughout ICS amendments. "They relabeled maps and they deleted all references to Palestine." "You can call it Mandatory Palestine, but never Palestine," Trabulsi remarked at an "Israel" Lobby conference. "They want to change the word Palestine to Palestinian. The reasoning is there is no state of Palestine, nor has there ever been.”

The pushback

Following criticism from pro-"Israel" groups, left-wing activists accused the final approval of the California Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum of being "white-washed" and "watered down."

The Anti-Defamation League's No Place for Hate project is active in hundreds of schools across the United States, encouraging them to use ADL materials. Pro-"Israel" groups are also relentless in their pursuit of Palestinian and solidarity activists on college campuses around the country.

Progressive movements, though, are pushing back. The Texas Coalition for Human Rights (TCHR) was successful in convincing the state board of education to revise curricular requirements pertaining to Palestine-"Israel" in 2018.

TCHR activist Alex McDonald believes the faulty US system needs to be reworked to ensure accuracy when it comes to Palestine. “The goal is to stifle the conversation and the criticism,” McDonald told MintPress News. “And ICS is just one small part of the brainwashing."

  • United States
  • Israel
  • Israeli lobby

Most Read

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Major ambush in Gaza kills 6 Israeli troops, injures dozens

Major ambush in Gaza kills 5 Israeli troops, injures 14

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Israeli soldiers are seen in Beit Hanoun ahead of an operation by the al-Qassam Brigades, undated (Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)

'Israel' on blast as media exposes report discrepancies in Gaza ambush

  • Palestine
  • 8 Jul 2025
Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

  • Politics
  • 9 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
The Freedom Flotilla ship Handala as it departs for Gaza, where it aims to break the maritime blockade at a port in Syracuse, Sicily in southern Italy on July 13, 2025. (AFP)
Palestine

Freedom Flotilla's Handala departs Sicily in bid to break Gaza siege

The container ship CMA CGM Laperouse, left, docks at the Georgia Ports Authority's Port of Savannah, Sept. 29, 2021, in Savannah, Ga (AP)
Politics

US shipbuilding woes deepen as tariffs, outdated policies backfire

Gaza war raises ethical questions for ex-Obama, Biden officials
Politics

Mercenary firm tied to Gaza war crimes hires Obama-Biden PR operatives

'Israel' targets children in Gaza collecting water
Palestine

'Israel' strikes Gaza kids fetching water, blames it on 'malfunction'

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS