Lived in Israel for a a few years and proudly work in the US national security space. What Ms. Neuberger is facing is a *real* problem and one that has continued to dog me throughout my career. One can be a loyal American AND a Jew; these are not mutually exclusive. Thank you Ms. Neuberger for setting the example, the WH for defending her, and Bari, thanks to you for pointedly capturing this troubling reality.
I watched a recent on the street reporter his name escapes me but he was asking young adults I’d say mostly in their 20’s “ what was the Holocaust?” Literally none of them knew, zero idea, no recollection on their faces. I’m shocked , appalled and disgusted that an event so critical to who we are as humans and what despicable acts we are capable of has never been taught to this generation. It makes me incredibly sad for the future of us all.
Good for the Biden team. Happy to see them willing to take a stand.
On a side note...I am dismayed but also slightly hopeful regarding the California curriculum article you linked to at the end of your piece.
I am dismayed because the content is shocking, skewed and, ironically, primed to exacerbate social and racial divisions. However, I am heartened to see individuals on the political left and even the LA Times editorial board not only object to the content, but also the broader agenda afoot. I would be interested to know what the discussions, mentioned in the article, between the task force entrusted with writing the curriculum and the local school boards look like.
My hope, perhaps naïve, is that sunlight is a the best disinfectant for this sort of ideology. My hope is that this debate over the curriculum will force more citizens to wrestle with CRT and observe its insidious nature.
The California curriculum is extraordinarily disturbing. I view the fascism and socialism as symptoms of the same disease of totalitarianism. Totalitarian rule does not manifest in an instant. The rollup of power is generally a gradual process. Hitler came to power in 1933, but it took him until 1939 to invade Poland. The rest is history as “they” say. Changing the academic curriculum to differentiate the worthy versus unworthy races were among Hitler’s first policies in 1933. I am glad that the BIden administration took a stand for Ms. Neuberger and bucked the age old trope. Neuberger’s victory is a gratifying battle to have won, but this will be a protracted war. Thoughts/curriculums generally proceed actions as you so articulately conveyed in “The Great Unraveling”. I find the substitution of MLKJr philosophies with a more violent ethos to be even more disturbing than the material related to Jews. Jewish history is a tremendous inconvenience for the illiberal left. If militant activism is the new dogma/curriculum, then how confident are we that the products of this dogma are not going to erase the Jewish inconvenience?
"Ethnic Studies"? I fled the Middle East because of that. But it seems to have followed me. Why should children be taught ethnicity and even care about it? Because that is how you divide people and then rule, when ethnicity leads to conflict. People who are otherwise unemployable and useless would love to become state arbiters of ethnicity rules. And they do.
If I'm going to take advantage of my right to criticize Biden and his administration (and I'm one huge critic!) it is only right that I praise him and his administration when he does the right thing. So kudos to him and his people for standing up for right.
I grew up in a time when the Holocaust was fresh on everyone's mind, and the mantra was "Never Again."
I was absolutely certain that the events (demonization, hate, restrictions, persecutions, etc.) that preceded the "Final Solution" could never happen again especially in this country. I figured that having seen where such things can lead, we'd make sure that they didn't recur. That if there was any good thing that came out of those policies of pure, unleavened evil, it would be clarity of the kinds of thinking that lead to it.
Fellow Orthodox Jew to Neuberger, I roam her old neighborhood daily. These liberals (progressives? Lefties? Who cares) have no shame and barely disguise their disdain for my kind. But it exposes them more than anything else. It's their Achilles heel. They just can't help it!
I feel like I'm the heels of every move you make Bari. Like we are on a similar beat. I just shut down much of my social media though. It took too much of a negative toll on me recently. I have to heal myself more before I can help heal the world. Thank you for being the voice we and especially the left needs to hear.
My wife and I have our daughter in a California public school. We are pleased with it so far, although we live in a blue but in many ways conservative part of the state, away from the major urban centers. We discussed how we will handle our daughter's inevitable collision with the new ethnic studies curriculum. My view is to have her be exposed to it, and then point out to her where it goes wrong and why, as a teachable moment that evil in the world comes in many forms. I want to teach her to respect authority while knowing that those in leadership positions can be very wrong or even immoral. I don't think children should be sheltered from this reality, and no time is better than the present. I hope that parents across the state who oppose this curriculum will organize to present an alternative in a non-school setting.
On the "What flavor of Jew-hatred should we be the most worried about" tip. . . I've always wanted to see a definitive discussion of the "GOOD FOR ISRAEL BUT BAD FOR JUDAISM" comment / observation. Would love your thoughts on that some day.
Lived in Israel for a a few years and proudly work in the US national security space. What Ms. Neuberger is facing is a *real* problem and one that has continued to dog me throughout my career. One can be a loyal American AND a Jew; these are not mutually exclusive. Thank you Ms. Neuberger for setting the example, the WH for defending her, and Bari, thanks to you for pointedly capturing this troubling reality.
Hi Bari!! Miss you mucho. This is amazing - so happy to get to connect closely with your words and you. Sending big hugs. Shauna
I watched a recent on the street reporter his name escapes me but he was asking young adults I’d say mostly in their 20’s “ what was the Holocaust?” Literally none of them knew, zero idea, no recollection on their faces. I’m shocked , appalled and disgusted that an event so critical to who we are as humans and what despicable acts we are capable of has never been taught to this generation. It makes me incredibly sad for the future of us all.
Good for the Biden team. Happy to see them willing to take a stand.
On a side note...I am dismayed but also slightly hopeful regarding the California curriculum article you linked to at the end of your piece.
I am dismayed because the content is shocking, skewed and, ironically, primed to exacerbate social and racial divisions. However, I am heartened to see individuals on the political left and even the LA Times editorial board not only object to the content, but also the broader agenda afoot. I would be interested to know what the discussions, mentioned in the article, between the task force entrusted with writing the curriculum and the local school boards look like.
My hope, perhaps naïve, is that sunlight is a the best disinfectant for this sort of ideology. My hope is that this debate over the curriculum will force more citizens to wrestle with CRT and observe its insidious nature.
The California curriculum is extraordinarily disturbing. I view the fascism and socialism as symptoms of the same disease of totalitarianism. Totalitarian rule does not manifest in an instant. The rollup of power is generally a gradual process. Hitler came to power in 1933, but it took him until 1939 to invade Poland. The rest is history as “they” say. Changing the academic curriculum to differentiate the worthy versus unworthy races were among Hitler’s first policies in 1933. I am glad that the BIden administration took a stand for Ms. Neuberger and bucked the age old trope. Neuberger’s victory is a gratifying battle to have won, but this will be a protracted war. Thoughts/curriculums generally proceed actions as you so articulately conveyed in “The Great Unraveling”. I find the substitution of MLKJr philosophies with a more violent ethos to be even more disturbing than the material related to Jews. Jewish history is a tremendous inconvenience for the illiberal left. If militant activism is the new dogma/curriculum, then how confident are we that the products of this dogma are not going to erase the Jewish inconvenience?
MN Department of Education tried to remove the Holocaust from the curriculum. I believe people fought and got it to at least be mentioned.
"Ethnic Studies"? I fled the Middle East because of that. But it seems to have followed me. Why should children be taught ethnicity and even care about it? Because that is how you divide people and then rule, when ethnicity leads to conflict. People who are otherwise unemployable and useless would love to become state arbiters of ethnicity rules. And they do.
If I'm going to take advantage of my right to criticize Biden and his administration (and I'm one huge critic!) it is only right that I praise him and his administration when he does the right thing. So kudos to him and his people for standing up for right.
I grew up in a time when the Holocaust was fresh on everyone's mind, and the mantra was "Never Again."
I was absolutely certain that the events (demonization, hate, restrictions, persecutions, etc.) that preceded the "Final Solution" could never happen again especially in this country. I figured that having seen where such things can lead, we'd make sure that they didn't recur. That if there was any good thing that came out of those policies of pure, unleavened evil, it would be clarity of the kinds of thinking that lead to it.
But here we are.
I follow the news or so I thought. I did not hear about either of these issues,so thanks BW.
Never Again!
Fellow Orthodox Jew to Neuberger, I roam her old neighborhood daily. These liberals (progressives? Lefties? Who cares) have no shame and barely disguise their disdain for my kind. But it exposes them more than anything else. It's their Achilles heel. They just can't help it!
I feel like I'm the heels of every move you make Bari. Like we are on a similar beat. I just shut down much of my social media though. It took too much of a negative toll on me recently. I have to heal myself more before I can help heal the world. Thank you for being the voice we and especially the left needs to hear.
So what do American Jews do about it?
My wife and I have our daughter in a California public school. We are pleased with it so far, although we live in a blue but in many ways conservative part of the state, away from the major urban centers. We discussed how we will handle our daughter's inevitable collision with the new ethnic studies curriculum. My view is to have her be exposed to it, and then point out to her where it goes wrong and why, as a teachable moment that evil in the world comes in many forms. I want to teach her to respect authority while knowing that those in leadership positions can be very wrong or even immoral. I don't think children should be sheltered from this reality, and no time is better than the present. I hope that parents across the state who oppose this curriculum will organize to present an alternative in a non-school setting.
On the "What flavor of Jew-hatred should we be the most worried about" tip. . . I've always wanted to see a definitive discussion of the "GOOD FOR ISRAEL BUT BAD FOR JUDAISM" comment / observation. Would love your thoughts on that some day.