Pennsylvania Senate committee used CAMERA report on Philadelphia schools — Jerusalem Post
The Pennsylvania Senate Majority Policy Committee in the United States used a study by the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA) on the School District of Philadelphia during a public hearing on countering antisemitic hate. This was reported by the Jerusalem Post.
The report in question is the 81-page “Shaping Minds, Spreading Hate: How Antisemitism Took Root in the School District of Philadelphia.” It was prepared by CAMERA Director of Education Rebecca Shgallis. The document analyzes educational materials and school district policies which, in the authors’ view, may create a hostile environment for Jewish students and educators.
Report authors’ conclusions
According to CAMERA, the social studies curriculum in the School District of Philadelphia moved away from the traditional chronological teaching of history toward thematic materials on capitalism, racism, and settler colonialism. The authors also reported significant gaps in the study of world history, including limited or no coverage of the Enlightenment, the French Revolution, both world wars, and the Cold War.
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The organization concluded that Pennsylvania’s vague social studies standards and the lack of state assessment created an opportunity for a curriculum that CAMERA characterizes as ideologically driven and as prioritizing activism over historical literacy.
Statements by a CAMERA representative
Rebecca Shgallis stated that the study demonstrates the need to analyze not only individual incidents, but also broader educational policies and instructional initiatives. According to her, Philadelphia parents contacted CAMERA over the district’s use of lesson plans and resources from the Zinn Education Project after several antisemitic incidents that occurred after October 7, 2023.
According to CAMERA’s conclusions, district materials used a framework dividing people into “oppressors” and “oppressed,” in which Jews, Israel, and the United States were allegedly portrayed as oppressors. The organization noted that it used publicly available educational materials, public records requests, and educators’ public social media posts to prepare the report.
