Cool School Reform for K-12 Supplemental Materials

IJCR's The Trouble with Textbooks: Distorting History and Religion (TwT) has shed light on failures within the textbook industry to insulate itself from politicized scholarship and historical revisionism. Teaching about the three major monotheistic religions is fraught with inaccuracies and double standards that reflect the results of intense lobbying efforts on the part of interest groups. Muslim advocacy groups have been particularly successful at exploiting the textbook publishing process, promoting an Islam and Arab friendly narrative that too often results in a disparaging view of Christianity and Judaism. American textbooks present Muslim beliefs as historical fact while subjecting Judaism and Christianity to unique qualifications and skepticism. This all too overlooked area of American education is at a crossroads and demands the attention of the American public.

Read Textbooks Are Still Troubled by Dennis Ybarra, Institute for Jewish & Community Research, December 18, 2009

Hannah Rosenthal, President Obama's nominee for the post of special envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism, certainly has her work cut out for her.

According to the latest report from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, hate crimes remain "a serious problem" in the OSCE's 56 member states. Yet, incredibly, only eight of the 56 governments provided the OSCE with data on recent anti-Semitic incidents in their countries. Clearly there are regimes that hope to preserve their country's image by whitewashing local anti-Semitism. Confronting them will be one of Ms. Rosenthal's many challenges.

Read New U.S. anti-Semitism envoy facing formidable task by Gregg Rickman and Rafael Medoff, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, December 8, 2009