Confronting Antisemitism In Our Schools: An Action Plan for Independent School Administrators

Define antisemitism for your school community. Adopting a definition of antisemitism in school policies not only creates a shared understanding, but also serves as an important reference and educational tool when assessing incidents and supporting Jewish and Zionist students. Consult the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism, which provides a clear and widely accepted framework for identifying antisemitism and its many manifestations, including contemporary examples of antizionist forms of antisemitism. The IHRA definition makes clear that criticism of Israeli policy is not antisemitic; at the same time, antisemitic themes can surface in discourse about Israel and it is critical to understand when that happens.

Establish and publicize protocols for responding to antisemitic incidents promptly and effectively. At the start of every school year, schools should clearly outline and communicate protocols for responding to incidents of discrimination, including antisemitism, as well as.reporting structures and the school’s response measures once an incident is reported.

Bias and discrimination incident protocols should include:

• How discrimination should be reported, including mechanisms and chain of command in the reporting process. Jews often hesitate to report antisemitic incidents, as they fear nothing will be done in response to their report, and/or they may believe that their experiences are not “bad enough” or will be taken less seriously compared to forms of oppression faced by other groups. This hesitation can be even stronger in school settings where children may fear retribution from faculty or bullying from fellow students. Schools should have a clearly outlined mechanism for reporting antisemitic incidents. One option is to designate a trusted educator, administrator, or advisor as a point person or resource for students who experience antisemitism in the school setting. Take care to ensure that the responsible adult is someone students feel comfortable speaking to about antisemitism. Another option is an online portal through which members of the school community can report discrimination, harassment, or violations of hate speech.
• How discrimination will be addressed. When discrimination or harassment occurs, schools should respond in ways that restore educational access, correct discriminatory effects, and prevent recurrence. Schools have different methods of addressing such incidents: some use restorative practices, others use consequences, and still others use some combination thereof. Any of these methods may be appropriate provided that protocols are transparent and applied consistently across similar types of bias, and that any participation by victims is strictly voluntary. Policies should forbid retaliation based on someone reporting an incident of bias or discrimination. For complete guidance and a checklist on how to respond, communicate, and support students once an incident has occurred, please see AJC’s Guide to Responding to Discrimination for K-12 Administrators.
• How transparent communication with the school community will occur when discrimination occurs. Normalization occurs when antisemitism is ignored, downplayed, or diluted, or when authority figures fail to specifically name and condemn antisemitism. Because information and misinformation travels quickly in school communities, administrators should be proactively prepared with a plan for communicating with the school community after an antisemitic bias incident. Such communications should explicitly and unequivocally condemn acts of antisemitism, while maintaining necessary confidentiality. They should reinforce the school’s values and communicate next steps, including plans to address the issue through educational programming for all students, supportive measures for affected students, and the enforcement of the school’s applicable policies and procedures.

Review and publicize codes of conduct for faculty/staff and students. Codes of conduct are more than rules regarding the bounds of acceptable behavior; they are opportunities for schools to articulate school values and build communities of empathy and belonging. Clear and transparent codes of conduct help to avoid time consuming and divisive problems before they arise.

Codes of conduct policies should address the following:

• Dress code and symbols. What types of political or other potentially controversial symbols can faculty and/or students wear or display in school.
  • It is important to note that cultural symbols, slogans, and imagery used within Israeli-Palestinian discourse can be expressed in ways that harm and endanger Jewish students. While many of these elements carry historical and cultural significance, some have been weaponized to demonize Jews, deny Jewish peoplehood, and delegitimize Israel, which causes further marginalization of Jewish students. AJC educators are available to talk through these issues with you.
• Social media use. Even when social media use occurs outside of school, its use and misuse deeply affects school culture. Codes of conduct should clearly outline what the school considers improper use of social media and school resources for faculty/staff and for students.
• Faculty expressions of personal views on contentious social, political, and cultural issues in the classroom or elsewhere in school. Because independent schools are not government actors, faculty and staff do not have First Amendment rights in school. School leaders should consider thoughtfully what types of expressions of personal opinions on the part of faculty should be permissible in school, and should have clear and transparent written school policies that reflect school philosophy.
• Protests and walkouts. Establish and enforce rules regarding protests and walkouts. While schools may choose to allow for elements of protest culture on school grounds, protests and walkouts can also disrupt learning and exacerbate tensions within the school community and between groups of students. Clear guidelines help maintain positive learning environments for all students.

Ensure physical security. Verify that your school’s security policies and procedures plan for and deter antisemitic incidents, which often spike around elections, Jewish holidays, and when the conflict in the Middle East intensifies. The October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and its aftermath have led to a steep increase in threats and acts of violence toward Jews in the United States and around the world, including in educational settings. Particularly if your school has a large population of Jewish students, we encourage you to reach out to local Jewish community security organizations, as well as local law enforcement, to obtain current security briefings and best practices.

Check the calendar. Consider Jewish holidays when planning ahead for major school programs, tests, sporting events, field trips, or parent engagement programs to prevent scheduling conflicts and ensure that Jewish students and staff can fully participate in school life without having to choose between their religious observance and school commitments. AJC has created this short Guide to Jewish Religion, Culture, and Holiday Observances, which includes a 5-year calendar to help administrators and educators avoid scheduling conflicts and become better acquainted with key Jewish cultural practices. When a student needs an accommodation due to a religious scheduling need, schools should clarify the process for obtaining one and confirm that students are never penalized due to their religious practice.

Provide nondiscrimination training and education about Jewish identity. Confronting antisemitism effectively requires staff to be trained in the school’s applicable nondiscrimination policies and codes of conduct, as well as educated about Jewish identity and antisemitism more broadly. Antisemitism has similarities to other forms of hate, but it also has unique features that may be overlooked when people lack understanding of Jewish background and experiences. An understanding of both Jews and antisemitism — what it is, how to identify it, and how to confront it — is vital for education professionals to be able to effectively address these issues wherever they surface: in the classroom, the hallway, between students, or online. Our experts, all of whom have extensive classroom teaching and school administrative experience, can provide this programming for your school.

Clarify curricular standards. Adopt a clear and enforceable policy outlining curricular requirements, particularly around topics that are unsettled or reflect historical complexity. Such a policy should:

• Make clear that course content must align with school scope and sequence, be age-appropriate and relevant to the course, and include multiple perspectives designed to support students in forming their own reasoned conclusions.
• Make clear that curriculum should not be driven by personal or political opinion.
• Identify a process by which any outside curricular materials or professional development will be vetted by the administration before use to confirm that they are aligned with school policy and do not discriminate against, marginalize, or coerce any person or group.

Adopting mechanisms to maintain transparency regarding new curriculum, and providing families ways to raise concerns as appropriate, can also help to ensure compliance with school policies, build community trust, and ensure inclusive and high-quality curricula.

Conduct a curriculum audit. Review your school’s curriculum, from kindergarten through 12th grade, to identify where education about Jews, Jewish history, culture, and antisemitism currently exists and where there’s room to grow. Windows into Jewish lived experiences and the contributions Jews have made to our world humanize Jews and help foster mutual respect.

• Incorporate Jewish history, literature, and culture throughout the curriculum, giving students a deeper understanding of the Jewish people’s experiences and challenges over time, including attention to Jewish contributions to society, culture, and science. Our Guidance for K-12 Schools to Ensure the Jewish Experience is Included Across the Curriculum includes key questions and enduring understandings, as well as recommendations for curricular providers and faculty professional development.

Prepare educators to teach with confidence. Educators consistently report that they do not feel fully prepared to teach about Jews, antisemitism, Israel, and related subjects. Beyond addressing gaps across the broader curriculum, we strongly encourage schools to prioritize educator preparation in the three areas below. In each, faculty need both content fluency and pedagogy to teach accurately, presenting multiple perspectives, without imposing their own. We offer workshops grounded in viewpoint diversity, historical literacy, fact-based inquiry, and the use of primary sources. Reach out to us for professional development recommendations and connections to trusted curricular providers.

Revisit Holocaust education to ensure best practices. Holocaust education should impart key understandings: that a millennium-old Jewish civilization in Europe with unique cultural practices and a robust history was destroyed; that Jews resisted Nazi oppression through physical, cultural, and spiritual resistance; that Nazi hatred was based on conspiratorial thinking that scapegoated Jews for society’s problems and justified their dehumanization and demonization, as well as that of other marginalized populations; and that this conspiratorial thinking, activated through propaganda, translated into policies that dismantled democratic institutions in the years leading up to the Holocaust.

• Holocaust education should also include learning about the long history of antisemitism, as well as its post-war manifestations and contemporary expressions. By studying this history, including Christian anti-Judaism, Nazi racial antisemitism, Soviet antizionism, and the expulsion of Jews from Middle Eastern and North African countries, students learn that the Holocaust was neither the first nor the last chapter in that story, and that antisemitism persists today.

Add a unit on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, one that presents multiple narratives and perspectives on the history and present-day situation with rigor and nuance. Done well, this unit will help students examine complex issues with integrity, interpret source material responsibly, and become informed, empathetic community members on their future college campus and beyond. Our team of experts is happy to work with you to discuss best practices and frameworks, design lessons and activities, recommend primary-source-based resources, and refer you to trusted curricular providers.

Incorporate a digital literacy curriculum. Students should learn about the appropriate and healthy use of social media and artificial intelligence, including how algorithms can amplify inflammatory and hateful content, how to assess what is true or false, and how to report online content that promotes hate or incites violence. Because social media use and misuse deeply affects school culture, this curriculum should connect responsible digital citizenship to the school’s broader policies and expectations for conduct, belonging, and respectful dialogue.

Incorporate Jewish belonging into your school’s culture. As schools create cultures of belonging, it is crucial that Jews are equally included with other minority groups and that Jewish identity and antisemitism are taught responsibly. Ensure that your school’s student-focused inclusion programming includes the richness of Jewish life, culture, and experiences. Humanizing the Jewish people is a powerful and effective way to proactively foster a welcoming community that is fully accepting of students’ Jewish identities and resistant to bias and antisemitism.

Additionally, when learning about various forms of hate directed at different groups, be sure to include anti-Jewish hatred. When antisemitism is not addressed as a contemporary form of hate in today’s world, or when Jewish identity is flattened by equating Jewishness with whiteness and privilege, Jews can easily become scapegoats for various social ills. Inclusion programming should address antisemitism’s distinctive features, such as its connection to conspiracy myths and its tendency to escalate at moments of fear or transition in society, such as political instability, pandemics, elections, economic downturns, and global conflict involving Israel. AJC has created guidance to help schools evaluate programs about antisemitism.

Organize educational programs for students and families about Jewish identity and antisemitism. Given that Jews make up just 2.4% of the U.S. population, many Americans only have a passing familiarity with Jewish history, culture, and identity, and antisemitism itself is often also not fully understood. Education about both the Jewish people and antisemitism reassures Jewish families that the school sees and prioritizes their safety and well-being, while helping the broader school community build knowledge, empathy, and a shared commitment to confronting anti-Jewish hate. AJC experts, who have decades of experience in educational settings, can help you customize age-appropriate educational programs for lower, middle, and upper divisions that suit your school’s unique culture. We also provide guidance for schools so they have the information they need to mount such programs sensitively and effectively.

Prioritize support and mental health concerns. Schools should proactively ensure that Jewish students and staff feel safe, heard, and valued within the school community. Schools should be aware that in addition to Jewish students, educators and staff who are Jewish may also experience heightened emotional stress or even become direct targets of antisemitism, particularly during periods of global conflict involving Israel.

Support student and parent Jewish affinity groups. Convene Jewish students, parents, and their affinity groups to provide a platform for open dialogue and mutual support. Reach out to Jewish affinity groups to check in on their well-being. Attend and encourage other administrators to participate in programming organized by Jewish affinity groups. Meet with Jewish student leaders regularly. If a Jewish Student Association (JSA) does not currently exist at your school, support Jewish students in their efforts to launch and sustain one. Consider suggesting and creating opportunities for Jewish groups to collaborate with other groups to foster empathy and dialogue. These gestures signal to the entire school community that Jews are welcome and seen, and that your school is working to better understand the needs and concerns of the Jewish community.

Host an interfaith or intergroup panel. Create forums for students to engage in ways that cultivate empathy and build bridges that support living together in the community. These discussions can expand students’ understanding of Jewish identity beyond the religious to include its cultural, ethnic, and national dimensions. Modeling dialogue across differences is key to helping prepare students to engage in difficult conversations. By observing or participating in civil discourse among individuals with differing views or backgrounds, students gain the listening and communication skills necessary to approach and navigate sensitive topics with nuance and respect. AJC is happy to consult with your school to ensure such conversations are planned thoughtfully and facilitated skillfully.

Celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM). Create schoolwide and divisional programs that acknowledge and celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM) each year in May, promoting awareness and appreciation of Jewish contributions to American society.

Check the calendar. Thoughtful scheduling is itself an act of inclusion; see the Policies section above for guidance on avoiding conflicts with Jewish holidays.

Participate in AJC’s unique educational opportunities. AJC provides professional learning opportunities for administrators and faculty, including webinars featuring educational experts and local in-person conferences. Project Interchange, an institute of AJC, has sent over 6,200 influential societal leaders, including heads of independent schools, on customized educational seminars to Israel to learn about the country firsthand. Since the first trip in 1982, participants have gained direct, in-depth insights into Israel’s diversity, democracy, challenges, complexity, and accomplishments. Project Interchange delegations are by invitation only, but heads of school interested in participating are welcome to email [email protected] for more information.

Contact Us
AJC's Center for Education Advocacy partners with school leaders, families, and policymakers to help schools build lasting capacity to recognize and respond to antisemitism, include Jews and Jewish life, and embrace democratic values. Grounded in critical thinking, viewpoint diversity, and fact-based inquiry, and backed by decades of experience in K-12 education, our approach reflects the same educational values schools strive to uphold. We are here to support you. Reach out anytime to talk through what your school is facing: [email protected].