Last Thursday, the school committee passed a proclamation denouncing antisemitic curriculum materials published by the Massachusetts Teachers Association in 2023. I would have voted in favor of the proclamation—antisemitism has no place in our classrooms, our curriculum, or our community. I’ve heard directly from Jewish family and friends about the fear and pain it causes, and we must stand against it at every opportunity.
But I do wonder: Why did Jewish families in our community have to wait so long? The concerns about these materials were raised in late 2023, and the Marblehead Educators Association publicly rejected them in early 2024—over a year ago. Regardless, it is never too late to reject antisemitism, and that rejection can never be too redundant.
Symbolic gestures are important, but they must be paired with action in order to make change. We must be prepared to understand and address important issues that impact our Jewish community, neighbors and friends. Part of how we can do that is with education and programming that targets the antisemitism present in our community. Here’s a great example of a thoughtful educational program to confront antisemitism directly, implemented in our schools in 2015. That’s the kind of meaningful, proactive work to which we should return.
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