Santa Ana community turns out support for Ethnic Studies that include Palestinian history at school board meeting
SAUSD has recently faced criticism from pro-Israel groups, Jewish organizations, and now government officials due to content in its Ethnic Studies curriculum, which was approved by the school board.
On Tuesday, the Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD) held its regularly scheduled meeting, open to the public for comments and concerns. The room was filled with community members who support the SAUSD Ethnic Studies department and its state-approved curriculum, which includes lessons on the history of Palestine.
It is important to note that SAUSD President Carolyn Torres did not attend the meeting.
Organizers and community members attended to speak to the board about supporting the Ethnic Studies curriculum and plead their case for the SAUSD board not to capitulate to outside pressure from Zionist groups.
“How is mentioning and teaching the history of Palestine anti-Semitic?” stated Nizar Milbes, a community activist and resident of Santa Ana, as he gazed at each board member. “The U.S. has not shied away from teaching its oppressive past, whether it is slavery, racism, or oppression of Indigenous people. Why does Israel get a free pass?” Nizar added.
SAUSD has been under fire lately by Zionist groups, Jewish organizations, and, as of recently, government officials for the material in its Ethnic Studies curriculum, which was approved by the board.
These pro-Israel groups are calling the courses “anti-Semitic.” Michelle Stelle, a United States House of Representatives member from California's 45th District (R-45), recently supported the lawsuit. In addition, Michelle is calling on the Biden Administration to open a civil rights investigation into Santa Ana’s school district for its “anti-Semitism” curriculum under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin.
Furthermore, Virginia Foxx, Chairwoman of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, is joining Michelle Steel in exerting congressional pressure on the SAUSD Ethnic Studies curriculum. On September 26th, they sent a letter to Miguel Cardona, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, to “open an investigation into these incidents to determine whether violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act (Title VI) have occurred” the letter stated.
The curriculum in question includes the plight of Palestinians. It labels Israel as a “settler colonialist” and “racist” state, according to court documents. SAUSD is facing a lawsuit for allegedly violating open meeting laws and secretly developing courses for its ethnic studies program, which Jewish advocacy groups claim include antisemitic content. The alleged violation by SAUSD pertains to Title VI.
The district will be tasked with defending and championing the courses they approved last year, which the community is determined to undertake with unwavering resilience.
“I am here in solidarity with the Palestinian community to share their story of oppression and to ensure that their history is told within our community because it is one that mirrors our community as well,” said Lucinda Solorzano, a Santa Ana resident.
The community and educators vs. the Zionist Lobby
Throughout California, the demand for Ethnic Studies courses has soared. However, in the last twelve months, we have watched educators across the country being attacked and sued by institutions with considerable power and deep pockets for teaching and supporting Palestine.
Late last year, I reported on the Zionist lobby suing educators from the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) for their curriculum that included Palestinian and Arab history. SAUSD is facing the same challenge.
There is no official number of academic workers who have lost jobs or faced repression over support for Palestine. Still, there are countless stories nationwide of educators losing their jobs and, in some cases, being threatened with deportation for their support for Palestine.
Michelle Steel, U.S. Representative CA-45, who is applying congressional pressure on the SAUSD board, has received $235,288 from the Zionist lobby, according to OpenSecrets, a nonprofit organization that tracks campaign finance and lobbying.
Virginia Foxx, U.S. Representative NC-05, has received $97,485 from the pro-Israel lobby.
The Plaintiffs in the SAUSD case are the “Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law,” a nonprofit organization, and “Southern Californians for Unbiased Education,” a membership organization of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law. The organization is named after Zionist Movement leader Louis Brandeis, who worked with former U.S. President Thomas Woodrow Wilson in negotiations leading up to the Balfour Declaration.
The Balfour Declaration came amid World War I when Palestine was still nominally under the rule of the then-Ottoman Empire. The letter from British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour to Lord Rothchild, a member of the British House of Lords and one of the wealthiest men in the world, was an early Zionist leader. The letter was signaling that the world’s largest empire was lending its support to the Zionist settler movement in its ambition to colonize Palestine and establish an ethnostate.
The “Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law” was founded in 2011 by Kenneth L. Marcus, a civil rights attorney. He served as Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights under the Trump administration and in multiple roles under the George W. Bush era, such as General Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. He later joined the Department of Justice.
In a March 24, 2024 article, the New York Times called him “The Man Who Helped Redefine Campus Antisemitism.” In 2010, Kenneth wrote a letter to the Obama administration to reconsider the interpretation of Title VI to include “ancestry - meaning students who are harassed because of their ethnic and religious characteristics, including “Arab Muslims, Jewish Americans and Sikhs,” the NYT article stated. That same year Obama accepted Kenneth’s interpretation of Title VI.
Since then, Kenneth has worked with the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) and other groups in helping people across the country in their fight against “anti-Semitism” through the new Title VI interpretation, mainly targeting pro-Palestine groups such as chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).
“These complaints are having the impact that they were designed to achieve,” said Radhika Sainath, an attorney with Palestine Legal, in an NYT article. “Not to win on the merit, but to force universities to investigate, condemn, and suppress speech supporting Palestinian rights because they are so fearful of bad press and donor backlash,” she added.
The government officials who are applying congressional pressure have received money from the Israeli lobby, AIPAC, and the organization that is heading this lawsuit has been at the forefront of suing people across the country for supporting Palestine.
The future of education
The SAUSD case can set a precedent for the rest of the country on how school curricula can be constructed, where teaching the history of Palestine’s national liberation struggle can be erased nationwide. This would give students a curriculum that is friendly to the colonizer and not the colonized—giving a voice to the oppressor and silencing the oppressed from history lessons.
“This district is being made an example of,” said Mirvette Judeh, Vice Chair of the Arab American Southern Caucus, at the school board meeting. “I get to watch teachers being sued and mistreated and this endless witch hunt, all in the name of the truth,” she added.
Their court date is Friday, November 8th, at the Santa Ana Court House.