(Jewish Group) The perils of California textbooks that teach Jews are white

[Behind the Aegis]

THIS IS THE JEWISH GROUP! RESPECT!!!

Have you ever asked a young person what ancient Jews looked like? With what students are learning in California textbooks, you may be quite surprised with the answer.

You see, in California, sixth-grade public school students begin to study “world cultures and civilizations,” and in many cases, it’s their first time learning about numerous minorities, including Jews. First impressions are profound, and in this case will have an impact on future encounters.

And what is a California sixth-grader’s first impression of Jewish people’s heritage?

White.

Just leaf through the pages of accredited California textbooks. You’ll be shocked. The lessons about ancient Israel are not illustrated with people who are ethnically Middle Eastern and multicultural, but with people who are white. This is accomplished mostly through the use of classical European paintings, done by artists who apparently imagined the entire cast of the Bible as white. Abounding in the textbook pages are images of paintings that feature blond, redheaded and assorted other white Egyptians, Jordanians and Israelites.

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[MyMission]

1. This issue is one of my sore spots

Thanks for sharing this. My parents married in 1960.So, I was raised in the 60's and was "taught" that I was not white, I was a Jew.

My parents had been denied rooms in some hotels and memberships in some clubs, just like other non-whites were discriminated against. Non-whites created our own communities, while fighting to be accepted. As many states were fighting or embracing desegregation, we knew we were "tokens" many times, quota's, and not fully accepted, integrated or understood. When Jews started to be called white, I never picked up the habit, always enter other when asked about my race, except when I can write in human.

Having said that, I've copied a few paragraphs from the article you shared that reflect my view

"As a white-passing Ashkenazi Jew, I will never fully understand racism in America. That said, I will never understand what it means to be white; while I am white-passing, I am a Jew, and that should be enough.

This is what our education must teach to fully meet the equitable, diverse and inclusive future that awaits our generation and generations to come."

And while we pass for white, many of us can't or won't pass for a white Christian.

[keithbvadu2]

2. What color/race/ethnicity was Jesus?

What color/race/ethnicity was Jesus?

It depends on whose wall his portrait hangs.