About Us
The “Curriculum on Antisemitism from a Framework of Collective Liberation” is devoted to understanding and challenging antisemitism grounded in a deep commitment to justice and dignity for all people.
The curriculum and resources are participatory and interactive and build from people's own wisdom, knowledge, histories, and experience.
Some of the topics in the curriculum include:
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Jewish Histories and Geographies
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Understanding Antisemitism
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Antisemitism from a Framework of Collective Liberation
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Perspectives on Histories of Antisemitism
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Intersecting Histories and Antisemitism
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US Historical Context: Immigration, Race and Racialization
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Antisemitism in the US Today: White Nationalism, Tropes, Conspiracy Theories, & more
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What Antisemitism is, and What It is Not; Use/Misuse of Data
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Challenges, Possibilities, and Strategies: Working Together for Collective Liberation
In our exploration of antisemitism, we are deeply aware of the breadth and depth of Jewish experience. Jews come from many backgrounds, histories, and experiences. Jewish experiences of antisemitism necessarily differ as well. Antisemitism must be understood as contextual and as part of a historical continuum that interacts with society as a whole. Antisemitism is not static, but, rather, is part of historical, interactive processes. Historical and contemporary experiences of antisemitism do not define Jewish experience alone. We want to honor the richness of Jewish experiences and histories across the globe.
Throughout the curriculum, participants interact with excerpts from articles and books and other resources in the process of framing and analyzing a range of issues and thinking. The curriculum draws upon the work of educators, organizers and activists, scholars of Jewish history (sometimes overlapping categories), along with others, who have thought deeply about the issues within the curriculum (and many of whom we interviewed in the process of developing the curriculum.) The intention throughout the curriculum is for these voices to interact with one another in our exploration of how to effectively and meaningfully challenge antisemitism from a liberation framework. The more we delved into our research, we increasingly saw how this curriculum can open space for engaging more deeply–and interactively–with the issues raised in these different disciplines, further bringing them together to build upon their conceptual, theoretical, and experientially-rooted thinking.
Next steps
Our facilitators can offer workshops or classes in your schools, institutions, and communities. Please reach out to us at antisemitismcurriculum@gmail.com for more information.
Curriculum Facilitators
Nina Mehta is a community educator and co-director of PARCEO from New York City. She has taught in public schools in NYC and Durham, NC, at NYU and Boricua College, and has been part of many alternative and participatory education projects. She works with a wide range of groups on collaborative research, rethinking ethnography, cultural, and media projects and facilitates workshops and events. She supports groups as they work through their internal processes and facilitates workshops and large-scale events to elevate participatory, creative, and horizontal engagement. She comes from families that are first generation Bombay Jain immigrants, and longtime New York City Jewish educators and social justice advocates.
Donna Nevel, a community psychologist and educator, is co-director of PARCEO. She taught Participatory Action Research (PAR) for many years at NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development and at Bank Street Graduate School of Education. She has directed educational programs with public schools, a Head Start Center, and with immigrants’ rights and racial justice groups. She has worked with Jewish and other social justice initiatives, locally, nationally, and globally. She has taught and offered facilitation in different educational settings, including workshops, university classes, K-12 classes, and conferences and retreats, and conducts “train the trainers” for facilitators. Having grown up in South Florida in a family steeped in Jewish cultural, religious, and social justice traditions, her commitments have reflected that foundation.
Lesley Williams is a librarian, writing instructor, discussion facilitator and racial equity advocate based in Evanston Illinois. As a public librarian she initiated and co-lead community discussions on dismantling racism; and she has consulted with library systems and schools on creating racially diverse and inclusive collections, staff and services. She has led and trained facilitators for local racial justice and environmental justice book discussion and reviews African American and Palestinian literature for Booklist magazine. She has presented at numerous library conferences, school and community equity trainings; at the American Studies Association, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and on Worldview. Her writing has appeared in Truthout, Mondoweiss and AWBC Magazine.
and others coming soon!