September 24, 2020 In the weeks leading up to the 2020 presidential election, the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) Center on Extremism in conjunction with ADL’s Center for Technology and Society is releasing a series of news briefs on topics of concern regarding the role extremists and extremism more broadly are playing in our current political environment.
Here's Part 1:
From the Right, Accusations of a Planned Democratic Coup Emerge
Who/What: Some Trump supporters are accusing…
1250 Results
Anyone who has ever read to or with a child—parent, family member, teacher or friend—knows books leave lasting impressions. Beyond the educational benefits, books have the power to instill empathy, affirm, teach, transport and inspire action. Books matter. EmpathyIn exposing children to other people’s stories and the motivations and feelings behind those narratives, children begin to connect with others on an emotional level, which is the foundation for bridging differences…
September 17, 2020 Talking with young children about voting and elections can open doors to conversations about fairness, democracy, citizenship and participation. As children grow, it is critical to help them understand how government works, the importance of civic participation and how voting is a key way to make your voice and your opinions heard. These picture books, some fiction and some non-fiction, provide discussion starters about voting, equity, gender, race,…
Civics Lesson
GRADE LEVEL: High School How Do Lobbyists Impact the Democratic Process?
What are Effective Ways of Lobbying?
How Might I Lobby for My Bill?
“Lobbying” is an effort by individuals and groups to influence government decisions and actions, and specifically the writing of laws. Lobbying can take different forms including writing letters, making phone calls to legislators and meeting with people in the administration. As student activism in…
September 11, 2020 THE WEEK’S BIG 3
Top officials with the Department of Homeland Security directed agency analysts to downplay threats from violent white supremacy, a whistle-blower complaint released on Wednesday said. Vice President Mike Pence and top officials from the Trump campaign are slated to attend a Montana fundraiser next week hosted by a couple who have expressed support for the QAnon conspiracy theory. A Palestinian woman who played a part in the hijackings of two…
September 09, 2020 By David Andrew Weinberg
ADL’s Global 100 survey is one our greatest tools for measuring, assessing and fighting antisemitism. First launched in 2014, this unique study documented levels of public acceptance of antisemitic beliefs in 100 countries around the world, and we have since updated it with follow-up surveys in many of these countries in 2015, 2017, and, most recently, in 2019.
One outcome from the survey that has received particular attention was…
Survivor Testimony Has Profound Impact on Students New York, NY, September 8, 2020 – A new national survey shows that Holocaust education in high school reflects gains not only in historical knowledge but also manifests in cultivating more empathetic, tolerant, and engaged students. The results also indicate that exposure to Holocaust survivor testimony is strongly associated with numerous positive outcomes in early adulthood including higher critical thinking skills and a greater sense…
Table Talk: Family Conversations about Current EventsIn its simplest terms, voting is an act of expressing your opinion. Whether you participate in a poll, take an online survey or vote in the Presidential election, you are expressing an opinion or point of view with your vote. Merriam Webster defines voting as “to express one's views in response to a poll” or “to express an opinion.” In political elections, people vote for a variety of offices and laws. This includes…
Teach students about the role and importance of the youth vote and have them consider barriers to the youth vote.
National Hispanic Heritage Month honors the achievements, contributions, culture, and history of Hispanic and Latin American people. The month-long celebration begins on September 15 commemorating the anniversary of independence for five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September 18, respectively. The 2025 theme for National Hispanic Heritage Month…
August 28, 2020 THE WEEK’S BIG 3
Federal investigators announced that they have launched a civil rights probe into the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. A sign with the phrase “The Jews Want A Race War” was hung from the heavily trafficked Los Angeles interstate 405 highway overpass on Saturday. The NAACP will replace all leadership of its Philadelphia chapter — including its president, Minister Rodney Muhammad —…
by: Scotland Nash August 26, 2020 Now more than ever, we need to build the capacity for empathy and compassion with our students and school communities.
The health crisis of COVID-19 highlighted again the racial disparities across the country. The racial violence embodied in the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade and George Floyd re-ignited our understanding of the systemic racism that plagues our nation. We can’t deny the staggering statistics that…
August 20, 2020 THE WEEK’S BIG 3
An FBI Twitter account tweeted out a link to a PDF containing the antisemitic “Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion,” as well as FBI documents related to it, with no other context. President Trump on Wednesday offered encouragement to proponents of QAnon, a viral and dangerous conspiracy theory. According to a new study, Facebook “actively promotes further Holocaust-denial content to that user” and “has been unwilling…
August 19, 2020 On August 19, one of the FBI’s official twitter handles, the FBI Records Vault, disseminated a link labeled “Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion.” There has been widespread confusion about the FBI’s motives for doing this, and concern that in doing so the FBI is spreading an antisemitic text. The Protocols is a notorious antisemitic forgery created at the turn of the 20th century by the Czarist secret police and describes an alleged secret plan of…
Curriculum is available free to high schools across the U.S. New York, NY, August 19, 2020 ... Every generation can lay claim to the shared experience of a divided nation. Yet many young people, especially Gen Z, are learning about polarization in today’s society through a barrage of soundbites, headlines and social media posts. This means that, now more than ever there is a critical need, as evident in the latest NAEP Civics Assessment, for young people to learn how to participate…
August 14, 2020 THE WEEK’S BIG 3
Israel struck an agreement with the United Arab Emirates to establish “full normalization of relations” even as it forgoes for now plans to annex occupied West Bank territory in order to focus on improving its ties with the rest of the Arab world. Facebook will start banning posts that contain blackface or that promote antisemitic conspiracy theories that Jewish people are running the world. A Georgia congressional candidate, who has a…
August 13, 2020 Anti-Israel organizations held demonstrations in at least eight cities across the country, August 7 through 9, 2020. Protests were organized following the call of transnational anti-Israel group Samidoun for Days of Resistance, designated as a time to engage in demonstrations and related activity as a follow-up to July’s Day of Rage anti-Israel protests that were more focused on Israel’s potential annexation of parts of the West Bank.
While most of the rhetoric…
August 14, 2020 Anti-Israel organizations held demonstrations in at least eight cities across the country, August 7 through 9, 2020. Protests were organized following the call of transnational anti-Israel group Samidoun for Days of Resistance, designated as a time to engage in demonstrations and related activity as a follow-up to July’s Day of Rage anti-Israel protests that were more focused on Israel’s potential annexation of parts of the West Bank.
While most of the rhetoric…
August 13, 2020 Extremists are constantly adapting and finding creative ways to reach new audiences – and new ways to evade content moderators. Their latest efforts are evident on TikTok, the Chinese social media app that allows users to create and share short videos. In less than four years, TikTok has racked up more than 800 million users, and its popularity is fast approaching that of social media giants like Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram Each TikTok video has the…
August 07, 2020 THE WEEK’S BIG 3
Twenty state attorneys general called on Facebook to better prevent messages of hate, bias and disinformation from spreading, and said the company needed to provide more help to users facing online abuse. The leader of a white supremacist group was arrested in Weatherford, Texas on Saturday after police said he and two other men placed stickers on county property. And the global Jewish community continues to face rising antisemitism due to the…