Drop the ADL from Chicago Schools
Chicago Public Schools Board of Education and Educational Stakeholders
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) markets itself as an expert advisor to school communities on antisemitism. However, despite its reputation as a civil rights organization, the ADL is not the social justice educational partner it claims to be. The ADL is a divisive, conservative political interest group that pushes their distorted antisemitism approach into schools, falsely framing Palestinian liberation, anti-Zionism, and anti-colonialism as a threat to Jewish safety. Simultaneously, the ADL ignores or dismisses the antisemitic acts, rhetoric, and violence of right-wing fascists. We believe that all of our safety is interconnected, not in opposition, and must be tackled by fighting fascism and white supremacy in the U.S. and abroad.
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Chicago Public Schools Board of Education and Educational Stakeholders
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Drop the ADL from Schools-Chicago aims to end the influence of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in Chicago-area schools. Resisting the influence of organizations like the ADL is also part of the larger fight for academic freedom and the right to teach anti-racist, liberatory curricula.
We stand for an educational approach that emphasizes the importance of liberation for all, and supports young people who want to take action for a more just world. Students deserve to explore issues that matter to them.
We demand that the Chicago Public Schools Board of Education and educational stakeholders take an official stance against:
1. The ADL’s learning model that restricts genuine inquiry, censors critique of Israel, and shuts down discussion, learning, advocacy, and representation of Palestinian history and people in school settings.
2. All educational programming that weaponizes the false conflation of antisemitism with anti-Zionism, including but not limited to usage of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism.
3. Punishing educators through: threats of termination of employment, investigation by the school district, and harassment by fellow school community members and outside organizations; as well as punishing students through suspension or expulsion and similar harassment.