Why this book? : From Blog Posts to Book
The purpose of these blog posts, including “Why this book?” is to combine them into a published book entitled Safe Schools for Jewish Students: An Educator’s Guide to Preventing Antisemitism and Strengthening Belonging.
Go here for the full Table of Contents.
Introduction – Why this book?
“In general, when we are unsure of ourselves, when the situation is unclear or ambiguous, when uncertainty reigns, we are most likely to look to and accept the actions of others as correct.”
―Robert B. Cialdini, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
“People bind themselves into political teams that share moral narratives. Once they accept a particular narrative, they become blind to alternative moral worlds.”
―Jonathan Haidt, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion
“Mindset change is not about picking up a few pointers here and there. It’s about seeing things in a new way. When people[…]change to a growth mindset, they change from a judge-and-be-judged framework to a learn-and-help-learn framework.”
―Carol Dweck, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
“Teach children to love, and they will have hope. Teach them to hate, and they will have only anger and the desire for revenge.”
—Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, “Epilogue: Letter to a Scientific Atheist,” The Great Partnership: Science, Religion, and the Search for Meaning, pg. 299.
Now is Not a Time to Blame, But a Time to Heal
As educators, we have the responsibility to make sure all our students feel welcome and safe. In no way is this book meant to point fingers or assign blame. Instead, because of the rise in antisemitism, it behooves us to understand the cause of the increase and to take time to reflect on our own behavior as educators.
Regret is not about feeling bad. Regret is an opportunity, a door that opens to understanding what we did wrong and how we can do better in the future.
In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, author Stephen Covey recommends pursuing a win-win goal. “Win/Win is a belief in the Third Alternative. It’s not your way or my way; it’s a better way, a higher way.”
Why this Book? Why Now?
The increase in antisemitism at American schools began in the fall of 2023.
On the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists breached through fences into Israel, murdering concert goers at the Nova Music Festival, residents at the Be’eri kibbutz, and any other Israeli citizens they could find. The designated terrorist organization Hamas, the designated terrorist organization Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), some United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA) workers, some Al Jazeera reporters, and some Gazan citizens killed over 1,200 Israeli citizens that day, taking over 250 hostages.
Throughout Europe, the U.S., and other parts of the globe, praises of the attack circulated on social media, such as, “Woke up to kikes in Israel getting their comeuppance. Life is good,” and other posts celebrating the death of Jews. The amount of antisemitic comments on social media platform The Telegram alone surged from 59 posts on Oct. 6 to 347 on Oct. 7.
In the U.S., antisemitic incidents at K-12 schools went from 494 incidents in 2022 to 1,162 incidents in 2023. This means in just one year, Jewish students were twice as likely to encounter antisemitic harassment in their schools. On college campuses, the threat was worse. Antisemitic incidents went from 219 in 2022 to 922 incidents in 2023–most of which occurred after October 7–to 1,694 incidents in 2024.
It’s important to note that the number of antisemitic incidents in K-12 schools dropped back down in 2024 to 860, and in 2025 to 825. Elementary, middle, and high schools did a faster job at responding to the surge of antisemitism than universities.
The biggest concern, however, is when educators are the source of endorsing antisemitism. I’ve seen many educators supporting a good cause: protecting the lives of Palestinians. Unfortunately, the approach for expressing their support entered their curricula, teaching students, intentionally or not, false reasons to hate Jews.
Since October 7, 2023, educators from K-12 to college have been perhaps unintentionally teaching antisemitic content that can be categorized in one or more of the following three categories, what Natan Sharansky calls the three Ds of antisemitism: Demonization, Double-Standards, and Delegitimization. This book details the definitions and examples of each.
Such skewed education has contributed to the bullying of Jewish students, violence against Jewish students, the termination of employment for pro-Palestinian teachers, and the termination of employment for the pro-Israel teachers who defended the Jewish state.
This book gives educators the tools to identify antisemitism in its modern forms, create class rules and school policies that protect all students, and restore the trust that in an environment of diversity, equity, and inclusion, every student’s identity will be respected.
Comment Below
Please comment below with edits or suggestions on what should be changed in this post.
Please keep your comments civil. Comments are moderated.
If you spot any comment out of line, let me know.
Join My Safe Schools for Jewish Students Newsletter
If you’re new here, subscribe to stay updated on new blog post excerpts of Safe Schools for Jewish Students: An Educator’s Guide to Preventing Antisemitism and Strengthening Belonging.
Sign up for my newsletter here.
Author Biography of Safe Schools for Jewish Students
Ezra Barany loves riveting readers with Jewish thrillers. His first two books in The Torah Codes series were award-winning international bestsellers. In his free time, he has eye-opening discussions on the art of writing novels with his wife and book coach Beth Barany. A high school physics teacher, Ezra lives in Oakland with his beloved wife and two cats working on the next book. Ezra, not the cats.
0 comments