The Institute for Curriculum Services claims to advocate for accuracy in K-12 instruction on Jewish history – but backed by the Israel lobby it whitewashes the history of indigenous Palestinians and Israeli theft of their land, and even attempts to delete the word “Palestine” from textbooks. ICS boasts that it has ‘improved public education’ in all 50 states and impacted 11 million students across the country.
Many Jewish groups in America are sending mixed signals: YES, we want to see an end to injustice for Black Americans; NO, we do not want to see the same for Palestinians.
Like most successful politicians, Lederman worked to develop friendly relationships with voters. JTA reports that these are useful in promoting Israel: “Such first-name-basis relationships in a state with only 800,000 people help Lederman advance a pro-Israel agenda, one that he prominently displays on his website’s home page, where he touts his leadership on the Iran sanctions legislation as well as a pro-Israel resolution in the wake of Israel’s 2008-2009 Gaza military campaign…”