Boulder Schools: Yes to Antisemitism Education, No to the ADL
The Issue
As a part of a Title VI Complaint against Boulder Valley School District (BVSD), the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is demanding district-wide mandatory antisemitism training and a zero-tolerance policy utilizing the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism.
BVSD can and should address antisemitism & multiple forms of discrimination.
The ADL is the wrong partner for this critical work, and the IHRA definition is the wrong tool for our schools.
We, the undersigned, support antisemitism education as a part of liberatory education that addresses multiple forms of discrimination.
However, we oppose the role of the Anti-Defamation League(ADL) in designing policy and curricula for the Boulder Valley School District (BVSD), and we reject the use of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition to identify and respond to antisemitism.
Our demands offer an alternative path for addressing antisemitism and supporting students facing discriminatory harassment.
Background: BVSD has acknowledged a Title VI complaint filed by the ADL in June 2026 in response to antisemitic bullying incidents at a district middle school. The ADL complaint demands mandatory antisemitism education based on the IHRA definition of antisemitism and a zero-tolerance policy. On the district website, Superintendent Rob Anderson communicated that he has reached out to the ADL and will present a new policy at the August 11, 2026, Board of Education meeting.
We understand the fear and concern in the wake of the incidents outlined in the complaint and the need for a thoughtful and comprehensive response.
However, while the ADL has long positioned itself as an expert on antisemitism, it is not a neutral civil rights organization. Instead, its leadership frequently maligns legitimate human rights advocacy and political activism as antisemitic. Furthermore, the ADL has a long history of undermining anti-racist struggles, even as it claims to promote anti-discrimination.
Jewish Voices for Peace, If Not Now, and other local and national Jewish voices oppose the ADL and its claim to represent the Jewish community as a whole. The ADL ultimately worsens the climate of antisemitism by denying the internal diversity of Jewish thought and opinion and conflating Jewish identity with support for the state of Israel.
Our primary objections to the ADL include:
--The ADL’s conflation of anti-Zionism with antisemitism. This includes the use of the IHRA definition of antisemitism.
--The ADL’s record of anti-Muslim bias and anti-Palestinian racism.
--The ADL’s pedagogic framework that centers individual attitudes to be policed and punished, rather than a historically grounded analysis of power and the need for systemic change and repair.
--The ADL’s use of K-12 curriculum to bolster its public image and obscure its political agenda.
We are not alone in our objections to the ADL. 200+ organizations have signed an open letter to progressives to stop collaborating with the ADL. 100+ groups have signed on to "Drop the ADL in Schools " Letter to Educators. These include chapters of Black Lives Matter and the Council on American-Islamic Relations, as well as Denver/Boulder Jewish Voices for Peace.
In July 2025, a majority of National Education Association (NEA) delegates voted to bar the use of ADL curricula and materials at their Representative Assembly due to anti-Muslim bias and repression of student and educator free speech. The NEA Executive Committee overrode the majority delegate vote after a pressure campaign from the ADL. However, delegates continued their advocacy at the 2026 NEA Representative Assembly, introducing resolutions to promote alternative curriculum on antisemitism, protect the right to teach about genocide, and protect academic freedom. These resolutions address the negative impacts of the ADL in K-12 schools.
Alternatives exist to the ADL. BVSD can address antisemitism and other forms of bias and discrimination comprehensively while avoiding a partnership with the ADL.
Our Demands:
1) We urge BVSD to make policy and curricula decisions through an inclusive process that incorporates a diversity of Jewish perspectives and other groups vulnerable to discriminatory harassment, including Muslim and Palestinian-Americans, immigrants and refugees, BIPOC students, families experiencing poverty and homelessness, disabled students, and LGBTQAI+ students.
Effective policies and education will address multiple forms of power and discrimination and their impact on students and school culture, and create a transparent process for considering community feedback.
Curricula and policy SHOULD:
--Align with all of the values and principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and justice articulated by BVSD.
--Recognize historical and social context when addressing social justice issues.
--Distinguish between the varying and disproportionate impacts of discrimination on different groups while upholding every group's right to dignity.
2) We urge BVSD to discontinue its partnership with the ADL and use alternative anti-discrimination curricula. These may include:
- Curriculum on Antisemitism in the Framework of Collective Liberation by PARCEO
- Rethinking Schools
- Teaching for Change
- The Zinn Education Project
BVSD can and should tackle antisemitism together with multiple forms of discrimination, exclusion, and inequality.
We urge BVSD to do so without the ADL’s political influence and without the use of the IHRA definition of antisemitism.
Resources and citations:
Jewish Voices for Peace: No to ADL one-pager: https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/resource/adl-one-pager/
Drop the ADL Primer: The ADL is not an Ally https://droptheadl.org/the-adl-is-not-an-ally/
Rethinking Schools, Nora Lester Murad: Educators Beware: The ADL is not a Social Justice Partner for Schools: https://rethinkingschools.org/articles/educators-beware-the-anti-defamation-league-is-not-the-social-justice-partner-it-claims-to-be/
Human Rights Watch: 103 Human Rights and Civil Society Groups Urge the UN not to use the IHRA definition of antisemitism
Jewish Currents: Examining the ADL's Antisemitism Audit https://jewishcurrents.org/examining-the-adls-antisemitism-audit
Truthout: ADL Staff Internally Dissent Over Targeting of Pro-Palestine Advocates: https://truthout.org/articles/adl-staff-internally-dissent-over-groups-targeting-of-pro-palestine-advocates/
Jewish Currents: ADL Shutters Flagship Anti-Bias Program https://jewishcurrents.org/adl-shutters-flagship-anti-bias-program
The Forward: ADL Chief Compares Student Protestors to Islamic Terrorists https://forward.com/news/726133/greenblatt-adl-protesters-terrorists/
Video: Peter Beinhart: Why Can Jonathan Greenblatt (ADL CEO) Lie with Impunity?
Book: The Anti-Defamation League and the Racial State, Emmaia Gelman (2026)
Journal Article: What is Wrong with the International Holocaust Remembrance Definition of Antisemitism? Deckers & Coulter (2022)
23
The Issue
As a part of a Title VI Complaint against Boulder Valley School District (BVSD), the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is demanding district-wide mandatory antisemitism training and a zero-tolerance policy utilizing the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism.
BVSD can and should address antisemitism & multiple forms of discrimination.
The ADL is the wrong partner for this critical work, and the IHRA definition is the wrong tool for our schools.
We, the undersigned, support antisemitism education as a part of liberatory education that addresses multiple forms of discrimination.
However, we oppose the role of the Anti-Defamation League(ADL) in designing policy and curricula for the Boulder Valley School District (BVSD), and we reject the use of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition to identify and respond to antisemitism.
Our demands offer an alternative path for addressing antisemitism and supporting students facing discriminatory harassment.
Background: BVSD has acknowledged a Title VI complaint filed by the ADL in June 2026 in response to antisemitic bullying incidents at a district middle school. The ADL complaint demands mandatory antisemitism education based on the IHRA definition of antisemitism and a zero-tolerance policy. On the district website, Superintendent Rob Anderson communicated that he has reached out to the ADL and will present a new policy at the August 11, 2026, Board of Education meeting.
We understand the fear and concern in the wake of the incidents outlined in the complaint and the need for a thoughtful and comprehensive response.
However, while the ADL has long positioned itself as an expert on antisemitism, it is not a neutral civil rights organization. Instead, its leadership frequently maligns legitimate human rights advocacy and political activism as antisemitic. Furthermore, the ADL has a long history of undermining anti-racist struggles, even as it claims to promote anti-discrimination.
Jewish Voices for Peace, If Not Now, and other local and national Jewish voices oppose the ADL and its claim to represent the Jewish community as a whole. The ADL ultimately worsens the climate of antisemitism by denying the internal diversity of Jewish thought and opinion and conflating Jewish identity with support for the state of Israel.
Our primary objections to the ADL include:
--The ADL’s conflation of anti-Zionism with antisemitism. This includes the use of the IHRA definition of antisemitism.
--The ADL’s record of anti-Muslim bias and anti-Palestinian racism.
--The ADL’s pedagogic framework that centers individual attitudes to be policed and punished, rather than a historically grounded analysis of power and the need for systemic change and repair.
--The ADL’s use of K-12 curriculum to bolster its public image and obscure its political agenda.
We are not alone in our objections to the ADL. 200+ organizations have signed an open letter to progressives to stop collaborating with the ADL. 100+ groups have signed on to "Drop the ADL in Schools " Letter to Educators. These include chapters of Black Lives Matter and the Council on American-Islamic Relations, as well as Denver/Boulder Jewish Voices for Peace.
In July 2025, a majority of National Education Association (NEA) delegates voted to bar the use of ADL curricula and materials at their Representative Assembly due to anti-Muslim bias and repression of student and educator free speech. The NEA Executive Committee overrode the majority delegate vote after a pressure campaign from the ADL. However, delegates continued their advocacy at the 2026 NEA Representative Assembly, introducing resolutions to promote alternative curriculum on antisemitism, protect the right to teach about genocide, and protect academic freedom. These resolutions address the negative impacts of the ADL in K-12 schools.
Alternatives exist to the ADL. BVSD can address antisemitism and other forms of bias and discrimination comprehensively while avoiding a partnership with the ADL.
Our Demands:
1) We urge BVSD to make policy and curricula decisions through an inclusive process that incorporates a diversity of Jewish perspectives and other groups vulnerable to discriminatory harassment, including Muslim and Palestinian-Americans, immigrants and refugees, BIPOC students, families experiencing poverty and homelessness, disabled students, and LGBTQAI+ students.
Effective policies and education will address multiple forms of power and discrimination and their impact on students and school culture, and create a transparent process for considering community feedback.
Curricula and policy SHOULD:
--Align with all of the values and principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and justice articulated by BVSD.
--Recognize historical and social context when addressing social justice issues.
--Distinguish between the varying and disproportionate impacts of discrimination on different groups while upholding every group's right to dignity.
2) We urge BVSD to discontinue its partnership with the ADL and use alternative anti-discrimination curricula. These may include:
- Curriculum on Antisemitism in the Framework of Collective Liberation by PARCEO
- Rethinking Schools
- Teaching for Change
- The Zinn Education Project
BVSD can and should tackle antisemitism together with multiple forms of discrimination, exclusion, and inequality.
We urge BVSD to do so without the ADL’s political influence and without the use of the IHRA definition of antisemitism.
Resources and citations:
Jewish Voices for Peace: No to ADL one-pager: https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/resource/adl-one-pager/
Drop the ADL Primer: The ADL is not an Ally https://droptheadl.org/the-adl-is-not-an-ally/
Rethinking Schools, Nora Lester Murad: Educators Beware: The ADL is not a Social Justice Partner for Schools: https://rethinkingschools.org/articles/educators-beware-the-anti-defamation-league-is-not-the-social-justice-partner-it-claims-to-be/
Human Rights Watch: 103 Human Rights and Civil Society Groups Urge the UN not to use the IHRA definition of antisemitism
Jewish Currents: Examining the ADL's Antisemitism Audit https://jewishcurrents.org/examining-the-adls-antisemitism-audit
Truthout: ADL Staff Internally Dissent Over Targeting of Pro-Palestine Advocates: https://truthout.org/articles/adl-staff-internally-dissent-over-groups-targeting-of-pro-palestine-advocates/
Jewish Currents: ADL Shutters Flagship Anti-Bias Program https://jewishcurrents.org/adl-shutters-flagship-anti-bias-program
The Forward: ADL Chief Compares Student Protestors to Islamic Terrorists https://forward.com/news/726133/greenblatt-adl-protesters-terrorists/
Video: Peter Beinhart: Why Can Jonathan Greenblatt (ADL CEO) Lie with Impunity?
Book: The Anti-Defamation League and the Racial State, Emmaia Gelman (2026)
Journal Article: What is Wrong with the International Holocaust Remembrance Definition of Antisemitism? Deckers & Coulter (2022)
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Petition created on July 8, 2026