PURELY COMMENTARY for openers
The Good, the Bad …
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ou are faced with a choice. The stereotypical image of this decision making is the angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other. You do not have to be a believer of either of these “beings” to SY incorporate refMANELLO erences to them Editorial Assistant in your daily conversation. Here are some examples. If you speak vehemently for or against an issue, you may be identified as either an
angel’s or a devil’s advocate. If your argument is emotionally wrought, it could be one that would make the angels weep. If you win, you may be said to have a guardian angel. Were you aware that a stock that has declined or a company that is now failing has been referred to as a fallen angel? (Well, now you know.) The truly charitable person is often said to be on the side of the angels. A good-hearted person is sometimes described as an angel. Be aware that fools rush in where angels fear to tread; so
if you are thinking of being an angel in a theater venture (a backer of financer), you have been warned. On a track to being lazy? Remember that the devil finds work for idle hands. Idleness may then lead to trouble making and you may be full of the devil and addressed as “You devil!” When you are caught, there may be the devil to pay. When you next appear in
public, someone may remark, “Speak of the devil.” When you do not care what others may think, you are said to have a devil-may-care attitude. Someone who is on the straight-and-narrow path is fearful of catching the devil otherwise. When faced with a tough decision, such a person may feel he is between the devil and the deep blue sea. I personally have been known to do a devil of a job making a devil’s food cake and an angels’ food cake. But why not? They’re both sweets — a no-brainer there!
commentary
Ethnic Studies Issues Remain Unresolved
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ome Jews are declaring victory. Their long battle to alter the draft of the proposed Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum (ESMC) for California public schools ended with an Jonathan S. outcome that Tobin left the Simon JNS.org Wiesenthal Center “encouraged.” The effort to remove overtly antisemitic and anti-Israel content from the document was approved by the California State Board of Education. Yet, the Wiesenthal Center remains “concerned” about the program. The American Jewish Committee agreed. It referred to the ESMC as “fundamentally flawed.”
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StandWithUS concurred, calling it “problematic.” At stake was a new school course requirement for schools from K-12 that would make the study of the histories, struggles and contributions of Asian, African American, Latino and Native American communities an integral part of public edu-
cation in the nation’s most populous state. The fourth and revised draft of the curriculum now includes material about, among others, Jews, Armenians and Sikhs. The first draft, which provoked a strong protest from Jews, included antisemitic and anti-Israel language. It effectively endorsed the boycott of
Israel by listing it alongside the Black Lives Matter movement and #MeToo protests against sexual harassment as praiseworthy activities. It referred to the establishment of modern-day Israel by the term nakba, the Palestinian word for “catastrophe.” It spoke of Jews gaining “race privilege” because of their skin color, which makes them part of the oppressive majority grinding down minorities. And it even included a song lyric that spoke of Jews manipulating and controlling the press. That’s all gone from the final draft that’s been approved and included in it now are lesson plans on American Jews, including one on the Mizrachi Jewish experience that discusses antisemitism. Both contain the widely accepted deficontinued on page 10
APRIL 1 • 2021
