The Los Angeles Unified School District unanimously passed its first-ever resolution recognizing May as Jewish American Heritage Month, embracing a new educational curriculum on Judaism and Israel provided by Israeli activist and author Noa Tishby.  

Designed for middle and high schoolers, the curriculum is based on Noa Tishby’s eight- episode YouTube series, “What is?,” which explores topics including Judaism, antisemitism, the Holocaust and Israel.

“We decided the series needed to be a curriculum in schools,” Tishby, founder of the nonprofit media company Eighteen and Israel’s former special envoy for combating antisemitism, told Jewish Insider.

When she found out that the LAUSD had never recognized JAHM, Tishby reached out to a Los Angeles educator to create a curriculum based on parts of her video series. 

Tishby, who lives in LA, then connected with LAUSD School Board Member Nick Melvoin to draft the resolution, which was co-sponsored by Board Member Sherlett Hendy Newbill and Board President Scott Schmerelson. 

The resolution passed with full support on April 21. 

LAUSD, the second largest school district in the country after New York City, honors cultural heritage months including Black History Month in February, but has never formally acknowledged Jewish American Heritage Month. Several other school districts, such as NYC Public Schools and Berkeley Unified, also promote curricula, books and resources to celebrate the month.

“I think at this time with rising antisemitism and knowing that education is the best antidote, it was important to commemorate May as Jewish American Heritage Month and make sure it’s more than symbolism, with those resources that Noa created,” Melvoin told JI. “There are [existing] resources even prior to the resolution around the contributions of Jewish Americans. But I thought at this time, given the climate [of antisemitism], it’s important to be more explicit about it.”

As a supplement to the curriculum, the Jewish Federation Los Angeles plans to promote a poster series celebrating Jewish Americans to be distributed to public schools. 

A spokesperson for the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia told JI that the museum, which spearheads Jewish American Heritage Month, is “thrilled to hear that LAUSD, one of the largest school districts in America, is adopting JAHM, a federally recognized annual celebration that is held every May and powered by The Weitzman. This move is especially meaningful as we celebrate America’s 250th [anniversary].”  

Tishby recalled being “shocked” that she only learned about the month’s existence a few years ago, despite President George W. Bush issuing the first presidential proclamation designating it as such in 2006.    

“I was blown away,” she told JI. “Jewish American Heritage Month is suffering from very low PR, and it’s not celebrated as much as it should be. We’re trying to make it more visible … There’s never been an LA resolution that actually acknowledges this month at all.” 

The resolution comes as the LAUSD, which serves more than 560,000 students across Los Angeles County, has been accused of failing to address antisemitism — including in teachers’ unions. The district was named in a February lawsuit that highlighted several complaints from Jewish parents and children in districts across California.   

While the resolution cannot require schools to implement the curriculum, Melvoin said he’s “pretty confident” that many will adopt it. “This is where collaborations with folks like Noa and her network and parent leadership [helps],” he said.  

“We want to make sure the Jewish community, which stands with others historically through celebrations and commemorations, also has an opportunity to be celebrated and appreciated,” said Melvoin. “There was no pushback. The board passed it unanimously, and the district staff will work to implement it by making sure there are resources available to districts and schools.” 

“In L.A., there was a sense that Jewish educators and parents didn’t have to be vocal, because we felt comfortable,” he continued. “Since Oct. 7, and even before, Jewish educators and parents have felt galvanized to demand better.”

Given the heavy workload teachers already face, Melvoin said the resolution is not “explicit with [demanding how much time] they must spend covering this. But the spirit of the resolutions is this is something that will be commemorated [every] May.”

“If we hear anecdotally from teachers and parents that it wasn’t as celebrated as it needs to be, then next year I’ll be a little more prescriptive about what needs to happen,” he said.  

Tishby added, “As a Jewish community, we have not taken a seat at the table. We have kind of kept to ourselves, and I don’t think that’s true for where we are right now. We need to claim our seat at the table, and a part of that is to acknowledge that just like any other ethnicity, race or minority, we have this month, and we would love to teach you about us.”  

This story was updated on Apr. 30 to reflect that LAUSD is the second-largest school district in the country, not the first, and that the district did not officially adopt the curriculum but is rather encouraging its use.