Opinion · Peter’s World
Teach October 7. Stop antisemitism.
Three years ago, Hamas-led terrorists murdered families in their homes and young people at a music festival, and dragged hostages into Gaza. Since then, hatred of Jews in America has surged to record levels, and it has followed children into their classrooms. We cannot defeat a hatred our children are never taught to recognize. I am calling on every school board, every state legislature and every member of Congress to make sure American students learn the truth about October 7, and learn to recognize and reject antisemitism.
— Peter’s World
Why October 7 belongs in the classroom
On October 7, 2023, Hamas-led gunmen crossed from Gaza into southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and abducting 251 others, AP reports. Human Rights Watch concluded in July 2024 that Hamas’s military wing and at least four other Palestinian armed groups committed numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity against civilians that day. The names and stories of those murdered and taken hostage are recorded on our October 7 Memorial.
October 7 is now history that students will be asked about, argue about and see distorted online. A generation that learns it from social media feeds instead of teachers and primary sources is easy prey for denial and conspiracy theories.
What young Americans know
- The attack itself. In a February 2024 survey, 58% of Americans under 30 said the way Hamas carried out its attack was unacceptable, compared with 86% of those 65 and older, the Pew Research Center found.
- The Holocaust. A 2020 Claims Conference survey of Millennials and Gen Z found that 63% did not know six million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust, and 48% could not name a single concentration camp or ghetto. The same survey found that 64% believe Holocaust education should be compulsory.
The data: antisemitism in America
Peter’s World checked official U.S. government sources first, then leading research organizations. Each figure is credited to the body that published it.
Official government sources
FBI hate crime statistics
Law enforcement agencies reported 1,528 single-bias anti-Jewish hate crime incidents in 2025, according to FBI data released Aug. 14, 2026 (FBI; Crime Data Explorer). That is 63% of all religion-based hate crimes, more than every other religious group combined. The total fell from a record 1,938 in 2024 but was still the third-highest year on record, according to an ADL analysis of the FBI data.
Education Department, Title VI
On March 10, 2025, the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights warned 60 universities under investigation for antisemitic harassment and discrimination that they could face enforcement action if they failed to protect Jewish students under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. The department said it opened directed investigations at five of those schools in furtherance of President Trump’s executive order “Additional Measures to Combat Antisemitism.”
U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism
In May 2023, the White House released the first-ever U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, with more than 100 new federal actions. Its first pillar is to increase awareness and understanding of antisemitism, including education about the Holocaust and Jewish American heritage. Two administrations of different parties have treated antisemitism as a national threat.
Congress
A House staff report released Dec. 18, 2024, prepared with the House Republican leadership and six committees, found that the United States “has witnessed an alarming surge in antisemitism” since October 7. Earlier, a House Education and the Workforce subcommittee held a May 8, 2024, hearing, “Confronting Pervasive Antisemitism in K-12 Schools,” with testimony from leaders of New York City Public Schools, Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland and the Berkeley Unified School District.
Research organizations
ADL Audit of Antisemitic Incidents
The ADL counted 6,274 antisemitic incidents of assault, harassment and vandalism in 2025, an average of 17 a day. Overall incidents fell from the 2024 record, but physical assaults reached a record high. Incidents at non-Jewish K-12 schools barely moved, at 825 compared with 860 in 2024; ADL found most involved individual, peer-to-peer behavior, such as antisemitic bullying or swastikas drawn in classrooms.
AJC State of Antisemitism in America
In surveys conducted in fall 2025, 91% of American Jews told AJC they feel less safe because of violent attacks in the past year, 55% said they had changed their behavior out of fear of antisemitism, and 31% said they had been personally targeted. Among all U.S. adults, 70% said antisemitism is a problem in the country.
Show 6 more data points
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: After later agency updates, the Crime Data Explorer (data as of Sept. 15, 2026) lists 1,540 anti-Jewish incidents for 2025, slightly above the 1,528 in the Aug. 14 release.
- ADL: analysis of FBI 2025 data: Jews, roughly 2% of the U.S. population, were targeted in 14% of all reported hate crimes in 2025; police recorded 162 anti-Jewish assaults and 505 acts of intimidation.
- ADL: Audit of Antisemitic Incidents 2025: Incidents were 33% below 2024’s record of 9,354, but five times higher than a decade ago; campus incidents fell sharply.
- Pew Research Center: 47% of adults under 30 said discrimination against Jews in the U.S. had increased since the war began, compared with 73% of those 65 and older.
- U.S. Department of Justice: Hate Crime Statistics: Totals for all bias categories, 2024 and 2025, with links to the FBI’s data tables.
- Claims Conference: state-by-state results: Holocaust knowledge scores for Millennials and Gen Z in each of the 50 states.
Criticism of Israel is not antisemitism. Hatred of Jews is.
Honest teaching needs a clear definition. Since 2016, the State Department has used the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s non-legally binding working definition of antisemitism, which builds on the department’s own 2010 definition and which the United States has encouraged other governments to use:
“Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”IHRA working definition, adopted May 26, 2016, as published by the U.S. Department of State
The same text draws the line classrooms need: “criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic.” Its examples of antisemitism include calling for or justifying the killing of Jews, denying the Holocaust, and holding Jews collectively responsible for the actions of the State of Israel.
Students can debate Israeli policy, as they debate the policies of any government. What no student should face is being blamed, harassed or shut out for being Jewish. Teaching the truth about October 7 is not a lesson against Palestinians, Arabs or Muslims; bigotry against any people has no place in an American classroom.
What schools should do
Peter’s World position
- Teach October 7 as history. Offer age-appropriate units for middle and high school students, built on primary sources and survivor testimony, that explain what happened, who was targeted, and why human rights investigators concluded that crimes against humanity were committed. No graphic material for younger students.
- Build on Holocaust education. A Government Accountability Office report released July 7, 2026, found that 43 of 51 states (counting the District of Columbia) have academic standards or laws that explicitly include or require Holocaust education. The other eight should follow, and every state should connect that history to the antisemitism students see today, including October 7.
- Teach what antisemitism is. Use the definition the U.S. government uses, including its line between criticism of a government and hatred of a people.
- Train teachers. Give teachers time and support to use free, established resources: the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, Echoes & Reflections, the USC Shoah Foundation’s IWitness testimony platform, ADL Education and AJC’s Translate Hate glossary.
- Enforce the law. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act bars discrimination based on race, color or national origin in schools that receive federal funds, and the Education Department enforces it against antisemitic harassment. Every district needs clear reporting, prompt investigation and consistent discipline.
- Fund it. GAO notes that the Never Again Education Act authorized federal support for the Holocaust Museum’s teacher resources. Congress should fund that work fully and extend it to contemporary antisemitism, including October 7.
What you can do
Contact your representatives
Find your House member and your senators. Ask them to support Holocaust and antisemitism education and the enforcement of Title VI.
Talk to your school board
Ask three questions at the next meeting: Does our district teach the Holocaust and October 7? What definition of antisemitism does our policy use? How are antisemitic incidents reported and handled?
Report incidents
In an emergency, call 911. Report threats and hate crimes to the FBI at tips.fbi.gov, log incidents with the ADL, and file school discrimination complaints with the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights.
Share the memorial
Send the October 7 Memorial to a teacher, a parent or a student. Each name is a reason to remember.
More from Peter’s World: October 7 Memorial · Stand With Israel · Quote and Transcript Tracker
Sources (15)
- AP News: Israelis mark the 3rd anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack (Oct. 7, 2026): apnews.com
- Human Rights Watch: October 7 Crimes Against Humanity, War Crimes by Hamas-led Groups (July 17, 2024): hrw.org
- FBI: FBI Releases 2025 Reported Crimes in the Nation Statistics (Aug. 14, 2026): fbi.gov
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: Hate Crime in the United States (data as of Sept. 15, 2026): cde.ucr.cjis.gov
- ADL: 2025 Marked Third-Highest Year on Record for Anti-Jewish Hate Crimes, FBI Reports (Aug. 17, 2026): adl.org
- U.S. Department of Education: Office for Civil Rights Sends Letters to 60 Universities Under Investigation for Antisemitic Discrimination and Harassment (Mar. 10, 2025): ed.gov
- The White House (archived): Fact Sheet, First-Ever U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism (May 25, 2023): bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov
- U.S. House of Representatives: Staff Report on Antisemitism (Dec. 18, 2024, PDF): speaker.gov
- Congress.gov: Confronting Pervasive Antisemitism in K-12 Schools, House Education and the Workforce subcommittee hearing (May 8, 2024): congress.gov
- U.S. GAO: K-12 Education: How States and the U.S. Holocaust Museum Support Holocaust Education, GAO-26-108023 (July 7, 2026): gao.gov
- U.S. Department of State: Defining Antisemitism: state.gov
- ADL: Audit of Antisemitic Incidents 2025 (May 6, 2026): adl.org
- AJC: The State of Antisemitism in America 2025 (released Feb. 10, 2026): ajc.org
- Pew Research Center: In views of Israel-Hamas war, younger Americans stand out (Apr. 2, 2024): pewresearch.org
- Claims Conference: First-ever 50-state survey on Holocaust knowledge of American Millennials and Gen Z (Sept. 2020): claimscon.org
Official government sources are listed first in the text; every figure is attributed to the body that published it. Links checked Oct. 7, 2026. This page is opinion; proposals are Peter’s World’s position. Featured image: AI-generated illustration.
Never again begins in the classroom. Teach October 7.