Arizona recently passed a law requiring students to take at least two compulsory classes on the Holocaust and other genocides.
According to the law signed by Republican Arizona Governor Doug Ducey last Friday, students must take at least two classes on the Holocaust between grades 7 and 12. Ducey said in a statement that the law is “a step in the right direction.” Fight against rising anti-Semitism incidents in the state.
The bill was sponsored by the Democratic state Rep. Alma Hernandez, who was Jewish and supported the bill in previous efforts that failed to pass the state legislature.
Hernandez said in a statement: “This is a community effort, and I am proud to see it finally completed.” “This legislation is to commemorate the people who lost their lives in the Holocaust and to tell their stories. And an important step for survivors who worked tirelessly.”
“I thank Governor Dusey for signing this bill into law,” Hernandez added. “Knowing that all Arizona students will understand that the Holocaust gave me hope. We must teach past atrocities to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
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The new law follows an October 2020 decision by the State Board of Education, which also requires courses on the Holocaust and other genocides between the 7th and 12th grades.
Sheryl Bronkesh, president of the Phoenix Holocaust Association, told Arizona Mirror The law makes previous tasks “more powerful” and will provide students with education aimed at preventing future genocide.
“What we advocate for teaching is to show and teach the Holocaust and other genocides, so that students understand the consequences of hatred and bigotry,” said Blanche. “Since the Holocaust, dozens of other genocides have occurred… We believe that students can learn from these topics by studying what happened and the reasons that led to these events.”
Although the details of how to implement the new law are not yet clear, the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) website lists multiple upcoming webinars to help educators “consolidate the new Holocaust legislation and the AZ Commission rules.” Incorporate into their lesson plan.
Alexander White, a 97-year-old Holocaust survivor who lives in Arizona and testified in support of the bill, told Times of israel The Holocaust “is the archetype of inhumane human to human, and young people should know this” to avoid a repeat of history.
On the same day that Ducci signed the Holocaust teaching law, he also signed a law prohibiting the teaching of critical racial theories. Some people worry that these bills may contradict each other, even though ADE officials insist that they will not.
The text of the Critical Race Theory Act prohibits teaching “any form of blame or judgment based on race, ethnicity, or gender,” raising questions about whether the Arizona Holocaust curriculum must avoid mentioning the race or ethnicity responsible for the Nazi murders of 6 million Jews.
“I hope the bill will not restrict any teaching about the Holocaust or prohibit teachers from teaching the Holocaust, because the Holocaust is the most well-documented genocide. Whether it happened and how many people were murdered is really uncontroversial,” Blanch said. .
“We know who did it,” Bronkesh added. “The perpetrators have taken responsibility for the massacre.”
Weekly newspaper Contacted ADE for comments, but received no response before publication.
