Legislators in Washington state have been discussing making Holocaust classes mandatory for high school students there for over five years now. The neighboring Canadian province of British Columbia and the province of Ontario announced plans to do so last year. After settling on the formula “Holocaust and genocide education,” some legislators are proposing an amendment to teach history from the perspective of Hamas as well. Seattle-based conservative radio talk-show host Jason Rantz predicts below the dispute will result in the failure to pass any relevant law at all. Foreign observers have wondered if Washington state’s far-left legislators won’t introduce another amendment to teach the Holocaust from the perspective of Nazi Germany as well.
Democrats Add “Hamas Amendment” to Holocaust Education Bill
by Jason Rantz, February 12, 2024
Washington Democrats added a so-called “Hamas amendment” to the Holocaust Education bill which will ensure anti-Semitic lessons are taught to kids.
The move was meant to appease a progressive voter base demanding Israel be labeled genocidal for its attack against Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
House Bill 2037 was a companion to a Senate bill introduced by state senator John Braun, R-Centralia which mandates public schools introduce lessons on the Holocaust and other genocides. During the month of April which is International Genocide Prevention and Awareness Month public schools must also either conduct or promote age-appropriate educational activities around the Holocaust and genocide education.
The legislation was not controversial, fueled by Republican concerns that one in five young Americans do not believe the Holocaust happened. Just as alarming to Republicans was local support for Hamas terrorists, with scores of locals chanting, “Resistance is justified when people are occupied.” How does one side with Hamas after the October 7 terrorist attack against Israel? Ignorance that isn’t being addressed in school. However, this bill may not be able to offer the intended education.
Anti-Semites Push Forward with “Hamas Amendment” in Holocaust Education Bill
Local anti-semites staged an online campaign to flood the state legislature with demands the Holocaust education bill be watered down to focus on other genocides. Additionally, some wanted students to be taught Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, although this is an anti-Semitic smear.
Anti-Semitic activists found a friend in representative Emily Alvarado, Democrat from Seattle. She introduced what critics call the “Hamas amendment” because it would mandate curricula include the Hamas perspective. It was advocated under the guise of addressing pro-Israel “bias” in high school curricula.
The original bill said the curriculum must be formulated with the help of a local organization which teaches the Holocaust. Alvarado’s amendment added a second organization with “expertise in teaching lessons on genocide and crimes against humanity in different regions of the world and at various points in history, particularly including diasporic communities with lived experiences of surviving, being made refugee by, or otherwise being directly impacted by genocide.” Republicans believe this is intended to include Palestinians in Gaza.
Anti-Semitism in the Name of Inclusivity by Representative Emily Alvarado
On the House floor Alvarado said her amendment makes the legislation more “inclusive.” Democrats would not allow a vote on HB 2037 without the amendment.
“This amendment is about inclusivity and accountability when it comes to teaching about the Holocaust and genocide, and I ask for your support,” she told Democrats on the House floor.
When it comes to adding curriculum about LGBT issues, it’s not watered down with discussions about heterosexuality. The curriculum around black or Asian Americans doesn’t include white people. But when it comes to Jews, we must be inclusive of others who suffered purported genocide because Jews, to the Radical Left, are merely white people with privilege. Jews can’t be seen as victims, only oppressors.
The amendment was also added at the last minute, without the traditional courtesy of alerting the author of the bill that it was forthcoming.
House Republicans Disgusted
Representative Travis Couture, R-Allyn, authored the companion House bill. He was upset by the Democrats’ move to promote Hamas propaganda, noting the amendment is unnecessary.
“We were very concerned about the ‘diasporic communities with lived experiences of surviving, being made refugee by,’” Couture told the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH [radio]. “And what we argued on the floor is that Jewish people were already removed from their homeland when they were in Europe. And then systematically destroyed during the Holocaust. So, they were not ‘made refugees by’ anything. They were already refugees.”
Couture says the intent of the amendment was to include Palestinians. That happens to align with what left-wing activists were also demanding.
“Yeah, that’s the concern. And what’s hard to understand is that if the layperson were to read that amendment, they might not catch it. They might not read into that; they might not catch it. But if you’re really paying attention to the bills and the laws and you’re looking out for these red flags, you can see how it could include those Palestinian people.”
Holocaust Education Bill Likely to Die
In the end, House Republicans passed the bill to deny Democrats the opportunity to claim it was Republican opposition which killed the Holocaust education bill. They knew local media wouldn’t honestly explain what Democrats did to water down the bill.
The bill’s future is uncertain in the Senate. If it’s brought up for a vote, Republican senators have promised to fight to remove the amendment.
“(Senate Republicans will remove the amendment) or significantly clarify or alter it, to where it does not include people who burn babies alive and rape Jewish women for … existing on planet Earth,” Couture said.
Senate Republicans think they can pass a clean bill, but it won’t get support in the House.
Does Hamas use human shields? Did they rape Jewish women? The younger the person, the more likely they are to say “no.” They’re in desperate need of an education that doesn’t push Israel as an apartheid state filled with white oppressors.
In the end, the bill could simply die in the Senate, denying students the opportunity to learn about the Holocaust. That’s a win for the Democrats and the Jew-hating base they enable.
Full news and opinion piece here.