Y

ou are faced with a 
choice. The stereo-
typical 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 
incorporate ref-
erences to them 
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 emo-
tionally wrought, it could 
be one that would make the 
angels weep. If you win, you 
may be said to have a guard-
ian angel.
Were you aware that a stock 
that has declined or a compa-
ny that is now failing has been 
referred to as a fallen angel? 
(Well, now you know.)
The truly charitable per-
son is often said to be on 
the side of the angels. A 
good-hearted person is some-
times 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 mak-
ing 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 atti-
tude.
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! 

SY

MANELLO
Editorial 
Assistant

PURELY COMMENTARY

for openers
The Good, the Bad …

commentary
Ethnic Studies Issues Remain Unresolved
S

ome Jews are declar-
ing victory. Their 
long battle to alter the 
draft of the proposed Ethnic 
Studies Model 
Curriculum 
(ESMC) for 
California 
public schools 
ended with an 
outcome that 
left the Simon 
Wiesenthal 
Center “encouraged.” The 
effort to remove overtly 
antisemitic and anti-Israel 
content from the docu-
ment 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.” 

StandWithUS concurred, call-
ing 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 con-
tributions 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 cur-
riculum now includes material 
about, among others, Jews, 
Armenians and Sikhs.
The first draft, which pro-
voked a strong protest from 
Jews, included antisemitic and 
anti-Israel language. It effec-
tively endorsed the boycott of 

Israel by listing it alongside 
the Black Lives Matter move-
ment and #MeToo protests 
against sexual harassment as 
praiseworthy activities.
It referred to the establish-
ment 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 major-
ity grinding down minori-
ties. 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 les-
son plans on American Jews, 
including one on the Mizrachi 
Jewish experience that dis-
cusses antisemitism. Both con-
tain the widely accepted defi-

Jonathan S. 
Tobin
JNS.org

continued on page 10
4 | APRIL 1 • 2021 

