10 | JULY 22 • 2021 

PRO: CRT Helps Us 
Teach Jewish History
A

nyone teaching the 
past by skipping over 
the unpleasant parts 
isn’t teaching history. They are 
engaged in propaganda.
Jewish tradition 
understands 
this: Refusing to 
sugarcoat their 
own people’s 
culpability, the 
sages themselves 
teach that the 
destruction of 
the Temple by the Romans is a 

consequence of baseless hatred 
— among Jews.
Yet in nearly two dozen 
states, the movement to 
impose restrictions on the 
teaching of history is gaining 
momentum. Incited by a 
national hysteria over Critical 
Race Theory (CRT), advocates 
of these educational fatwas 
are borrowing a page from 
authoritarian governments 
like Vladimir Putin’s Russia 
in a clumsy effort to avoid 
discussing the messy, 

controversial and painful 
moments in America’s history.
And as a professional 
historian, I can tell you that 
these bans will be terrible for 
anyone teaching or studying 
Jewish history.

CRT DEFINED
What exactly is critical race 
theory, and how is it apparently 
— in the words of Florida Gov. 
Ron DeSantis, a Republican 
who is seen as a potential 
presidential candidate — 

teaching our kids “to hate each 
other” and “hate our country”?
Critical Race Theory is a 
body of ideas associated not 
with the discipline of history 
but with the practice of law. 
Adherents believe that the 
legacy of slavery is baked into 
American society and culture 
to such a degree that African 
Americans continue to suffer 
long-term, systemic economic 
harm. It suggests that discussing 
reparations should be on the 
national agenda (hence the 

PURELY COMMENTARY

CON: CRT Places Jews in 
Discriminatory Boxes
W

hose job is it to 
define who I am? Is 
it an institution’s job 
or is it mine?
In all the brouhaha over 
critical race the-
ory (CRT), this 
question is rarely 
asked. That may 
be because much 
of the controver-
sy over CRT has 
been about defin-
ing a nation and 
a system.
CRT is a theoretical genre 
within the larger realm of crit-
ical theory that has become 
a mainstream movement. It 

teaches that the United States 
was founded on racism, oppres-
sion and white supremacy — 
and that these forces are still 
rooted in our society.
What gets overlooked within 
this movement, however, is that 
individual identities are being 
erased. This shouldn’t surprise 
us, given that a core idea of 
CRT is that racism is not merely 
the product of individual preju-
dice but something systemically 
embedded in legal systems and 
policies.
Whether one is white, black 
or brown, individual identities 
inevitably get submerged by 
this systemic ethos. Further, 

because CRT does not encour-
age dissenting views, individuals 
feel pressured to go along with 
whatever box CRT puts them 
in.
This is highly problematic, 
regardless of where one stands 
on the overall issue. For one 
thing, the imposition of indi-
vidual identity is a violation of 
a fundamental human right — 
the right to define ourselves as 
we wish.
None of us have identities 
that fit into neat boxes. I’m 
a Sephardic Jew born in an 
Arab Muslim country in North 
Africa. Some people consider 
me a Jew of color although I 

look Caucasian. My identity 
is also influenced by groups 
to which I belong, from an 
Orthodox synagogue to indus-
try groups to the passionate fan 
base of the Los Angeles Lakers.

DON’T DEFINE ME
My political identity is of a cen-
trist who loves to engage with 
all sides. My views can change 
depending on new informa-
tion. It’s hard to pin me down 
because I refuse to pin myself 
down. All this to say that no 
one has the right to define who 
I am, either as a Jew or as an 
individual.
And yet, in many ways, crit-

David Suissa

JNS

opinion
Should Jews Support 
Critical Race Theory?

Henry 
Abramson
JTA

MILWAUKEE TEACHERS’ EDUCATION ASSOCIATION/FLICKR 
COMMONS/JTA

Teachers, students and school board members in the Milwaukee area 
hold a news conference opposing new bills seeking to bar schools from 
teaching ideas linked to critical race theory, June 12, 2021.

