ADL survey finds broad support for Holocaust and antisemitism education but limited local availability

Matt Williams, vice president of the Anti-Defamation League’s Center for Antisemitism Research, told the Special Commission on Combatting Antisemitism that a recent nationally representative survey his unit fielded with Ipsos shows broad public support for Holocaust and antisemitism education in K-12 schools. "These data are nationally representative. They are not necessarily representative of the population of the state of Massachusetts," Williams said.

The survey, fielded over 10 days in late October and early November, found nearly nine in 10 U.S. adults support Holocaust education in local school districts and that 83 percent support antisemitism education. Despite that, Williams said fewer than a third of parents reported their child’s school offers Holocaust or antisemitism-related instruction: 30 percent reported Holocaust education, 21 percent reported antisemitism education, and 14 percent reported both.

Williams said the survey also shows substantial parent awareness of antisemitic incidents in schools: roughly 43 percent of parents indicated they were aware their child had witnessed or experienced at least one incident of antisemitism or problematic anti‑Israel bias in the classroom over the prior 12 months. He emphasized the rate was higher for Jewish parents: 71 percent of Jewish parents in the sample said their child had witnessed or experienced at least one incident in that timeframe, compared with about 36.8 percent of non‑Jewish parents.

Williams and ADL colleague Shira Goodman urged commissioners to pursue local analysis of the national findings. Williams noted that parents who reported higher concern about antisemitism in their districts were also less satisfied with the quality of Holocaust and antisemitism instruction where it was offered. The ADL presentation recommended additional state‑ and district‑level study of curriculum access, grade appropriateness and educational outcomes.

Goodman, ADL’s vice president for education advocacy, told commissioners about pending federal legislation she said would fund a national study of Holocaust and antisemitism education. "The Holocaust and Antisemitism Lessons Act was introduced in the last Congress and is likely to be reintroduced soon," Goodman said; she said the bill would fund a study to document mandates, implementation, and testing across states.

Commissioners pressed ADL on several practical points: whether the national results should be expected to match Massachusetts (Williams said incident rates in Massachusetts currently appear higher than the national average), whether antisemitism shows up in districts with small and large Jewish populations (Williams said it appears in both), and whether states collect data on how Holocaust and genocide education are implemented (Williams said collection varies by state; New York tracks implementation, California is beginning, and many states do not). Williams noted the ADL data are a conservative estimate of incidents because many adults lack a complete understanding of what constitutes antisemitism.

The ADL presentation materials and recommendations will be available to the commission for follow-up and local analysis, Williams said.