Teach Palestine is a project of the Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA) and publishes anti-Zionist and pro-Palestinian K-12 curriculum materials for teachers to incorporate in their classroom. ¹

Teach Palestine’s curriculum discusses topics and incorporates texts covering the Israel-Palestinian conflict from the Palestinian perspective, which it claims is neglected in schools. It also seeks to promote the notion that Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attacks against Israel are explained by historical context. ² Within Teach Palestine’s materials on the history of the conflict, it discusses Israel’s military involvement over time and omits acts of violence committed by Palestinians to claim that Israel has engaged in “genocide” against Palestinians. ³

Background

Teach Palestine is a fiscally sponsored project of the Middle East Children’s Alliance that was founded following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel to promote the so-called “historical context” of the Israel-Palestinian conflict as the cause the attacks and to defend the attacks as a response to “genocide.” ⁴

MECA is a pro-Palestine activist and foreign aid group that the pro-Israel Network Contagion Research Institute has alleged has links to the U.S. State Department-designated terrorist groups Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. MECA’s founding advisors also include Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA), anti-Israel academic Edward Said, communist activist Angela Davis, and the radical linguistics professor Noam Chomsky. ¹

Teach Palestine’s curriculum has been found by critics to teach the history of the Israel-Palestinian conflict in a manner that presents Israel as being the perpetrator of the conflict and Palestinians as the victim. In a review of Teach Palestine’s curriculum, published by pro-Israel advocacy group StandWithUs, the group concluded that the Teach Palestine curriculum is “one-sided” in favor of Palestinians and has a “potential for indoctrination” that could encourage a pro-Palestinian political stances as opposed to promoting critical thinking skills that promote independent judgments. ⁵

Curriculum

Teaching Gaza (2023-2024)

“Teaching Gaza (2023-2024): A Multiple Narratives Approach” is a featured curriculum by Teach Palestine that includes text sets that focus on the post-October 7, 2023 conflict in Gaza from a Palestinian perspective and claims to provide context that students can use to understand conflicts over the Gaza Strip. The curriculum is advertised as being applicable to social studies content areas, but also applies to summary writing, critical media literacy, and document analysis. ²

Teaching Gaza states that it is predicated on the belief that Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attacks are “part of the longer history of Palestine/Israel and should be contextualized as such to give students the best understanding.” It goes on to say, “Hamas’ actions on October 7th should not be the starting point. It is important to anchor this unit in essential questions. It is also important to keep students open to outcome.” ²

The text sets and supporting materials for the curriculum are based on providing context for how Hamas’s attack on Israel could be justified, and they are used as context in support of the idea that Israel could be committing genocide or other humanitarian violations against Palestinians. ^{6 7 8}

The curriculum is based on two guiding questions: “Should what is happening in Gaza be considered a global humanitarian crisis? And to what extent do we have a responsibility to do something about it? What is your responsibility?” and “Do current events in Gaza meet the definition of genocide based on the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide?” ²

Borders and Walls

“Borders and Walls: Stories that Connect Us to Palestine” is a featured curriculum by Teach Palestine that uses a left-of-center post-colonialist perspective to discuss borders and border walls, focusing on Israel’s security barrier in the disputed West Bank and proposals for a wall on U.S.-Mexico border. It argues that the “conquest” of America by European settlers led to the alleged demise of Native Americans is comparable to Israel “colonizing” the disputed Palestinian territories. The curriculum also provides text sets that support anti-Zionist discussion topics, arguing that Zionists are seeking to conquer all disputed Palestinian territories as well as territory in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt as a result of Jewish “entitlement.” ⁹

The Borders and Walls curriculum uses discussion topics and texts that support the idea that borders cause environmental destruction and are a function of oppressing native persons. It uses a post-colonial perspective to support the idea that borders have been established through potentially unjust and discriminatory domination of colonized societies. ¹⁰

It includes a reading by Jody Sokolower, coordinator of Teach Palestine Project, that discusses the history of the Israel-Palestinian conflict that focuses on Israel’s military actions and argues Israel was established as a state because it “had lots of weapons” and forcefully seized territories over time. It also claims that Israeli settlements that developed over time were “illegal under international law.” The only mention of violence by Palestinians is in its overview of the two “Intifada” terror campaigns, which are described as “fighting back.” The reading states, “The Intifadas were started by Palestinian youth. They held big demonstrations and threw stones at the Israeli soldiers.” It does not mention the killings of any Israeli military members or civilians and describes the Palestinians as victims for having their schools closed during the Intifadas. ³

Education Consulting and Professional Development services

On its website, Teach Palestine offers education consulting and professional development services to K-12 schools and universities. It offers in-person and virtual workshops, offering them to community organizations and conferences in addition to schools. Its consulting services are advertised to work with teachers and school leaders on how they can incorporate Teach Palestine’s and third-party lessons on the Israel-Palestinian conflict. ¹¹

Leadership

Jody Sokolower is a coordinator for Teach Palestine Project and the Middle East Children’s Alliance. ³ He previously worked as an editor for Rethinking Schools. ¹²

1. Anthony, Abigail. “California Nonprofit That Produces K–12 Teaching Materials Has Ties to Foreign Terrorists, Researchers Find.” National Review. April 7, 2025. https://www.nationalreview.com/news/california-nonprofit-that-produces-k-12-teaching-materials-has-ties-to-foreign-terrorists-researchers-find/
2. Shoman, Samia. “Teaching Gaza (2023-2024): A Multiple Narratives Approach.” Teach Palestine. Accessed June 28, 2025. https://teachpalestine.org/teaching-gaza/
3.  Sokolower, Jody. “A Short History of the Conflict in Palestine/Israel.” Teach Palestine. Accessed June 29, 2025. https://teachpalestine.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Sokolower_3.1_A-Short-History-of-the-Conflict-in-Palestine-Israel.pdf
4. “Who We Are.” Teaching Gaza. Accessed June 29, 2025. https://teachpalestine.org/who-we-are/.
5. “Factsheet: The Teach Palestine Curriculum.” StandWithUs. Accessed June 29, 2025. https://www.flipsnack.com/59DEA577C6F/teach-palestine-political-indoctrination-disguised-as-educat/full-view.html.
6. “Genocide Document Set.” Teach Palestine. Accessed June 29, 2025. https://teachpalestine.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Genocide-Document-Set.pdf.
7. “Pedagogy Document Set.” Teach Palestine. Accessed June 29, 2025.  https://teachpalestine.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Pedagogy-Summary.pdf.
8. “Humanitarian Crisis Document Set.” Teach Palestine. Accessed June 29, 2025. https://teachpalestine.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Humanitarian-Crisis-Document-Set-1.pdf.
9. “Borders and Walls: Stories that Connect Us to Palestine.” Teach Palestine. Accessed June 29, 2025. https://teachpalestine.org/curriculum/borders-and-walls/
10. “Borders and Walls Unit Outline.” Teach Palestine. Accessed June 29, 2025. https://teachpalestine.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Sokolower_Borders-and-Walls-Unit-Outline-v5.pdf.
11. “Services.” Teach Palestine. Accessed June 29, 2025. https://teachpalestine.org/services/.
12. Bigelow, Bill. “Goodbye and Welcome.” Rethinking Goodbye. Accessed June 29, 2025. https://rethinkingschools.org/articles/goodbye-and-welcome/