metro

WATCHERS
OF THE SKY

Teaching About
The Holocaust
Michigan legislature considers bills to enhance
genocide education.
| Shari S. Cohen
| Special to the Jewish News

M
RAPHAEL LEMKIN
confronted world
apathy, and set
the stage for the
Nuremberg trials
and the creation of
the International
Criminal Court.

NOVEMBER
22 & 23
Detroit Film Theatre
Presented by

dia.org/dft 313.833.3237

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14 November 20 2014

ichigans public schools

are likely to expand and
enhance Holocaust and
genocide education if Senate Bill 5778
and House Bill 1075 pass during the
post-election legislative session.
The bills recommend six hours
of annual instruction about the
Holocaust and genocide for eighththrough 12th-graders in public
schools, including charter schools.
Questions about the Holocaust and
genocide would be included in the
Michigan Merit Exam (MME) and
Michigan Education
Assessment Program
(MEAP) tests beginning in 2015.
Several local
Jewish organizations and interested
individuals, including the Holocaust
Sen. Randy
Memorial Center in
Richardville
Farmington Hills
and the Greater
Detroit Section of
National Council
of Jewish Women
(NCJW), established
an educational and
advocacy coalition, Genocide and
Rep. Klint
Holocaust Education
Kesto
Now!, to promote the
legislation. Michigan
Senate Majority Leader Randy
Richardville, R-Monroe, and Rep.
Klint Kesto, R-Commerce Township,
are the bills sponsors.
Cheryl Guyer, director of development at the Holocaust Memorial
Center, credits lawyer Lori Talsky as
a key champion of the legislation and
a member of the coalitions steering
committee. She is passionate about
Holocaust and genocide education,
which are an opportunity for us to create a more humane world, Guyer said.
Talsky and her husband, Alan
Zekelman, are major supporters of the
Holocaust Memorial Center Zekelman
Family Campus. Guyer hopes that the
Holocaust Center can be the state

resource for curricula for Holocaust

and genocide instruction.
Richardville was motivated to sponsor the legislation in part because
of his visits to Yad Vashem, the
Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem.
It was one of the most moving
experiences in my life, he said. It
is the most horrific example of what
man can do to each other, and I think
its a real important lesson that all
Americans should be exposed to.
Richardville feels a strong connection with the Jewish community and
has been a presenter at the state legislatures annual Holocaust memorial
observance.
Kesto has many Jewish and
Chaldean constituents in his district
and views the proposed legislation as
a response to current world events.
Look at whats happening in Iraq
with heinous, horrific acts being committed against children, women and
old people who are targeted because
of their religious beliefs he said.
It is another repeat of history. We
have to make sure that our children
understand what happened beyond
just the rhetoric never again.

Limited Knowledge
The Genocide and Holocaust
Education Now! coalition conducted
third-party research to determine
the extent and impact of Holocaust
and genocide education in Michigan.
While almost all school districts
reported that they provide some
instruction about these topics, surveys
of young people indicated that their
understanding is limited.
They know that Hitler was a bad
guy and wanted to kill the Jews but
dont understand
the political, social
and moral aspects of
the Holocaust, and
only one in five high
school graduates
in Michigan could
identify any genocide
occurring during the
Judith Kovach last 50 years, said
Judith Kovach Ph.D.,
project coordinator for Genocide and
Holocaust Education Now!

Cathy Cantor, co-chair of NCJW

state policy advocates, said that some
of its members were
inspired by the
video 94 Maidens
The Mandate,
which documented
Pennsylvania
students lack of
Cathy Cantor
knowledge about
the Holocaust. Many
were unable to identify when or where
the Holocaust occurred or name a
concentration camp, she said.
Twenty-four states require
Holocaust and genocide education.
Michigan has been silent on this
and its an important
issue, said Sharon
Lipton, co-chair,
NCJW state policy
advocates. Even
though its taught in
the schools, these
bills would provide a
recommended numSharon Lipton
ber of hours.
While most supporters of the
Michigan bills would prefer a state
mandate rather than a recommendation for Holocaust and genocide
education, Richardville said that local
schools districts do pay attention to
legislated educational guidelines.
Mandating these curricula could
generate charges of an unfunded
state mandate and potential lawsuits
by local school districts.

Legislative Outlook
The Michigan Senate Education
Committee heard public testimony on
SB 1075 in October, and Richardville
expects its passage before years end.
According to Kesto, the Michigan
House Education Committee will consider it in the lame-duck session.
The Michigan Board of Education
Legislative Committee is scheduled to
discuss the legislation this month, and
the board may take a position on it,
according to Kathleen Strauss, a board
member and former president of the
Jewish Community Relations Council
of Metropolitan Detroit.