Examples of Bias in Newton High School History Class Material

Examples of biased and inaccurate class material about the Middle East used in Newton and other public schools can be found in several places, including the subpages to this section. Reports by the Committee on Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) and the organization Verity Educate contain numerous analyses of these materials. You can go directly to the reports and the materials analyzed in the Verity Educate Report by clicking on the appropriate links below:

(1) The book Indoctrinating our Youth: How a U.S. Public School Curriculum Skews the Arab-Israeli Conflict and Islam (2016) by Steven Stotsky, a Senior Research Analyst at CAMERA (available for free online and as a paperback) analyzes a number of materials discussed in this website. Despite some errors regarding the background of the controversy, it accurately describes anti-Israel material and explains the nature of the bias. A 2018 update is available online at no charge.

CAMERA has also published several stand-alone reports about class materials used in Newton and elsewhere.

(2) The academic research organization Verity Educate analyzed twenty-six items of material used in Newton high school history classes; a Report of its analysis and summaries by Verity Educate and PENS are available here. The texts analyzed in the Report are here. The texts are lettered to correspond to how they are organized in the Report.

Not all of the material reviewed was objectionable; some of it was very good. However, some material had significant shortcomings, including primary sources altered in a manner that changes their meaning. The use of altered primary source material is an unacceptable breach of academic honesty and integrity; unfortunately, Newton Public Schools administrators are uninterested in investigating the matter.

(3) Additional class material is here. This includes materials analyzed in reports and articles by the ADL, PENS, and other organizations. These reports only concern materials currently used by NPS students, not materials removed after protest.