A new investigation has uncovered a Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) schools campaign spreading anti-Israel and pro-terrorist lesson plans across public schools in multiple states, far beyond the programs already reported in Pennsylvania and Delaware.
According to Jewish Onliner, “CAIR’s efforts to sanitize the Sept. 11 attacks to K-12 students extend far beyond Philadelphia and Delaware, spanning New Jersey, Oklahoma, Florida, and Illinois in what appears to be a coordinated national campaign.” The group accused CAIR of seeking to “systematically indoctrinate American students.”
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) has demanded a federal investigation into CAIR’s initiatives, warning they may be “possibly illegal.” He cited lesson plans that instruct teachers not to use terms such as “jihadists” or “radical Islamic terrorists” when teaching about 9/11. Cotton argued the materials “perpetuate pro-terrorist, anti-Israel rhetoric.”
Evidence suggests centralized coordination. Jewish Onliner noted that “CAIR Philadelphia credits CAIR National and CAIR LA for curating the majority of the content,” and that CAIR Oklahoma’s teaching guide listed the group’s Washington, D.C., headquarters instead of a local address.
In Illinois, CAIR-Chicago advertises a partnership with Chicago Public Schools, potentially reaching hundreds of thousands of students since 2014. Meanwhile, CAIR Florida has promoted its own version of the 9/11 lesson plan.
Cotton issued a blunt warning: “Such an organization should never have access to our nation’s children. The U.S. Department of Education must ensure that CAIR is not given an opportunity to push its radical, pro-terrorist, anti-Israel ideology on American schoolchildren.”
