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Lesson Plan

What Is Antisemitism?

Illustration of students sitting in a circle talking

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KEYWORDS

  • Ally

  • Antisemitism

  • Discrimination

  • Harassment

  • Hostility

  • Myth

  • Prejudice

  • Trope

  • Vandalism 

Grade Level: 6-12

Time: 25 Minutes

Common Core Standards: Speaking and Listening, Language and SEL 

Lesson Overview

Antisemitism and antisemitic incidents have been increasing in the United States at alarming rates. Many of these reported incidents include graffiti (including swastikas), bomb threats, vandalism, threats and acts of violence targeting the Jewish community like Jewish Community Centers (JCCs) and religious institutions.  

As incidents of antisemitism remain stable within K-12 schools (825 incidents reported in ADL’s 2025 Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, compared to 860 in 2024), young people are continuing to experience antisemitism in their schools and online spaces. Educators have the opportunity to provide young people instruction about antisemitism—what it is, where it comes from and what it looks like today. If young people are able to recognize antisemitism, they will be better equipped to enact change by calling it out or reporting it. 

Students will be able to:

  • Define antisemitism, including how it manifests through beliefs, attitudes, language, harassment, etc. directed at Jewish people, individuals or communities.
  • Explore examples of antisemitic myths, stereotypes and tropes, and draw connections to contemporary manifestations.
  • Reflect on how they as individuals can respond to antisemitism when and if they see it. 

  • Read the lesson plan and preview videos.
  • Print: What is Antisemitism? Handouts—1 for each student. 

Lesson Instructions:

Warm Up:

  • Begin the lesson by explaining to students that today they are going to learn about antisemitism through a series of videos. But, before they can dive into what antisemitism is, it is important to learn about what it means to be Jewish.

  • Distribute the What is Antisemitism student handout to students, and ask students to complete the first box: What does it mean to be Jewish?
  • Allow students to share their responses before transitioning into the video. 

Understanding Jewish Identity:

  • While watching, direct students to respond to the question: After watching the video “What Does it Mean to be Jewish?,” how would you explain Jewish identity? (Make a list!)
  • Generate a class list together. The list should include ideas like: shared history, shared religion, shared traditions, connection to the land of Israel, etc.

Learning about Antisemitism:

  • Transition by explaining to students that now that they have learned a bit about what it means to be Jewish, they are now going to learn about a challenge the Jewish people face: antisemitism.
  • Ask students, before they watch the next video, to answer the brainstorming question “what is antisemitism?” on their handout.
    • Explain to students that their answers can be definitions or include examples of what antisemitism might look like.
  • Before sharing the video, review the “See. Think. Wonder.” protocol with students, ensuring they understand the guiding questions.
  • After the video plays, allow students to share their responses and create a class list for each section of the “See. Think. Wonder.” protocol.

  • Direct students to revisit the question that they started the lesson with: what is antisemitism?
  • Ask students: how did your answers change after watching the videos? How do you define antisemitism now?
  • Then, share a definition of antisemitism like: Antisemitism refers to prejudice, discrimination, or hostility directed at Jewish people. It is generally based on negative stereotypes, myths, or misinformation about Jews, Judaism, or Jewish identity. It manifests in harmful beliefs, attitudes, language, exclusion, harassment, and violence against individuals or Jewish communities.

Wrapping Up:

  • Discussion—Choose 1-3 questions to discuss, using the list below or create your own. (A note for teachers: depending on time and class size, consider having students discuss in small groups or as a full class.)

  • How did watching these videos make you feel? Was anything surprising, confusing or unsettling to you?
  • Why do you think it matters for people who are NOT Jewish to learn about antisemitism?
  • Why do you think antisemitic false beliefs (myths) have proven so resilient across different time periods, cultures and political systems? What does that tell us about how prejudice works?
  • Where do we see antisemitic ideas showing up today, such as in social media, political rhetoric or popular culture? How do they spread so quickly in the digital age?
  • If you heard a classmate repeat an antisemitic idea (perhaps without even knowing it was antisemitic), what would you say? What makes that conversation difficult and what makes it necessary?
  • What is one concrete thing you could do, in your school, online or in your community, to help counter antisemitic false beliefs (myths and tropes)?

Closing

  • Close the lesson by selecting one of the following options.

Allow students time to reflect and then share questions that still remain for them. (A note to teachers: consider if further learning would help resolve those questions).

Share a quote like Eli Wiesel’s: "The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference." OR the Jewish proverb: "Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” Ask students to connect the quote to their learning about antisemitism.

Close out by explaining to students why what they learned is important. You might say something like: As we finish our learning about antisemitism, you might still be wondering: why does this matter to me if I am not Jewish? Here is why: antisemitism does not only harm Jewish people; it harms all of us. When hate toward one group goes unchallenged, it creates an environment where other forms of bias and prejudice can grow too. When we understand what antisemitism looks like, where it comes from and how it spreads, we are all better equipped to recognize it, speak up against it and help build a more just and inclusive community, for everyone.

Extension Activities (Optional):

Direct students to create a PSA for their school community (this could be a digital PowerPoint, video content or poster series) to inform their peers about how to be an upstander against antisemitism. (Suggested topics would be: not letting antisemitic jokes slide; reporting incidents to their teachers or principals; checking in on their Jewish peers; reporting antisemitism when they see it online; etc.) 

Elementary Guidance:  

While topics like antisemitism are complex and can often lead to discussions that are not always developmentally appropriate for young learners, we also know that incidents of antisemitism take place in elementary schools. While the videos from this lesson were not designed for this age group, books can offer an age-appropriate entrance into conversations about complex topics. Use books like the following as an entry-point for age-appropriate conversations about antisemitism: