By Amy Zewe–
CRT spelled out is Critical Race Theory. It is a perspective and lens by which and through which various disciplines such as history, English, and even math and science, is examined and taught. It is controversial because many rightminded people fully believe that CRT studies is not an honest and objective pursuit of truth for any subject matter. The notion of studying history and literature through one particular perspective and lens means that what is being taught is often biased, selective, incomplete, and sometimes even wrong… and the approach is not an honest search for truth in education. CRT doesn’t allow for critical thinking, analysis, and evaluation in its fullest form because it has a preconceived, pre-determined agenda: a binary view of humanity as oppressor and oppressed—this time designated by skin color. Briefly, CRT is a binary view of the world where white human beings particularly white, usually heterosexual, men are oppressors and everybody else is a victim. The framework they use to oppress is faith, family, and flag (patriotism)—and some would also include capitalism.
Any objective look at world history will reveal that there are many white oppressed peoples and many non-white oppressors over the course of time and history. All of history is an examination of one people conquering or assimilating another people. The outcomes can be good or bad, or a combination, depending on the cultural values (and other factors) of either conquered or conqueror. One problem that CRT has for the Jewish community is that it lumps all Jews in as privileged white people—the oppressors–including labeling the nation state of Israel as colonial and apartheid. It also ignores the sustained discrimination and struggle the Jewish people have endured for millennia. My assessment here only just scratches the surface of the problems that CRT approaches have in terms of dealing with history and seeking an honest, objective, and complete look at humanity.
The Jewish race or people is only about .2% of the world’s population. And that is half of what it was only 80 years ago after a systematic and grand genocide (the Holocaust) that demonstrated man’s greatest inhumanity against man. The Jewish experience during this is always whitewashed and downplayed in CRT lessons
We also know that Jews come in every color of the skin tone spectrum. There are Jews with blonde hair blue eyes and pale skin and there are Jews with rich ebony skin and deep brown eyes. And Jews with physical features of all shades in between exist. Jewish identity is not about a skin color—but Jewishness is an identity—it is a race, a culture, a faith that has endured for thousands of years beyond any sense of continuity that any other race or peoples that we can compare. Even as Jews are spread around the world and are such a tiny portion of a percent of world population, they are consistently attacked by every generation with the first recording of this during the Persian empire.
CRT is that is founded by folks who come from the Marxists/communist mindset and the theory and perspective is that faith, family, and flag (or patriotism) is somehow the root of all evils in the world. Just like communism, it is a binary perspective that demands atheism as a presupposition. All worship is for the state or the collective. Instead of class as the struggle of the epoch, skin color or race is the struggle. For a great overview of CRT—what it is and its origin, check out this article from Alliance Defending Freedom.
I am oversimplifying just a bit, but next week we will talk more about this issue and more with expert Barry Shaw, researcher and writer who has compiled ample evidence about this topic and more—the things that fuel modern day antisemitism and what ammunition we can use to combat it.
Be sure to tune in next week for our further examination of antisemitism and anti-Israel hate—what are the root causes –and you will be surprised to know that it is not ONLY the relics of Nazism of the 20th century and white supremacists—but its tentacles are reaching farther into society using a variety of pathways and cloaking itself in pseudo-benevolence—particularly within the so-called Woke sentiments, modern school and university curriculums, and religious factions.
Shavua Tov; have a great week.
Helpful Resources regarding Critical Race Theory (CRT):
- For a comprehensive but quick overview of what CRT and its origins, check out this article from Alliance Defending Freedom
- For a look on how CRT seeps into society and its collective outlooks across generations, check out this commentary from The Upheaval
- Why is CRT dangerous for Jews (among other problems), check out this article from Unherd: