However, the course has come under fire due to the faculty’s perceived endorsement of Hamas’ October 7 assault on Israel, which killed over 1,400 Israelis, including civilians.

Dozens of religious and educational organizations are urging the University of California to reject a proposed ethnic studies admission requirement in light of an influential faculty council's defense of the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre.

"The ethnic studies faculty at the University of California have essentially taken off their mask and shown themselves to be completely sympathetic to the anti-Zionist, pro-Hamas cause," said Tammi Rossman-Benjamin, director of the AMCHA Initiative, which tracks antisemitism at universities.

The controversy is twofold, centering on the state's high school ethnic studies mandate and a separate proposal to make completion of an ethnic studies course a requirement for admission to the University of California. The latter faces renewed opposition after one of the key groups advocating for the requirement penned a letter demanding UC administrators stop referring to Hamas’ attack on Israel as "terrorism."

"Through ethnic studies, what we're seeing is the institutionalization of antisemitism," said Brandy Shufutinsky of the Alliance for Constructive Ethnic Studies, which opposes narrow and "radical" ideological agendas in education.

More than 100 different groups have rallied against the proposed policy, including various religious and educational groups who see apparent bias in the proposed curriculum.

In 2021, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill requiring all students to complete an ethnic studies course to graduate. Interestingly enough, much of the criticism against the course came from Jewish and pro-Arab groups.

Crafting the curriculum took three years, drawing more than 100,000 public comments as different groups objected to being left out or misrepresented. Public comment that preceded the board’s vote drew about 150 callers, many of whom asked the board to reject the curriculum and echoed the heated debate that took place throughout its drafting. The loudest criticism came from Jewish and pro-Arab groups who accused each other of trying to silence each other’s histories.

Some callers who identified themselves as Jewish and the descendants of Holocaust survivors said the plan "erased the unique stories of Jews in the Middle East." Others criticized the curriculum as anti-Arab, saying it white-washed content about Arab Americans and erased earlier content about Palestinians.

When taking the current political atmosphere into account, along with increased tensions over the Israel-Hamas war, one could not be blamed for speculating that these courses, which are typically championed by far-leftists, would contain anti-Jewish material that would give a skewed presentation of the Israel/Arab conflict.

In universities across the country, pro-Palestinian and pro-Hamas groups have staged fiery demonstrations, some of which included violence and threats. Groups like Students for Justice in Palestine have openly advocated in favor of Hamas, which has led to some of its chapters being banned from campus.

Moreover, in some areas of the country, school districts are already teaching antisemitic ideas. In Arizona, two groups gave presentations at various schools downplaying the atrocities Hamas has committed, referring to their terrorist attacks as “demonstrations.”

Schools in Michigan have staged walkouts in which students protested against Israel, shouting slogans like “F*ck the Jews” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

The other concern is that if UC adopts this policy, its effects won’t remain in California. With the new law, along with the university requirements, this idea could easily spread to other states that might adopt similar measures. The fact that antisemitic thought has already proliferated in other state universities would make it easier to take it further.