Texas schools to teach Israel was founded in ‘ancestral homeland of the Jews’

The Texas State Board of Education adopted revised high school social studies standards that include teaching Christianity's influence on American history and identifying 1948 as the year Israel was established 'in the ancestral homeland of the Jews.' The changes, approved by an 8-4 vote, followed testimony from Evangelical group Proclaiming Justice to the Nations, whose president challenged the participation of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

The Texas State Board of Education has adopted revised high school social studies standards that include teaching Christianity's influence on American history and identifying 1948 as the year Israel was established 'in the ancestral homeland of the Jews.' The Republican-controlled board approved the changes on September 4 by an 8-4 vote, with implementation scheduled for 2030. The Evangelical Christian group Proclaiming Justice to the Nations (PJTN) said Wednesday that several of its curriculum recommendations had been accepted, following testimony in which its president, Laurie Cardoza-Moore, challenged the participation of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). Cardoza-Moore questioned why CAIR representatives had been allowed to address the board, citing Texas Governor Greg Abbott's November 2025 designation of the group as a foreign terrorist organization. CAIR has rejected allegations of affiliation with Hamas or the Muslim Brotherhood and has filed a federal lawsuit challenging Abbott's designation as unconstitutional. The curriculum overhaul drew opposition from Muslim advocates, with CAIR's Austin office calling for the board to reconsider, arguing the standards' treatment of Islam would encourage prejudice against Muslim students. PJTN projected the Texas changes could influence instruction for as many as 25 million students nationwide, though the statement provided no supporting evidence for that estimate.