A new report released by the Anti-Defamation League's (ADL) Center for Antisemitism Research (CAR) found that a single 45-minute classroom lesson on contemporary antisemitism can significantly reduce teenagers' endorsement of antisemitic conspiracy theories and tropes.
The randomized evaluation, conducted across nine middle and high schools in a large southeastern US school district, found that students who received the lesson were 14.4 percentage points more likely than a control group to disagree that "Jews have too much power in the United States today" (91.4% vs. 76.9%). Treated students were also significantly less likely to endorse the dual-loyalty trope that Jews are more loyal to Israel than to America, seeing a 15.5-point reduction.
According to the report, the lesson also produced drops in other tropes related to Jewish control and media influence, while lowering the tendency to minimize antisemitism as an issue by 13.6 percentage points. A separate, corroborating online experiment involving 5,005 high school students nationwide yielded similar results, demonstrating a drop in trope endorsement even among student groups whose baseline attitudes are typically considered more difficult to shift.
Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL CEO and National Director, said in a statement, "We've long believed that education is one of our most powerful tools in the fight against antisemitism and hate—and this research confirms it. As Jewish students across the country are experiencing increased antisemitism, we believe we can provide a clear, practical path forward for schools to address this scourge everywhere."
The lesson, developed by ADL educational partner Echoes & Reflections, combines survivor testimony, group discussion, and reflection to introduce students to antisemitism as a recurring pattern of stereotypes and conspiracy beliefs rather than a topic confined to the Holocaust.
Educators can effectively teach antisemitism without prior training
The study's implementational findings noted that describing antisemitism as a cyclical conspiracy that has recurred and evolved throughout history is particularly effective. Furthermore, none of the seven educators in the study had prior professional development on antisemitism or had taught the lesson before, demonstrating that educator training is not a prerequisite for success.
Matt Williams, Vice President of the ADL’s CAR, said in a statement, "This research is significant in that it features evidence from real classrooms. We now have data showing that a single, well-designed lesson, taught by educators with no special training, can measurably shift how teens think about antisemitism. That's a solvable problem for schools. Based on our research, districts don't need a semester-long unit or a major new investment to make progress, they need the right 45 minutes, and now we’re closer to knowing what that looks like."
Study finds progress on antisemitism, but gaps in attitudes toward Jews remain
While the lesson successfully shifted beliefs about antisemitism, the report noted that these gains did not entirely close the gap on building broader warmth and positive sentiment toward Jewish people, suggesting that complementary content on Jewish identity and peoplehood may be needed. To build upon these findings, CAR is prioritizing follow-up research activities to explore whether these outcomes hold in larger, more nationally representative classroom samples, how long the impacts last, and what results emerge from combining antisemitism-specific content with Holocaust-specific content.
The ADL's findings closely mirror the reported positive results from a single antisemitism lesson implemented in a Cheshire school in northwest England. Following that local success, Jewish student Jonathan Frisher launched a national campaign pushing for a mandatory single educational lesson on antisemitism in all British schools to combat rising hostility towards British Jews.