Florida Recognizes Holocaust Education Week

Tallahassee, Fla.,  – Governor Ron DeSantis issued a proclamation recognizing November 6-10 as Holocaust Education Week in Florida. This important week is observed each year during the second week in November, in recognition of the anniversary of Kristallnacht, widely recognized as a precipitating event that led to the Holocaust. This week serves as an opportunity for students to learn the history of the Holocaust and antisemitism, as well as the many consequences that followed. To read the proclamation, visit 2023 Holocaust Proclamation.

In 2020, Governor DeSantis spearheaded House Bill 1213 to expand the requirements for Holocaust education to include instruction on antisemitism and to designate the second week in November as “Holocaust Education Week.”

Under Governor DeSantis’ leadership, Florida has adopted many initiatives that combat antisemitism and protect the Jewish community, including:

• Adopting the nation’s most comprehensive Holocaust education standards created by Florida educators and experts to help reduce antisemitism in future generations.
• Signing HB 741 into law, which prohibits discrimination, based on religion, in Florida’s K-20 public education system and requires public K-20 educational institutions to treat discrimination motivated by antisemitism in an identical manner to discrimination motivated by race.
• Providing $18 million since 2019 for additional security to ensure children at Florida’s Jewish Day Schools can learn and thrive in a safe environment.
• Signing HB 269 into law, which added additional penalties for those threatening or discriminating against Jewish citizens and increased law enforcement mechanisms to punish perpetrators of antisemitic incidents on a college or university campus.
• Calling a Legislative Special Session, which began today, to expedite additional funds to protect Jewish Day Schools from threats or antisemitic actions following the atrocities committed by terrorists on innocent Israeli citizens.

For more information about the Florida Department of Education, visit www.fldoe.org.