NAVI Urges Smithsonian to Quit July Retreat Over Anti-Israel Educator Ismael Jimenez
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jun 17
NAVI Urges Smithsonian to Quit July Retreat Over Anti-Israel Educator Ismael Jimenez
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jun 17
Summary
NAVI asked the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture to withdraw from a July social-studies retreat, saying its participation would legitimize a workshop co-led by Philadelphia curriculum official Ismael Jimenez.
The watchdog group tied its demand to Jimenez’s record, citing curriculum materials it says push activism over inquiry and past posts in which he allegedly called Israel a “terrorist state.”
NAVI also pointed to criticism from other Jewish groups, including a 2025 open letter from the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia accusing Jimenez of appearing to rationalize the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.
Jimenez told Fox News Digital he joined the retreat to engage with fellow educators and emphasized humility and learning, but he did not directly address the anti-Israel allegations.
The dispute centers on a University at Buffalo retreat featuring a “Reconstruction & Freedmen’s Bureau” session with NMAAHC, raising broader questions about federal institutions’ role in third-party K-12 training.