US Schools Taught to Blame Israel for 9/11, Investigation Finds

An investigation by Jewish Onliner has revealed that the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has produced educational materials that promote conspiracy theories about the September 11th attacks, assigning a "destructive role" to Israel. The materials, part of a "Back to School" guide for educators, suggest focusing on Palestinian suffering and introducing students to the ideology of Osama bin Laden and radical interpretations of 9/11.

One CAIR teaching module, developed with Teaching While Muslim, recommends resources like the film "V for Vendetta" and bin Laden's "Letter to America." It frames the 9/11 attacks as a catalyst for the global "war on terror," leading to the erosion of civil liberties and increased Islamophobia, while specifically highlighting Israel's "destructive role." The guide suggests the attacks were a response to U.S. support for Israel and its military presence in the Middle East, referencing a 9/11 Commission Report finding that these were among factors fueling Al-Qaeda's extremism, though the report did not state the attacks were solely in response to them.

The CAIR materials omit the fact that 9/11 was an act of terrorism, instead describing it as hijackings by a group calling itself Al-Qaeda. The guide also notes that American Muslims, Islamic scholars, and Muslim-majority governments condemned the attacks. It presents bin Laden as a figure supported by the U.S. in the 1980s against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Further scrutiny by JPost found that the CAIR guide linked the Muslim hijab to the persecution of Jews in concentration camps and cited a 2013 FBI report detailing alleged ties between CAIR leaders and Hamas. The FBI subsequently limited its engagement with CAIR, and several U.S. states have passed resolutions advising state agencies against cooperating with the organization due to alleged links to terrorist groups.