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Exploring the layers of Jewish civilization
An Education Project by Dara Horn
“There is no way to debunk the lies of antisemitism without
investing in teaching the truth about who Jews are.”
Dara Horn
Welcome to
The Tell
Acclaimed, award-winning author, scholar, and lecturer Dara Horn launched The Tell Institute to significantly reframe what students and the broader public know about Jewish civilization, the dynamics of antisemitism for 2500 years, and the ideas that shape free pluralistic societies, so that we can build our shared future together.
The erasure of Jewish life and civilization from education has left even well-meaning people with no knowledge of Jewish people and history, primed for antisemitic sources to fill in the blanks. By avoiding the subject of the Jewish people, schools have essentially outsourced teaching about Jews to new media sources. Jewish people across the United States and the world, as well as our broader societies, are living with the results.
Time is not on our side. History shows us that antisemitism, when unchecked, always gets worse — and has repeatedly brought entire societies down with it.
The Tell has already adapted Dara Horn's ideas into short, highly interative curriculum units for secular high schools, middle school ancient civilization courses, and B'nai Mitzvah programs.
The Tell's lessons teach a single story that supports pattern recognition about the Jewish people as a tiny, counter-cultural group whose groundbreaking ideas shaped world history. Central to that story is the radical Jewish proposition that individuals don't need to conform, agree, or bow to tyrants — a proposition so threatening that it gave rise to a 2,200-year-old "Big Lie": that Jews are destroying what society values most. Today, that lie spreads farther and faster than ever, carried by the newest media of the time — AI and social algorithms.
No one can recognize or defuse the lie of antisemitism without understanding this story.
America's youth are highly vulnerable to internalizing The Big Lie. They consume vast amounts of social media, and many academic programs carry antisemitic lies of their own.
Both Jewish and non-Jewish students must be inoculated against these lies before encountering them. This approach — prebunking — has ben shown to be far more effective than debunking false information after the fact. The Tell's lessons provide the "Start Here" framework needed to understand other instruction about Jews, the Holocaust, Israel, and antisemitism today.
In Spring 2026, The Tell piloted its curriculum in 11 public high schools, 1 private secular middle school, and 2 synagogues.
In public high schools:
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98% of educators rated The Tell's pilot training programs 8 out of 10 or higher. 88% rated them 10/10.
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83% of students would recommend the lessons to other students.
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81% of students correctly defined antisemitism as a recurring lie.
Students were surprised to learn:
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The same "Big Lie" has been repackaged across societies throughout history.
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Jews have survived for thousands of years through a shared history, culture, and homeland.
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The role of monotheism as a foundational Jewish belief adopted by other religions.
Hundreds of educators, community leaders, parents, museums and media professionals have requested to bring the curriculum to their communities. As of July 2026, more than 90 synagogues have applied to pilot the B'nai Mitzvah unit, with applications opening for non-Jewish middle and high schools later this year.-
America's youth are highly vulnerable to internalizing The Big Lie. They consume vast amounts of social media, and many academic programs carry antisemitic lies of their own.
Both Jewish and non-Jewish students must be inoculated against these lies before encountering them. This approach — prebunking — has ben shown to be far more effective than debunking false information after the fact. The Tell's lessons provide the "Start Here" framework needed to understand other instruction about Jews, the Holocaust, Israel, and antisemitism today.
Most students first encounter antisemitism long before any formal instruction about Jews. The Tell's high school and middle school units are designed for students old enough to engage seriously with the material, and young enough the prebunking is still possible. For Jewish students, B'nai mitzvah study presents a key opportunity: one of the few times large numbers of Jewish families actively engage in synagogue education."The lessons were very eye-opening. I appreciated the clear distinction between historical facts and common myths."
In Spring 2026, The Tell piloted its curriculum in 11 public high schools, 1 private secular middle school, and 2 synagogues.
In public high schools:
-
98% of educators rated The Tell's pilot training programs 8 out of 10 or higher. 88% rated them 10/10.
-
83% of students would recommend the lessons to other students.
-
81% of students correctly defined antisemitism as a recurring lie.
Students were surprised to learn:
-
The same "Big Lie" has been repackaged across societies throughout history.
-
Jews have survived for thousands of years through a shared history, culture, and homeland.
-
The role of monotheism as a foundational Jewish belief adopted by other religions.
Hundreds of educators, community leaders, parents, museums and media professionals have requested to bring the curriculum to their communities. As of July 2026, more than 90 synagogues have applied to pilot the B'nai Mitzvah unit, with applications opening for non-Jewish middle and high schools later this year."I've never been to a professional development workshop before that I actually thought was worth the whole day. At this one, I'd gladly have stayed even longer."
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Our Team
We have built a core team of outstanding educators from across North America who have brought their expertise and real-time experience to the development of The Tell Institute's lessons and training. Our team includes full-time classroom teachers from public and private schools in urban, suburban, and rural settings, seasoned teacher trainers, school district curriculum coordinators, and Jewish community professionals with decades of experience in building bridges with diverse communities.
If you are an educator or otherwise interested in working with The Tell Institute, we'd love to hear from you. Please fill out our General Interest Form here. We will keep your information on hand and reach out if our needs align.
Join us
Click here to bring The Tell Institute's curriculum to your classrooms and communities.
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