SWC Calls On Ohio State Leaders to Take Action After the Exposure of Far-Right Homeschool Network on Telegram

February 1, 2023

Human Rights NGO Calls on Ohio Governor to weigh in on Education Curriculum that Promotes Worldview of anti-Semitism and neo-Nazism

LOS ANGELES – The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) is calling on Governor Mike DeWine (R) of Ohio to lead state authorities to take action against an education curriculum that encourages a worldview of anti-Semitism and neo-Nazism. The SWC welcomed word that the state’s department of education is investigating the ‘Dissident Homeschool Network,’ an Ohio-based neo-Nazi homeschooling network on the social network messaging app Telegram.

In July 2020, the SWC release a report on Telegram detailing its use by actors promoting a wide range of extremist ideologies. The app was also included in the 2022 Top Ten List of Worst anti-Semitic Incidents because it is home to over 400 plus groups and channels promoting anti-Semitism and bigotry.

Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean and Director of Global Social Action at the SWC, shared the following statement:

“The blatant whitewashing of Nazi Germany promoted within this group is shocking and worrisome. Governor DeWine must lead state authorities to take action against education curriculum that promotes a worldview of anti-Semitism.

"It also slanders the legacy of the late American hero, Civil Rights icon, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

"We all know that hatred often begins with words and impressionable young people. But words often escalate into hateful acts, including acts of violence. Children must be shielded from tropes and lies, instead of being taught ‘Sieg Heil’ or write out quotes from Hitler.

"Make no mistake, Telegram must be held accountable too. As our own report states, this app is used by extremist actors to promote hatred, misinformation, and violence. Social networks like Telegram also feed into the vicious food cycle of terrorism found online if they allow groups like the one discovered in Ohio to flourish.”

To see pictures found from the group’s Telegram channel, click here.

About the Simon Wiesenthal Center  
The Simon Wiesenthal Center is an international Jewish human rights organization that confronts anti-Semitism, hate, and terrorism, stands with Israel, defends the safety of Jews worldwide, and teaches the lessons of the Holocaust for future generations. The Wiesenthal Center is an accredited Non Governmental Organization (NGO) at the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the Organization of American States, the Latin American Parliament, and the Council of Europe. Headquartered in Los Angeles it has offices in New York, Chicago, Miami, Toronto, Paris, Jerusalem, and Buenos Aires.