Schoolteacher and Jewish community activist Susan Mogull devoted her life to advancing education. And, just as importantly, to ending miseducation when it came to Jews, Judaism and Israel.
Mogull died April 24 at her home in the Sacramento suburb of Elk Grove after a battle with cancer. She was 72.
As a co-founder and senior policy analyst with the S.F.-based Institute for Curriculum Studies, Mogull combed through American textbooks, searching for incorrect, misleading or pejorative references to Jews.
She almost always persuaded the textbook publishers to make the necessary changes.
“She was really very smart,” said friend and colleague Jackie Berman, education specialist with the Jewish Community Relations Council, the parent organization of the ICS. “Once she figured something out and decided what was right, she stuck to her guns. She accomplished an enormous amount through her intellect and ability to be diplomatic even when she felt strongly about an issue.”
Born in Weston, W.Va., Mogull taught English and American history in both elementary schools and college in Maryland and West Virginia. After moving to the Sacramento area with her husband, Robert Mogull, in 1970 she brought up her three children while also becoming active in the community.
She served as an officer, board member or committee member with the Sacramento JCRC, the Sacramento chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the state Board of Education’s Instructional Materials Advisory Panels for history/social science and language arts.
ICS gave her the forum to maximize all her skills and knowledge, while making sure K-12 students were given balanced and accurate accounts of Jews, Judaism and Israel.
“Susan had a masterful understanding of state education processes and the most incredible memory,” eulogized her friend and colleague, Aliza Craimer Elias. “ICS was the beneficiary of her repository of wisdom, as well as the excellent relationships Susan cultivated during her many hours attending meetings at the state Board of Education. She developed relationships with the major publishers and earned their trust and respect.”
Elias recounted the story of how one textbook publisher initially refused to make changes Mogull requested. She had spotted text that spelled the Christian God with a capital “G,” but the Jewish God with a small “g,” and referred to the Hebrew Bible as a collection of “stories” written by humans, while the texts of Christianity and Islam were presented as divinely inspired and/or historically factual.
According to Elias, the publisher made “an abrupt turnaround from not wanting anything to do with ICS to accepting 100 percent of our recommended edits after the state Board of Education made clear that their book was not going to be adopted, based on ICS’ review.”
In a closely watched case in 2005, Mogull successfully persuaded Oxford University Press to make changes to its sixth-grade history text, which contained numerous errors, including the suggestion that the Jews, not the Romans, killed Jesus.
Berman remembers her friend also serving as a mentor for students and ICS staffers.
“I always felt she was the wind behind my back,” said Berman.
Added Elias: “Susan gave her all to ICS, in every possible way. I know she was tremendously proud of ICS’ achievements and seeing her vision come to fruition.”
Mogull is survived by husband Robert Mogull of Elk Grove; daughter Robin Levingston, sons Scott Mogull and Michael Mogull; and four grandchildren. Donations may be made to the Institute for Curriculum Services, c/o JCRC,
131 Steuart St., Suite 205, San Francisco, CA 94105.