As you
may know, the ADL is publicly criticizing APT’s campaign to expose the
anti-Israel and anti-Semitic curricula in the Newton public schools.
Below
is a letter we have sent to ADL Board Members in Boston.
Dear
ADL Board Member;
I am reaching out to you, a member of the board of ADL Boston, to set the record
straight about the public joint statement signed by ADL leadership regarding our
ad campaign aimed at exposing the problem of biased curricula in the Newton
public schools.
The joint statement is wrong and unfair.
In a 2010 email to the Temple Emanuel of Newton congregation, Rabbi Gardenswartz
correctly noted the unceasing ideological attacks on the Jewish
state:
“This
constant dumping on Israel, this daily onslaught, drip, drip, drip, that Israel
is an oppressor, that Israel is a strategic liability, that Israel is a human
rights violator, is a big problem that cannot be ignored.” The Rabbi also noted
that “There is a systematic and thoughtful campaign by Israel’s enemies to
delegitimize Israel.”
Unfortunately, the systematic campaign is not just limited to the universities and the media:
While many in the Jewish community know about the problems we have on American
campuses, few realize that a similar problem has been creeping into the K-12
curriculum. I am sure that the ADL leadership is aware of this national trend.
Perhaps it believes that Newton is immune.
In the case of Newton high schools, we – along with parents and other tax payers –
have been protesting for over two years against the inclusion in classrooms of
anti-Israel material.
Subsequent to the community protests, the school committee removed some of the offending materials. While these changes are commendable, the committee has not addressed the more general questions: how did such hateful material get into the
classrooms, and how does it plan to ensure that other biased teaching materials
are not incorporated into the curriculum.
The public joint statement implies that there is no reason to be concerned that
anti-Semitic material could have gotten into the Newton school curriculum since
it was removed – after a year of protest, and after it was stubbornly defended
for all that time by the School Superintendent. It claims that our ad
“misinterprets certain elements of the materials and lacks reasonable context.
And “there is substantial reason to believe that the allegations made in the ad
are without merit.”
These are wrong and harmful messages to send to a Jewish community that is beset with an effort, national in scope, to bias public school teaching against
Israel.
ADL understands the larger context of systematic efforts by organizations hostile to
Israel and her supporters to influence American public schools. In the case of
Newton, a likely source of the biased materials is the Harvard Center for Middle
East Studies Outreach Center (CMESOC). According to its website, “the Outreach
Center has been asked to assist the Newton city high schools to develop new
resources to use in the classroom to teach on the conflict in Israel and the
Occupied Territories. In 2010, Paul Beran (the CMESOC director) presented
to 80 history teachers from the Newton Public Schools
on approaches and resources for teaching about the conflict.” Beran is a radical
anti-Israel activist who promotes the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS)
movement against Israel. In 2006, he guided the (unsuccessful) Somerville effort
to have that city divest from Israel.
Indeed, the Harvard CMESOC is funded by ARAMCO, the Saudi government oil
company.
While the Jewish community faces this onslaught, why would the ADL spend its time and resources attacking an organization that has successfully exposed anti-Israel,
anti-Jewish activities in the Boston area, most recently at Northeastern
University?
We were surprised when, during the first year of our Northeastern campaign, ADL and
CJP leaders asked us to cease our efforts after we released the first video
expose of anti-Semitism at Northeastern. That video sparked concern in the
Jewish community and led to the dismissal or reassignment of two Northeastern
anti-Israel staffers. Our second video, much of which was shared and discussed
with Northeastern’s attorneys before its release, led to the dismissal of
Northeastern’s radical campus Imam, Abdullah Faaruuq. Ultimately, after we
released our full set of 3 videos (www.shameonneu.com), the CJP and ADL changed
their views of the situation, as you know.
In the case of the Newton public schools, we simply do not understand: Why, among
many other things, is the ADL not disturbed that students in Newton are taught
from The Muslim Primer, whose author boasts that the book is based on the teachings of Yusuf Qaradawi, the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood who calls for the death of every Jew? Why are students who are given readings from this book not informed about Qaradawi and his vast movement? As some of you may know, Qaradawi was an original Trustee of the Roxbury Mosque, about which ADL leadership has intimate knowledge.
Why would the ADL’s leadership exonerate Newton’s school committee without doing extensive research? Did the ADL get the school committee to give it access to
lesson plans on the Israel Palestine conflict that it has denied Newton parents?
How many teachers, students and parents were interviewed? I wonder. Yet ADL’s
message to the public is “Relax. There is no problem here.”
The “new anti-Semitism” based on hatred for Israel is placing our people in danger
-- in Israel, in Europe, and on America’s campuses. We should not allow this
poison to influence the public schools.
We should be working together on these things.
Sincerely,
Charles
Jacobs, President
Americans for Peace and Tolerance
 The Internal Revenue
Service recognizes Americans for Peace and Tolerance as a 501c3 non-profit
corporation. If you would like to donate to our cause, you may send a check to
APT,
15 Main St. Suite 118, Watertown, MA 02472 or donate
online. |
| 
