Pro-Israel extremists are continuing their campaign against the teachers and schools in Newton for daring to present a balanced curriculum on the Israel-Palestine conflict. They are organizing to pack a meeting of the Program and Services committee of the Newton City Council this Wednesday (December 6) at 7:30pm (Newton City Hall, 1000 Commonwealth Ave. 2nd fl.).
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Please come to this meeting if you can and let others know — particularly Newton residents). And try to arrive early so that you can sign up to speak. Whether you can attend or not, you may send a message to the Council committee via the City Clerk, David Olson, at dolson@newtonma.gov.
CAMERA (“Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America”) and “Americans for Peace and Tolerance” – both ironically misnamed organizations createdby rightwing operative Charles Jacobs – are being joined by the new Sheldon Adelson-funded Israel American Council in targeting teachers and curriculum in the Newton HighSchools.
A summary of their incendiary “report” is online here but the full text is only available for purchase via Amazon (the first 5-star review is by Charles Jacobs). It is full of distortions and anti-Islam slurs. Here is a pro-Palestinian take on the supposed controversy: The ‘Palestinian propaganda’ invading US schools? Bring it on
Ostensibly the demand is for “transparency and fairness for our children’s education and for Israel” but the actual aim is to censor and intimidate teachers and administrators from any fair-minded approach to the Israel-Palestinian conflict – or to banish it completely from the curriculum.
Read about an April confrontation in Newton staged by Charles Jacobs.
HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DO:
–Attend the meeting today if you can – especially if you live in Newton
–Email the Newton City Council via the city clerk David Olson dolson@newtonma.gov to support the right of teachers and schools to present objective curriculum on the Israel-Palestine conflict
LET TEACHERS TEACH!
