A New Jersey highschool banned yellow ribbons meant to represent assist for the Israeli hostages throughout a membership truthful — a “blatant’’ show of antisemitism, livid critics say.
Some Truthful Garden Excessive College dad and mom and the group StopAntisemitism additionally complained that the presence of Israel’s flag through the occasion, which was partly selling a visit to Israel, was not allowed as a result of the administration deemed it too “political” — whereas members of the Muslim Scholar Affiliation have been allowed to show a keffiyeh.
“What occurred at Truthful Garden Excessive College is an alarming case of hypocrisy and blatant antisemitism,” stated Liora Rez, founding father of StopAntisemitism. “This incident is nothing wanting a direct violation of Jewish college students’ rights to specific their id and humanitarian considerations.”
A couple of third to 40% of the 35,000 residents in Truthful Garden in Bergen County, simply 17 miles from New York Metropolis, are Jewish.
A Truthful Garden guardian stated the general public college district’s failure to deal with complaints about alleged antisemitism has been a simmering challenge for a while.
“The incident at Truthful Garden Excessive College’s Membership Truthful just isn’t an remoted occasion however a part of a disturbing sample of antisemitism that I and different dad and mom have been battling for years,” stated Adi Vaxman, founder and president of Operation Israel, a gaggle that gives humanitarian aid to Israel, to The Submit on Sunday.
“Regardless of quite a few conferences with the board of schooling and the superintendent, guarantees of inclusion in anti-antisemitism efforts have gone unfulfilled,” Vaxman stated.
Her daughter, Maya, is a pupil at the highschool.
“The administrator’s declare that the yellow hostage ribbon — a humanitarian image calling for the discharge of harmless civilians kidnapped from their properties and held in subhuman situations by Hamas — is ‘political’ is deeply offensive and unacceptable,” the irate mother stated.
Vaxman claimed that by comparability, the black-and-white keffiyeh, “an emblem of the armed resistance in opposition to Israelis, was allowed to stay displayed for hours.
“This obtrusive double commonplace exposes the bias of the varsity and the administrator in query,” she stated. “It’s alarming that the varsity helps the Muslim Scholar Affiliation figuring out as Palestinian whereas censoring the Israeli flag for the Jewish Scholar Union.
“Israel is the world’s solely Jewish state, naturally related to Judaism and related to the JSU’s marketed journey to Israel.”
Truthful Garden Excessive Principal Paul Gorski launched a press release defending the varsity’s actions.
“We take pleasure in our Scholar Actions program in addition to the management proven by each college students and college,” Gorski wrote.
“Throughout this yr’s occasion, each the Muslim Scholar Affiliation and the Jewish Scholar Union have been requested to regulate gadgets that weren’t a part of their authentic shows. Each teams acquired the identical instruction and have been handled equally,” he stated, including, “no college students have been disciplined in reference to their participation on the Membership Truthful.”
He additionally stated Truthful Garden Excessive College participates within the Anti-Defamation League’s “No Place for Hate” initiative and was “proudly acknowledged” with a “Gold Star” distinction from it throughout a ceremony in Might.
“We condemn antisemitism and stay steadfast in our dedication to creating an inclusive group the place hate just isn’t tolerated,” the principal’s assertion stated. “After we return to highschool after being closed for the Jewish holidays, we are going to interact in dialogue with our college students and group. Hate has no residence at Truthful Garden Excessive College.”
However Vaxman isn’t shopping for the varsity’s response.
“This selective utility of guidelines additional demonstrates the discriminatory therapy of Jewish college students. The college’s response is extraordinarily disappointing and fails to deal with these core points,” Vaxman stated.
“Their participation within the ‘No Place for Hate’ initiative rings hole when Jewish college students face such blatant discrimination and intimidation of their college frequently. We demand concrete actions, not empty platitudes, to fight antisemitism and guarantee true equality for `all’ college students.”
