January 3, 2014

"An Easy Resolution To The Newton Situation"

Regarding ADL/CJP and the Newton school controversy: I’m confused. Why are the CJP and
ADL waiting for Charles Jacobs to prove to them that the Newton curriculum teaches
untruths about Israel? How many proof points do they need before they stop trusting the
word of school officials – some of whom may be their friends ( and now we learn, their
relatives)?

We already know that School Superintendent David Fleishman was forced to remove several
offending “sources.” And we know that PLO maps are used to influence students in the
classrooms. Jacobs says there is much more.

There is an easy resolution to this: ADL/CJP could simply get hold of the curriculum
themselves and find out the truth without all this back and forth. They could either ask their
friends on the School Committee for copies of what has been taught, or like Jacobs’ group
APT (Americans for Peace and Tolerance) has been forced to do, file a Freedom of
Information Act request and get it more formally.

There’s enough “smoke.” ADL/ CJP has been telling us that there is no “fire” without actually
rushing to the scene and looking at the materials. Somebody has to clear this up!

CAROL DENBO
Swampscott