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What’s Happening in North Carolina’s High Schools About Israel?
An antisemitic banner hung over the US 1 highway in Cameron, North Carolina in December 2022. Photo: Screenshot
In May, the Zine club at North Carolina’s Carrboro High School made a post on social media celebrating their display in the school’s library that included the Do-It-Yourself Occupation Guide, which reads as a training manual for criminality and domestic terrorism.
The guide provides advice on how to disable alarm systems, break into buildings, and barricade doors. It calls for “organized looting” and “the seizing of buildings.” With accompanying pictures, the guide explains how to use tools such as an angle grinder, bolt cutters, and a crowbar to break into buildings. It advises, “A group may decide it is better to destroy or vandalize a space than to return it to its usual role in good condition.” In its first paragraph, the guide accuses Israel of “genocide” against the Palestinians.
The guide was removed from the library.
Andy Jenks, Chief Communications Officer for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, told me via email: “The material that appeared on what seems to be a student’s Instagram account was neither allowed nor featured by the school or district, and it was addressed quickly once it was brought to the attention of the administrative team.”
This is at least the second time this school year that the Carrboro High School library has had hateful and disturbing materials on display and then removed.
Two months earlier, in March, I reported that the Zine Club and the Student Socialist Alliance at Carrboro High School were responsible for an anti-Israel display in the library that — to many people — appeared to condone Hamas’ use of terrorism, hostage taking, and murder with the slogan: “RESISTANCE IS JUSTIFIED WHEN PEOPLE ARE OCCUPIED.”
A student created zine (or magazine) that was included with the display referred to Israel as “racist,” “colonial,” and an “apartheid” state, and accused Israel of “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing.”
Parents and community members are frustrated by how long it took to have the anti-Israel display removed, and that just a few months after this incident, the occupation guide was then briefly on display in the library. In addition, after the anti-Israel display was removed, anti-Israel flyers were posted in the school and these were also removed.
Public records now shed more light on this situation. In February, a Jewish parent visiting the school took photos of the anti-Israel display. A school staff member emailed the principal, “I was uncomfortable with her [the parent] taking photos considering the questions she was asking and her visible irritation with the display.”
Shouldn’t the staff member have expressed concerns with the hate speech on display in a public school library rather than that a parent was documenting hate speech?
On Feb. 8, students at Carrboro High School and nearby Chapel Hill High School held a well-advertised protest, “For A Free Palestine: WALK-OUT AGAINST GENOCIDE” that took place during the school day.
Two days before the walkout, public records reveal that a person who appears to be a member of Chapel High School’s School Improvement Team (SIT) emailed fellow SIT members, which included the school’s principal and other school administrators.
She voiced concerns about both the planned walkout and a related anti-Israel social media account: “The site is causing concerns for Jewish students, who are being called white supremacists in comments of posts, and seeing posts advocating for the destruction of all Jews.”
Referring to the upcoming walkout, she wrote, “This is a huge safety issue” and the school needs “to have a plan for our Jewish students who are feeling very unsafe at school right now.” She added that on the day of the planned walkout, “We may need a safety presence at school.”
“These are complicated questions concerning no tolerance for hate speech but also of protection for protesting,” she wrote. “I am hoping that we can pay attention to this and figure out what is right for our campus.”
The schools received many concerns about this walkout from parents and some staff. For example, the night before the protest, a parent wrote to one of the principals: “I do not feel safe having my children in a school district that allows this … There is no way that this walkout is not going to negatively affect Jewish students … I am sickened, hurt, and appalled.”
A staff member sent an email to the principal of Chapel Hill High School, to other school administrators, and to security officers the morning of the protest: “It has been brought to me by several students and some parents that if a student did not actively participate in the protest today, they might possibly be ‘singled out’ for not engaging or be accused of complicity.” He added, “I would like to offer my room as an added option for those students who feel uncomfortable or unsafe during that time period.”
While I appreciate the staff member advocating for students, children should not need a safe room to attend school.
The night before the protest, a parent emailed one of the principals: “While I respect free speech for all, school should foremost be a safe place for all students. The permitted ‘walkout’ is compromising student safety.”
In the end, the administration met with student organizers and allowed the protest. And as a result, many Jewish parents — concerned for their children’s safety and well-being — kept their children home that day.
It is outrageous that a protest was allowed to occur during the school day after it was acknowledged that it may be “a huge safety issue” for Jewish students.
Would the district ever allow protests to occur that posed a huge safety issue for Black, Muslim, Asian, or LGBTQ+ students? I highly doubt it.
There are some additional challenging aspects of this situation. In an email sent the day before the walkout, a teacher at Chapel Hill High School shared with the principal, “Some of the protest organizers are Jewish” and the larger group of protestors “relies on those Jewish students for guidance.” I do not envy administrators and staff who have to navigate this.
Going through the public record emails, it is clear that administration and staff are struggling to understand some of the issues. For example, the slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” has been an issue. The night before the walkout, a Jewish parent explained to one of the principals, “If the slogan of this walkout is ‘from the river to the sea,’ which I understand from my son that it is, then your students are chanting for the genocide of Jews.”
In late May, Jenks told me via email: “Our district vehemently rejects any hint of antisemitic behavior, as we do all forms of hate speech. Schools must always be places of joy and kindness, where we value the diverse backgrounds that make us a community.”
When students are kept home from school out of fear or need a safe room to get through the school day, school is no longer joyous or kind.
In the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, the safety of Jewish students appears to be treated as less important than the safety of other students. This is unacceptable. Jewish parents — and all parents — should never have to keep their children home from school or have them in a secure room at school to keep them safe.
Peter Reitzes writes about issues related to antisemitism and Israel.
The post What’s Happening in North Carolina’s High Schools About Israel? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Massachusetts Man Pleads Guilty to Threatening to Kill Jews, Bomb Synagogues
A woman walks past the US Department of Justice Building, in Washington, DC, Dec. 15, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Al Drago
The US Department of Justice has secured the conviction of a Massachusetts man who threatened to perpetrate mass killings of Jews, according to a new announcement by the agency.
Over several months, John Reardon, 59, called Jewish institutions across Massachusetts, proclaiming that he would kill Jewish men, women, and children in their houses of worship. His terroristic menacing included promises to plant bombs in synagogues in the cities of Sharon and Attleboro, as well as making 98 calls to the Israeli Consulate in Boston, a behavior which began on Oct. 7, 2023 and ended just days before his apprehension by law enforcement in January.
Reardon has declined to contest the federal government’s case against him and pled guilty on Monday to stalking, threatening “force” to obstruct religious freedom, and transmitting threats “in interstate commerce.” He faces up to 30 years in prison and $750,000 in fines.
“This defendant’s threats to bomb synagogues and kill Jewish children stoked fear in the hearts of congregants at a time when Jews are already facing a disturbing increase in threats,” US Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “No person and no community in this country should have to live in fear of hate-fueled violence. The Justice Department is committed to using the full force of our investigative and prosecutorial authorities to root out these threats and ensure that all people are protected in the expression of their faith.”
FBI Boston Field Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen added, “When John Reardon threatened to kill members of the Jewish community and bomb places of worship, the FBI and our partners immediately mobilized. After all, you cannon call and threaten people with violent physical harm and not face repercussions. People of all races and faiths deserve to feel safe in their communities. With today’s guilty plea, John Reardon is now a convicted felon.”
Reardon’s conviction came amid a record surge in anti-Jewish hate crimes across the US following the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s massacre across southern Israel last Oct. 7, amid the ensuing war in Gaza.
Earlier this month, for example, law enforcement officials convicted a white supremacist who repeatedly vandalized a synagogue in Eugene, Oregon during spree of hate in 2023.
Motivated by antisemitism, Adam Edward Braun, 34, graffitied the Temple Beth Israel synagogue twice in September 2023, spraying “1377” for its resemblance to “1488,” a reference to Adolf Hitler and a white nationalist slogan. He came back several months later to vandalize the glazing of the synagogue’s entrance. However, he abandoned that activity after spotting a surveillance camera and opted to graffiti “white power” elsewhere on the grounds.
In addition to prison, Braun faces a maximum $100,000 fine, the total amount of which will be determined when he is sentenced in February by US District Court Judge Michael J. McShane. He has agreed to “pay restitution in full to the victim.”
In late September, federal prosecutors helped convict a gunman who shot two Jewish men as they exited a synagogue in Los Angeles.
Jaime Tran, 30 — an affiliate of the “Goyim Defense League” hate group — had gone on an antisemitic shooting spree in February 2023, attempting to murder two Jewish men in the Pico-Robertson section of Los Angeles. Prior to the crimes, Tran called Jews “primitive” and told a former classmate, “Someone is going to kill you, Jew” and “I want you dead, Jew.” According to the Justice Department, he even described himself as a “ticking time bomb,” broadcasting his murderous ideation to all who knew him.
Tran pled guilty in June to four charges the Justice Department described as “hate crimes with intent to kill” and “using, carrying, and discharging a firearm” in the commission of an act of violence. His sentencing of 35 years ensures that he will not again be free until the year 2059.
“After two years of spewing antisemitic vitriol, the defendant planned and carried out a two-day attack attempting to murder Jews leaving synagogue in Los Angeles,” Garland said at the time. “Vile acts of antisemitic hatred endanger the safety of individuals and entire communities, and allowing such crimes to go unchecked endangers the foundation of our democracy itself.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
The post Massachusetts Man Pleads Guilty to Threatening to Kill Jews, Bomb Synagogues first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Left-Wing Activists Slam Incoming Trans US Lawmaker for Past Pro-Israel Comments
US Rep.-elect Sarah McBride (D-DE), the first transgender person elected to the US Congress, poses for a portrait outside of her campaign office in Wilmington, Delaware, US, Oct. 26, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Rachel Wisniewski
Left-wing activists are condemning Sarah McBride, a Democrat from Delaware who earlier this month became the first transgender person elected to the US Congress, for previously expressing support for Israel.
McBride, who was born male but now identifies as female, has a history of expressing support for Israel’s right to self-defense and sympathy for the victims of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s massacre across southern Israel last Oct. 7.
Upon discovering the lawmaker’s past public support of Israel, left-wing advocates slammed McBride, arguing that a “queer” politician should empathize with the plight of the Palestinians and adopt a stridently “anti-Zionist” stance. Progressives also slammed McBride for placing an “emphasis on Israeli safety” and taking a hard-line position against Iran, which US intelligence agencies have for years identified as the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism.
Anti-Israel activists have especially taken umbrage at the transgender lawmaker for repeatedly affirming Israel’s right to “defend itself” and referring to Hamas’s Oct. 7 invasion of the Jewish state as a “terrorist attack.” McBride has also rankled some left-wing advocates by calling for the release of the American hostages in Hamas-ruled Gaza and expressing support for continuing the transfer of US aid to Israel.
“Congress will most likely have the first trans member in history after November and she’s a zionist, beyond parody lmao,” one user wrote on X/Twitter.
“Don’t hate sarah Mcbride because she’s a trans woman, hate her because she’s a raging zionist,” another progressive posted.
“My take on Sarah McBride: I’d rather have 100 cıshetero congressmen who are anti-zionist than one trans woman who is a zionist. Identity politics shouldn’t matter at all when the stakes are genocidal,” another anti-Israel advocate said.
Over the course of McBride’s political career, which included serving in the Delaware state Senate, the lawmaker has adopted mainstream positions and rhetoric on Israel, undercutting expectations among certain corners of the ideological left that a transgender lawmaker should align with the radical fringes of the Democratic Party. Several aactivists on social media have argued that McBride’s parroting of so-called “Zionist talking points” represented a betrayal of the “queer” community.
In an August 2023 interview with Jewish Insider, McBride demonstrated skepticism toward conditioning aid to Israel and “emphasized that federal law already contains protections to ensure that US aid ‘shouldn’t be used in ways that contradict our values.’” McBride also voiced “‘serious concerns about any policy that would single out Israel and treat it differently than other countries that we support through foreign aid’ or hold it ‘to a different standard.’”
McBride also expressed support for the 2016 Memorandum of Understanding for US military aid to Israel, which included an increase of $8 billion in aid to the Jewish state.
During a debate for Congress in October, McBride said that “Israel without question has a right to defend itself against a terrorist attack like we saw on Oct. 7, to protect its citizens — and, in fact, it has a responsibility to protect its citizens — but it also has a responsibility to do that in the context of all applicable laws.”
McBride also vowed to seek avenues to advance Palestinian “security, economic security, and the right to self-determination.”
The publication Autostraddle, a self-described “news and entertainment site for LGBTQ+ women and other trans people,” published a story earlier this month headlined, “Sarah McBride Is a Zionist.”
“Even if Sarah McBride accomplishes other positive changes in Congress, even if her presence as a trans woman counteracts the rising transphobia in our country and her party, this will be tainted by her stance on Israel and the violence against Palestinians,” the author wrote to conclude the article. “I understand wanting a piece of good news after last week. But as long as McBride remains steadfast in her Zionism, I’ll be looking elsewhere.”
The post Left-Wing Activists Slam Incoming Trans US Lawmaker for Past Pro-Israel Comments first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Rabbi Zvi Kogan, the Chabad rabbi murdered in the UAE, remembered by close friend with roots in Montreal
Rabbi Zvi Kogan, the Chabad rabbi who was murdered in the United Arab Emirates last week, was a gregarious and kind person who had an infectious smile, recalled Rabbi Yehuda […]
The post Rabbi Zvi Kogan, the Chabad rabbi murdered in the UAE, remembered by close friend with roots in Montreal appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.
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