Newton History Teachers Harassed Unjustly: Superintendent

NEWTON, MA — For the past seven years, a group of residents has been accusing the Newton Public Schools and school leaders of using a curriculum they believe is biased against Israel. The state looked into the claim in 2013 and rejected it, but the accusations didn't stop. A campaign of protests, rallies and advertisements led by one activist, claim that the superintendent of schools and the school committee chairman, both of whom are Jewish, have allowed the bias to continue.

Superintendent David Fleishman has addressed a recent uptick in the attacks not only on himself but on teachers in an email to parents and guardians, saying the attacks are unfair and unfounded.

"The Newton Public Schools have been the target of outside groups claiming anti-Israel bias in our history curriculum," Fleishman wrote Monday. "These baseless claims, often reliant upon materials and documents taken out of context, are misleading and only serve to denigrate the hard work and professionalism of our skilled and dedicated faculty."

Fleishman did not name identify the source of the attacks, but he apparently meant Charles Jacobs, a conservative pro-Israel activist who has led a group called Americans for Peace and Tolerance (APT) for several years. Although the group describes itself as critical of Islamist extremism, it has been labeled a hate group by American Muslim and Jewish organizations, which allege that it has targeted the Boston Muslim community through smear campaigns and guilt-by-association tactics. US Attorney for Massachusetts Carmen Ortiz called the group and its claims "incredibly racist and unfair," according to the New York Times.

In 2013, state education officials rejected a parent’s complaint that the history curriculum for ninth- and 10th-graders at Newton’s high schools was anti-Semitic material and pro-Islamic. Jacobs criticized the state inquiry at the time as too narrow.

Last year Jacobs filed the petition with the city council, which has no authority over the schools, to force the school district to increase transparency around "Middle East curriculum." But parents and former students showed up to defend the schools. In February, Jacobs and radio host Jeff Kuhner led a protest that included participants from outside Newton.

Then, last month, The Federalist, a right-wing online magazine with ties to APT accused two Newton history teachers using their names of political bias against President Trump and Israel. The Newton School Committee has also been a target of the group of called Education without Indoctrination for an alleged lack of transparency, according to Wicked Local.

In his email, Fleishman wrote about the effect of such criticisms on Newtown teachers.

"In recent months, the attacks have grown increasingly and unjustly personal," he wrote. "Our history teachers have been singled out, harassed and subjected to harsh and unfair criticism in the media and online. As a result, there is growing concern among our faculty about teaching controversial topics.

"Should these attacks continue, we worry it will jeopardize our ability to expose students to diverse opinions and to teach them about controversial issues that require open minds and critical thought," he wrote.

The superintendent encouraged families to bring any questions about curriculum to their child’s teacher or department head. Information and teaching materials are available online, he said, and school staff are available to talk about it.

"In every class, our teachers work to ensure that students learn to separate fact from opinion, discern between different points of view, challenge their own thinking and that of their peers, and develop evidence-based opinions through study and the testing of ideas. They also provide space for students to actively listen, particularly to those voices in the minority – whether it be political, racial, ethnic, religious, or gender," he wrote.

But Jacobs does not appear impressed.

"Fleishman thinks he can distract Newton citizens from the fact that he has had to remove antisemitic lesson plans and that the 2 major Jewish organizations in Boston - ADL [Anti Defamation League] and JCRC - protested anti Jewish curriculum by claiming that only I am fighting to remove the biased material. In fact he promised the ADL that he would remove the entire M.E. studies sections until they agreed mutually about materials that were NOT biased," Jacobs wrote in an email to Patch.

The Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) condemned Jacobs and his organization last December for other unrelated comments.

"Despite their claims to be standing up to extremism, Charles Jacobs and APT are the true face of extremism in our community: purveyors of hatred and division, they engage in outrageous attacks on communal institutions and individuals involved in the important work of building relationships among Boston-area Muslims and Jews," according to a statement from the group.

Jacobs sent Patch an online petition from the Israeli American Council asking residents to sign a petition making the curriculum available to all in response to Fleishman's email. Although the petition notes it is a group of residents, it does not give a contact name or leader and it's not clear who owns the petition or how many people have signed it as that is not public. The domain is registered to Domains By Proxy, LLC a company based in Arizona that protects the identities of people who sign up for websites.

For more information on teaching controversial topics in the Newton Public Schools, check out the Frequently Asked Questions on the school website.

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Photo by Jenna Fisher/Patch Staff. Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).