Friday, January 5, 2007
I mean literally...it's like 65 degrees out on a January 5th evening. What's up with that?
But I also mean that figuratively, of course. Wheels of Justice made its much ballyhooed public appearance at Andover High School this evening, and it became every bit A Night To Remember. The reception on the part of the Andover community was...what's the term...less than friendly. This was probably the most rancorous public event I've been to.
Let me skip quickly to the end, then work the rest as a flash-back. The evening ended prematurely after several warnings from Principal Anderson to an often unruly audience during the question and answer session following a question by a school committee member to the WoJ concerning the troubling disclosure that WoJ was collecting emails and phone numbers of the kids during the day. Apparently, it was bad enough Andover was forced to host this group, the idea that they were going to be targeting the kids later was over the line, and this committee member asked for that list of names, emails and phone numbers be returned.
This led to a puzzled and evasive response (does he have any other kind?) from Mazin Qumsiyeh who started noting that they'd never received such a hostile and aggressive reception in any venue they've appeared in, leading to calls of "Answer the Question!" from the audience, and one parent stepping forward, clearly upset, pointing his finger and demanding the list and screaming that "Parents have a right to protect their children!" That was about it for Principal Anderson, and he called the event to an end. Here's audio. My apologies for the quality, it gets better when the shouting starts, and I may also have some video later.
Let me try to answer Qumsiyeh's question, because I think it's germane to understanding the whole episode (which I'll get to, promise). Why is there so much anger? Here are a couple of suggestions. If you have to threaten a lawsuit in order to get in to speak to people's children, it should be an indicator that you are not wanted, and maybe, just maybe, you should have some sense, or some class, or even enough self-interest to understand that maybe you should at that point back off on your own and say, "OK, maybe now's not the time." But if you force yourself in anyway, don't expect a thank you and an invitation to tea and cookies. Hey, maybe you're just misunderstood. So step back, try to engage the concerned folks and explain yourself...maybe it will work, maybe it won't...but threatened lawsuits and kicking down the door to where you're not welcome are not how you win friends and influence people.
Mazin Qumsiyeh needs to step back and ask himself, "Why do they hate us?"
Now, let's step back to the beginning. I arrived quite early and milled around with some familiar faces who had also come, some to distribute literature and hold signs. We were approached by an Andover Police Officer who informed us that no protesting would be allowed on school property (the school itself is far in from the street) and that if we distributed literature or were even caught "commenting" to people as they entered, we would be arrested. When told that the principal had said it was OK, he said, "This comes straight from the school committee."
Not long after, Ron Francis showed up carrying one of his giant Israel Apartheid posters and walked into the building, and the cop said that if we went inside we could do whatever we wanted. Everyone went inside.
It was standing room only in the school library. I'd hazard that there were about 150-200 people there. I'm also going to guess that about 10-20% of them were Ron's Somerville Divestment Project people and associates and friendly to WoJ (I welcome other estimates on both these numbers). There were many familiar faces, but, disappointingly for those who were wondering, no David Rolde. Perhaps his kaffiyeh was in the wash.
Qumsiyeh was first up, and his presentation began to be frequently interrupted by calls of "LIE" and people shouting out questions and related facts. This all led to Principal Anderson stepping in and threatening to end the evening, or have people removed, but after one of the community members who had led the anti-WoJ fight stepped in and asked the crowd to please remain calm, there were only infrequent interruptions after that. (Just the occasional hiss or shout of "lie"...you should have heard the reaction when he put Jimmy Carter's face up on the screen. Qumsiyeh looked genuinely shocked. Ha!) 
As far as the substance of Qumsiyeh's talk went...there wasn't any. I was honestly surprised. With any good lie, you start with a grain of truth, and just add a twist. But in Qumsiyeh's PowerPoint presentation, there wasn't one paragraph or image that wasn't in some way either a manipulation, a quarter-truth or an outright lie. It was shockingly dishonest.
He started by explaining that the American media is censored and slanted to the Zionist, pro-Israel viewpoint, and that we never get the story that others in the rest of the world get (Solomonia readers are knowledgeable about the story the rest of the world gets to be thankful for this). Of course Qumsiyeh talked about the security fence and how the Palestinians are being starved out. He mentioned the Road Map to Peace and what a fake it was by noting that there were four words that were never mentioned in it -- "Human Rights" and "International Law."
Yet here are two words Mazin Qumsiyeh never once mentioned: Suicide and Bombing.
He talked about the fence without mentioning it, he talked about Qalqilya without mentioned it, he talked about Bethlehem without mentioning it, he talked about Jerusalem without mentioning it, he talked about olive trees without mentioning it. (He also showed a photo of olive trees that were more likely being transplanted than destroyed -- root-balls and trunks intact.)
[Edit: A reader emails to point out these two relevant photos: The first shows the aftermath of a suicide bombing at a Qalqilya checkpoint. Fortunately, he blew himself up at the checkpoint (GRAPHIC PICTURE WARNING), rather than in the town a mere five minute walk away in the background of this photo.]
He talked about Israeli-only roads without mentioning the frequent shooting incidents that led to them. He talked about spot check-points without mentioning terrorism or the tips the IDF gets that lead to them.
He showed a picture Arab refugees loading into boats during the time of Israel's War of Independence and said that the Palestinians were literally driven into the sea, without mentioning that this is the expression that has literally been used by Israel's enemies and that these people were refugees of a war they started -- a sad factor in every war and nothing particular to the Arab-Israeli conflict or Israel's creation. He didn't mention that it was Azzam Pasha who declared that "This will be a war of extermination and a momentous massacre which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacres and the Crusades" and that it was the Palestinian leader Haj Amin al-Husseini who was literally a Nazi and called upon Hitler to come to Palestine to finish the job when he was done in Europe...one could go on and on with what was left out...the context, the relevant context.
Oh, and here's another word Qumsiyeh didn't mention: Hamas or Hamas Charter.
He talked for probably twenty minutes and when I tell you that there was not a phrase that had any degree of explanatory value with regard to either history or current affairs, believe it. I'd give credit if there was any to give. There was none. Pure, unadulterated brain rot.
Next up was Hassan Fouda. He was another soft-spoken, mild-looking guy. But there was a real problem here. I swear I'm not saying this as a childish taunt (not that I'm above that kind of thing)...but he had a very strong accent and I don't think I understood but about half of what the heck he was on about, and I'm usually good about that kind of thing. 
I think a lot of people in the audience were nodding off at this point.
His presentation seemed to focus on a series of personal stories...people who had been shot by evil Israelis but still forgave them, people who had been run over by evil Israelis but still forgave them, people who had family members mutilated by evil Israelis but still forgave them, and Israelis who admitted they were evil and didn't forgive themselves. There may have been more to these stories, of course, but we'll never know.
That was the human interest portion of the event and I believe was meant to carry a message of hope and reconcilation.
He showed a video by Jeff Halper of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions -- another of the above described Israelis -- who also has trouble condemning suicide bombing. During this discussion of bulldozers and the like, here are some words that never came up for some odd reason: suicide bombing, weapons lab, smuggling tunnel, sniper cover, and yes...compensation.
Last, but certainly not least, was Joe Carr. Young, 25 year-old Joe spent some time slumming it in Iraq and "Palestine." He's sort of a greasy-haired Michael Totten but without the erudition and who's probably eaten too many of the wrong kind of mushroom to quite grasp just what it is he's witnessing on his travels. Young Joe let slip, BTW, that Principal Anderson had been kind enough to fly him back to Boston for the event. How nice of him.
Joe's presentation rivaled Qumsiyeh's for pure mendacity and cluelessness. Oh yes.
He started in on Iraq by explaining that pretty much all of the death in Iraq has been America's fault. Starting with a half million deaths due to sanctions (young Joe has apparently never heard of "Oil for Food" and Saddams cheating therein), and moving on to the post-invasion where he describes American strategy there as one of "divide and conquer."
That's right, in Carr's explanation, it's America seeking to divide a previously united Iraq (where no one much cared if you were Kurd, Sunni or Shia) in order to conquer it and steal its oil.
This was tough to sit still for, considering that if we really wanted to divide Iraq, it would have made our job a lot easier (and the Kurds probably wouldn't mind), but instead we've been spending hundreds of billions of dollars and sacrificing thousands of American lives to keep the country together and come to some sort of accommodation between the sides. What Carr was talking about is exactly 180 degrees from the truth.
He seemed to blame all the thousands of deaths in Iraq on the American "occupation" (a popular word for the evening), and not on the actually perpetrators -- all those Iraqis who somewhere along the lines suddenly and for some strange reason started caring about which of their neighbors were Kurd or Sunni or Shia or Christian. Iraqi deaths by fellow Iraqis far, far outnumber the deaths of American soldiers, whom, Carr assures us, Iraqis have united to fight. They either have very poor aim or Carr's explanation of the realities in Iraq is useless.
Carr finally stops flaunting his ignorance and inability to observe outside his preconceived notions long enough to fly us to "Palestine," where he served as a foot soldier in the International Solidarity Movement. No need for a detailed recounting here...we have evil Israelis perpetrating nasty things on innocent Arabs...but that's not the worst of it.
No, no...Hey, you ever hear of Vogon Poetry, and how Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect were tied down and forced to listen to it as a form of torture? No? Well anyway, that's what being "treated" to a live performance of Joe Carr's "Rachel Corrie Rap" was like. This was what class time was spent on? I kept waiting for him to stop, but he never did. It went on and on. In fact, he may still be at it on the airplane back to wherever he came from (at Andover expense).
The best thing that could be said about these presentations was that they eventually ended.
And then the audience question time came...oh boy.
Principal Anderson tried to set some ground rules by warning everyone to keep it brief and keep it a question. Shyah...that worked.
First was a Kaffiyed woman who rambled on about being a Palestinian American and having her trip to Israel canceled at the last minute by the Israeli government and isn't that horrible that they would treat me, ME, an American citizen like this...before she was finally shouted down by calls of "Ask a question!!" Darlin', maybe they found out you were a radical activist and decided they didn't want you lying down in front of bulldozers (for which they would be responsible) and disrupting security activity and risk the lives of THEIR citizens in THEIR country...
Aw heck, let's just skip the Q&A portion (other than to mention the best question of the night, something like, "Is this what you've been spending precious school time on? Two lunatics and a white rapper?!")...it was unruly and didn't get to many individuals before the whole thing ended as described above.
It was quite a scene. I got the distinct feeling that Principal Peter Anderson simply had absolutely no clue what he was getting into with this group, and still has no idea what hit him because he just doesn't understand the issues involved, nor does he understand just what kind of person he has on his hands with Ron Francis and the type of people that Francis gathers. BTW, certain "insubordinate teachers" were looking rather proud of themselves after the event.
I think Andover parents and tax payers got the message.
I'm not sure what point the whole evening served. As I mentioned above, WoJ had no reason to expect a civil reception. The incident may have been more manageable had the format been more of a "debate" and had the stage been shared by people who could respond and counter. As it was, it was very difficult, no, impossible, to expect the audience to sit still and silent through all those lies and distortions without making some noise and shouting back. If they had known there was someone to respond, and not next week, but immediately, it might have been different and, as I said, possibly manageable.
Principal Anderson said that the group who would give next week's response was being vetted. I'd like to know who "vetted" Wheels of Justice.
One last thing, and it's sort of a side note, but I feel it has to be said, however briefly, by way of explanation of the source of at least some of the outrage expressed tonight -- aside from the legal stuff and the protecting children and teaching and all that stuff which I've already gone over multiple times...
You know Jews are in a tough position. They can be quiet and let the slanders, some of very ancient and recognizable heritage, build and build and eventually overwhelm them, or they can speak out and defend themselves. Yet when they defend themselves from the lies as anyone else would, the bigots simply use that to confirm the slanders -- "Aha!" they say, "You see, the Jews do control society...they don't allow criticism...they don't allow open debate!" (I can't wait to read Ron Francis's and Mazin Qumsiyeh's notes to their emails lists all about how the wicked Zionists bullied them tonight.)
There are about 323 million Arabs in the world today, about 1.4 to 1.6 billion Muslims...and there are between 12 and 14 million Jews with 6 million having been killed in one spasm still in living memory while they continue to carry on their backs a particular set of prejudices and hatreds the world directs at Jews and only Jews. Take a look at a map and note what a pin-prick of a country Israel is compared to its enemies, and consider the obscene obsession so many people have with criticizing that country among all others -- the one "Jewish" state.
America is the one country aside from Israel where Jews can live and feel in their bones that they have both built and maintained the foundations of the nation and, due both to these contributions and the founding philosophy of the state, not ever feel that they are guests or outsiders.
Now, given those hard-won comforts here in America, and the traditionally precarious history and present of Jews throughout the world, and those chains of bigotry they bear that their long history has placed on them, and the frequent feeling of "we've seen this before"...and you would have to be a moral infant not to understand much of the outrage expressed in that room tonight while watching slander-merchants like Qumsiyeh operate. And to think this group is focusing on the next generation, and that some people entrusted with your own children's future support this group...it's tough to take.
Fortunately, it wasn't just the Jews who were outraged, and I don't think many people are going to forget what they heard, and what some people foisted on their kids.
BTW, I did have a positive experience as I left -- a group of high school students standing right at the exit of the school where everyone would pass them, standing on chairs...holding an Israeli flag.
Update 1: Follow-up: Another Qumsiyeh Lie
Update 2: Just appeared on the air with Tommy Duggan on WCAP in Lowell. Tommy edits the Valley Patriot, a paper that's done yeoman's work in covering the Andover issue. I listen to a lot of talk radio, but I'm not a regular caller. Already doing the "shoulda said this, shoulda said that" thing. Gotta get my talk radio chops down. Thanks to Tom for all the time.
Update 3: I mentioned that Ron Francis was spotted trotting about school with his signs earlier in the day. Here are pictures of Ron's signs laying about the science department prep room while he walked around with his Israel/Apartheid sign. Looks like Somerville Divestment Project surplus:
Update 4: For those who were wondering, yes, there are plenty of photos of Ron Francis and his Somerville friends holding these signs. This entry concerning the SDP fight that took place in the fall shows Ron holding one of the signs above (scroll down). Here's the picture (click to expand), but check out that post for the context:
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: It's Hot in Andover Tonight! (4 Updates).
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Hard to believe this is happening at a high school? It happens in college, but at a high school? But remember what lenin meant when he told trotsky to 'go to the children.' does fox nescaster O'reilly know about this? This event is so sickening, hard to believe that the principle is so ignorant about current events.
As usual Sol has hit the nail on the head. As someone was also there for the "festivities", I want to thank Sol for this accurate and perceptive report. How he is able to write all this up with such a creative mix of outrage and entertaining wit is beyond me. The guy is a local treasure.
The one aspect of the evening that I would place more of a stress on is the role that Peter Anderson - the principal of Andover High School -played.I would even go as far to say that he practically stole the show. I still cannot believe what actually transpired..it was utterly bizarre.
Both Anderson and the first speaker for the "Wheels of Bullshit" promised everyone that there would be an extended Q and A period...clearly suggesting that that they realized and appreciated there were a hell of a lot of people who came with something to say and/or ask to the "Wheels" propagandists.
As Sol has recounted, when one outraged parent emotionally insisted that Qumsiyeh actually respond to(rather than endlessly dodge) the question about returning the personal contact information of those students whose email addresses were collected, Anderson abruptly ended the whole event right then and there. It was one of the most outageous,completely arbitrary, and unwarranted examples of the personal abuse of power I have ever seen (I really do need to list a few other adjectives here...as the three I have already employed just don't come close to capturing the moment). So let me add: childish, moronic,inexplicable,unfair......well by now I guess you get the picture (for those who were not there to see it for themselves.
To say Anderson is clueless doesn't come anywhere close to capturing this guy's intellectual and moral limitations. He started out by telling everyone there that the "Wheels" representatives were not "militants"...so we should behave ourselves and treat them with the respect they deserved. I guess he must consider apologists for Hamas to be a boy scout troop or some such thing.
When one parent questioned Anderson - personally-about how and why a group like "Wheels" can be allowed to speak in Andover High to begin with...Anderson basically said - see me in my office - now is not the time to talk about that!!
When another parent asked - "why don't we also invite the Klan and Neo-Nazis to speak?"...and in doing so making a perfectly legitimate point about how extremist the "Wheels" actually are, Anderson chastised the man for setting such a poor example for the young people who were in attendance with his "uncivil" attitude!
In ending the meeting when he did - and in the way he did, Anderson unilaterally muzzled the voices of well over a hundred (prob closer to two hundred)justifiably outraged citizens - most of whom - but by no means all - coming from the Jewish community in Andover and throughout Eastern Mass.
We had suffered through close to 90m minutes of deeply offensive propaganda - and with incredible restraint had mostly bitten out tongues because we had been promised we would be able to respond at length to the "Wheels" many lies and distortions. And Anderson...who had "prepared" the students just this past week by having a speaker on the First Amendment...this very same principal - with one pompous wave of the hand - denied our right of reply.
When I approached him afterwards and pointed out that the "offending parent" was not at all "uncivil" (god forbid one should be "uncivil" to apologists for those who blow up innocent Jews at a Passover seder), Anderson's reply left me speechless. He said that he "knew who this guy was" and that was why he was right to abruptly end the evening. He actually admitted to me that I was correct in stating that the man was very emotional - but not uncivil. Nevertheless, because HE(Anderson) knew what the guy's real agenda was in demanding an answer to the question (what nerve, how rude!),he had every right to deny the free speech of everyone in attendance. And again, it should be pointed out that the original question about returning the personal contact information of the students was asked in a respectful tone by a Jewish member of the Andover school committee.
That the bullshit artists from the "Wheels" traveling propaganda show were offensive (in the extreme) was entirely predictable. But - for me at least- the real surprise - shock would more like it- was that the principal of Andover High School took it upon himself to muzzle our right of verbal self defense - for no good reason whatsoever.
But all was not lost - far from it. Obviously,no one there - on either side- had their minds swayed by the "show" put on tonight. But those present who really were on the fence were much more likely to have been convinced by the literature passed out in opposition to the show being presented than by the speakers and their one sided multi-media performance. One such flyer provided the real facts about the "Wheels" and about Israel, and another one offerred irrefutable evidence (by simply citing his own words) that Ron Francis - the controversial teacher at Andover High who invited the "Wheels" in the first place- is a raging anti-Semite rather than the human rights activist he has conned all too many people into believing.
I suppose the main reason that I don't get all that worked up by events and experiences like tonight's is my strong sense that these kinds of political battles are peripheral to the events and the factors that will REALLY affect Israel's security and the course of history in the Middle East.
This past summer's heavy rain of Hezbollah rockets on Israel along with the growing threat from Iran is where the real action is taking place. These very direct military threats to Israel's existence - along with the ever evolving/diminishing prospects for peace represent the true on-the- ground realities for Israelis.
American Jews, along with our non-Jewish allies,need to rise to the occassion and do what we can to have a concrete impact during this critically important time.
Yet we also need to confront Israel's enemies when they their rear their ugly heads in our communities - be it in Somerville, Andover or anywhwere else for that matter. Invariably Israel's true enemies (although not its fair minded critics)consider American Jews to be almost equally "guilty" of supporting "racism and apartheid" as the IDF "is."
When the Wheels of Injustice rolled into Andover on Friday night, we turned out in impressive numbers to speak truth to propaganda. That the principal of Andover High School arbitrarily and prematurely took our microphone away does not diminish the fact that by our very presence we set the record straight - again.
Ken Brociner
"Principal Anderson said that the group who would give next week's response was being vetted. I'd like to know who "vetted" Wheels of Justice."
Maybe, more importantly, who will do the vetting?
[note: I just fixed the audio link in the fourth paragraph, and added an edit with a link to a couple of photos about half way down...look for [Edit:]]
James, I really got the feeling that the principal heard that this was a "peace and nonviolence" group and accepted that at face value. I forgot to mention the illuminating portion of his intro that Ken mentions. Groups like WoJ and people like Francis have managed to do such a good job at co-opting human rights language [which, ironically, Jews have been instrumental in creating] and crafting it as a club that most average people are way behind the curve on this. I really think people (like the principal) actually came away thinking that "the Jews" got overly emotional and beat up on this poor peace group.
Ken, thanks for your excellent comment. One thing I'd want to emphasize is that it's not just about the Jews here. No one wants lies taught to their kids. No one can be happy about the actions of these teachers.
And yes, Cynic, that's an important question.
Thanks for a very informative write up and your standing against the propaganda of evil. Hope to join you next time (if needed :-) ).
Sol, this is a great service you're doing bringing this out into the public eye. James' suggestion that O'Reilly might be interested in the story is intriguing.
Also, a great supplemental account by Ken, but I'd take issue with one point. I don't believe these kinds of battles are peripheral to Israel's future at all. In many ways, the propaganda war has been turned into the real front in Israel's fight for existence. A lot of the physical attacks these days on Israel are being played more for the cameras than for direct impact and are designed to force a response that can be spun for public consumption. The exponential escalation of the anti-Israel propaganda efforts since Oslo (ironically) suggest that they think this is their ultimate ticket to success. There may be no more important ground on which to take a stand than the attempted indoctrination of the next generation with hatred and lies, It's critical.
Finally, I don't know whether this has been mentioned before, but it's worth noting that this event was held on a Friday night, when the observant members of the Jewish community wouldn't be able to attend. This is another tactic that's been used too widely to be a coincidence.
Thanks again, Sol. And thanks for ending this report on such an uplifting note. It brought a smile through my tears of rage and frustration.
sounds amazing. and about time that people talked back to this appalling stuff. i've been reading mazin q's stuff for years. nothing more intellectually dishonest (except maybe chomsky, who's smarter). congratulations to all who went and protested.
this illustrates a point that Sissy (Sisu) made a while back. the "progressive" anti-Zionists have been talking in an echo chamber for so long that they don't even know how flabby their thinking and how empty their "data." we actually have a field of fools before us, and if we think this out properly, we can mow them down in front of an audience of decent folk who can recognize a demopath when revealed.
Sol, your point about this being a bigger fight than just israel is crucial here. this is about civil society, which demopaths use "human rights" language to destroy.
Fantastic job, Sol, thanks for going and the inspired write-up. Fox News at 10 covered this last night, they did a pretty good job. Many parents looked furious. The school lawyer seemed unbelievably clueless. "We had to let them speak!" Great job to all who went.
Arab/Islamist ethnic cleansing has been persecuting minority groups in Middle East and Africa for decades. Most of these persecuted groups, like the Copts, black Africans, Zoroastrians, can't effectively defend themselves. The Jews in Israel can, so of course they enrage the Arab supremacists.
The Palestinian issue is a propaganda tool that gives these Arab/Islamist imperialists an opportunity to pretend to be victims. However, if a speaker came to the school and openly spoke out about Arab/Islamist ethnic cleansing and genocide, it might be an effective counterweight to the Palestinian roadshow.
If there was a very loud and well-publicized campaign to bring Sudanese refugee Simon Deng to the school to talk about the Arab/Islamist atrocities in Darfur, that might be an offer that the principal can't refuse?
Deng works with Charles Jacob's anti-Slavery group, iAbolish, based in Boston.
The iAbolish speakers would be wonderful guests for Andover students.
Sol, thanks again for, yet again, doing such a superb job covering this issue and outing the hypocrites (although I think you’ve cut Anderson more slack than he deserves on this one.)
As far as I’m concerned (and I agree fully with Ken here) Anderson is the real culprit here and the main actor/deceiver-in-chief. He truly “came out†and shone—like the sun ;) as Roger Waters would say—last night when he chose to openly park what’s left of his integrity as a pedagogue on the side of Francis, Myers and their flaks. Either that, or he gave proof of breathtaking incompetence, dishonesty, and/or cluelessness as moderator, administrator, and someone entrusted with our children’s education and scholastic wellbeing. (I still find it very difficult to accept that a school principal would allow himself to be bullied by two-bit thugs like Francis and Meyers, unless of course he’d been in bed with them all along… and his demeanor last night tells me that he has.) Either way, I suspect last night’s carefully choreographed sham had been in the works for some time; at least since the first failed attempt to shove the WoJ down our throats in late October of last year. As a result, Andover’s next step should be to prepare for Anderson’s “farewell†party. The guy is up to his ears into this charade, and he should be let go, period. In fact, this whole corrupt Andover schools’ outfit (form the Superintendent to the Committee to the Principal) must be let go. I have never seen anywhere such blatant nepotism, favoritism, and “groupthink†approaches to education (except of course at universities and in one of the most notoriously politicized academic fields; Middle East Studies… but then again, AHS is not a research university.) Still, I think SOMEBODY must take the fall for this, and Anderson is a good place to start… the rest of the rotten extortionist bunch will self-destruct as soon as their protector is gone.. and he MUST be gone, the sooner the better.
1- Anderson remained eerily quiet and unresponsive to a bevy of e-mails he received from concerned parents in late October of last year. (Not that I think that my own e-mails to “das Rektor†should have been deemed worthy of a response, but a simple acknowledgement would have done the trick.) After yesterday’s show and his clear choice as to where he stood on the issue, the only explanation I have for his silence is sheer and utter “contempt†and the pushing of an agenda that couldn’t care less for the wellbeing of Andover students and/or their parents.
2- His condescending tone with us last night, asking repeatedly—and long before the lame show and consequent hissing and interruptions began—that we remained “civil†etc., was offensive to say the least. He obviously mistook us for a group of deferential high-school kids who could be easily intimidated when talked down to (with the “gravitas†of “il Direttore.â€) Also, Anderson’s repeated petulent threats to eject certain people (present company included) was a reminder of the bullying tactics used from the get-go (both by him and his “union†pitbulls) to force a WoJ onslaught on our lives. (BTW, WoJ enforcers were embedded throughout the audience last night. At one point, when I rebuked Anderson for having brought purveyors of hate to address the “Palestinians’ plight†and challenged him to bring dispassionate academics into the debate, he pretty much asked me to leave if unhappy with the way he designed things (to an uproar of applause from fawning epigones.) Soon thereafter, Qumisyeh walked to the row of bookshelves where I was standing, whispered to a mole at an earshot from my wife (from whom I was separated by 3 or 4 people) to “keep an eye on [me] and a few others in the rows in front [of me.]. Now that’s rich, isn’t it! Those are Anderson’s buddies, and one of many reasons the guy has to go.
btw, the "parent" that demanded Anderson et al. answer Dave Samuels' request as to whether or not they'd be willing to turn over the list of student's names and contact info etc., was the attorney of the School Committee. That explains why Anderson abrubly ended the meeting at that point.
btw, I put the url above as a friendly joke (because of its phonological proximity to Solomonia AND my last name) never knowing that such a blog actually existed. Not mine btw, never read it, and don't know what it's all about (in case it turns out to be a horror show...)
Great post. Thank you for keeping us caught up on this important issue.
Thank you for your detailed report. I was struck by the irony of Mr. Cum-See-Yah complaining about the so-called "hostile" response from the audience. This fool needs to follow your advice and ask himself, "Why do they hate us?"
Unfortunately, introspection is rarely in the skill set of a committed leftist. Instead, it's the moderate & liberal folks who over-indulge in breast-beating and self-blame in the face of Muslim extremism. Think back to all the commentaries post September 11th that suggested elusive "root causes" for Muslim violence & extremism, or the often-repeated canard that all of the world's troubles are due to the "Israeli/Palestinian issue".
We should keep an eye on these Wheels of Injustice characters. Let's find out where their money is coming from. And let's start a letter-writing campaign to other school systems that are planning to host this modern-day Trojan Horse in the future.
andover needs frank and pam on its school committee. let us activists help you win!
Franck, Someone just emailed to say that last guy was an attorney, but not the school committee's attorney, Kesten. It might have been tough to see from where you were.
I just want to point out that the high schoolers holding the Israeli flag when you walked out were in fact college student. :)
Peter Anderson is Pinocchio and Ron Francis is Gepetto, the one pulling Pinocchio's strings. That's how we should refer to them from now on. Ron was kicked off the Harvard campus last year when his obnoxious group was protesting the David Project being there. This explains why it's been so difficult for Pinocchio to book someone to present the Israeli side. Gepetto keeps saying no to anyone who defends the evil apartheid state.
Great job Sol(as usual) getting this message out. I just wonder when and if the townspeople of Andover will wake up to the situation at the High School,
Question: where are the Jewish students of Andover High, and what is thier position on this, how are they handling being peppered with this BS?
Thanks, Viper1, I think the community has woken up, but they're going to have to keep their eye on the ball now that the traveling dog and pony show has left town.
The Jewish Community has been a mixed bag overall, but is finally after a long slumber finding its voice.
As far as the students go, while there have been a few that have fallen for Ron Francis's "I'm not anti-Semitic (a term he doesn't use, of course), I'm just anti-Zionist," BS, I have heard that there is an anti-Semitic undertone in this high school, and some Jewish kids are uncomfortable with it and want to keep their heads down, others are, with the rest of the community, finding their voices. Then, of course, there are always the apathetic kids who don't really notice or care about any of this.
Great post - I linked to you on my blog. Not only do you cover this local issue very well, but you describe to a "T" the feelings of many Jews who encounter the radical left and pro-Palestinian propaganda.
I'd like to address two aspects of this situation:
First, on whether Andover HS should have hosted this meeting from the perspective of someone who has trained to be a school administrator.
There have been several legal cases about the right of community groups, especially religious groups, to use community facilities, like high schools, to conduct meetings like this one. The current understanding is that any group has the right to apply for such use, provided its meeting is unlikely to disrupt the educational process or result in violence or damage to the facility.
To prevent future WoJ presentations, opponents would have to prove that it posed a risk of at least one of these. It is possible that the material Sol collected in Andover could serve as a basis for claiming a risk of violence. If there are any attorneys reading this, making this case should be considered the next time a WoJ presentation is proposed for a public building.
Second, the real problem for Israel in making its case to the public is that while the pro-Israel case is factually true, it lacks credibility, while the Muslim/Arab case, while credible, lacks truth. Before blasting back, let me explain:
The case for Israel includes that the country is based on a return of a people to its original homeland, that Jewish immigrants built the country, including its economic, social, medical, and educational institutions as well as its infractructure, resulting in growing in-migration of Muslim/Arab groups who have better economic, health, educational, and political standards than their brothers in any Arab country. The Muslim/Arab response to this has been growing hatred and violence.
The Muslim case is that Jews invaded a virtual paradise, stole it from its rightful owners, destroyed that paradise, killed anyone they didn't rape or enslave, and then made war on everyone in the region. That is why Muslims/Arabs responded with violence.
For people of a materialist orientation, like essentially all Leftists, the pro-Israel case is simply not credible, people don't react this way to those who have benefited them, so by default, the Muslim/Arab case must be true. The alternative is to conclude that the paradigm behind one's entire politics is wrong, and few political activists will consider that.
If we are to make the case for Israel properly, we have to address this issue and explain WHY Muslims/Arabs have responded with such violence. That explanation has to address the religious/ideological component of hostility to Israel.
This is something most Americans will feel uneasy about because it gets very close to challenging their own ideological orientation. Jews, in particular, will resist addressing this dimension because attacks on their religion have been the basis for
anti-Semitism throughout the ages.
My recommendation then is that the response to WoJ come from someone/group prepared to document the ideological roots of the hostility of Muslims/Arabs to self-government by non-Muslims, and focus heavily on the concept of dhimmitude. If the expert on this issue, Bat Ye'or, is available, she would be ideal.
Ted, you bring up some interesting points. I just wanted to quickly clarify that the majority of the community outrage wasn't generated by this event alone, it was the in-class sessions that the group had -- the access to kids -- and the fact that this access was forced at the point of a lawsuit, in spite of the fact that it was clear that large portions of the community didn't want them there.
Never come between a mother and her cub.
Also, an emailer urges me to note that this was not just a Jewish issue, and that there were a large number of Christians, Christian Zionists, and non-religious folk there to oppose this group, a clarification I am happy to make.
Let me emphasize again that this group is as anti-American (and intellectual) as they are anti-Semitic. The Jewish Community is by no means alone.
"... forced at the point of a lawsuit, in spite of the fact that it was clear that large portions of the community didn't want them there."
Bingo, and this is emblematic of the nature of so many of the offensives on so many fronts: no qualms about transgressing any foundational principles (not even the parent/child relationship in this case) and it's ever and always three primary strategic themes: offense, offense and offense.
The principal of a PUBLIC school flew in some guy to talk aout this? Is that some kind of joke?
I'd be pretty pissed if my local taxes were going to all of this bullshit. Don't the kids need some textbooks or lab equipment?
Side note- are there any (local) Muslims who have spoken out to condemn the antics of WoJ?
Some links to coverage from the "other side":
Boston Indymedia: Zionists Vs Truth - The Wheels of Justice Battle for Andover. This has lots of links at the bottom to other accounts of the event, both pro- and anti-. I haven't read most of them yet.
An opinion piece by Philip Weiss of the New York Observer
"Side note- are there any (local) Muslims who have spoken out to condemn the antics of WoJ?"
At first I was going to laugh, but then I thought I would mention a guy like Ahmad Mansour who is speaking out against the creep of Saudi hate propaganda in area mosques...
Then I'll go back to laughing.
I wonder in how many schools across the country is this sort of thing going on? In how many towns where there's no pro-Israel voice, or such a superb and high-profile blogger? Really, really scarey.
Kudos to Sol.
I live in a neighboring town and my husband is a journalist who came out strongly against WoJ. I am so sick of these people who purport to tell the "real" story or the "facts". Apparently anyone who doesn't want his or her child forced to listen to terrorists is a Zionist. Well, count me in, folks.
We as Americans automatically support the perceived underdog, a role that Woj has successfully latched onto. The simple fact is that Muslims find it far more profitable to be professional victims than to grow up and seek to solve their problems.