by Shirley Rahmani

Dear Ann Arbor Board of Education,

I write to you today with utmost urgency and deep concern regarding the decisions made by the Ann Arbor Board of Education, specifically in relation to the divisive Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement and the biased classroom discussions about the conflict. These decisions have not only fueled hate and misinformation but have also perpetuated the alienation of the Jewish community, which cannot be ignored or dismissed. It is with great distress that I bring to your attention the alarming incidents that have occurred in our community since the approval of the ceasefire agreement.

A school child received a death threat solely because of their Jewish heritage, yet no appropriate action was taken by the school to ensure the safety and well-being of this student. This inaction sends a dangerous message that hate and harassment against Jewish individuals will be tolerated within our schools. One of the most concerning aspects of the curriculum is the biased and one-sided information being taught. It is deeply troubling to discover that many of the established curriculum resources on Israeli-Palestinian issues are created by anti-Israel advocacy groups, which are known to promote a distorted narrative.

The deliberate dissemination of such biased content serves only to fuel hatred, sow division, and perpetuate dangerous stereotypes. In your teachings, the selective omission of Hamas’s atrocities is a directly calculated anti-semitic attack. The House Committee on Workforce and Education chastised Local 2325 (Association of Legal Aid Attorneys) in a January 29, 2024 letter for failing to “even acknowledge Hamas’s role in the attack in any way, shape, or form.” The AAPS Board of Education is engaging in precisely the same erasure of Hamas’s culpability, a move Congresswoman Foxx described as “deplorable” and “concerning.”

On March 18, the House Committee issued a subpoena to Local 2325 demanding documents pertaining to these concerns. We urge the Board of Education to reconsider this one-sided indoctrination. Teachers are mistakenly calling Jews and Israelis racist, colonialists, and imperialists. This kind of simplistic teaching only promotes hatred in the classroom. Such propaganda is not only unacceptable, but also unconscionable. The narrative that Israel is racist is unfounded, considering that more than 60 percent of Israelis are not white. The claims of imperialism and colonialism directed at a Jewish civilization, which is indigenous to the region and has existed there for over 3000 years, are historically incorrect, academically dishonest, and ethically reprehensible.

In fact, the Jewish civilization has been present on that land for more than 1600 years before the creation of the Muslim religion. This revisionist history is dangerous. Will the discussions and events organized by the Board of Education acknowledge the fact that Hamas, a declared terrorist organization and the official government of Gaza for the past 20 years, has openly declared its main goal to be the eradication of Israel, Jewish people, and Christianity? Their 1988 covenant clearly states: 1. “Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.” (Preamble) 2. “The Day of Judgment will not come about until Muslims fight Jews and kill them. Then, the Jews will hide behind rocks and trees, and the rocks and trees will cry out: ‘O Muslim, there is a Jew hiding behind me, come and kill him.'” (Article 7)

The goal of Hamas is not only to wipe out the Jews and use the Palestinians as pawns. Hamas is waging a war against Christianity as well. As Senior Hamas Mahmoud Al Zahar said, “The entire 512 million square kilometers of Planet Earth will come under (a system) where there is no injustice, no oppression, no treachery, no Zionism, no treacherous Christianity” [1]. We encourage you to watch his video in its entirety. Will teachers address the fact that since the inception of Israel, most Arab nations have sought to destroy Israel and its Jewish population? Will it acknowledge the fact that Israel was created as a safe haven for Jews after the Holocaust in Europe and the simultaneous genocide of Jews in Arab nations? Will it accept that the conflict was initiated by Hamas’ massacre on October 7, where innocent children, women, and civilians were brutally killed and subjected to horrifying acts of violence?

The Ann Arbor Board of Education’s protracted preoccupation with drafting a ceasefire resolution—marred by its divisive rhetoric and unsettling dissemination of misinformation about Jews and Israel—is not just disappointing; it’s a glaring misdirection of priorities. This prolonged endeavor, which ultimately foments more discord than unity, starkly contrasts with the urgent reality confronting the District: an impending fiscal abyss requiring a staggering $25 million in budget cuts for the 2024-25 school year.

The dissonance between the Board’s actions and the dire needs of its schools is not just baffling but reprehensible. It’s a stark testament to the members’ willingness to sacrifice the welfare and educational quality of countless students on the altar of their political machinations.

This flagrant disregard for focusing on the paramount issue at hand—a financial crisis threatening to deeply scar the District’s educational landscape—raises serious questions about the Board’s commitment to its true mission: serving the students and families of Ann Arbor. It is imperative that the Board of Education takes immediate action to rectify the biased curriculum, address the safety concerns within our schools, and ensure that all students receive an education that promotes understanding, empathy, and accurate information. Failure to do so will only further deepen divisions and perpetuate hatred within our community.

I urge you to prioritize the well-being and education of all students, regardless of their background, and to foster an inclusive and respectful learning environment. We expect to hear an answer as we will be watching your actions very closely .