WILMINGTON — Children need truth. In a perfect world, they will be able to begin to experience truth in a safe school environment where facts are fairly presented in historical context.
In her letter addressing attention to a problematic presentation by a Palestinian speaker at the Academy School and the Brattleboro Area Middle School, Patricia Sheehan seems to lump all members of the Brattleboro Area Jewish Community into believing Netanyahu's policies are acceptable. I resent that.
And, let me pose something to her: President Trump has zero tolerance on immigration and, thus, since he is the president, do we/you fully approve and/or agree with mothers having infants wrenched from them at the border? Lumping is a bad thing to do.
May I suggest that in a democracy, perhaps I will be able to change this abhorrent policy in two or four years. The state of Israel is a democracy - as a matter of fact, today, 16 political parties (way too many) are represented in the Knesset.
We live in the hope that there is a possibility for egregious behavior on all sides to cease.
It is not useful to compare the Irish experience in the United States with what is happening in the Middle East. Yes, there were lots of fist fights and bad language - you remember, “sticks and stones,” etc. - but were rockets hurled into your backyard? And did your teachers and your church leaders teach hate?
Kate Judd, the spiritual leader of BAJC, wrote recently: “If we try to have these conversations while standing on the over-trampled soil of our own correctness, we stamp out the possibility of growth, making instead an arid wasteland that is inhospitable to the seeds of change.”