UA Exhibit Looks Back at When Tucson Public Schools Banned Middle East Studies

1. Does anybody remember when they discontinued study of the US Constitution? Was it the same year we surrendered to the world?

2. Noooo!!! TUSD would never show a bias toward one group over another. After all, right now they are 76% Hispanic, which totally reflects Tucson’s 35% Hispanic population. But the district fought so hard for Raza studies even though Hispanics already had a clear majority as they continue to this day to call themselves a minority.

3. So, Is it OK to teach with maps that are geographically incorrect?

4. I remember when this happened. It was a concern for many people on either side, that buying curricular programs which were then given “free” to the district, like TEP did at the time, was a covert way to influence student thinking and slip it past teachers and district who did not understand the implications of it.

5. From a Teacher Who Actually Lived Through the 1983 Near Eastern Outreach Center Investigation

   In 1983 TUSD took bold action to ensure that unauthorized curriculum that was shown to be anti-Israeli/anti-Jewish was removed from its classrooms. As implied in the Tucson Weekly article, it as was not a single administratorwho was responsible for the brave undertaking, but rather the Superintendent, his entire cabinet and the entire Governing Board. The biased and politicized unauthorized curriculum, found its way into TUSD improperly. There was not a single question at the time, nor is there one today that the Near Easter Outreach curriculum was wrongly imposed on TUSD and that the many actions involved in sneaking the curriculum into TUSD classrooms, violated numerous of its policies. Not a single top level administrator, or the Governing Board were aware of what had been infiltrated into several 5th and 6th grade classrooms until complaints from teachers found their way to the TUSD administration.

   How do I know? I lived through the entire experience as one of the teachers who had been unwittingly recruited to sign up for the Near East Center workshop/course, with the promise that I would be reimbursed at the end of course. As a young 5th grade teacher with limited financial resources, the offer of tuition reimbursement to participate in a workshop that appeared promising, at least on the surface, was something I could not pass up. Many of my colleagues were in the same situation as I. There were two stipulations to obtain the reimbursement at the end of the course: 1. Teach the suggested lessons and use the promoted materials. 2. Attend the workshop.
   I was not one of the complainants- which included parents, teachers, and community members- and I am not Jewish, however, I totally agreed with the individuals who did complain and I was very proud of the strong response that the District took to remedy the situation.

   The course was advertised as “Survey History of the Middle East.” The course, however, only covered the years 500-1950, which should have set off an alarm prior to my signing up for the course. Unfortunately, I simply did not have enough knowledge of the Middle Eastern region to understand that the selective period which was covered was itself quite exclusionary of Israel. For example, maps that were presented did not show the State of Israel. By itself, in hindsight, this was outrageous.

   One book which was promoted with the use of a role playing lesson involving two male students, was My Enemy, My Brother, which is a book depicting the conflict between a Palestinian boy and an Israeli boy. Basically the Israeli boy is made out to be the culprit, which I again did not fully recognize until the harm I imposed on my students was done. In following the suggestion to facilitate a role playing lesson with two boys, I embarked in one of the biggest mistakes in my teaching career, fueling resentment towards the student who played the Israeli boy (and who happened to be Jewish). As a result, I had to do a lot of “clean up” after the lesson. First I had to deal with the emotions which were provoked by the lesson and then I had to lay out the real facts and begin to present the history of the region in a much more inclusive manner. I invited both Arab and Israeli individuals who had expertise to jointly present factual historical information, leading up to 1983. I learned many valuable life lessons from the experience. The top lesson-learned was to NEVER allow myself, as a public school teacher, to be exploited and the second was to know whatever lesson I teach with full expertise. We were all exploited by the Near Easter Outreach Center and I think most of us understood that we had been subjugated in a way that harmed our students. The Near East Center’s unauthorized curriculum/lesson plans were no longer used after it was discovered that they had not been TUSD approved, however, not a single book was banned.

   The professor who taught the class was not a K-12 educator, nor did she have any expertise in K-12 curriculum. Of course, this should have been a red flag!
   I later found out that most, if not all of the funding to support the Outreach Center’s efforts was from oil companies; another red flag that was not seen until after the fact. The TUSD investigation aptly noted: ‘It should be clear that whatever one’s viewpoint of the rights and wrongs of the Arab-Israel conflict are- there are serious questions about the unqualified use of materials in District schools from companies (oil) with specific views and interests exist.’ (I do not have the full report- but I did keep this quote.)
   Another fact that was learned after the investigation findings were released was the strong pro-Arab lobbyists went on a local and national attack on TUSD. I have to wonder if these lobbyists (and oil money) are not behind the resurgence of this issue. Those putting their name to the cause were not around in 1982-1983.

   It is more than disappointing that the Tucson Weekly has presented a lopsided article on this issue. What is it about this issue that instills such cockeyed discussion?
   As an aside, I know that those spearheading this issue are trying to sell it as being the same as TUSD’s situation with Mexican American Studies. Wrong! Mexican American Studies was endorsed by central administration and there was vast knowledge within the institution of its development and implementation. The funding for the courses was from the TUSD funding. There was no sneaking around to get the course work into the schools. The two situations are drastically different and it is insult to the Mexican American Studies Program to be compared to the Near East Center situation.

6. An Analysis of United States Foreign Policy in the Middle East: Modern Consequences and Resolutions

   “….the essence of the Jewish religion is primarily Jewish patriotism”..a Jewish State in Palestine…”in order to realize the historical ideal of our people, an ideal which is neither more nor less than the reign of God upon earth”…at the End of Days..”the holy spirit of the Jew will become the common property of mankind..the whole earth will become the Temple in which God’s Spirit dwells..modern nations are working along side of Jews in its achievement” (Moses Hess, 1862),

   “our rich, who have a pleasurable acquaintance with all our technical acquisitions, know full well how much money can do…..once fixed on their land, it will no longer be possible for them (the Jews) to scatter all over the earth….(this) cannot take place..unless the whole earth is destroyed. Our present civilization possesses weapons powerful enough for it’s self-defense” (A Jewish State: An Attempt at a Modern Solution of the Jewish Question, Theodor Herzl, 1904),

   “….we feel that what is good for Israel is good for the United States” (Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, 1982);”…..a Palestinian people in Palestine..we came and threw them out and took their country from them…(As a People in Palestine)They did not exit.” (Golda Meir, 1969),

   “….there are now a lot of guys at the working level up there (The Senate of the United States) who happen to be Jewish, who are willing….to look at certain issues in terms of their Jewishness…to make decisions in these areas for these Senators.” (Morris J. Amitay, 1982),

   Jews:
   Their system was Deism; that is, the belief in one only God. But their ideas of him and of his attributes were degrading and injurious.

   Their Ethics were not only imperfect, but often irreconcilable with the sound dictates of reason and morality, as they respect intercourse with those around us; and repulsive and anti-social, as respecting other nations. They needed reformation, therefore, in an eminent degree. (Thomas Jefferson, 1803)

   “The Pentateuch (First five books of the Old Testament) has thus been in the world the first code of religious terrorism. Judaism has given the example of an immutable dogma armed with the sward. If, instead of pursuing the Jews with a blind hatred, Christianity had abolished the regime which killed its founder, how much more consistent would it have been—how much better would it have deserved of the human race!” (Ernest Renan, The Life of Jesus, 1863)

   The Emperor’s New Clothes

   In 1862, Moses Hess stated:

   “Jewish people…can never be organically united with those with whom they live.”(Rome and Jerusalem, 1862).

   Is this conjecture or a statement of fact? It would seem to be the later in light of the policies of Israel. This Jewish Theocracy, that has usurped and continues to usurp Arab homeland in Palestine with the support of the United States, has embarked upon an effort to physically separate itself by the construction of a wall; a failure to recognize a commonality among all humanity; to maintain a perceived “racial” purity even if such involves the destruction of other population groups.

   “Wake up, Israel!

   Have you not yet realized that the nations loathe your very existence and will never suffer you to take even the most minimal step to defend yourself?….ignore the world…..and take the battle to enemies of your people…..You have the right, you have the military ability, and you have the duty……You have the right to defend yourself in any manner you deem fit…”(Saturday, August 07, 2004 23:28 IST Jerusalem Newswire)

   This cannot continue. The consequences are world wide.

   The current crisis in our foreign policy, that may engage our country in a war with the International Moslem Community involving continued terrorism on our soil and the use of weapons of mass destruction, is directly traceable to the Balfour Declaration and it’s implementation in the creation of a Zionist Jewish State in the Middle East. Already, under the guise of “Homeland Security”, we witness the transformation of our Society into a Quasi-Military State; the cost for our unstinting support of Zionism and for a Jewish Theocracy in the Middle East based on political chicanery, national deception, and national delusion; a tragic example of Hans Christian Anderson’s classic “Fairy Tail” of the whimsical and vain Emperor, his pusillanimous Advisor’s, and credulous Subjects in The Emperor’s New Clothes.
   President Truman and the Creation of a Jewish State

   On November 26, 1947, James Forrestal, Secretary of Defense, stated to J. Howard Mc Grath, Senator from Rhode Island:

   “…no group in this country should be permitted to influence our policy to the point it could endanger our national security.”(The Forrestal Diaries, 1951)

   Secretary Forrestal was referring to enormous political pressure that the Zionist Jews (including Felix Frankfurter and Louis Brandeis of the Supreme Court) in this country were placing both on President Truman and on the political process, generally, for the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine.

   President Truman, himself had serious misgivings about such a state and initially opposed its’ creation:

   “The creation of a Jewish state…would cause a third world war…The government of Palestine should be a government of the people irrespective of race, religion or color.”(Michael Cohen, Truman and Israel, 1990)

   This view was reflected by non-Zionists Jews in this country who also feared the creation of a Theocracy (Jewish State) in the Palestine. In an editorial in the New York Times:

   ..”Many of us have long had doubts concerning the wisdom of erecting a political state on a basis of a religious faith”(quoted in The Forrestal Diaries, 1951)…”the decision is fraught with great danger for the future security of this country.”(The Forrestal Diaries, 1951)

   However, President Truman succumbed to Zionist pressure and on May 14, 1948 recognized the new Jewish state of Israel. At a cabinet meeting in July, 1947 Truman bitterly expressed his frustration with the Zionist Jews:

   “Jesus Christ couldn’t please them when he was here on earth, so how could anyone expect that I would have any luck?…I have no use for them and don’t care what happens to them.”(Michael Cohen, Truman and Israel, 1990)

   And in May 1948, just prior to his recognition of Israel, Truman remarked to John A Kennedy when Mr. Kennedy asked what the President was going to tell the Jews waiting to see him when they asked him if he was going to recognize Israel…Truman replied: “Well how many Arabs are there as registered voters in the United States?”.(Michael Cohen, Truman and Israel, 1990).

   These remarks by the President not only reflect his antisemitism but a political weakness and corruptness that he brought to the Presidency from his long association with the Pentergast political machine. His inability to withstand Zionist political pressure was expedient, ensured his re-election in 1948, and, more tragically, has endangered the security of the United States.

   Mr. Truman and Democratic Party leaders were well aware of the enormous political risks and injustices involved should this country support the creation of an independent Jewish state, a Theocracy, in Palestine:

   Defense Secretary Forrestal: “..this matter…involved not merely the Arabs of the Middle East, but also..the whole Moslem world…it would be stupid to allow the situation to develop..to do permanent injury to our relations with the Moslem world or to the end in a stumble into war”(The Forrestal Diaries, 1951),
   Lewis W. Douglas, US Ambassador in London: “…the consequences of the creation of the Israel state will flow for a long time”(The Forrestal Diaries, 1951), and
   Rear Admirable Edmund T. Woolridge, Assistant Chief of Naval Operations: “United States prestige in the Middle East has suffered what may be irreparable damage….(The)Arabs are not bluffing. (The) Problem transcends the age-old conflict between the Jews and Arabs, and is world wide in its’ consequences.” (The Forrestal Diaries, 1951)

   Zionism

   The modern Zionist movement, i.e., the creation of an independent Jewish commonwealth, a Theocracy, in Palestine was set in motion by Moses Hess (an apostle of European Socialism and a friend and collaborator of Karl Marx) in 1862 with the publication of “Rome and Jerusalem”.

   Hess believed that the Jewish people can never be “organically united with those with whom they live”; that the essence of the Jewish religion is primarily Jewish patriotism; that the pious Jew, i.e., the religious Jew, is before all else a “Jewish Patriot”; and, that “to do otherwise is to be a traitor to his people and his family.” Morris J. Amitay (1982), Executive Director of American-Israel Public Affairs Committee and aid to Senator Abraham A Ribicoff explains this connection of “the religious Jew” with “Jewish patriotism”:

   “….there are now a lot of guys at the working level up there (The Senate of the United States) who happen to be Jewish, who are willing….to look at certain issues in terms of their Jewishness…to make decisions in these areas for these Senators.” (Cheryl A. Rubenberg, Israel and the American National Interest, 1982)

   Hess proposed his Jewish state in Palestine “in order to realize an ideal which is neither more nor less than the reign of God upon earth”. This work was described by Theodor Herzl as embodying “Everything we have attempted…”. Herzl, in 1896, began a campaign to implement the Jewish ideal as set forth by Moses Hess.

   In 1902, before the British Royal Commission on Alien Immigration, Theodor Herzl stated:

   “…..I will give you my definition of a nation, and you can add the adjective ‘Jewish’. A nation is, in my mind, a historical group of men of a recognizable cohesion held together by a common enemy. This is my view of a nation. Then if you add to that the word ‘Jewish’ you have what I understand to be the Jewish nation.”(A Jewish State: An Attempt at a Modern Solution of the Jewish Question, Theodor Herzl, 1904)

   With the requisite of a “common enemy” in this view of nation building, there was, at the beginning, little hope for the peaceful implementation of British policy (notwithstanding its unjust and highly questionable nature) in the Middle East. The word Israel itself implies bellicosity and means: “El (Jehovah) does Battle”.
   The Modern Jewish State: A Theocracy

   The modern State of Israel has been unable to adopt a Civil Constitution because of a conflict over what constitutes fundamental law within Israeli society. Many religious Jews hold that the only real Constitution for a Jewish state is the Torah (Pentateuch, first five books of the Old Testament) and the Talmud (summary of the oral interpretation of the Torah). They not only see no need for a modern secular Constitution, but even see in such a document a threat to the supremacy of the Torah and the religious Constitutional tradition associated with it that has developed over thousands of years to serve the Jewish people in “their land” and in the Diaspora. The Law of the Torah and it’s Common Law equivalent, the Talmud, should determine the behavior of the entire Nation, with the latter as forming the basic text and primary source for Jewish law.

   Juridical determination is within a system of religious courts with a final appeal to the Great Sanhedrin or supreme court. This court measures the behavior of Israeli society within the context of the the Torah and Talmud; it has the power to declare war. Further, the Jewish State stands as a “safe haven” for Jews that have committed crimes in other countries. Once in Israel, no Israeli citizen, who has violated the law of another country, can be extradited to that country. They remain in Israel and are “tried” under “Jewish Law”. (For example: recently in Maryland, a Jewish boy (with both Jewish and US citizenship) fled to Israel with his father after his involvement in the murder of another boy. Israel refused to extradite. The boy was “tried” in Israel where he remains today.)

   Education is a top priority of the Israeli government. The government, within the framework of the Jewish school system, works to intensify educational curricula on Zionism, Judaism and Jewish heritage. The government ensures that students in the Jewish Education System study, among other topics, the eternal values of the Jewish people — including the Torah, Love of Israel, respect for all people created in His image, love of the Land, Jewish history and the Zionist idea — as well as the universal and humanistic values of respect for individuals and their freedom. The Israeli government works to strengthen the status of the Chief Rabbinate. There is no mention of the government’s role in supporting an educational system other that the Jewish Education System based on Judaism and Zionism.

   Thus, the goals of Moses Hess and the fears of President Truman, have been realized: the creation a Jewish Theocracy in Palestine. A Jewish nation was created by the barbarous and violent displacement of indigenous populations that for centuries had lived together in peace. This State continues to maintain itself, with the support of the United States, with the same barbarous violence. The hate that has been engendered in the Moslem world by our support for such a state is directly responsible for terrorist attacks in this country.

   In “A Jewish State: An Attempt at a Modern Solution of the Jewish Question”, Mr. Herzl concludes:

   “…..The Jews wish to have a State, and they shall have one. We shall live at last as free men on our own soil, and die peacefully in our own home. The world will be freed by our liberty, enriched by our wealth, magnified by our greatness. And whatever we attempt to accomplish for own welfare will react with beneficent force for the good of humanity.(“A Jewish State: An Attempt at a Modern Solution of the Jewish Question, Theodor Herzl, 1904)

   Since the beginning of the 20th century, the Jews, in what was formerly Palestine and now Israel, have not, and do not live as free men; they live and die in violence and as virtual dependents of the United States. The world has not been liberated and enriched; it has been in perpetual conflict.
   A Re-evaluation of US Foreign Policy in the Middle East

   Mr. Bush’s aggressive, bellicose, and potentially disastrous foreign policy reflected by his invasion of Iraq, as well as this countries unstinting support for the creation and maintenance of a Jewish state is contrary to the very notion of national sovereignty and government established as a sine qua non to our foreign policy during the administrations of Presidents Washington and Adams:

   “We certainly cannot deny to other nations that principal whereon our own government is founded, that every nation has the right to govern itself internally under what form it pleases and to change these forms at it’s own will.” (Thomas Jefferson: On the French Revolution: 1792), and
   “A government must be fitted to a nation as much as a coat to an individual…..What is good at Philadelphia may be bad in Paris and ridiculous in Petersburg.” (Alexander Hamilton: On the Government of France: 1798)

   Both Jefferson and Hamilton, hardly political allies, recognized that for the long term stability of a government:

   governments were to be established or changed, internally, by a people in terms of their own history and culture,
   that a Democracy may not be established or even desirable, and
   we must respect the sovereignty of a nation.

   A Jewish State in the Middle East was established, with US support, on the basis of a Jewish terrorist organization, the Irgun, led by former Prime Minister Menachem Begin. The Jews considered themselves “freedom fighters”.

   We can begin to effectively neutralize the animosity within the Moslem Community with a recognition of the historic character of Palestine as representing the common heritage of Christian, Jews, and Moslems; that the United States rejects claims for the completely autonomous political and cultural development of any one religious/cultural group in Palestine; that Christians, Jews, and Moslems have a cooperative, co-equal, semi-autonomous share in the political and cultural development of Palestine.

   The United States Congress must re-affirm its’ constitutional role in a re-evaluation and re-formulation of our foreign policy in the Middle East. If we have not the rectitude and courage to recognize the national sovereignty of other nations, while defending our own, and, more importantly, to undue the injustices to the indigenous people of Palestine, the possibility of the use of weapons of mass destruction may involve this country in a war of self-destruction.

7. TMI screed above – like fingernails on an old chalkboard. Nowadays there is really only one question for “the nations” to seriously regard: does Israel has the right to exist at all? Some still do not think so. They are wrong.

8. JL Curry: Given the History of the creation of this Jewish Theocracy in Palestine, and the concomitant consequences to our National Security, would you be so kind as to explain why “Israel has the right to exist”?

9. Simply, Francis Saitta. It is what it is. Israel will never again cease to exist, because it is not only already the will of many governments, peoples and modern systems, but it is also already the will of whatever higher power you may choose to accept. History has happened. The clock will never turn back. To subscribe to the destruction of Israel as a solution to Arab dysfunction in the ME is a dangerous pathological delusion. Israel is constantly sorting out their own “theocracy” because it is a highly successful, fluidly capitalist, functioning democracy. You apparently consider all citizens in Israel to be radical Zionists and ultra-Orthodox. Accept history as it is and not as you prefer. Give hatred a rest.

10. JL Curry: “radical Zionists and ultra-Orthodox” are in control of this Jewish Theocracy and via their ‘highly successful, fluidly capitalist'” the Electoral process in the United States…aka.. “The United States of Israel”

    “But you know as well as I do that, somehow, the Israeli government is placed on a pedestal [in the US], and to criticize it is to be immediately dubbed anti-Semitic … People are scared in this country, to say wrong is wrong because the Jewish lobby is powerful — very powerful.” D. Tutu, “Apartheid in the Holy Land,” The Guardian (Britain), April 29, 2002.

    …no group in this country should be permitted to influence our policy to the point it could endanger our national security.” November 26, 1947, James Forrestal, Secretary of Defense (The Forrestal Diaries, 1951)

    “The creation of a Jewish state…would cause a third world war…The government of Palestine should be a government of the people irrespective of race, religion or color.” President Truman (Michael Cohen, Truman and Israel, 1990)

    ..”Many of us have long had doubts concerning the wisdom of erecting a political state on a basis of a religious faith”…”the decision is fraught with great danger for the future security of this country.” Editorial in the New York Times (The Forrestal Diaries, 1951)

    Mr. Curry….Already, under the guise of “Homeland Security”, we witness the transformation of our Society into a Quasi-Military State; the cost for our unstinting support of Zionism and for a Jewish Theocracy in the Middle East. The creation of a Jewish State in the Middle East was a colossal foreign policy blunder!!!; not in the interests of the United States, and needs to be reversed.

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