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Fight Indoctrination
he Jewish Telegraphic
Agency investigative series
"Tainted Teachings" (Part
1, Oct. 27, page 42; Part 2, this
issue, page 41) looks at what
school kids are learning about
Israel, America and Islam. Not
surprisingly, JTA found that that
textbooks, curriculum and
teacher-trainings are "full of
inaccuracies, bias and proselytiz-
ing." And, no surprise, it's not in
•
our favor.
The JTA series leads off with
the question: "With the school
year back in full swing, do you
know what your children are
learning?" Most of us don't; and
it's not always so easy to find out,
let alone do something about it.
Parents often feel unequipped
and apprehensive that raising the
issue and following through may
have a negative impact on their
child. Educators are often con-
cerned that someone is trying to
tell them how to do their job or
that they are being asked to take
sides. Plus, unless it is something
particularly egregious, parents
often won't agree on whether
there is a problem, let alone the
T
solution; so you've got divided
advocacy and confused educa-
tors. Jewish organizations are just
as split as others.
JTA documents how the many
Saudi Arabian-funded materials
and trainings don't worry about
balance and fairness. In contrast,
we'd be hard-pressed to find a
mainstream Jewish organization
that would push for biased mate-
rials.
There also is concern that by
raising issues, the Jewish com-
munity invites conflict. For
example, the Arab community
responded to the National
Council of Jewish Women-run
Passport to Israel program for
young children by pushing a
highly politicized project to bal-
ance the non-political Passport.
Teachers couldn't say yes to one
or the other, so they started to
say no to both.
But the JTA series showed us,
and local observers know, that
the other side is very active and,
in many instances, we are the
ones being left out. We've seen
this in Metro Detroit where
teacher trainings are conducted
Grieving relative of
the deceased suicide
bomber holds his
photograph.
on the Middle East and Islam
with only negative mentions of
Israel as a colonialist, repressive
outsider to the region.
There is much that can be
done.
Relationships need to be built
with regional and statewide
Intermediate School Districts
(ISDs) to find out what text-
books and materials are being
used, how and when teachers are
being trained and to ensure that
we have a seat at the table.
We need to conduct Israel-ori-
ented teacher trainings and pro-
duce or obtain materials to be in
resource centers, school libraries
and classrooms — just as we
have done for Holocaust educa-
tion, holiday calendars and the
annual "December dilemma."
And just like with the
"December dilemma: there
should be materials aimed at
parents, including trainings and
discussions, so they can be
equipped and encouraged to
gather information and take
appropriate action. Similar pro-
grams should be held for stu-
dents in conjunction with syna-
gogues and youth groups.
Support should be given to
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Hadassah's Curriculum Watch
program that is being activated
in Metro Detroit. Hadassah
members should watch their
mailings; others can call (248)
683-5030.
The Detroit Jewish News will
use our pages and Web site to
follow-up on the issues raised in
the JTA series and locally. We
invite your letters and story ideas
and urge you to support local
efforts to confront anti-Israel
indoctrination.
❑
E-mail your opinion in a letter to the
editor of no more than 150 words
to: letters@thejewishnews.com.
Reality Check
Detroit's Decision
n- the evening of Detroit's
mayoral election, I asked
my class of Oakland
University journalism students
what role the city played in their
lives.
Only one raised his hand and
said he spent any amount of time
in Detroit. The other 17 said they
rarely, if ever, went into the city.
I always believed that if Detroit
had any hope of coming back it
would be when young people,
with no memories of how the
city used to be, choose to live
and spend their money there.
Young professionals, singles, with
maybe a few empty nesters
thrown in, too.
Get this sort of mix living in
the city center and you create the
demand for retail, services and
all the other good things that
come with urban life.
0
November 17 2005
It's the equation that works in
Chicago, the city that so many of
our young people can hardly wait
to move to.
What people forget is that 35
years ago Chicago was being rele-
gated to the ash heap of history.
Its population was dropping, the
crime rate was high, areas just
off the central core were danger-
ous and in decline.
New York was hearing similar
forecasts for its future around
1970. The day of the big city was
over. Everyone would soon be
moving out to the suburbs, leav-
ing only the poor and the violent
behind.
But they got it turned around.
It didn't happen that way. Such a
reversal of fortune, however, does
not appear to be imminent in
Detroit.
The city still seems stuck in
the better choice, you
the 70s. The population
have to give the mayor
influx to new lofts
his due for that.
downtown and in the
If he could only har-
Cultural Center is over-
ness that passion and
inflated. It's just a-trick-
enthusiasm to convince
le compared to the run-
other young people that
away growth in western
Detroit is a city where
Oakland and northern
George Cantor they would be welcome,
Macomb. To an entire
Colu mnist that would be a remark-
generation of young
able achievement. Given
people, downtown
the sort of divisive, suburb-bait-
means Royal Oak. This is where
ing campaign he ran, it may be
they are choosing to buy condos
impossible.
and finding a taste of urban life.
On the day after the election,
The conventional wisdom was
before the winner was known,
that Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick
the Detroit Free Press carried
would lose because he relied too
results of a survey indicating that
heavily on the youth vote, a seg-
one-third of the residents of
ment of the electorate that is
Detroit, young and old, wanted to
notoriously laggard in getting to
move out. That doesn't sound too
the polls. But his organization
promising, either.
did a brilliant job of bringing
The residents of the city know
them out. No matter how much
much better than I what they
you may think his opponent was
want in Detroit's leadership. I'm
just an observer, and an aging
observer at that. Any urban
comeback isn't going to depend
on the likes of me.
But moving there is the last
thing on the minds of my stu-
dents. The contemporaries of my
own children already made their
decision. They're gone; to
Chicago or New York. Detroit,
which needs them badly, was
never even in the running.
Just like in the Geico commer-
cials, however, I do have good
news. My old friend and col-
league Pete Waldmeir was elected
to the city council in Grosse
Pointe Woods; proving that there
may be life after journalism, after
all.
❑
George Cantors e-mail address is
gcantor614@aol.com .
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