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Essay

Editorial

Regional Concern

We share a stake in reviving
the state of Detroit schools.

I

n the afterglow of helping
A Tough Road
bring Detroit out of munici-
The governor was wise to team
pal bankruptcy, Michigan
with Duggan; the mayor is a
Gov. Rick Snyder quickly turned
charismatic doer who will push
his attention to striving to
for a transformative approach
resurrect the flagging state of
to publicly financed learning.
Motor City schools.
Unfortunately, quality
The city's once-proud schools,
schools based on test results are
largely run by Detroit Public
the exception among Detroit's
Schools (DPS), are largely an
three school operators. Detroit
Robe rt Sklar
unadulterated mess. So the gov-
Public Schools, under an emer-
Cont ributing
ernor's move was both bold and
gency manager since 2009, has
E ditor
necessary.
seen enrollment drop by about
With
half in the last 25 years to just
promise and hope,
over 100,000. The charter school head count,
Snyder teamed with
meanwhile, stands at nearly 59,000; Detroit
Mayor Mike Duggan to
ranks fourth in numbers nationally among
impanel a steering com- big cities, very high considering its lower
mittee of 31 community population, reports the National Alliance
representatives from
for Charter Public Schools. The third opera-
varying backgrounds
tor, the Education Achievement Authority
and ideologies to con-
(EAA), has an enrollment of 7,300, a falloff
Gov. Snyder
front the needs of pub-
from 11,000 students during the inaugural
licly financed schools
year of 2012.
in Detroit — from
Detroit has 119,000 school-age children
classroom overcapacity
who attend school either in the suburbs or
to inadequate transpor-
in 97 DPS schools, 54 charter schools or
tation to low Michigan
15 EAA schools, according to the Detroit
Education Assessment
Free Press. DPS, still the flagship operator, is
Program scores.
saddled with a deficit of $121 million.
Assuring student
safety inside and around
Mayor Duggan
schools is another high
priority.
The work group,
which convened on Dec. 19, is dubbed
the Coalition for the Future of Detroit
Schoolchildren (CFDS). It includes rep-
resentatives from the Detroit teachers'
union and the Michigan Legislature as
well as the business, educational, non-
profit, civic and religious sectors.
Snyder gave the CFDS 90 days to
advance ways to help fix the city's educa-
tion woes. Any successes could serve as
A Jewish Bond
a paradigm for other struggling school
Detroit's future hinges on innovative
districts.
But first things first ...
enhancements to several core pillars, includ-
ing K-12 education. We Jews embrace our
Snyder — an accountant by train-
day and synagogue schools, but we also
ing who worked as a computer industry
actively support publicly financed education.
executive and a venture capitalist — had
We understand the importance of a good
no choice but to focus hard on Detroit
education for all kids.
schools. They've tracked a downward spi-
ral since the 1970s.
Detroit Public Schools in particular has
I attended Detroit schools from kinder- strong Jewish ties. Many DPS alumni — stu-
garten through high school, just before
dents, teachers, administrators and board
their fortunes plummeted. I experienced
members — are Jews. At various times, Jews
the good times and now pray for some
were a notable percentage of the former stu-
semblance of their return in Detroit's
dents at high schools like Central, Northern,
neighborhoods, where many families
Mumford and Henry Ford.
battle poverty, crime and blight.
During its 20th-century heyday, which

During its 20th-
century heyday,
Detroit Public
Schools commanded
national stature for
urban quality.

Regional Concern on page 25

24

January 22 • 2015

JN

Abbas Is Grasping
At Political Straws

M

ahmoud Abbas seems to be
flailing while foraging in the
briar patch of international
politics for a path toward unilateral
Palestinian statehood recognition. In
the process, the Palestinian leader in
the West Bank is losing stature.
The political offen-
sive features des-
perate applications
for membership in
a range of interna-
tional conventions,
treaties and agree-
ments. It not only
flies in the face of
Mahmoud
diplomatic logic,
Abbas
but also smacks
of what American
political analyst Jonathan Schanzer
calls "diplomatic theatrics." What
was once a potentially clever end-
around by Abbas is now a wild
pursuit to achieve what stalemated
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks haven't
thanks to Palestinian indifference.
At issue is Abbas' very stand-
ing as president of the Palestinian
Authority (P.A.), which governs
Palestinian-controlled areas of the
West Bank, and as chairman of the
Palestine Liberation Organization,
an umbrella for Palestinian terrorist
factions. Abbas already is confront-
ing blowback from the international
community over his languishing unity
agreement with Hamas in the Gaza
Strip – essentially an agreement with
the devil – and from waning support
among ordinary Palestinians weary of
his thrashing about to counter Israeli
and U.S. political pressure.

A Baseless Resolution

Abbas was further staggered when
the U.N. Security Council rejected
an inciting, Jordanian-introduced
resolution calling for an Israeli with-
drawal from the West Bank by 2017;
recognizing the "right of return" to
Israel by Palestinian refugees; release
of jailed and convicted Palestinian
terrorists; and creating a Palestinian
state with borders along the pre-1967
lines. The resolution proposed noth-
ing to ensure Israel's security and
identity as a Jewish state. "No" votes
by the U.S. and Australia and absten-
tions by the two sub-Saharan African
nations of Nigeria and Rwanda effec-
tively blocked the resolution's pas-
sage, diminishing the political punch
delivered by France, which joined the

"yes" cohort.
Clearly, Abbas is inclined to avoid
direct negotiations with Israel, at any
cost. His political gamesmanship is
growing bolder without any real suc-
cess.
On Dec. 31, in response to U.N.
Security Council rejection, Abbas
signed an international treaty that,
if it stands, would permit Israel to
be investigated for war crimes at
the International Criminal Court at
The Hague. He hopes joining the ICC
would pressure Israel and expose
it to be tried for war crimes in the
Palestinian-controlled areas. The
move could backfire because the
Palestinians also would be open
to charges of war crimes. Further,
the U.S., Canada and other nations
opposing Palestinian unilateralism
could impose sanctions.

Steeped In Hate

Israel certainly isn't going to sit still
while Abbas flirts with the ICC. The
Palestinian unity government con-
sists not only of terror-spreading
Hamas, but also of Abbas' Fatah
party, which boasts its own terrorist
wing, the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.
To mark its 50th anniversary, Fatah
itself is busy promoting violence and
martyrdom on its official Facebook
page.
The Obama administration didn't
hesitate branding the Palestinians'
ICC bid "an escalatory step" that
"does nothing to further the aspira-
tions of the Palestinian people for a
sovereign and independent state."
U.S. opposition clearly didn't stop
Abbas.
On Jan. 7, U.S. Secretary-General
Ban Ki-Moon declared that a "state
of Palestine" would join the ICC on
April 1. Ban also approved Palestinian
membership in 16 other international
treaties, conventions and agreements
– despite such membership driving
a stake into any hope of reviving
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
Joining the ICC would all but seal
the cover on any possibility of mak-
ing peace with Israel, at least until
new Palestinian leadership with the
heart and will to negotiate bilaterally
is empowered.
Under a bill introduced by Sen.
Rand Paul, R-Ky., Abbas' outlandish
bid also could cut U.S. funding to the
P.A. At risk is $500 million of the
$4.5 billion annual P.A. budget. ❑