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Jewish groups said a keynote speaker at a National Association of Independent Schools conference to label Israel as a racist endeavor engaged in genocide.
By MICHAEL STARR DECEMBER 15, 2024 14:38
Star of David
(photo credit: PXHERE)
The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) apologized on Thursday for remarks made by a speaker at a conference, which leading Jewish organizations had said created a hostile environment for Jewish attendees.
NAIS responded to a joint letter issued by the American Jewish Committee, Jewish Federations of North America, Prizmah Center for Jewish Day Schools, and the Anti-Defamation League regarding the organization's December 4-7 People of Color Conference (PoCC)
The Jewish groups said that keynote speaker Dr. Suzanne Barakat had used the platform to label Israel as a racist endeavor engaged in genocide. Barakat reportedly defined Zionism as “some European Jews decided that the solution to solving antisemitism in Europe and Russia was the establishment of a state in Palestine.” Barakat and other's use of the term genocide fell in contradiction with the school's mission for proper education, said the Jewish groups, arguing they should present the complexities of intense conflict.
"The pervasiveness of this rhetoric and the absence of any alternate perspectives created an atmosphere that was hostile for many Jewish students and faculty members in attendance. The vast majority of the Jewish community is Zionist, supports self-determination and statehood for the Jewish people in their indigenous homeland of Israel," said the Jewish groups. "These occurrences, along with others reported by Jewish attendees, display a fundamental undermining of the principles of inclusivity and equity that NAIS stands for, and a marginalization of Jewish students and educators at a time of skyrocketing antisemitism."
The Jewish groups said that they had received one report of a Jewish student who said that he and his peers had to tuck in their Stars of David apparel and walk out of the conference as other attendees "glared and whispered."
"We urge you to ensure that speaker selection procedures are in place in advance of NAIS’s upcoming annual conference and any future NAIS programming to ensure that such toxic rhetoric will not recur," read the Wednesday letter. "In addition, we call upon NAIS leadership to issue a full and direct apology for the pervasive antisemitism at PoCC."
NAIS president Debra Wilson said that they would implement a change to the speaker and content review process for their conferences, which would include requirements for presentations to be submitted in advance with full remarks and "No last-minute changes will be permitted without explicit review and approval."
'No place for antisemitism'
"There is no place for antisemitism at NAIS events, in our member schools, or in society," said Wilson. "We understand that antisemitism is one of history’s oldest and ugliest hatreds. It manifests not only in obvious acts of violence and discrimination but in subtle erasures and exclusions. In this regard, we recognize the particular importance of acknowledging Jewish people of color — including educators — who have too often been rendered invisible in discussions of both Jewish identity and racial justice."
Wilson said that the organization was committed to having discussions of difficult topics at its events, approached with sensitivity, and that it would work to rebuild trust.
AJC welcomed Wilson's response, and said that it was in dialogue with senior NAIS leadership and would collaborate with them in the future.
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