Be Open And Ramaz-dik:-)

[From the Jpost]

Students of a Jewish modern orthodox upscale high school in New York City are demanding that the administration permit its political society to host the noted Palestinian-American academic Professor Rashid Khalidi after the head of the school barred his appearance.

The controversy erupted earlier this week when the anti-Zionist blogger Mondoweiss reported that the Ramaz day school had nixed an appearance by Khalidi, who was invited to the Manhattan campus by the student-run political society.

The move angered some students, who were moved to circulate an online petition that called on the Ramaz headmaster, Paul Shaviv, to reverse his decision.

“I believe it is critical that Ramaz students are exposed to different perspectives and that open dialogue be encouraged at Ramaz — not limited,” the petition says. “I call upon Head of School Mr. Shaviv to realize how important academic equitability is to the Ramaz community and reverse his prohibition on Professor Khalidi’s address.”

Khalidi, a professor at Columbia University, was born to a Saudi-Palestinian father and a Lebanese mother. According to the Jewish Telgraph Agency, Khalidi was an adviser to the Palestine Liberation Organization during the Madrid peace negotiations in the early 1990s. Khalidi has generated controversy in the past for stating that the Palestinians were legally entitled to resist Israel’s occupation by targeting soldiers.

In a statement issued to JTA on Friday, Shaviv said he was working with students to “navigate a delicate political situation, respecting their wish for open exchange of ideas, but also being mindful of multiple sensitivities within our varied school constituencies.”

The statement from Ramaz said, “The issue is not whether or not students should hear another view – they should. Our question was: ‘Is this the appropriate program?’”

The school’s administration said it believed the controversy would “massively overshadow any conversation and would make an educational experience impossible,” and that Khalidi was not the right partner for dialogue with high school students. Shaviv said he met with Khalidi and amicably explained the situation to him, and Ramaz’s statement said the school is “working with the politics club to arrange an event that will provide the program content they originally envisaged.”


Khalidi says that the Arabs should "target" soldiers meaning that he says that they should kill them. These highly-intelligent-over-educated-minds-filled-with-poisonous-liberal-anti-Jewish-values that are also Yiddeshe neshamas need a lot of tfillos. Fortunately, many of the students learn in Israel after high school and are de-toxed from the noxious fumes that they have ingested. Would they also invite Himmler or Goebels or even Hitler? Freedom of speech.

Why doesn't the school just say that Khalidi is a rasha and there is no freedom of speech to spew hatred and venom?? Shaviv said he was working with students to “navigate a delicate political situation, respecting their wish for open exchange of ideas, but also being mindful of multiple sensitivities within our varied school constituencies.” What type of gobbledy-gock is THAT? What about giving an education grounded in a strong sense of non-relativistic morality? And why did he "amicably" meet with Khalidi? Why be amicable with people who promote murder of Jews?? If you don't educate that there is evil in the world that must be eradicated - you perpetuate it.


And do you think the student council would invite Satmar Chasidim from Williamsburg to present their anti-Zionist and Charedi attitudes? What about inviting Rav Mattisyahu Solomon to share divrei mussar? Why is freedom of speech limited to those who don't deserve it??

And for this type of education parents pay 25k plus a year.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH:-)

See this video posted by my dear friend Reb Chaim, especially from the 52 minute mark [as he wrote].