Regional Officers

ADL
Regional Chair
Harvey Wolkoff
Vice Chairs
Debbie Shalom
Hal Garnick Anti-Defamation League®
Past Chairs
David Grossman
Jeffrey S. Robbins October 23, 2017
Michael N. Sheetz
Esta Gordon Epstein
James L. Rudolph Superintendent David Fleishman
Dennis Kanin
Ginny MacDowell
Office of the Superintendent
Carl E. Axelrod 100 Walnut Street, Room 212
Harold W. Schwartz
Newton, MA 02460
Richard D. Glovsky
Judith A. Krupp
Steven B. Kay
Dear Superintendent Fleishman,
William Sapers

Regional Staff
Regional Director
Thank you for taking the time to meet with Talia and me last month. We have
Robert 0. Trestan always appreciated the District's responsiveness to our inquiries, and are proud of
Director of Development
Daniel S. Hart the ongoing partnership between the League and Newton. As we discussed,
Director of Education questions continue to be raised about some of the of teaching materials used in the
Phil Fogelman
Assoc. Regional Director
Middle East unit of the World History class taught at the high schools, and we
Talia Ben Sasson-Gordis appreciate the opportunity to have spoken to you and your team directly about the
Assoc. Regional Director
Daniel E. Levenson issue.
Assoc. Director of
Education
Penny Hurwitz
We were pleased to learn that the District made the determination prior to the
Media & Communications 2015-16 school year that the Middle East curriculum should be changed, and
Specialist
Shellie Burgman therefore the materials and subject were not part of the World History class during
Assist. Regional Director the last school year. We understand from our meeting that until a new curriculum is
Norman Abbott
Assist. Director of
developed, this subject and the previously used materials will not be taught in
Development World History.
Jenna Klein
Assist. Director of
Development As we discussed, this is a complex subject to teach and the continuously changing
Nora Cohen
Assisi. Director of landscape and political situation in the region necessitates using up-to-date
Education
Kimm Topping
materials from scholarly and credible sources when presenting materials to
Internal Development students.
Consultant
Sarah Perry
Regional Coordinator We appreciated the discussion with Jonathan Bassett, Jennifer Morrill and Matt
Krista Vicich
Administrative Assistant
Hills on the use of materials taken from the internet and how they can be integrated
Jacob Stuckey into the curriculum in an unbiased manner. Since teachers do at times obtain
Development Administrative
Assistant materials from the internet, it is important to maintain a process that prevents
Ethell Gershengorin biased materials and handouts from sources which lack credibility, regardless of
National Staff the subject, from entering the classroom. As we discussed, it is critical to ensure
Civil Rights Area Counsel
Melissa Garlick that proper context is provided in the presentation of materials in the classroom, but
Director of Training of equal importance is the quality and credibility of handouts and materials.
Stacy Davison

National Officers
National Chair We believe it is important for all schools to have in place a transparent process that
Marvin D. Nathan ensures adherence to this standard. We were very glad to learn in more detail about
CEO and National Director
Jonathan A. Greenblatt the review process through which Newton vets the quality of materials and context
National Director Emeritus of presentations used in the classroom.
Abraham H. Foxman
Deputy National Director
Kenneth Jacobson In order to ensure that students are provided with a well-rounded understanding of
Advocacy & Engagement
Chair the Israeli-Arab conflict, we encourage all Massachusetts public schools to review
Michael N. Sheetz
the Massachusetts History and Social Science Curriculum Framework. The
National Vice Chair
and Chair of Regional
Operations
Esta Gordon Epstein
New England Region

40 Court Street, Boston, MA 02108-2202, T 617.406.6300 F 617.406.6310 newengland.adl.org

framework can be especially helpful as a new curriculum is developed. We would refer in particular to
the World History II Leaming Standards, which outline the content that educators are encouraged to
follow, and specifically address the Middle East conflict:

"WHIL39 Explain the background the establishment of the modem state oflsrael in 1948,
and the subsequent military and political conflicts between Israel and the Arab World. (H)
A. The growth of Zionism, and the 19th and early 20th century immigration by Eastern
European Jews to Palestine
B. Anti-Semitism and the Holocaust
C. the UN vote in 1947 to partition the western part of the Palestine Mandate into two
independent countries
D. the rejection of surrounding Arab countries of the UN decision and the invasion of
Israel by Arab countries
E. the 1967 and 1973 wars between Israel and neighboring states
F. the attempts to secure peace between Palestinians and Israelis
[ ... ]
WHIL47 Explain the rise and funding of Islamic fundamentalism in the last half of the 201h
century and identify the major events and forces in the Middle East over the last several
decades. (H, E)
[ ... ]
F. the increase in terrorist attacks against Israel and the United States".
As your educators develop a new Middle East curriculum, we would be happy to address concerns or
answer questions regarding the appropriateness of any materials they are considering using to teach
this topic. We would be delighted to assist in providing resources and to work with you and the
Newton curriculum development team as needed.

Regional Director

cc: Jeremy Burton, Executive Director, Jewish Community Relation Council

Matt Hills, Newton School Committee
Rob Leikind, Director, American Jewish Committee
Barry Shrage, President, Combined Jewish Philanthropies

New England Region

40 Court Street, Boston, MA 02108-2202, T 617.406.6300 F61 7.406.6310 newengland.adl.org