National Jewish Organization Threatens to File Complaint Against FCPS

[Anonymous]

I simply cannot comprehend how, if true, a swastika was not removed. What is going on in this county?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't condone Hamas' actions. Israel, however, is an apartheid state. This also started because Israel tried to evict Palestinians during Ramadan from homes they'd lived in for generations. Israel is entitled to defend itself, but leveling huge building with no regard to the loss of civilian life is unconscionable. Hamas is a terrorist organization and Israel violates international human rights laws with impunity. Hamas being bad doesn't absolve Israel of its own atrocities. In this country, any criticism of Israel is viewed as antisemetic. This is largely why Israel continues to do things like evicting Palestinian from their homes, building settlements, and doing other things that make a two state solution difficult to achieve. This doesn't serve Israelis or Palestinians well.

Did you read the letter? This isn’t about the Israeli Palestinian conflict. It’s about FCPS’ failure to address antisemitism.

…written by an organization whose biggest support in this country is a group of evangelicals who want all the Jews to return to Israel to bring about the End Times.

Stand up group!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't condone Hamas' actions. Israel, however, is an apartheid state. This also started because Israel tried to evict Palestinians during Ramadan from homes they'd lived in for generations. Israel is entitled to defend itself, but leveling huge building with no regard to the loss of civilian life is unconscionable. Hamas is a terrorist organization and Israel violates international human rights laws with impunity. Hamas being bad doesn't absolve Israel of its own atrocities. In this country, any criticism of Israel is viewed as antisemetic. This is largely why Israel continues to do things like evicting Palestinian from their homes, building settlements, and doing other things that make a two state solution difficult to achieve. This doesn't serve Israelis or Palestinians well.

Did you read the letter? This isn’t about the Israeli Palestinian conflict. It’s about FCPS’ failure to address antisemitism.

Yeah, but they got in the way of their own message about what they say occurred in various schools. Some of that alleged stuff happened to and was said to me, years ago, in two Fairfax schools. So I want to see how this plays out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't condone Hamas' actions. Israel, however, is an apartheid state. This also started because Israel tried to evict Palestinians during Ramadan from homes they'd lived in for generations. Israel is entitled to defend itself, but leveling huge building with no regard to the loss of civilian life is unconscionable. Hamas is a terrorist organization and Israel violates international human rights laws with impunity. Hamas being bad doesn't absolve Israel of its own atrocities. In this country, any criticism of Israel is viewed as antisemetic. This is largely why Israel continues to do things like evicting Palestinian from their homes, building settlements, and doing other things that make a two state solution difficult to achieve. This doesn't serve Israelis or Palestinians well.

This is entirely beside the point. Omeish’s role on the SB has absolutely nothing to do with Israel/Palestine policy and it’s not an issue that a SB member should be addressing in an official capacity. Anti-Semitic incidents at Robinson or elsewhere are deplorable.

Everyone is entitled to view Israeli policy however they want but that is not a justification for anti-semitism. American Jews are NOT Israelis or representatives of Israel. If you have questions about this I’d be happy to answer them.

Omeish did that on her personal social media and her comments were about Israel not about Jews. Also, where in my post did I equate American Jews to Israel or justify anti-semetism? Disagreeing with the actions of the Israeli government doesn't make someone anti-Semitic. And, no, I don't need you to answer any questions as you seem to have a problem with reading comprehension.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't condone Hamas' actions. Israel, however, is an apartheid state. This also started because Israel tried to evict Palestinians during Ramadan from homes they'd lived in for generations. Israel is entitled to defend itself, but leveling huge building with no regard to the loss of civilian life is unconscionable. Hamas is a terrorist organization and Israel violates international human rights laws with impunity. Hamas being bad doesn't absolve Israel of its own atrocities. In this country, any criticism of Israel is viewed as antisemetic. This is largely why Israel continues to do things like evicting Palestinian from their homes, building settlements, and doing other things that make a two state solution difficult to achieve. This doesn't serve Israelis or Palestinians well.

Did you read the letter? This isn’t about the Israeli Palestinian conflict. It’s about FCPS’ failure to address antisemitism.

…written by an organization whose biggest support in this country is a group of evangelicals who want all the Jews to return to Israel to bring about the End Times.

Stand up group!

Your anger about the group’s politics is misplaced. They have made very serious, detailed allegations about what Jewish students have been subjected to. If those allegations don’t bother you, just say that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I simply cannot comprehend how, if true, a swastika was not removed. What is going on in this county?

Agreed. Maybe we should hit the basics of human decency before we go in for a trendy anti-bias curriculum and teacher training. It sounds like they aren't implementing the policies they already have in place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't condone Hamas' actions. Israel, however, is an apartheid state. This also started because Israel tried to evict Palestinians during Ramadan from homes they'd lived in for generations. Israel is entitled to defend itself, but leveling huge building with no regard to the loss of civilian life is unconscionable. Hamas is a terrorist organization and Israel violates international human rights laws with impunity. Hamas being bad doesn't absolve Israel of its own atrocities. In this country, any criticism of Israel is viewed as antisemetic. This is largely why Israel continues to do things like evicting Palestinian from their homes, building settlements, and doing other things that make a two state solution difficult to achieve. This doesn't serve Israelis or Palestinians well.

This is entirely beside the point. Omeish’s role on the SB has absolutely nothing to do with Israel/Palestine policy and it’s not an issue that a SB member should be addressing in an official capacity. Anti-Semitic incidents at Robinson or elsewhere are deplorable.

Everyone is entitled to view Israeli policy however they want but that is not a justification for anti-semitism. American Jews are NOT Israelis or representatives of Israel. If you have questions about this I’d be happy to answer them.

This was on her private social media, not in her official capacity.

The only people conflating the Government of Israel and American Jews here are the ZOA folks. Anti-semitism in FCPS is a massive problem that needs to be addressed. But a school board member's comments about the Government of Israel on their private FB page are irrelevant.

Omeish’s comments were not private, they were very public. Yes, they may have been on her personal account, but they were public. Why do you think a school board member’s comments on her personal (but publicly available) social media are not relevant? Does this apply to everyone? That is, any elected official or government employee’s comments on personal social media should not be held up to scrutiny? Only their comments on their official social media can be criticized?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't condone Hamas' actions. Israel, however, is an apartheid state. This also started because Israel tried to evict Palestinians during Ramadan from homes they'd lived in for generations. Israel is entitled to defend itself, but leveling huge building with no regard to the loss of civilian life is unconscionable. Hamas is a terrorist organization and Israel violates international human rights laws with impunity. Hamas being bad doesn't absolve Israel of its own atrocities. In this country, any criticism of Israel is viewed as antisemetic. This is largely why Israel continues to do things like evicting Palestinian from their homes, building settlements, and doing other things that make a two state solution difficult to achieve. This doesn't serve Israelis or Palestinians well.

This is entirely beside the point. Omeish’s role on the SB has absolutely nothing to do with Israel/Palestine policy and it’s not an issue that a SB member should be addressing in an official capacity. Anti-Semitic incidents at Robinson or elsewhere are deplorable.

Everyone is entitled to view Israeli policy however they want but that is not a justification for anti-semitism. American Jews are NOT Israelis or representatives of Israel. If you have questions about this I’d be happy to answer them.

This was on her private social media, not in her official capacity.

The only people conflating the Government of Israel and American Jews here are the ZOA folks. Anti-semitism in FCPS is a massive problem that needs to be addressed. But a school board member's comments about the Government of Israel on their private FB page are irrelevant.

Omeish’s comments were not private, they were very public. Yes, they may have been on her personal account, but they were public. Why do you think a school board member’s comments on her personal (but publicly available) social media are not relevant? Does this apply to everyone? That is, any elected official or government employee’s comments on personal social media should not be held up to scrutiny? Only their comments on their official social media can be criticized?

PP (you?) specifically said "in an official capacity."

These comments were not made "in an official capacity." They were made on her personal account, which is in fact the opposite of "in an official capacity."

And, yes, I think that a public official can criticize the actions of a foreign government on their private social media. I think that's fine. I think most reasonable people will think that is fine.

[Anonymous]

Just a guess, but is it possible some of the alleged Jew-hatred was at least partially motivated by what is happening in Israel? The matters often get blended together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I simply cannot comprehend how, if true, a swastika was not removed. What is going on in this county?

Agreed. Maybe we should hit the basics of human decency before we go in for a trendy anti-bias curriculum and teacher training. It sounds like they aren't implementing the policies they already have in place.

Or just don’t care about Jewish students.

[Anonymous]

Omeish's comments were on her social media used for official business. Not her private social media.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I simply cannot comprehend how, if true, a swastika was not removed. What is going on in this county?

Agreed. Maybe we should hit the basics of human decency before we go in for a trendy anti-bias curriculum and teacher training. It sounds like they aren't implementing the policies they already have in place.

Or just don’t care about Jewish students.

That would be a failure to implement existing policy. Also horrible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't condone Hamas' actions. Israel, however, is an apartheid state. This also started because Israel tried to evict Palestinians during Ramadan from homes they'd lived in for generations. Israel is entitled to defend itself, but leveling huge building with no regard to the loss of civilian life is unconscionable. Hamas is a terrorist organization and Israel violates international human rights laws with impunity. Hamas being bad doesn't absolve Israel of its own atrocities. In this country, any criticism of Israel is viewed as antisemetic. This is largely why Israel continues to do things like evicting Palestinian from their homes, building settlements, and doing other things that make a two state solution difficult to achieve. This doesn't serve Israelis or Palestinians well.

Did you read the letter? This isn’t about the Israeli Palestinian conflict. It’s about FCPS’ failure to address antisemitism.

Did YOU read the letter? ZOA made it about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by wanting FCPS to punish Abrar for her personal statements about Israels' actions against Palestinians. This is an excerpts from the letter:

Parents contacted the ZOA after FCPS failed to rebuke and punish a school board member, Abrar Omeish, for using her school board position for personal and partisan gain, in violation of FCPS’s Code of Conduct. In May – as Israel defended its people from the thousands of rockets being launched from Gaza into Israel by the U.S.-designated terrorist group Hamas, whose charter calls for the murder of Jews and Israel’s destruction – Ms. Omeish used her official position to condemn and make false and inflammatory accusations against Israel.

On her Facebook and Twitter pages – both of which trumpet her position on the school board and prominently bear the school board’s logo – Ms. Omeish falsely accused Israel of “desecrating the Holy Land,” “apartheid,” and “colonization.” She also accused Israel of killing Palestinians, omitting the important fact that Israel was acting defensively, as any country would if it were being bombarded by deadly rockets launched by a terrorist group deliberately targeting innocent civilians. Ms. Omeish’s social media posts incited others to express their Jew- and Israel-hatred on social media, dividing and harming the community she is obligated to protect. Yet Ms. Omeish refused to remove her social media posts and district officials refused to condemn and punish her.

What I wrote is completely relevant to what the letter addressed. Why should FCPS punish Omeish for her personal statements about the actions of the Israeli government? And why can ZOA state their onesided position but I'm can't shed like on what likely prompted Abrar's statements?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't condone Hamas' actions. Israel, however, is an apartheid state. This also started because Israel tried to evict Palestinians during Ramadan from homes they'd lived in for generations. Israel is entitled to defend itself, but leveling huge building with no regard to the loss of civilian life is unconscionable. Hamas is a terrorist organization and Israel violates international human rights laws with impunity. Hamas being bad doesn't absolve Israel of its own atrocities. In this country, any criticism of Israel is viewed as antisemetic. This is largely why Israel continues to do things like evicting Palestinian from their homes, building settlements, and doing other things that make a two state solution difficult to achieve. This doesn't serve Israelis or Palestinians well.

This is entirely beside the point. Omeish’s role on the SB has absolutely nothing to do with Israel/Palestine policy and it’s not an issue that a SB member should be addressing in an official capacity. Anti-Semitic incidents at Robinson or elsewhere are deplorable.

Everyone is entitled to view Israeli policy however they want but that is not a justification for anti-semitism. American Jews are NOT Israelis or representatives of Israel. If you have questions about this I’d be happy to answer them.

This was on her private social media, not in her official capacity.

The only people conflating the Government of Israel and American Jews here are the ZOA folks. Anti-semitism in FCPS is a massive problem that needs to be addressed. But a school board member's comments about the Government of Israel on their private FB page are irrelevant.

Omeish’s comments were not private, they were very public. Yes, they may have been on her personal account, but they were public. Why do you think a school board member’s comments on her personal (but publicly available) social media are not relevant? Does this apply to everyone? That is, any elected official or government employee’s comments on personal social media should not be held up to scrutiny? Only their comments on their official social media can be criticized?

I'm the first pp. If it was on her SB social media, she should be punished because those comments don't belong on her official account. As it was on her personal social media, then the standard for what is punishable by FCPS is higher. She said nothing anti-Semitic in those posts. She addressed her view of the actions of the Israeli government. Plus, given the circumstances of the Palestinian people, calling Israel and apartheid state does not seem outrageous. IMO that doesn't rise to the level that would justify punishment by the school board. ZOA has completely done the poor students at Robinson a disservice by lumping these two things together. Those allegations do involved antisemitism.

[Anonymous]

Omeish was using her social media that she uses for official business for her statements. Not a private or personal account.