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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Have we discussed the fact that sela is commected to the pro-Israel lobby? I am not really worked up by Israel/Palestine but I am kind of shocked that dc would have approved a politically oriented charter.[/quote]
This is the first I've heard of such a connection. What's your source?[/quote]

Just google around a bit. My understanding is that Sela is sponsored and got seed money by something called the Hebrew Charter School Center. The chair of the Center has been quoted as saying that students will be "a vanguard for understanding Israel." The curriculum is supposed to create an "affinity for Israel" and "foster a love of Israel." Israeli flags are in the classroom. Arguably none of this would be totally objectionable, except for the fact that at other similar Hebrew charters the Arab minority is ignored in the curriculum. Another Hebrew charter was actually started by an AIPAC member.

Now Sela says that it will not be similarly pro-Israel but it is supported by the same group that supports the other schools.

http://m.forward.com/articles/155713/hebrew-charter-schools-focus-on-israel/?p=all
	
[/quote]

I think you need to do some more research than "the google." 1) Sela is grassroots school in DC - it's not run/sponsored by the Hebrew Charter School Center; 2) there is no support for the statement that the Arab minority is ignored in Sela's curriculum; 3) there is no evidence that the Arab minority is ignored in schools that are part of the Hebrew Charter School Center - as someone in a mixed Muslim-Jewish family with family in a Brooklyn Hebrew charter I can tell you that the schools in New York have large numbers of Muslim students; 3) the fact that a school not affiliated with Sela (or, with the Hebrew Charter School Center) was founded by a former member of congress who is a member of AIPAC - tells you nothing about Sela; 4) I hope for the sake of your daughter you are not an anti-Semite, but Israel is an actual country and there is noting wrong with learning about it as a country where Hebrew is spoken. [/quote]

But the article I linked states that Sela got seed money and training from Hebrew Charter School Center, which expressly states that the goal is to create a "vanguard of understanding for Israel." I would think that any charter with such an express nationalistic bent would be viewed askance (yes, including Yu Ying if it claimed to be creating a vanguard for China in the US!>[/quote]

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