To the editor:
I would like to address the vilifying and misconstruing message coming from the Westport DTC, accusing Ms. Fitzgerald and Mr. Riano of politicizing the horrifying events that took place in Israel on Oct. 7.
In addition to being a Westport resident, father of three kids in our public schools and a proud American citizen, I also happen to be a born and raised Israeli who served three years in the Israel Defense Forces. My whole family resides in Israel. Thus, I feel I am better qualified than other residents in town to determine whether the message was politicized or not.
And the short answer is, it was anything but.
Frankly, it was refreshing and encouraging to hear candidates in our town speak out and voice their support of Israel. The Hamas and Palestinian support demonstrations throughout the country, reeking of antisemitism levels that have not been seen since Nazi Germany, are absolutely sickening. And while not every critic of Israel is a Hamas supporter, every Hamas supporter spews racist hatred under the freedom of speech that he or she can only enjoy here — in the United States of America.
I have followed Westport’s BOE work for quite some time and feel I can no longer remain a silent spectator. I am usually a private citizen who tends to keep his thoughts to himself. That said, the current state of our schools has simply gotten out of hand, and I feel obligated to voice my concerns.
The ongoing course the BOE has taken and the free rein with which it operates needs to come to an end immediately. Checks and balances need to be put in place, and matters need to be course corrected. Namely, our kids are not the BOE’s property to run amok with and “teach” them anything that is not directly related to academics. The BOE has no right to their emotional and social wellbeing, their sexual identity, political views, nor any other topic that is not explicitly set in the core curriculum. And yet, that is exactly what has been taking place within our schools.
The BOE’s sole job and purpose is to ensure the highest level of education and put the district’s students in the best possible position to succeed in life. Specifically speaking, that means working with teachers and students to create an educational program that emphasizes a core curriculum that puts our kids at the forefront of the global arena.
Our kids are this country’s future, and their academic achievements and success start at school. The path we set for them both at home and, more importantly, at school will determine the course of theirs and our nation’s future. I am sorry to say it, but if these are the kinds of topics we choose to underscore in our schools, our country is doomed. Using other nations’ curriculums and academic targets such as China and Japan, our kids stand absolutely no chance as future adults, and our nation is setting itself on a path to self-destruction.
As parents, we have the sole authority to shape our kids’ beliefs, identities, and social being. We expect the BOE and the schools to steer clear of the various social agendas and politically driven topics that are in the headlines these days ad nauseam. It is not the schools’ and certainly not the BOE’s place to promote topics that should be left for discussions at home and for our kids to navigate themselves through self-exploration as they mature.
As for Israel — I highly recommend every reader of this letter visit that wonderful tiny oasis first before you preach an uneducated, inaccurate, and perhaps even terror-supporting or racist opinion. I am beyond sickened by the demonstrations I have witnessed in New York City and throughout our nation in recent days. This is not the United States of America I once knew. I know many American Jews who vote Democrat now feeling betrayed by their fellow party members.
Again, there was nothing politicizing in Ms. Fitzgerald and Mr. Riano’s message. It was a beacon of hope in a sea of hatred I have come to witness over the past few weeks. One could only wish more people would stand up and speak out against this disgraceful behavior.
I proudly endorse Jamie Fitzgerald and Camilo Riano for the Westport BOE.
Daniel Bakaleinik
Westport
Thank you. Mr. Bakaleinik for stating so simply and compellingly your reasons for supporting Jamie Fitzgerald and Camilo Riano. In addressing the attack by Hamas on Israel and the horrendous anti-semitic aftermath Jamie and Camilo were pointing out the nexus between the “social justice” education of children promoted by DEI policies and the horrendous outpouring of hate by students as well as professors and politicians afterwards.
Mr. Bakaleinik reiterated what Jamie and Camilo have been clearly stating throughout this campaign, that school is the place to pursue academic achievement. Of course sports and social activities are part of the education experience but they should not include highly partisan political influencing or highly sensitive sexual messaging. Democrats are responsible for these insidious changes which began gradually but now seem to be in overdrive. Here in Westport Democrats with the assistance of liberal Republicans like First Selectman Tooker have promoted these dangerous leftist ideas. Therefore it is imperative that we look carefully at the positions the candidates take on these issues and vote accordingly. If you do that Jamie Fitzgerald and Camilo Riano will be your choices.
Ms Wylie, Do you have children in our school system? Because what you speak of – and have been speaking of repeatedly as of late – is not what is happening in our schools. Period. You are misinformed. No one is politically influencing or sexualizing them. That’s a myth that Camilo and cohorts are spreading. It is extremely disturbing on so many levels to have the Hamas attacks and anti-semitism politicized in this way. It’s actually vile. To say that the social agenda of those promoting DEI and SEL is causing Hamas to so brutally attack and annihilate is not only ludicrous but is victim blaming. The BoE and the DTC have spoken out against Hamas , and have spoken out in support of Israel. For Camilo to say – see what happens when we teach kids about DEI – some become terrorists and try to wipe out whole religions. It’s disgusting and offensive and he should apologize. Mr Bakaleinik is entitled to his own opinion as an Israeli Jew. But I can assure you he does not speak for the Jews in town even though he has proclaimed that is better than others to speak on it. He does not even explain in his letter why it is refreshing for Camilo to make this link about SEL/DEI supporters and unspeakable acts. He makes it clear he agrees with ani SEL/anti DEI and the nonsense about whats not going on in our school but no explanation for this vile reference to the tragedy,
Dan,
As a Jew, a parent, and an educator, I have to disagree with you.
Children come to school with emotions and feelings. These emotions and feelings must be addressed in school as they can cause adverse affects on: friendships, focusing, academic achievement, bullying, and violence. Incorporating DEI and SEl into the curriculum as a whole , helps children to gain so many skills to help them navigate the social and academic pressures and aspects of school. DEI and SEL also help with classroom management. As you cna imagine, behaviors do come up in the classroom and school. You know that, right?
So, we teach to the whole child, not bits and parts of the child. We can not ignore feelings and emotions. We can not ignore that Jewish chilsden right now might be feeling emotional, scared or unsafe and doing so allows children to have a safe space ar school to be cared for. Right now is the most important time to be caring about the emotions and feelings of Jewish kids!
A lot of Jews, including my own rabbi, agree with Tom and his use of DeI in the Westport Schools. It has helped imorove the climate of our schools actually if you read fhe latest climate reporr.
Did you hear what the little boy at Temple israel said last night when he bravely spoke? He talked about his feelings and emotions about this terrorist attack! I was SO proud of him! That is a prime example of SEL.
I am tired of the vilifying of DEI. It has been vilified since white supremacist moms for liberty members felt it made white people to feel bad for being white. That is not what DEI does. DEI does not lead to Hamas or the support of Hamas.
I am going to allow the rest of the community decide how they feel about the attacks of Camillo Raino on Westport as a whole and on Rob Hordon’s timely emails two weeks before an election.
As a Democrat, with many Democrat Jewish friends, I support Israel, I abhor Hamas, I want the history of Israel taught and the truth about Hamas. i support the IDF.
I do NOT support the vile attacks of Camilo Raino and Jamie Fitzgerald on all aspects of this district from calling the Superintendent a groomer, to calling the teachers indoctrinators, to making fun of LGBTQ people, to suing our town, to saying he does not say it is American to vote.
Lauren – you’re grossly mischaracterizing the statement put out by Fitzgerald & Riano. They did not suggest that when we teach DEI kids turn into terrorists. Had you read the statement, you would have seen that they were referring to the numerous pro-Palestinian protests in college campuses around this country that seek to justify Hamas’s barbarous acts of terror and the link between those protests and the oppressor/oppressed identity politics and social justice activism prevalent in those schools. It is that kind of mindset, and efforts to group everyone by race, gender, or other immutable characteristics to achieve equity (equal outcomes) that Mr. Riano has raised concerns with at BOE meetings for the past two years.
He is not alone in voicing these concerns. In one particularly thoughtful essay in 2017, Jonathan Haidt (a self-described liberal social psychology professor at NYU) described a lot of this and why concepts like intersectionality has directly lead to so much anti-Israel sentiment on college campuses. https://www.city-journal.org/article/the-age-of-outrage (He included a fair amount of criticism to both political parties, by the way.). It has also been well documented that many DEI proponents have been unduly critical of Israel and have turned a blind eye to antisemitism. If interested I can send you lots of reading on that subject. It’s not hard to understand how an overemphasis on “whiteness,” “privilege,” “disproportionately” and the like can lead to antisemitism or cause someone to view Israel as oppressors in need of “decolonization” (a term used frequently by the group at NYU that spearheaded the Westport Equity Study).
According to a recent Harvard-Harris poll, almost half of 18-24 year olds in this country say they support Hamas in this conflict. You read that correctly. https://www.newsweek.com/insane-number-gen-zers-support-hamass-slaughter-innocent-israelis-opinion-1837422 Obviously there is something sickening with the fact that so many young people in particular seem to have lost their moral compass so profoundly that they are willing to excuse if not support these horrific displays of terrorism and barbarity.
No one is saying that the Westport schools support Hamas or antisemitism. And I agree that the recent events should not be politicized. Most of us share a lot of common ground on these issues. But the broader questions about the way our schools should think about group identities, encourage an oppressor/oppressed mindset, and institutionalize a policy of equity (as in equal outcomes) are important topics that should be discussed in a thoughtful and civil way. It’s neither “disgusting” nor “offensive” to do so.
Andy,
It appears to me that Camilo Raino uses the us vs them division a LOT himself when he attacks our schools, superintendent, teachers and kids! The gaslighting is going to end at the polls.
I urge everyone in this district to go through all the previous school board meetings prior to Camilo’s announcement for candidacy, and listen carefully to what he says:
Communists
Marxists
Grommers
Indoctrinators
Pedophiles
Pornography
And so on and so forth…
DEI does not make people into terrorists. DEI does not turn kids into pro Hamas. DEI does not turn people into hating themselves for being white.
What makes young college students ignorant to Israel and Hamas?
NOT LEARNING ALL THE FACTS OF HISTORY!!!!!!!!!
Instead of the GOP focusing on taking away social-emotional learning, diversity equity and inclusion, and banning books about LGBTQ people, it should have focused on the academics they want to focus on bc they say we are not academic enough here in Westport!
As a Jew, I know I was used as a pawn for the GOP candidates here. It was disgusting and vile and I feel violated. The terrorist attacks on Jews and Israel should not be used for anyone to gain from.