A School that is no place for hate is no place for the Anti-Defamation League

Last September we had this to say about the Anti-Defamation League, 'One supposes one should opine on Elon Musk's fight with Johnathan Greenblat and the Anti-Defamation League. We joke in the headline, but there's really nothing funny about the ADL. We agree with every word Laura Rosen Cohen says at Steyn Online. The ADL is proof that one can monetize 'hate'. They're fascists and Greenblat is bad for Jews. Here's Greenblat on Al Sharpton's show. Sue the ADL, Elon. Sue the ADL back to the stone age.' We admit to being less hostile to the ADL lately because Greenblat has been saying all the right things about Israel and Hamas. 

We bring this up because a few weeks ago the Bridgewater Raritan School District sent an enthusiastic email to parents about the district's plan to bring the Anti-Defamation League's 'No Place for Hate' program into the schools, with a link to the program materials and the ADL website. The next day the district superintendent sent a follow up email stating that many parents had objected, and the program was being put on hold. A curious development, we thought. Also a welcome development. Who said what, we wondered. We had our suspicions. 

We read limited accounts online about the ADL controversy but didn't get the full scoop till the physical copy of our local paper, The Bridgewater Breeze, arrived last week. The latest issue details the latest board of ed meeting in which the ADL matter was discussed. We asked our friend on the schoolboard about the meeting. She sent us a YouTube link to the meeting, which we watched. 

Our suspicions were on point. The Breeze notes three speakers, their names are Ahmad, Ahmed, and Mahmood. Three other Muslim parents spoke against the ADL's program. The Breeze quotes Mr. Ahmed, 'Ahmed noted that on the website for the ADL, there are comments that are “clearly one-sided” with regard to current events.' Most speakers called the ADL a partisan group, which it is. A few speakers complained about arriving at the ADL's landing page and seeing a lot of pro-Israel links. 

Messrs. Ahmed, Ahmad, Mahmood and the others spoke in friendly, reasonable tones. We can't guarantee we would have done the same in their position (we once flew off the handle at an anti-Israeli speaker at RVCC). They were just like us, but Muslim. Though they never said so directly, we believe the Muslim speakers didn't want the ADL in Bridgewater schools because it's a Jewish group that supports Israel while they're Muslim and they oppose Israel. 

You know, a century ago, millions of German and Irish Americans opposed Britain in the Great War. It's okay. Muslim residents of Bridgewater have their reasons for keeping the ADL out of Bridgewater schools. We have our reasons for keeping the ADL out of Bridgewater schools.  Let us say that our reasons are temporarily aligned.