Beverly Hills Unified School District officials on Tuesday voted yes on a proposal that they hope will fight antisemitism by flying the Israeli flag on all campuses and district facilities. “This is a time right now that Jews are being killed and slaughtered on the street, and threats are happening,” said Sigalie Sabag, a BHUSD board member.
The resolution passed 3-to-2, which was met with strong reaction from members of the public who had gathered for Tuesday night’s meeting. Opponents of the measure say that displaying the Israeli flag in a public school setting blurs the line between supporting the Jewish community and endorsing the Israeli government, particularly during a time when they’re at war. They also believe that other ethnic and religious groups exist within a school district.
Board members say that their decision was made in good faith, and that displaying the Israeli flag is not an endorsement of a government or geopolitical topic.
For the same reason we were all required to do the stupid pledge every day in school as kids. It’s forced conformity and indoctrination, and it’s a feature of public schooling, not a bug.
It’s why you never learned about the Tulsa Massacre, or the Battle of Blair Mountain, or Sand Creek, or that the original US Constitution gave voting rights only to rich white men specifically. It’s why you heard the term ‘reservation’ and not ‘concentration camp’ when learning about US policy regarding indigenous people. Public schools exist to give you the basics and make you think the US can never be in the wrong.