APT: Boston University Workshop for High Schools Whitewashes Terrorism, Encourages Jewish Students to Empathize with Hamas, Promotes Palestinian State

BOSTON, April 23, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Americans for Peace and Tolerance (APT) today released a video, 'Axis of Bias @ Weston High School,' (https://youtu.be/-lbrkTCKBnM) documenting the biased work of a Boston University-based group called Axis of Hope (AOH). The AOH workshop, entitled "Whose Jerusalem?" has been conducted in many schools across the U.S., including in Weston High School in Massachusetts. AOH workshops on the Arab-Israeli conflict reflect a highly inaccurate account of history, fail to meet the basic rules of evidence and logic and attempt to indoctrinate students, especially Jewish students, against the state of Israel.

APT president Charles Jacobs said, "'Axis of Bias @ Weston High School' shows how AOH exploits the concept of 'global education' in order to promote an anti-Israel and anti-American political agenda."

In an interview with Al Jazeera TV, AOH founder Carl Hobert defines his program as "Educational, civil disobedience where students are … putting pressure on our government to create a Palestinian state. He also teaches that the use of military drones by the United States is terrorism -- a high tech version of suicide bombers."  

Hobert acknowledged that he received guidance in developing the workshop from prominent anti-Israel professors including MIT's Noam Chomsky and Northeastern University's Denis Sullivan.

As part of simulated negotiation exercises, workshop teachers are instructed to single out Jewish students for roles that have them empathizing with Hamas. Hamas explicitly calls for the genocide of all Jews in its founding covenant.

Dr. Sandra Stotsky, Former Senior Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Education, said, "this is a must-see video for parents who care about their children's education and want educators with academic integrity in the classroom." 

Dr. Sandra Alfonsi, Chair of Hadassah's "Curriculum Watch," said, "Axis of Hope is a pedagogically flawed program by a self-styled guru of Educational Civil Disobedience promoting anti-Israel propaganda to well-meaning students who want to bring peace to the world."

"Despite its bias and serious flaws, the Boston University/AOH workshop is Common Core compliant, and has been promoted by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the National Association of Independent Schools, and the Massachusetts Council for Social Studies," said Jacobs.  

"The Axis of Hope workshop is one of many initiatives that seek to promote anti-Israel or anti Jewish propaganda in American classrooms under the banner of teaching 'dialogue for peace,' 'critical thinking skills' or 'conflict resolution skills.'"

Jacobs noted, "At a time of growing anti-Semitism on U.S college campuses, it is very disturbing that both Boston University and Weston High School would permit or promote such biased educational materials in the classroom."

SOURCE Americans for Peace and Tolerance

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