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The rabbi and principal of a Paramus Jewish school that made headlines Wednesday morning for a controversial letter campaign is saying that the information in the story was leaked from a Facebook group and is "full of lies."
"That is simply not true," Rabbi Eli Ciner told Daily Voice. "The school did not encourage, push or suggest the kids write a letter. We are apolitical."
The school's AISAC club (the American Israel Student Action Committee) had a letter-writing campaign thanking the president, the rabbi said.
** ORIGINAL STORY BELOW **
Parents from the Frisch School in Paramus are upset after their children were encouraged to write letters to Trump, praising his decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv, Haaretz reports.
Frisch is an Orthodox Jewish high school and the alma mater of Jared Kushner.
The parents said the letters were written without their consent and was "an attempt to pander to a president whose policies and statements they consider deeply objectionable," according to Haaretz.
Principal Rabbi Eli Ciner responded to parents in an email saying the letters were written on the students' own accord, Haaretz says.
“We often write to our political leaders if we agree, or disagree, with their decisions,” he noted. “This is one opportunity to allow President Trump to hear your voice.”
Parents responded by saying that students had not been urged to write letters of protest for his prior actions, the article says.
In an email sent to Haaretz, Ciner said:
"As a religious Zionist school, we encourage our students as civic minded American citizens, to write to the administration when they agree or disagree with the government's policies regarding the State of Israel.
"In this particular case, many of our students strongly supported the president's decision recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital, and our AISAC club (the American Israel Student Action Committee) has facilitated their ability to express this support through the NORPAC campaign."
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