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The outrage was prompted following a school board meeting in Putnam County on Tuesday, July 9, when Carmel Central School District Trustee Jim Wise allegedly controversy within the town over a comment on the Israel-Hamas war.
The statement in question, "From the river to the sea, Palestine shall be free," was defended by Wise in a post on social media on Wednesday, Aug. 7.
"I also reject absolutely the idea that the phrase 'From the river to the sea, Palestine shall be free' is antisemitic," Wise wrote, adding, "The claim that the only way Palestinians could be freed from the apartheid under which they now live would be for Jews to die is deeply racist, white supremacist in its origins, and closely mirrors the rhetoric used to defend apartheid in South Africa."
However, the statement has caused a furor among community members, including elected officials like US Congressman Mike Lawler, State Sen. Rob Rolison, and New York Assemblymen Matt Slater and AJ Beephan, who wrote a letter dated Thursday, Aug. 8, to New York State Education Department Commissioner Betty Rosa urging her to remove Wise from the school district's board.
"It is simply unacceptable, and there should be zero tolerance, for a school board trustee to be spreading and defending ignorant antisemitic slogans such as 'From the River to the Sea, Palestine must be free,'" the lawmakers wrote in the letter. It continues:
"This phrase has widely been understood as an explicit call to eliminate the state of Israel and to exterminate the Jewish population within it.
"For any elected official, let alone a sitting School Board member who is tasked with helping create a welcoming educational environment for students, to use and defend this blatant antisemitic slogan is appalling."
The group of lawmakers also accused Wise of insinuating that Israel is a terrorist state during the school board meeting, putting it on the same level as other organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah.
Elected officials are not the only ones calling for Wise's removal.
Community members have started a Change.org petition also calling for Rosa to remove him from the school board.
"We firmly believe that Trustee Wise's conduct is incompatible with the values of our school district and violates the district's policies," the petition reads, continuing, "His actions have created an uncomfortable and hostile environment for our children and community members."
As of Friday, Aug. 9, the petition had garnered over 250 signatures.
The incident even prompted a statement from the Carmel school district's superintendent, Erin Meehan-Fairben, and the rest of the Board of Education besides Wise: "We unequivocally denounce antisemitism in all of its forms and expressions."
"Recent events, sadly, have disrupted the district’s vital mission. The adults who lead our district must remember that they serve as role models for our students," the statement continued, also reading, "While freedom of speech is a cherished right in our country, words or actions that serve to harass or discriminate based on race, color or national origin, including shared ancestry or ethnicity, are not condoned by our school district."
Despite the outrage, Wise, who is Jewish, called the reaction a "smear campaign" and claimed it is being led by a local member of a far-right group called Moms for Liberty.
"At heart, it is absurd to accuse a Jewish man of anti-semitism for holding a position shared by the majority of American Jews," Wise wrote on social media, adding, "As a Jew, I stand with the majority of Americans, the majority of American Jews, and the majority of our community here in Carmel in calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, an end to US weapons shipments to Israel, and immediate steps to protect the lives and human rights of all residents of the region, regardless of their religion."
"For this reason, I have been proud to stand with the brave students in our community, many of them also Jewish, who have organized demonstrations calling for a ceasefire and an end to US military aid to Israel," Wise continued.
Wise remains on the school board.
This is a developing story. Check back to Daily Voice for updates.
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