Robert Pollin: Disappointed in story on antisemitism training at high school

I was deeply disappointed with the Gazette’s one-sided coverage of the dispute over the antisemitism training workshop for Northampton High School teachers, administrators and staff scheduled for Sept. 3 [“Petition asks NHS to cancel training,” Aug. 31].

The article highlights the petitioners’ claim that, in selecting the group Project Shema to lead the workshop, Northampton High School “will be endorsing a narrative that the colonization, ethnic cleansing, and illegal occupation of Palestinian land and people is legitimate.”

However, neither the article nor the petition itself provide a single shred of evidence that Project Shema holds such views. To the contrary, Project Shema’s stated position, expressed clearly on their website, is that “We reject the notion that one must either support Israel or Palestine. We long for a future that honors and protects the dignity, national aspirations, and individual and collective well-being of Palestinians and Israelis. The very foundation of a mutually agreeable solution requires honoring the trauma, needs and rights of both peoples.”

At the least, a fair accounting of the dispute would have stated Project Shema’s actual stated positions.

Robert Pollin

Amherst