As the new school year unfolds, Shalom Alliance has already received concerning reports about antisemitic and anti-Israel content in Vermont classrooms. We urge you to help spread awareness of the Shalom Alliance K-12 Antisemitism Toolkit, which we’ve developed in partnership with the Anti-Defamation League. This Toolkit is designed to address the urgent rise of antisemitism in education and protect our students.

The issue is critical: Between October 2023 and September 2024, the United States saw a 200% increase in antisemitic hate crimes (ADL). Vermont has not been immune to this rise, with Jewish students facing increased risks.

How the Toolkit can help:

• Reporting Form: A tool to document and report incidents of discrimination, harassment, or biased curricula.

• Educational Resources: Support for students, parents, and teachers to recognize, respond to, and prevent antisemitism. This includes tools for discussing current conflicts in the Middle East, providing a balanced understanding of Israel, and clarifying the Jewish narrative, which is often distorted by those with harmful agendas.

Upcoming opportunity: We also encourage you to share details about an online course, "Teaching About Antisemitism After the Holocaust," offered by Echoes & Reflections. This course equips educators to address antisemitism’s historical roots and its modern resurgence with actionable strategies to foster safer and more inclusive classrooms.  Click here for more information and to register. 

Next steps:

• Share our Toolkit with your networks. It provides practical tools to confront antisemitism.

• Use the attached template to include this message in your newsletters.

• Register for the upcoming course and invite educators to join.

Thank you for your partnership in creating a safe, informed, and inclusive environment for all Vermont students. Should you have any questions, please contact us at shalom@shalomalliancevt.org

LETTER CAMPAIGN:

VT Public's Vermont EditionBroadcast on October 7th

 This bias demonstrated in Vermont Public's coverage of October 7th must end.

On Monday, the anniversary of the October 7 massacre, Vermont Public’s Vermont Editionbroadcast its show to recognize that day, “October 7th and the Year that Followed.” The main guest was Tarek El-Ariss, the James Wright Professor and Chair of Middle Eastern Studies at Dartmouth, who is Lebanese and has just released a memoir about growing up during the Lebanese Civil War. The other guest was University of Vermont associate professor, Peter Henne, who teaches in the Middle East Studies program.  There were no representatives of the Jewish Community in Vermont, nor faculty in Jewish Studies to discuss this year’s impact on the local Jewish community. 

With one excellent exception (Rachel Feldman of the Shalom Alliance), all the callers taken were from Vermonters for Justice in Palestine. Many of us found it to be shockingly tone-deaf and dismissive of the Jewish community’s reactions, and this was on a day that should have been focused on Hammas’ unprovoked attacks on Israeli civilian communities. Nearly 1,200 people were killed that day, over 8,700 were injured, and 250 were kidnapped. About 97 hostages remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 33 people no longer believed to be alive. The October 7th remembrance was of these attacks and in honor of those killed and held. It is especially heinous that Vermont Public chose to focus on Palestinians, without noting the horrible cost to Israel and the Jewish people wrought by Hamas terrorists.

Vermont Public has all year to have shows that explore the complexity of this conflict and to listen to voices from a wide range of views. To have a one-sided episode on October 7th was offensive and warrants our response.

Please listen to the show and share your reactions with any or all of the following:

(if you are a contributor or member, be sure to mention that. If you decide to cancel your membership due to this ongoing bias, make that explicit.) 

Mikaela Lefrak, Host and Producer of Vermont Edition.

mlefrak@vermontpublic.org

Jon Ehrens  Executive Producer of Vermont Edition

jehrens@vermontpublic.org

802-654-4324

All Vermont Edition Producers (including the above)

vermontedition@vermontpublic.org

Vijay Singh, CEO, Vermont Public

vsingh@vermontpublic.org

Denise Casey, Board President, Vermont Public

dcasey@vermontpublic.org

Some Key Points:

• Failed to focus on the events of October 7, terrorism or the brutality of the attack. 

• Should have more focus on the impact on Israelis and the Jewish Community.

• Showed profound bias in selecting guests and callers, including featuring Wafiq Faour, a well-known activist and frequent caller, as the first caller.

• Guests show the imbalance by failure to have Jewish faculty, Jewish Community Representative, or any expert that supports Israel’s and the Biden Administration’s actions,

• Ignored the rise of antisemitism since October 7.

Sample Email

As a VPR member/donor/person who was deeply impacted by the events of October 7, (and as an active member of the Jewish community) I was shocked/appalled/offended/outraged at the episode of Vermont Edition you chose to air that day. The episode all but ignored the brutality of the attack and its impact on the local Jewish community, and instead featured guests and callers who were hostile to Israel, dismissive of the Jewish community’s experience of antisemitism, and who in some cases justified and supported the terrorist actions of Hamas and Hezbollah. VPR has shown consistent bias throughout this year, but this was the most egregious. Imagine if, at the one-year anniversary of 9.11, you had chosen to feature only guests and callers that rationalized and supported Al Qaida’s actions. It would have been an outrage, and so should this be. You owe Americans, including Jewish Americans, who support Israel’s right to defend itself against terrorist attacks an apology.  

Shame on you,

NAME