Mass. Teachers Association Under Fire - Part 2 - podcast episode cover

Mass. Teachers Association Under Fire - Part 2

Feb 19, 202541 min
--:--
--:--
Download Metacast podcast app
Listen to this episode in Metacast mobile app
Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more

Episode description

The Massachusetts Teachers Association is under fire for alleged antisemitic learning materials on the Israel-Hamas war. The MA Special Commission on Combatting Antisemitism gathered more than two dozen examples of materials distributed by the MTA that they said were problematic, presenting a one-sided viewpoint that appeared to be Pro-Palestinian in nature. MTA President Max Page was questioned during a special hearing to address the matter, in which he told members, the materials “emerged organically among the union’s members and he did not want to censor individual members.” 


*The MTA has declined our invitation to join the conversation*

Ask Alexa to play WBZ NewsRadio on #iHeartRadio and listen to NightSide with Dan Rea Weeknights From 8PM-12AM!

Transcript

Speaker 1

It's nice with Dan Ray. I'm Boston Radio.

Speaker 2

All right, welcome back everyone. I want to thank my guest and my cars. Last hour, I thought that was a very interesting hour, and as a consequence, I'd like to stick with this hour because it's pretty apparent from what I have read, uh that the Mass Teachers Union, the leadership of the Mass Teachers Union, a guy by the name of Max Page, and his vice he's the president of the union, and his vice president, you know,

have an agenda here. And the agenda is to uh work into the curriculum and a viewpoint that that I strongly disagree with, that the Anti Defamation League strongly disagrees with, and maybe that you strongly disagree with. And I don't think this sort of propaganda, disguised as it is as teaching resources or learning resources. When you see these pictures, these these it's nothing more than anti Israeli, anti Semitic propaganda. And I will talk about this for as long as

my audience wants to tonight. If you have an interest in this, now's the time to reach for your phone six one, seven, two, five, four, ten thirty. And if you want to defend what the Mass Teachers Association is doing. It's a very powerful institution here in Massachusetts, one hundred and seventeen thousand teachers. I'm sure the vast overwhelming majority of those teachers are interested in being in the classroom and helping the students, be they in kindergarten, any from

kindergarten to grade twelve. I have no concern. My kids went to public schools throughout elementary school into junior high school. They had some wonderful public school teachers. I've had public

school teachers, My wife had public school teachers. I probably wouldn't be doing what I'm doing today if it hadn't been for a ninth grade civic school teacher at Boston Latin School back in the day, a guy by the name of mister Dougherty who taught Civics and really lit within me an interest and a passion for how learning,

how government works, and part of government. Now are the unions that are very strong voices for their membership at the state houses around the country and of course in Congress. And when the union voice strays from just advocacy for their membership and starts to get into politics, raw politics, international politics, that is when it really gets scary. So I'm gonna I want to hear from teachers. I want to hear from you, I want to hear from parents.

Is this the sort of garbage that you want your kids exposed to? Nothing more than political propaganda. It happens to be anti Israeli and anti Semitic political propaganda. But you should not be be exposed as a student in kindergarten through the twelfth grade to propaganda. You're supposed to be exposed to subjects which will prepare you later in life to deal with those issues. Let me go to Tom and Rochester. I'm assuming it's Rochester, Massachusetts. Tom, go right ahead, it is Dan.

Speaker 3

I got in the last minute of the last hour. My point that I wanted to make was how important the the effort that our our neighbors put into the local election for the school board. It is the it seems to be the the avenue to affect our society. It's very important. You see how active these people are in their school boards, right.

Speaker 4

Yeah, it is.

Speaker 3

The struggle seems to start there and the Mass Teachers Association, Uh, they're affected by that. They can they also affect that. It's like, ultimately this seems to be the it seems to be the battleground the schools.

Speaker 2

And well it is. No. I think you're right on that, and I didn't realize that you had held over. But I'm glad. I'm glad you did because we did.

Speaker 3

I didn't mean to be twice I didn't mean to be twice indulged.

Speaker 2

It's just no, no, no, no, no no no. I've taken you here because I felt you got short change. The point you were making is important, and I've made this point to others in terms of elections. Everybody gets excited about a presidential election, whether you're a Republican, a Democrat, you know, liberal, conservative or whatever. But you represent probably one out of I don't know what it is these days, one hundred and seventy one hundred and seventy five million

votes something like that, whatever it is. When you when you vote in a governor's race, you you're you're one of four million residents in Massachusetts, citizens in Massachusetts who are eligible to vote. You're wanting about four million, So your vote is stronger in a governor's race, you know, as a percentage as it would be in a presidential race, because you're just it's one over you know, one hundred and seventy million as opposed to one over four million.

But in the local race, you vote really matters, and you vote really counts. And the influence that you can exercise in your community by holding out a sign for a candidate that you happen to believe in, who's running for city council or for school committee, those are the important, the most important elections in my.

Speaker 3

Well, well when it when it comes to teaching our children and KYW towering to be in the Massachusetts Teachers Association, yes, then then there's then there's kind of a synergy there. If you look at George Soros and Bill Gates and and Mark Zuckerberg, they know how to amplify their money, right, they know how to best spend their money to influence things well.

Speaker 2

There as also there are also multi billionaires and so they have so much money.

Speaker 4

You know, you can, you can, you can do.

Speaker 2

Let me finish my points on if I could, because I think the point you made is important. Sorrows is on one side of the political spectrum. At this point, Zuckelberg apparently has switched from the side that he was on with Sorrows and now he's over on the other side. But in either case, the amount of money that they have available is it's you know, exponential go ahead.

Speaker 3

Well, so so Gates. What I understood from Gates was to multiply his money by spending it smart by and so so this was kind of interesting. Where do you spend your money? If you have so much money to spend, you can throw it after in the George Jeb Bush election, right the in that twenty sixteen and just throw it away, Or they're right. People throw a lot of money away affecting national elections. But people spend real, really good money affecting local elections.

Speaker 4

And the best example and local election.

Speaker 2

I don't know if you could hear me or not, but the.

Speaker 3

Smart money, that's the smart money.

Speaker 2

Yeah, I don't know if you're able to hear me, Tom, But the best example that you just alluded to is what Soros did with district attorney elections around the country in Boston, in Chicago, in New York, in Philadelphia, in Los Angeles, and in San Francisco, St. Louis and other major cities. Uh, those district attorneys, many of them now who he helped elect, have been moved out of the office Rachel Rollins here in Boston, George Gascon in Los Angeles. Uh,

the the DA in San Francisco. U who who was? Who was? Who was recalled? But yeah, those are very important elections. Tom. I appreciate your time, and I appreciate the point that you that you made. Thank you very much for holding through the news. Appreciate it very much. I'm going to give you folks an opportunity if you want to follow up on what we talked about last hour. I'd like to continue to talk about the dangers of anti Semitism as it creeps within our society and as

it now creeps within the school system. If not, I'm going to change topics. I've got a topic to go to. But I'd like to stick with the anti semitism topic that we opened up last hour. We had some excellent phone calls last hour, we had excellent guests, and I

would like to stay with it. Uh, if you'd like to join us six one, seven, two, five, four ten thirty six one seven, nine three one ten thirty And if not, is the audience who always decides how long the topic stays up for discussion, and if not, we will move on to different topics right after this quick break on night Side.

Speaker 1

Now back to Dan ray Line from the window World Light Side Studios on w b in twvidio.

Speaker 2

All right, let's get back to the phone calls. We're going to go to Ruth in Brookline. Ruth, I appreciate you calling in. Go right ahead. What's on your mind?

Speaker 4

Ruth?

Speaker 5

Well, okay, can you hear me?

Speaker 2

I can hear you?

Speaker 5

Oh great, great. So I was at that hearing last week in the State House as a spectator and it was it was pretty shocking. I just wanted to mention emphasize one thing that came up earlier, but I want to put a put a greater point on it. The notion. The notion, the notion that there was materials included in in those so called resources that were geared toward first grade.

You mentioned them earlier, but Max Cage, they tried, they tried to sort of justify their materials by saying, we don't well he did, we don't necessarily agree with these points of view. The Union is a democratic entity and I can't really control, you know, what my members, what people come up with. And I'm not saying I always so so, but the notion that and and then he made the point that we're trying to present our teachers

with diverse viewpoints. Of course there was only one side, so it wasn't diverse quote unquote, but the notion that that, in other words, you you you could make the case that, oh, we're showing you these materials so the teachers can can demonstrate how bias they are or something like that. But but that whole argument was undercut by these first grade materials that were so clearly, you know, like bias isn't even the word for it. I mean, imagine having they

even they even had exercises. They took the little girl's name, the Palestinian girl who was you know, expelled from her home. That was the narrative, and part of the workbook assignment was to for a child to just write that little girl's name many times, you know.

Speaker 2

As as a matter of fact, I think what you're referring to is Hondala's Return, which was published last year by the Palestinian Feminist Collective, include storylines such as a group of bullies called Zionists on our land, so they

stole it by force and hurt many people. The book ends with a call to action, urging readers meaning little kids, to help Cadella Free Palestine, asking them to fill in prompts such as, I will raise funds for the children of Palestine by whatever, or I will chant this at a Palestinian protest. And then another part was they wanted to have the children just writing the name of the room girl Handala.

Speaker 6

Yeah, exactly.

Speaker 2

It's brainwashing. It's worse than pidate. It's brainwashing, I know.

Speaker 5

I mean, but for him to try to make the point that, oh, we're just trying to present teachers with diverse materials and they can choose what they want to use, well, I'm sorry, like first graders, I mean, a first grade teacher isn't going to look at that and say, gee, this is I'm going to make an evaluation of this, and this shows a diverse point of view. It was

a ridiculous argument that, you know, carry no weight. I just want to make one other point that hasn't been made earlier this evening, which is that part of the legislation that created this, this legislative Commission also included like a recommendation or actually a mandate to the to the state Department of Education and DESI to come up with resources and materials on anti Semitism on their website, and to engage in trainings and professional development for teachers across

the state in the area of anti semitism. That was that's a that was a section of the legislation that created this commission. So I just wanted to emphasize the fact that the state Department of Education, they currently have put up some materials. I think that there's a lot more they could be doing. And as you probably know, in Massachusetts, we don't have a state mandated curriculum. We have state standards, but really curriculum is very much locally

based and locally determined. But nonetheless, the Department of Education really has a role to play here and I'm I'm really hoping that they will you treat this issue with the urgency that it deserves, especially in light of what we see the MTA is now doing.

Speaker 2

Yeah, well, I think that the Department of Education has a responsibility. I also think the governor and the Attorney General have a responsibility to know what's going on if the schools are propagandized, and they need not stand aside quietly. Ruth, I appreciate you, Carl, Thank you so much.

Speaker 5

Appreciate it, Thank you, thank you for the program.

Speaker 4

Okay, bye bye, my pleasure.

Speaker 2

We had a bunch of folks who were on the line, Rob. I don't know where they went, but if they want to call back, that's great. If not, we're going to move on after the break to a different subject. In the meantime, let me jump on here quickly with Darryl up in New Brunswick, Canada. Darrel, appreciate you calling in.

Speaker 6

Go ahead, Hey, Dan, I've been trying to listen, but our snowstorms and whatnot from there, I just caught the Hidala thing about the girl from Palestine.

Speaker 2

Yeah, yeah, we got there, Daryl. Not to take a lot of time to explain it. But the issue here is that the Massachusetts Teachers Union Teachers Association, I should say one hundred and seventeen members have been accused by some Anti Defamation League back members back here of basically being anti Semitic and basically trying to get pro Palestinian and anti Israeli and therefore anti Semitic propaganda into Massachusetts classrooms who curriculum bite distributed.

Speaker 6

Well, that's where we can hopefully help this out. Is what about this young girl talking about all the young children that were killed October seventh.

Speaker 2

Well, again, I don't think that, frankly, in the anywhere from kindergarten to twelfth grade. I agree with you that this whole thing started on October seventh, and it was not started by the Israelis, who were started by Hamas on behalf of Palestinians. I don't think it. I want to blame Palestinians for that. I blame Hamas, who in effect have kept the Palestinians captive, if you will, almost holding the Palestinians hostages before they took the Israelis the

Israeli hostages. But what is going on here is that we have, you know, people in this leadership of this teachers union who have a political point of view that they want to see basically distributed within the school system. And they're trying to do it by some very underhanded means, and they've been called out on it, and that's why we did it.

Speaker 6

And that's wrong. The program and teachers are supposed to teach students. So what they need to know, yeah, not their political Yeah.

Speaker 2

I would think that Darryl, this is the sort of stuff that would be in a college curriculum, our graduate school curriculum, not in in in elementary school, not in what we call middle school or high school. And I'm sure those terms are the same in Canada.

Speaker 6

Yeah, being overseas, we've seen that same thing, and even in Canada, that's where it starts in the lower grades. But that's why you keep up good programming, because this is why we listening. We respond, all.

Speaker 2

Right, Paul, I appreciate it very much, and we'll have to see how that big hockey game turns out later on this week. Okay, thanks buddy.

Speaker 6

Let's let's actually with you, with you saying that, let's hope nobody boozed nothing.

Speaker 2

I'm with you on that. I'm with you.

Speaker 6

We're allies through and through right.

Speaker 2

Absolutely absolutely have a lot of friends friends, all right, thanks Daryel, and you're included amongst them. Have a great night. Good night. We'll take a break. Here's the news at the bottom of the ear. We're going to change topics on the other side. We'll be back after this.

Speaker 1

It's Night Side with Dan Ray on Boston's new radio.

Speaker 2

All right, I'm gonna take I'll take a couple of more calls if you want, and if not, we're going to switch topics. I am frankly surprised that my audience is not perceptive enough to realize that anti Semitism has been with us for millennium, from millennia UH, and it is reared its ugly head, never more viciously than the Nazi Holocaust. And if we don't stamp out UH and at least address this cancer within our society, it will continue to grow. If you'd like to join this conversation,

I'll give you one more chance. I'm going to go to Joanna in Stowe, and if Joanna is it, we will change topics. Joanne, appreciate your call. Whatever your point of view, you go right ahead, Joanna, how are you going to heay?

Speaker 7

Thank you? I'm doing okay. I've been a teacher me Instachusetts for thirty six years, and I have all these years trusted my Union to do what is right by students. As a teacher, primarily, I see all my students as human beings, regardless of their ethnicity, religion, the way they look, what they believe. And I'm frankly horrified at what the Union has done with these resources. I was at the

board meeting. I spoke against the resources. I can't understand how, after seeing one of another teacher hold up those posters and I felt like we made really good points, how people could possibly vote to keep those resources. There are problems at so many levels. At one level, whereas the communication max page says that educators board members asked for these resources, I didn't ask for them. I'm not sure who did ask for them. So there's a problem in communication.

How are the people on the board communicating with their teachers they supposedly represent. I've never before kind of been at a board meeting at that level, but I felt like I had to. On the website, I don't honestly disagree with the rationale. For example, the MTA says on the website that their goal is to make school safe places for students. They encourage members to condemn hate speech and discrimination, and they also say that anti Semitism has

no place in the Union. Yet I have if you can think even a little bit, you understand that those words are completely contradictory to the images. And I'm a teacher who is doing what I can to fight against this lunacy. And obviously it's a lot more than that. It's really dangerous and I fear for the kids in Massachusetts who might have to be subjected to people teaching this and indoctrinating them and glorifying hatred, etc. I mean, I could go on and on, and I really appreciate

that you have this show today. I don't often listen to the radio, but I'm really happy to kind of take part.

Speaker 8

In the discussion.

Speaker 2

Well, Juanna, first of all, you extraordinarily well spoken, and if every teacher in Massachusetts, whether it be a public school teacher a private school teacher, embodied what you've just expressed to us, you've expressed it better than I could. And I'm supposed to be a broadcast professional, So thank you for joining our conversation tonight. I don't know if you've ever called my program before.

Speaker 3

Listen.

Speaker 7

I never called your program before. I haven't listened to the radio in so long, I was saying to my husband. We used to listen all the time. So yeah, no, I haven't.

Speaker 2

First of all, a round of applause for my digital studio audience, But in all seriousness, radio and talk radio is extraordinarily important. Okay, I've been doing this for eighteen years. I was a TV reporter for that and before that for thirty one years on Channel four. And I do this not because I have to do it. I'm well passed what would be considered a normal retirement age of sixty five. But I do it because I like it. And I also do it because I think it's important

that there are organizations which are great organizations. As I said, my kids have gone to public schools when they were when they were kids in elementary school into junior high school. They're very successful. And the greatest foundation they had was the teachers that they had. And I remember, you know their names, June O'Neil and Linda Fayle and mister Conley, and I mean, they were just wonderful teachers.

Speaker 3

Uh.

Speaker 2

And I'm not even sure what union those teachers belonged to. And and I'm a union member. I'm a member of SAG after so I understand that just because you're a union member, you don't go along with everything. But I'm looking at the images that you've seen, the the two dollar bills shaped in a triangle to represent a star of David. I mean that is a blood libel. That's a trope that's been around for centuries. The day of Rage, the handles return What was taken by force can only

be returned by force. This is nothing but Hamas propaganda. It's not even pro Palestinian. It's Hamas propaganda, plain and simple. And anybody who sees it for anything other than that is ignorant if.

Speaker 4

They don't understand what it is.

Speaker 2

And for the leadership of this union to allow those anti Semitic tropes to be circulated to teachers who many of whom perhaps are not as experienced as you are, and would somehow expose students to that, I mean, what a brilliant stroke by some propaganda. I mean they they're basically doing the work that Goebbels did in the nineteen thirties in Nazi Germany. You know, he was the great propagandist for Hitler, and this is more of the same.

And it's frightening. It's absolutely fright I'm not Jewish. Just make it very clear. I'm somewhat disappointed that I have not heard from more of my Jewish listeners, and I have friends of mine who are Jewish who listen to this show every night. I happen to be Roman Catholic, but my dad fought in World War Two and he taught us at our dinner table decades ago. Never again, never forget. As a TV reporter, I won an Emmy for a report that I was fortunate enough to do

from Auschwitz. You cannot go to Outchwitz and not have your life changed by looking at what happened there. Okay, I feel this deeply in my soul, Deeply in my soul. I feel as a as a Christian, as a Catholic, that I have a more responsibility, a more responsibility above and beyond my journalistic and my ethical responsibilities to speak out against hatred, against this population about fifteen million people in the world who have been beset by bias and

prejudice for generations. So as you can tell, I'm speaking from my heart, I'm speaking from my soul.

Speaker 7

I really appreciate it. If I can say a couple more things, sure so. I also I find it insulting, frankly that again what I was talking about, that the rationale on the website alongside these images. I mean, it's just insulting just how you're trying to claim these things, yet you're showing you know your true colors through the imagery. They're really I guess if they were trying to teach students how to look at propaganda the way that you might teach let's say, Nazi propaganda in a history class

and give it context. That's one thing. There's no mention of October seventh, as far as I know.

Speaker 2

Not to back.

Speaker 7

And so yeah, I do really appreciate the sentiment that you expressed and the fact that you have the show. It means a lot.

Speaker 2

Look, Joanna, I hope I can convince you to be a regular listener to the show. You might not agree with everything I say with you might agree with with with much of what I say, but on this issue you have no stronger supporter than than than I have. And I've learned this since I was a child, you know, I was. I was born in the same year the state of Israel was born. And that's that is I

view a cosmic connection. And we have had no greater friend UH in this country over the years than the nation of Israel.

Speaker 6

UH.

Speaker 2

And through you know, leaders democratically elected leaders of both of a variety of parties. As a matter of fact, it's a multi party status, I'm sure you know. And for this, I'm looking right now at eight nine posters, nine posters, I'm in radio. I can't show them to people, but I can describe them to people.

Speaker 7

Yeah, and one last thing, if I can say it like you just said, I may not agree with everything. The point of education is not to agree with your teacher, to agree with the students in the classroom. It's to engage in a conversation during which you fully respect the other person and where they're coming from. You don't have to agree. So obviously you know that. I just kind of want to point that out because I'm not, you know,

only calling because I disagree with these these images. It's with the lack of respect and the lack of seeing are Jewish students or any students for who they are, and that is human beings.

Speaker 2

There's basically trying to take kids who are in kindergarten or grades one through twelve and basically manipulate their minds at an early age. That's exactly what's going on here. And it would be as if they were Nazi propaganda being you know, distributed in a public school. In the nineteen thirties, when there was a there was there was support in this country if people read history for the

so called Nazi bond. There were demonstrations and at Madison Square Garden with you know, tens of thousands of people in support of Hitler in the nineteen thirties in the United States of America. We must never forget.

Speaker 5

Thank you so much, all right, thank you, by bye, thank you, Thank.

Speaker 2

You, Joanne. I appreciate it. Now, all of a sudden, the phone lines have exploded. Let me go to Warren in fall Real Warren, you were next on knight zagaright.

Speaker 4

Ahead, Hey buddy, how are you doing good?

Speaker 2

Wine? Appreciate you calling in.

Speaker 4

Yeah, yeah, people like this is I don't know why this is not categorized under speech. This is like or like hate propaganda or you know, this is obviously done to ryle Jewish you know, the Jewish faith, and really people, I mean this is almost like this is criminal and it really people.

Speaker 2

Yeah, I know it's not going to be criminal, but but and I will say that, and they're off. You know, free speech, you know elements here, but but when you start utilizing the public classroom, they're the the idea of free speech in a in a public classroom being conducted by a teacher, distributing information and images by that teacher to the class that takes it out of the realm in my opinion.

Speaker 4

Absolutely, Yeah, it's this is you know, but you know, I mean they're doing it on purpose, and they're doing it with you know, with intent. And I mean if this was you know, if this was anything else other than a free beach thing, you know people, you know, a lot of people would be in jail.

Speaker 2

Well, I don't know about it in jail. But because this you see this stuff all the time, but it shouldn't be introduced in the context of a public school classroom.

Speaker 4

In mind, because you know, we should be a color blind you know, we should just be a blind society to you know, to religion, to raise, to you know, to all that. I mean, we're human beings and that's what it comes down to, and it's what matters in the end, you.

Speaker 2

Know, and we we wish, yeah, I wish everyone viewed it as you do. Well, And I'm past my break. I got you on. I didn't want you to have to wait through the break that I'm coming right back on Nightside And thanks for being there for thanks, Warren, appreciate it. We'll be right back on nights Side right after this.

Speaker 1

Now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World Night Side. Studios. I' WBZ News Radio.

Speaker 2

Go to my friend Bobby silver Glade Harvey. Welcome, how are you? Tonay?

Speaker 4

Fine? Dan? You know that I'm a free speech absolutist. I know that, However, I do not believe that free speech applies in the public schools.

Speaker 2

Yes, I agree with you.

Speaker 4

Okay, we agree so far. The problem? Have you ever seen the teacher's contract.

Speaker 2

I don't know that. I have seen the teachers contract. In my role as an attorney, I have seen teachers contracts, you know, as reported in newspapers. What is the point you're trying to ask?

Speaker 4

The point I'm trying to make is that because in the bargaining, in the bargaining session, you've got, you know, in the private sector, you have two sides that are equally powerful. We have organized labor and you have management. In the public sector, you're havery to me on one side because they're and the problem is that teachers have an enormous amount of power because these union contracts are very one sided.

Speaker 2

Yep, they're also we used to call a law school contract of adhesion.

Speaker 4

Yes they are. If you've ever read one of these, I have read in the Cambridge they are ridiculous, and the teachers can do anything they want and they that's how come this problem has arisen.

Speaker 2

And the teachers union, particularly the Maths Teachers Association, wants to secure legislatively the right to strike in Massachusetts and that is the next thing on their political agenda. Harvey, you're right over the target. Darby. I'm telling you we think we think alike. My friend.

Speaker 4

I'm a political liberal. You're a conservative. I'm a political not a progressive. I'm a political liberal.

Speaker 2

Yes you are, Yes you are, and you've identified me properly. But I'm on so many things. You and I are an agreement. I so enjoyed. I should have called you last week. I enjoyed our our meeting in Cambridge with that young man from Uganda. I'll really be interested in and see the progress that he's able to make.

Speaker 4

Yep.

Speaker 2

With you, he's going to be well well served. If I can be of any help in that regard, you let me know as well.

Speaker 4

Harvard Law School, you know I know that.

Speaker 2

I know that, and I think if anybody has the chops to help him negotiate that arduous path, it would be the person I'm talking to right now.

Speaker 4

Thank you all, right, my friend and.

Speaker 2

Great and please say how to your son for me. Okay, it was a pleasure to spend that time. Well we're talking about you together soon. Thank you, Ivey, appreciate it. Let's keep rolling here. I'm going to get a couple more in at least. Let me go too. Harriet in Tewksbury, Harriet, you're next time nightside, Go right.

Speaker 9

Ahead, yes, hi, Oh, thank you. I used to teach third grade and I am really disgusted at what's going on with the school committee and they're striking, and then they have the nerve to then do dollar signs and whatever with the Sarah David bring a religion into it when they go and they think about money over the children's education. It is just appalling. And the other thing is that the what's going on is terrible. You go to services.

Speaker 4

I'm Jewish.

Speaker 9

You go to services, they have to have the police. They feel unsecure, insecure, and the children see that that there's something wrong with being Jewish. I think it's.

Speaker 4

Really awful what's happening in this society. Really all.

Speaker 2

I so appreciate you taking the time to call you in your point of view, My faith in my audience is being restored even as we speak. Okay, thank you, thank thanks, Harriet. Talk soon. Let me try to get one or two in. Let me go next to Linda in Westwood. Linda, appreciate you taking the time to call. Go right ahead.

Speaker 10

Okay, Dan, this is very difficult for me. I'm an educator. But the reason I'm calling in is my paternal grandparents were murdered in Germany by the Nazis, and the point I wanted to make is they were, according to them, good citizens. My grandfather was a fighter in World War One, and my grandparents did not believe that what was going

to happen in Germany would happen. My father and my aunt were able to get out, and my grandparents actually had a visa to leave the country, and by the time they really believe what was happening, it was too late. And if anybody in this country doesn't think it can happen, look at what's happening now.

Speaker 2

Yeah. Well again, I think we all have to be on guard and make sure that we remain a free and open society and that people do not abuse institutions for their own political benefit, which is what I think the teachers union leadership, not the union, but I think the teachers' union leadership is attempting to do here.

Speaker 8

I absolutely agree with you.

Speaker 10

But the point again that I'm trying to make is people really better think for themselves and see what's happening, because I think there are a lot of people that are thinking, oh no, this is America, this cannot happen. My aunt always set her passport up to date in case she had to leave, and trust me, everyone in my family has their passports too.

Speaker 2

All Right, Linda, thank you. I want to get one more call in, but I so appreciate you. You you sounding that alarm. Thank you so much. Good night. Let me go to Bob in Gloucester. Bob going to wrap the hour with you. You're next on Nightsiger, right.

Speaker 8

Ahead, Uncle Bob, call me Uncle Bob out of Gloucester. I've known he I'm gonna make it as short as I can. Dan, Sure, it's the worst part. I am Jewish, but many people are Jewish without he been knowing it. If you're a brit a soul of the bricks, just listen to the hymns. If you're a Christian, most people are righteous. D're on the better side of righteous. We're all Jewish. We're all like without even knowing it.

Speaker 4

And the worst thing.

Speaker 2

Bob, I like, I like to say, Bob, and I hope you can understand what I'm saying here. I think I'm I'm reflecting what you're saying. I happen to be Roman Catholic. And when people ask me why am I so pro Israel, Why am I so pro Jewish? Why am I so concerned about anti Semitism? I explained to them really simply simply that the guy who leads my religion was Jewish and his parents were Jewish, so I feel an identity as a Roman Catholic with Judaism.

Speaker 8

Oh, I listened to you night after night, belting it out, So let me get to the heart of it. Okay, the worst thing about anti Semitism is its indirect And by the way, anti Semitism is just what you get the bad guys on by getting al Capone on tax evasion. These are bad people. They hate everyone, and it's important you have to the movie witness. The most important thing is to be a witness from the other side of the window. I am speaking from personal experience. People know

me in Gloucester as an unpublished writer lots of ways. Uh, on the other side of the North Shore is a horseman. You can poison somebody's work in reaching out at being a teacher, building a community, community because somebody is a bad apple and it's going to spread misinformation and take literally this has happened to me literally over a generation to sort out what actually happened and destroy all a lot of work and all the good faith that neighbors

had in each other. All of these people would have been absolutely horrified. All right to be.

Speaker 2

Bob, I hate you you call, You're called late, but I'm flat out of time, so I gotta let you go. I look forward to your next call. Thank you, my friend.

Speaker 4

Thank you.

Speaker 2

Have a great night. Care comes to the eleven back after the eleven

Transcript source: Provided by creator in RSS feed: download file
For the best experience, listen in Metacast app for iOS or Android