Parent: Newton South material defames Israeli forces

By Ashley Studley
Wicked Local Newton
Posted Oct 07, 2011

Newton
A school official says administrators are reviewing curriculum material after a parent complained
about an article regarding a Palestinian resistance movement sent home with his freshman daughter.
Tony Pagliuso told the Newton TAB his daughter, a Newton South High School student, was given
material defaming Israeli defense forces.
Pagliuso said World History teacher Jessica Engel distributed a chapter on women from the Arab
World Notebook to students earlier this week.
Its pure propaganda and pure defamation that Israeli occupation forces and citizen soldiers are
imprisoning, torturing and murdering Arab women, he said.
The section, of the third of five pages, reads as follows: Over the past four decades, women have
been active in the Palestinian resistance movement. Several hundred have been imprisoned,
tortured, and killed by Israeli occupation forces since the latest uprising, Intifada, in the Israeli
occupied territories.
Pagliuso said his daughter was troubled by the reading.
My family - were all Israeli and American citizens and have a lot of family in this area. [My daughter]
said is this true? Is this what Israeli soldiers do? knowing full well we have 25 family members in the
Israel Defense Forces, he said.
Pagliuso said he spoke to Engel, Department Head Jennifer Morrill, Principal Joel Stembridge,
central administrators and Mayor Setti Warren.
Superintendant David Fleishman said Stembridge, Morrill and Engel are meeting with Pagliuso on
Tuesday.
Jen Morrill is in her first month of the job. She took a look at it and agreed its something that needs
to be reviewed I took a look at it and agree it needs to be reviewed, Fleishman said.
He said theyll examine the particular passage to see is it fits with the goal of the class-learning about
Islam and women in the Middle East.
He said the previous department head was involved in the curriculum choice, and that administrators
will determine if it deviates from the class goal.
We value lots of input and free speech, and we agreed with the parent it's worth reviewing, he said.
Pagliuso said he just wants students to hear both sides of the argument.

If it was a two-sided article that gave both perspective equally and kids were able to look at it, talk
about it and debate it, of course I wouldn't have an issue with it. I don't think anybody would, he said.