JTF.ORG Forum
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Yisrael on July 13, 2007, 10:35:17 AM
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Hollywood, FL - A Broward charter school that promises to teach Hebrew as a second language has drawn praise from parents who want their kids to learn the language for free, and criticism from those who say it's no more than a taxpayer-funded religious school.
Broward School Board members already have approved the K-8 school, one of the nation's first, but concerns remain.
The school, Ben Gamla, is named after a First Century high priest who promoted public education. It is scheduled to open Aug. 20 in Hollywood.
''I want to make sure that they don't cross the line between separation of church and state,'' said board member Eleanor Sobel.
Board members are expected to vote on a curriculum on July 24.
Critics of Ben Gamla include rabbis and parents whose children attend Jewish day schools that could lose students to the charter. The Jewish Federation of Broward County also is raising concerns.
''We're opening up a Pandora's box here,'' said Rabbi Allan Tuffs of Hollywood's Temple Beth El. ``Are we heading down a path in America where publicly funded schools are going to segregate according to ethnic and religious identifications?''
But former Democratic U.S. Rep. Peter Deutsch, who founded the school, said the criticism of the school ``has nothing to do with education, has nothing to do with anything but a monopoly that's being threatened. [miamiherald]
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If the school is teaching Arabic or Spanish I guarantee that there won't be a stink about it.
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My Aunt lives in Hollywood, FL. I thought that there we're a number of Jewish temples around why would there be any objections... It's crazy!
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PC schools are teaching kids ebonics......so young men can learn to call women and girls ho s and [censored]......real nice!
But teach the language of Torah?!.....How dare they?
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They teach Spanish to kids in high school en masse so that they can accommodate all the illegal immigrants while they're giving them their welfare and subsidized housing. There are even some classes where students are taught in Spanish exclusively to illegal anchor children. But somehow teaching Hebrew is a religious issue? Last time I checked there are millions of atheist Jews in Israel who speak Hebrew, it doesn't seem to be a religious issue for them.
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They are objecting because it's hebrew!!