School administrators at a public high school in New Jersey came under fire this week, after the school selected a controversial rabbi and Jewish activist to honor for Jewish heritage month.
On Monday, the Monclair High School sent an email daily announcement ‘eblast’ message to students and staff, which, among other things, noted the school’s selection of Rabbi Meir Kahane for Jewish heritage month.
Rabbi Kahane, the founder of the Jewish Defense League who later served as a Knesset Member for the rightist Kach party, sparked criticism both in Israel and American Jewish community for his call to transfer Israel’s Arab population out of the country.
The school email lauded the JDL for its work “to combat anti-Semitism in the public and private sectors of life in the United States,” while mocking the ADL, comparing it unfavorable to the JDL.
The JDL, the email read, does “the job that the Anti-Defamation League should do but doesn’t.”
After some parents criticized the choice of Rabbi Kahane for Jewish heritage month, school administrators apologized for the email.
Later on Monday, the school’s assistant principal, Reginald Clark, emailed parents and students, taking "full responsibility for the lack of vetting of the information" and apologizing to "community members who may have taken offense.”
A day later, Superintendent Jonathan Ponds offered his own apology, writing that “the district will learn from this.”