Op-Ed: Update – Livingston Township Unsafe with Israel Takeover of Schools – Time for Ethics Complaint?
We have written on this several times in the recent nine days. The rest of the media was made aware of it many days ago by this editor yet I believe the first break of the story in the main stream reporting was today in North Jersey – only AFTER the pro-Israel event hosted by Livingston School District Superintendent Block took place (February 28). Had the concerns being raised – and shared with the media – been reported BEFORE the event – then maybe a larger conversation could have steered Livingston from his misuse of schools for genocidal purpose.
Livingston School District is now captive as an asset to the genocidal regime of Israel – openly collaborating with a pro-Israel lobby group, providing free hosting and event planning and promotions, using the captive student, teacher and parents communication mechanisms, covering all of the costs – to promote an event supportive of the genocide Israel is committing with US support now in Gaza. Livingston School District is directly aiding a foreign government currently engaged in genocide.
Livingston Superintendent Block has already profited from his relationship with his Israeli client, having received an expense paid trip to Israel to participate in a propaganda mission with two other NJ Superintendents and a couple dozen of NJ state legislators.
Apparently a top priority since his trip has been to put the Livingston School District, its staff, facilities and resources at the disposal of the pro-Israel lobbyist group.
Who is benefiting from this back door arrangement between Superintendent Block and Israel?
First and foremost – Block himself. He obviously is a strong supporter of Israel. That is a personal interest that he has. He has proffered his position, for which is he paid $237,000 per year to benefit himself and his personal interest in supporting Israel. If he did that on his own time with his own resources and his own money and he hired his own staff to do all of that – it could possibly disqualify him from a quality superintendent search process but it would less likely be improper per NJ education code and law.
Is it a violation of ethics? Has Block abused his position as Superintendent for personal benefit of his private interest in support of Israel?
What damages are being inflicted upon the school and district? Already, a planned protest that had declared its intention as a “peaceful” protest has been canceled because of the intimidating and violent behavior of pro-Israel attenders of the school board meeting last night (February 27). Organizers deem that Livingston is not safe for democracy with the Israel associated elements taking control of the school on this Wednesday night, February 28.
The halls of Livingston schools certainly are unsafe for Palestinian, Arab and Muslim students and anyone who believes that genocide is wrong. The school is in an open relationship with a regime that is slaughtering people – this is not a safe place at all!
I am proposing a committee with possibly a NJ state education expert to review the form at this link and determine if there is grounds for an ethics complaint. My belief is that Block is inappropriately personally benefiting – his pro-Israel advocacy is not a school function – and he is benefiting from his position, staff, school resources, funding of the costs of the event – inappropriately. It is very possible that NJ is so corrupt that school superintendent corruption gets a go when Israel is involved and if that is the case – we are under a dictatorship. However if there is some level of accountability – and we can find the exact charge to make in the complaint and move forward – I am suggesting that we at least review the forms and get an opinion on whether we can charge an ethics violation.
Some comments are coming in from participants in the Tuesday (2/27) board meeting. Names are withheld due to the fact that Livingston school district is coordinating with the murderous Israeli regime which routinely carries out killings and kidnappings outside of its borders – we are not safe at all any where with the Carte Blanch being given the Israeli genocide machine.
I attended the meeting via zoom. I am disgusted by the superintendent’s bias. How an educational institution could allow such a one-sided presentation of a humanitarian crisis is beyond me. The residents that spoke during the BOE meeting were not only racist but slanderers and liars and bullies. Where is their humanity for the oppressed people of Palestine and where is their outrage over Israel’s reign of terror on Palestinian citizens? Last night was ethnic and religious supremacy at its ugliest.
it is scary that these tactics of slander and intimidation are not only being used but accepted and supported by public institutions of education. People across NJ and the US should be concerned and actively pushing back. There is no room for bias or ethnic supremacy in our schools. Schools are for educating not spreading propaganda and twisting current events.
Below is my previously published opinion on this matter and some background information from Teaching While Muslim organization.
Op-Ed: NO to US – Israel Genocide Agenda in NJ Curriculum! Edu-Genocide is Not Conducive Toward NJ Diversity! Stop Livingston District Abuse of Power!
I am rerunning the report about Livingston Township School District where the Superintendent went on an expenses paid fact finding trip to Israel, paid in part by Israel – and is improperly using his powers as superintendent toward his personal goals of promoting Israel’s genocidal agenda.
Related, Former Assembly Rep. Sadaf Jaffer quoted about trip in this video report.
He has actually put the district’s seal on the flier for a pro-Israel event and is using district communications to invite students and parents to attend a pro-Israel – which means pro-genocide – event on February 28 at a Livingston Middle School.
I have reached out to journalists about this today and yesterday and so far am having trouble finding any that can cover this – mostly due to competing demands on their time, coverage area, etc. – not the detriment of the reporters but certainly of the mainstream media that is apparently ok with Israel and its IDF stepping into NJ school districts.
This imposition of Israel tacit influence on the NJ curriculum is not in a vacuum. NJ high schools have been a hotbed this year of youthful student organizing in opposition to US – Israeli genocide. So now we have superintendents inviting operatives of Israel directly into the schools – using taxpayer financed resources – as a counter measure to the success of the student protests which have received significant reportage in NJ media.
Mind you – these pro-Israel presenters are in favor of slaughtering babies, children, mothers, civilians – with impunity and the people they want to continue to slaughter have relatives going to NJ schools – so they literally are getting Carte Blanch to come into schools where the students in some cases were related to any number of Gaza slaughter victims – to ADVOCATE THE CONTINUATION OF SUCH SLAUGHTER!
This HAS to VIOLATE equality, diversity, inclusion – all of the principles of NJ education code.
Someone needs to move for an injunction to stop this wretched misuse of power by Livingston Superintendent Matthew Block immediately! Meanwhile please see the recommendations of Teaching While Muslim in the Insta embedded below!
Livingston School District is Serving Up Pro-Genocide IDF Propagandal
The superintendent of Livingston Public Schools Matthew Block took an expense paid trip to Israel funded in part by Israel and also in part by Israel supporting institutions. This was part of a propaganda trip that usually just includes NJ legislators but this year included 3 superintendents including Block. Now Block is using Livingston School District as a base to launch pro-Israel propaganda – during a wholesale US – Israel sponsored genocide against the people of Gaza that has already killed around 30000 Palestinians in the last 4 months. I am especially noting that Livingston has endorsed this event – scheduled to take place February 28, at the Heritage Middle School 6:30-7:30 pm. The school district symbol is emblazoned on the promotional materials for this IDF propaganda event.
Let’s be clear – Israel and the USA are slaughtering 100s of Palestinians every single day. They are doing it based upon a false narrative that has dehumanized the victims. To bring this genocidal narrative into NJ public schools with the full endorsement of the Superintendent means that the same attitudes justifying this mass murder campaign are being promoted here in NJ schools by the educational leadership. We encourage everyone to follow the Teaching While Muslim suggested course of action – and perhaps suggest that these demands should also be raised with the NJ State Department of Education and perhaps it is time for legal action against the introduction of genocidal narrative into NJ school curriculum that creates a hostile and dangerous environment by students falling into the demographic of the target of the genocidal narrative this school district is promoting.
NO TO ZIONIST GENOCIDAL INFLUENCE ON NJ PUBLIC SCHOOLS!
From @teachingwhilemuslim on Inst
Our public schools should NOT be used for Zionist propaganda. Pro Palestinian residents of Livingston have already been consistently harassed by the Zionists in Livingston, NJ.
Not on our watch. The link in the post (and in our link tree) will create the email for you. All you have to do is click send.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C3jGS4UxFVY
Go.
There is a 6 page slide show at this Instagram link – the announcement for the IDF event follows.
View this post on Instagram
