Concerned parents and community members are deeply troubled by the moment of silence held on May 15th at The Beacon School – a New York City public high school – for those killed along the Gaza border with Israel. Most of the “victims” were Hamas terrorists who were bent on infiltrating the border and murdering innocent Israeli civilians. In addition to the School’s lack of judgment to mourn these terrorists, use of school resources for any political expression violates the New York City School Chancellor’s regulations.
The School’s decision to hold this silent tribute divided and adversely affected the community. Students who did not support this silent tribute have been ostracized by their classmates.
Sign the petition, which calls for full accountability by The Beacon School’s leadership and their commitment to take the necessary steps to prevent this kind of incident from recurring:
- The Beacon School must revise the procedures for vetting school-wide announcements. Only bona fide school-wide urgent announcements should be permitted (e.g., relating to a club or activity) – not political expression.
- Beacon’s Principal must address the entire school-wide community to hear ALL parents’ concerns about what occurred on May 15th.
- The School’s leadership must issue a statement to the Beacon parent community which (a) explains what transpired on May 15th; (2) affirms that the School takes full responsibility for the announcement of the silent tribute; and (3) explains how the School intends to move forward, so that students are afforded a safe environment to discuss their reactions and a fairer and more open forum to discuss such controversial topics in the future.