We are disheartened by the disinformation campaign regarding the upcoming training offered by Project Shema for faculty at Northampton High School. In this tense political climate, in particular around Israel and Palestine, Project Shema was vetted and selected precisely for their ability to focus on the issue of antisemitism without tying their work into a particular stance on Israel, Palestine, Zionism, or anti-Zionism.

Project Shema writes in their own words:

■We are a team with diverse identities who have invested our lives in uplifting vulnerable communities.

■We recognize that the status quo creates structural barriers which deny Palestinians dignity, safety, and many fundamental rights. And, we recognize the real, present, and persistent threats to the life of Jews in Israel and around the world. We understand that fully reconciling these inherent contradictions is incredibly difficult.

■We have to transcend binaries, demonstrate allyship, and call out all dehumanizing language, including about Palestinians, Muslims, and Arabs.

■We do not tolerate any attempt to demonize, delegitimize, or erase the narratives, history, trauma, and lived reality of marginalized and historically targeted communities.

We appreciate Project Shema’s ability to thoughtfully delineate between criticism of Israel or anti-Zionist sentiments and antisemitism. We further appreciate their centering of anti-Palestinian racism, Islamophobia, and white supremacy as true dangers and necessary to combat alongside antisemitism.

Jewish safety must be built together with safety for all marginalized groups. Project Shema leads with these values front and center.

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As rabbis and community leaders at Congregation B’nai Israel and Beit Ahavah, we have heard from teens with views ranging across the political spectrum about the ways discourse on Israel and Palestine, in particular over this past year, have crossed lines into antisemitism, cyberbullying, social exclusion, and other forms of harm for Jewish students.

We care deeply about the teens of our community, and about all young people in Northampton, and their ability to go to school without fear of what they may face from their classmates, or concern about what faculty members they can trust. Too many Jewish students returned home from their first few days of school this week in fear and in pain. If anything, this experience has underscored the need for antisemitism training of the exact sort that Project Shema provides.

While optional, we hope and strongly urge all NPS faculty to attend this training with an open mind and heart. We strongly believe that the concerns and criticisms of Project Shema are unfounded, and that many of those expressing opposition will in truth find alignment with their presentation.

Rabbi Ariella Rosen

Interim lead rabbi, Congregation B’nai Israel (CBI)

Rabbi Jacob Fine

Abundance Farm director and CBI rabbi

Rabbah Riqi Kosovske

Rabbi of Beit Ahavah Reform Synagogue of Greater Northampton

Barbara Black

CBI co-president

Pamela Schwartz

CBI co-president

Peter Nabut

Beit Ahavah president