ANDOVER - The Wheels of Justice, a pro-Palestinian group banned from Andover High School in October, will be allowed to address students after all.

The group will come to Andover High for one in a series of three forums, each featuring a different perspective on Middle East conflicts, Principal Peter Anderson said in a statement released yesterday.

Anderson canceled the first planned visit by Wheels of Justice after the Anti-Defamation League, Rabbi Robert Goldstein of Temple Emanuel and others called the group "extremist" and "anti-Israel."

Anderson's two-paragraph statement yesterday marked his first comments on the controversy.

"It was never my intent to stifle the educational process," he said. "My goal has been to ensure that the presentation of the information resulted in a positive learning experience for our students."

Anderson changed his mind because of a combination of legal and educational issues, School Committee lawyer Naomi Stonberg said.

"We thought this would be in the best interests of all parties involved," she said.

Goldstein said he was not happy about Anderson's decision because he would have preferred one forum where speakers on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could have debated and asked questions of each other. He called the Wheels of Justice visit "worthless" and said the group has "questionable educational merit."

But, he added, "I'm glad to hear that there will be an opposing view offered, one that is more supportive of Israel. I hope it will not be someone who will do to the Palestinians what Wheels of Justice does to Israel."

Teachers union President Tom Meyers was one of six social studies teachers who organized the first planned Wheels of Justice visit. When Anderson canceled that event, Meyers enlisted help from the American Civil Liberties Union and threatened a First Amendment lawsuit against the school.

Meyers could not be reached for comment yesterday. Ron Francis, an Andover High physics teacher and pro-Palestinian activist, declined to comment specifically on Anderson's decision to now allow Wheels of Justice.

"I support the First Amendment, I will say that," he said. "Actions that violate the First Amendment rights of people in the United States are not acceptable."

Andover High has not set a date for the Wheels of Justice visit or the other planned forums, Stonberg said. The school is "still working out" who the speakers will be at those events, she said.