ANDOVER - Superintendent Claudia Bach yesterday defended the high school principal's decision to allow pro-Palestinian activists to speak to students.
Five residents opposed to today's visit by Wheels of Justice attended Bach's monthly coffee hour at Starbucks yesterday morning. They made a last-ditch effort to get the school to offer a more balanced presentation to students.
"We're doing irreparable harm to these children by having an extremist group that indoctrinates kids," said Pam Lebowitz, a local lawyer whose nephews attend Andover High School.
Lebowitz and other Wheels of Justice critics say the group is extremist and anti-Israel. Andover High is bringing in two Middle East scholars from Harvard University next week to give a different perspective, but Lebowitz and her group of 100 residents want both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict presented at the same time.
Bach said she believes students will be able to "deal with this situation."
"There are some kids who aren't going to be wooed by them at all," she said.
Principal Peter Anderson called off a planned visit by Wheels of Justice in October, but he reversed his decision last month after teachers union President Tom Meyers threatened a First Amendment lawsuit. Some members of Lebowitz's group accused Anderson and Bach of caving to that legal pressure, but Bach said that was not the case.
Five residents opposed to today's visit by Wheels of Justice attended Bach's monthly coffee hour at Starbucks yesterday morning. They made a last-ditch effort to get the school to offer a more balanced presentation to students.
"We're doing irreparable harm to these children by having an extremist group that indoctrinates kids," said Pam Lebowitz, a local lawyer whose nephews attend Andover High School.
Lebowitz and other Wheels of Justice critics say the group is extremist and anti-Israel. Andover High is bringing in two Middle East scholars from Harvard University next week to give a different perspective, but Lebowitz and her group of 100 residents want both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict presented at the same time.
Bach said she believes students will be able to "deal with this situation."
"There are some kids who aren't going to be wooed by them at all," she said.
Principal Peter Anderson called off a planned visit by Wheels of Justice in October, but he reversed his decision last month after teachers union President Tom Meyers threatened a First Amendment lawsuit. Some members of Lebowitz's group accused Anderson and Bach of caving to that legal pressure, but Bach said that was not the case.
"I wouldn't be doing this job if I was afraid of being sued," Bach said. She did say that Anderson made the decision to allow Wheels of Justice to speak after consulting with school lawyers, and that she supported his decision.
Holding separate forums with Wheels of Justice and the Harvard professors is a "reasonable arrangement," Bach also told Lebowitz's group.
Two speakers from Wheels of Justice, Joe Carr and Mazin Qumsiyeh, will speak to six social studies classes in school today. Those presentations are closed to the public, but there will be a public presentation tonight at 7 in the Andover High library.
