CAIR-CT Demands Greenwich Schools Bar Jewish Camp Visit Over Israeli Flags; Trip to Go Ahead
Reported byLe·gal In·sur·rec·tionBy Jane Coleman
AI-assisted summary
Sixth graders in Greenwich, Connecticut, are due to spend four days this week on an outdoor education trip at Eisner Camp, a Reform Jewish camp on a 600-acre site in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. The Connecticut chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations has urged the district to move the trip and to end all school use of the camp. The district has confirmed the trip is going forward.
Some parents began voicing concerns in March, after watching an orientation video from the prior year's trip that showed an Israeli flag on a stage. Last week they jointly asked the district to remove such displays or pick another site. The district hires an independent firm, Outdoor Classroom, which rents space from the camp. In an October 13 letter to Superintendent Toni Jones, chapter chairman Farhan Memon cited Israeli flags and hostage ribbons, said Palestinian families could find them distressing, and pointed to the district's Title VI duties. Jones replied that the program has no political or religious activity. On October 16 the group answered that taking down displays for a visit would not resolve its objection to the camp itself. Memon said most objecting parents are not Muslim, Arab or Palestinian.
The article says it is not yet known whether the district will keep using the camp. It also reports that a parents' group, Greenwich Patriots, says Jones has not answered its questions about displays at a district middle school and the political-activity policy.
Why it matters
The dispute shows how a district's choice of outside vendors and field-trip venues can draw objections tied to religion, politics and civil rights obligations. Families and board members may want to know how such venues are chosen and how political-activity policies are applied.
- Religion in schools
- Board policy
Written with AI from the publisher's article and may contain errors. The original reporting is the authoritative source.
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- How should a district weigh families' objections to a field-trip venue against a vendor's assurance that the program itself is non-political and non-religious?
- What process should a school district use to review and approve outside venues and vendors for student trips?
- How should districts apply policies on political displays consistently across schools and outside venues?
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