The principal of Bloomfield Hills High School, home to one of the largest Jewish populations in Michigan, has apologized in a letter to the community after a “student-led diversity assembly” became a platform for an anti-Israel, anti-Jewish rant by failed political candidate Huwaida Arraf. Arraf lost to Republican Rep. John James in Michigan’s 10th district.
According to Fox News, Arraf is co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) an anti-Israel group investigated by the FBI for possible ties to terrorists. She was involved with the radical Gaza Flotilla.
Arraf spoke to students in 9th-12th grade, giving four presentations over the course of the day. Arraf refused to stick to the agreed talking points, instead delving into antisemitic rantings, including denying Israel’s existence by only referring to the land as Palestine.
School staff did not intervene and Stroughter’s apology letter failed to even mention any reference to Israel or the Jewish people.
According the WXYZ, Jewish students subjected to Arraf “uncomfortable, fearful and attacked.”
“We know everyone has different political views but to bring those views into a public school, to have those things forced upon them, it’s not the place,” said Robyn Stern, a parent of a 10th grader at Bloomfield Hills High School.
She says she learned about the speaker Tuesday morning when she got a text from her son, who was upset about what a speaker was saying during a diversity event.
“Him and his friends were not sure what to do,” Stern said. “They didn’t stand and applaud, but they were really upset and concerned.”
The event was a panel that featured four speakers, one of which was Huwaida Arraf, a local Palestinian human rights activist who the Jewish Community Relations Council says should not have been allowed to speak given her anti-Israel stance and rhetoric.
“A 20 second Google search would have shown a result that this woman should have been disqualified from the beginning,” said Sam Dubin, assistant director of the Jewish Community Relations Council/ AJC. “She’s very, very vehemently anti-Israel, so there’s really no counter… There’s really no other side to what this woman is perpetrating.”
Outrage by students, staff, & parents at Bloomfield Hills High School in Michigan as a Palestinian activist -Huwaida Arraf – was brought into to speak at a 10th grade diversity event. Arraf refused to stick to agreed upon speaking points and started spreading lies about Israel.
Outrage by students, staff, & parents at Bloomfield Hills High School in Michigan as a Palestinian activist -Huwaida Arraf – was brought into to speak at a 10th grade diversity event.
Arraf refused to stick to agreed upon speaking points and started spreading lies about Israel. pic.twitter.com/oJKA7ivse0
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) March 15, 2023
Bloomfield Hills High School Principal Lawrence Stroughter sent the following correspondence to families concerning the troubling speech by Arraf. Bloomfield Hills is home to one of the largest Jewish populations in the state of Michigan.
Bloomfield Hills High School Principal Lawrence Stroughter sent the following correspondence to families concerning the troubling speech by Arraf.
Bloomfield Hills is home to one of the largest Jewish populations in the state of Michigan. pic.twitter.com/htaimV5EHb
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) March 15, 2023
It is not hard to imagine what the response would be to bringing an Israeli activist into Ilhan Omar’s Michigan district.
