Below are the few emails I sent in the last couple weeks, including just now. I left phone messages as well but have had no response from anyone.
From: Tzachi Litov [mailto:tzachilitov@gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, May 22, 2016 1:30 AM
To: ‘Tzachi’s Gmail’ <tzachilitov@gmail.com>; ‘Mike McGill’ <Mike.McGill@northwestschool.org>; ‘Tuney Kannapell’ <tuney.kannapell@northwestschool.org>; ‘Craig Shrontz’ <cshrontz@perkinscoie.com>; noahlitov@gmail.com
Subject: NWS Education –
Hi All – this week’s inspiration is coming from the foundational values NWS holds so dear, and as you say below “guide our behavior”.
While all forms of diversity are essential, it seems diversity of thought is allowed to be left by the wayside when it comes to topics relating to Jews and Israel.
A sense of responsibility for the larger community? That may be so IF you fit into one of the approved categories. If you fall outside that, it seems we’re on our own. I’m feeling less eloquent tonight so will let you know this will be my last direct email. At least in regards to this. You are welcome, however, to follow me on my blog, and invite and encourage you to participate in the conversation.
Respectfully,
Tzachi
From: Tzachi’s Gmail [mailto:tzachilitov@gmail.com]
Sent: Saturday, May 14, 2016 9:17 PM
To: Mike McGill <Mike.McGill@northwestschool.org>; Tuney Kannapell <tuney.kannapell@northwestschool.org>; Craig Shrontz <cshrontz@perkinscoie.com>; Lara Litov <litovim@gmail.com>
Subject: NWS Education
Hi all –
As always, this week NWS has inspired interesting and spirited conversation in the Litov home and since we never heard back from you regarding our concerns, I’ve decided to send you updates.
Inspired by this paragraph from the schools website I wanted to share with you some thoughts regarding our conversations in the last week and also share some comments…
We know NWS is sincere in its desire to do its best to educate its students, we just believe that over time, you’ve lost your way, gotten bogged down with internal politics and disagreements about what may be best philosophically. So much so that you’re either unaware, or turning a blind eye to the culture of teaching that has developed that has allowed personal biases, discrimination and intimidation to creep into the classroom under the guise of education.
This is a quote from a friend in response to a discussion on the subject:
“I think that in fact the most interesting piece of this thread is that the teacher, presumably after the debate began and he faced objections from students and parents, hid his presentation behind a password-protected page. What kind of educator limits access to his teaching materials? (Answer: One who knows, and is ashamed of the fact, that what he is teaching is inaccurate, inflammatory, unscholarly, and/or otherwise inappropriate for high-school students, and is afraid to face scrutiny.) This alone should cause some alarm for school administrators—are they aware of the issue in general, and the limited access in particular?”
Hope ya’ll have a good week and I promise to keep you updated on our conversations and thoughts. All the best!
—
Tzachi Litov
206.498.6622 cell
tzachilitov@gmail.com
linkedIn.com/in/litov
Sent from my mobile device
On May 5, 2016, at 5:20 PM, Lara & Tzachi Litov <litovim@gmail.com> wrote:
Dear Mike, Tuney & Craig –
It is with great dismay and an enormous range of emotion that we write this note to you. Today, interestingly is Holocaust Memorial Day, a day when people around the world are reminded of what hate and vitriol can lead to, and sadly it is the same day we find out that The Northwest School, which despite the challenges we had there, has remained dear to our hearts, as we all have imperfections, is publicly promoting the very warped sense of disguised anti-semitism, even though it’s been brought up as an issue over and over.
We have attached the letter we sent to Mike when we chose to pull Aviv from the school. As you may recall, Aviv’s not feeling safe, in large part due to the overt anti-semitism was high on the list of our expressed concerns and stated reasons for our decision to withdraw him from NWS, despite all the good.
The title alone of the section on “the middle east” makes us shake and what is even sadder for us, is not only is it clear our words fell on deaf ears, but the institution for which we continued to promote and support and encourage will no longer be that for us. It is clear the school promotes the teaching of propaganda and biased views over education.
Here is a link to his page: http://teachers.northwestschool.org/nws/dsparler/israel-palestine-the-occupation
We are struggling to keep this succinct and clear while impart our real concerns and intentions. With that said – here is a video, recently posted after all the recent dismissals from the British parliament due to the rampant antisemitism from the liberal left that has come out. The speaker, a British journalist and writer, eloquently describes the challenges and issues that exist around anti-Zionism and antisemitism.
https://www.facebook.com/chriscookbbc/videos/811491352316512/
Please also know that with this public display of outright teaching of hatred and one-sided political views that go directly against us personally as Jews, personally as Israelis, personally as Palestinians, and personally as humans, you have crossed a line. No longer will we remain silent, and in doing so allow you to promote values we so abhor.
Lara & Tzachi Litov
<Dear Mike McGill. Final.docx>
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