Sunday, March 8, 2009

John Dewey HS Teacher Comment

After our report on John Dewey HS (and yes, the upside down graphic was intentional)
UFT Chaos at John Dewey HS, this comment came in from Martin Haber:

Dear Norm,

I tried to google in to post a comment on your excellent, highly accurate article on the "mishaguys" at Dewey, but I am inept so could not. Feel free to post this comment if you can!

I am The Accused, accused of "dissenting" from the "Zionist Cabal" at JDHS, or just for daring to have a different opinion. Our UFT Rep, Alan Lerner, is quickly losing steam- he did not as far as I know attend the Rally March 5, and we have a picture of us "dissenters" 15 strong, who DID take a stand. Hope it is in next issue of Trade Organ. Latest indignity is not getting our white UFT hats in retaliation I would think, so I started a "Liberate our Hats" Campaign (they are either in a sealed box in the UFT room, or Useless is holding them hostage. Alan is "Spawn of Useless Charlie!"

The "anti-semitism" smear is a pattern that goes back to Alan's election; he used it effectively against his former friend and much more capable candidate Wade Goria, so it IS a pattern. The leaflets I myself was accused of distributing (never proven) and that a girl in my Multicultural Club was accused of putting up in the school hallways (Alan's "army" ripped them down) advertised a "Peace Vigil" on the steps of Brooklyn Borough Hall; I am proud to say I attended this Vigil, and that I want "Peace in the Middle East". My colleague Sean Doyle, previous Chapter Chair, has been the victim of a on-going smear campaign which resulted in the pair of us being summoned before a "mediator" from the UFT Professional Development Program, who was quite decent, but only was there to silence us, whether he knew that or not.

I had the NY Post come to my door, literally, after the same reporter, who has an Israeli background, stopped cars and students leaving the building asking "Do you know Mr Haber? Is he distributing anti-Israeli lit? And Is he an anti-semite?" It was ironic- I was at a conference about "Law in the Third Reich", sponsored by the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous" on that very day!!!! This was surely a job done by "Useless and Son, Inc" After all, Lerner has a confidante at the Daily News he speaks to regularly , as well.

It culminated with Alan claiming me, Sean, and Sandy Osip, another dissenter from the Board, distributed "anti-Israeli Lit...at the DA!!!! (A total lie). It goes on and on, and some colleagues can see that it is the Constitution on trial here, but many miss the point. "Darkness at Noon" redux. And it reminds me of the RED mailings that Randi put out to put the final kabosh on Kit Wainer, even though the Red-Baiting was totally un-necessary from that point of the election. Drivin' the nail in. I guess.

Thanks again for the reportage.

Peace,
Martin (Dreyfus) Haber
JDHS's House of Ill Repute

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Either this guy's clinically insane or it's Angel Gonzalez again...regardless, can I have the key to decipher the meaning of whatever the hell I just read?

Anonymous said...

Inside joke??

Anonymous said...

More like psycho-babble.

Anonymous said...

Let us hope this Mr. Haber does not teach English.

Anonymous said...

It’s interesting to see that the dissidents in the chapter at John Dewey and on the executive board are students of history. It’s unfortunate that the example they’re choosing to follow is that of Herman Goebbels and the other Nazis. They’ve adopted the policy of the big lie, and are busying disseminating it to anyone who will listen. To correct the lies in this post, let us note the following:

The executive board is not getting along with the Chapter leader; that is true. Everything else is not.

1. There has been a vigorous response to threats to close the school. The Chapter Leader has spoken to people in the UFT, and has met with local politicians, including a City Council member who is an alumnus of the school. The administration has also met with members of the Alumni Association. Besides, there is no immediate danger of the school being closed. The process would take a few years.

2. The chapter leader did take members of the board to task for posting leaflets. They were not merely advertisements about an anti-Israeli demonstration. They were anti-Semitic and anti Israeli diatribes containing numerous untruths and lies. Furthermore, despite his claims, at least two members of the chapter observed “the accused teacher” with the leaflets and posting them, and have stated their willingness to go on the record, if necessary. One must also question the wisdom of a teacher who is willing to post items designed to inflame emotions and possible cause violence within a school setting. As to the claim of a right to do this, the Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that the First Amendment right of free speech is not absolute. Perhaps the teacher in question should go back to school.

3. As to the claim of anti-Semitism against a Jewish teacher; sad to say there are numerous examples of Jews being anti-Semitic. Karl Marx, numerous Bolsheviks, and of course the Jewish unit of soldiers who fought for the Nazis come to mind immediately.

The Education Note also fails to mention how the dissident executive board members came to the Chapter Leader’s class, interrupting it, and proceeded to engage in a shouting match in the hallway, in front of his students, setting an excellent example of how adults peacefully discuss their differences, ending with a threat to “Go Irish on him”.

Next time Norman, get your facts correct. You do yourself a disservice by only listening to one side of the story.

altruistic said...

It is interesting to note that the previous analysis is anonymous!

The accusation that anti-semitic literature was distributed by Dewey members at the Delegate Assembly could easily have been verified if it were true. Accusers of the "dissidents" , could not be bothered to produce evidence, secure that the old smear game is not reliant on proof.

Sean Doyle John Dewey High School.