yeah welcome to the Vorhees Township committee meeting for May 13th 2024 we like to begin with the flag salute flag United States Amica the for it stands one nation God indivisible and Justice thank you start with the roll call pres Mr here Mr here pres this meeting is being held in accordance with the requirements that open public meetings act do notice this meeting has been published by the clerk both the CER post and inquire newspapers as well as electronic notice as required by law also a copy annual meeting notice and post on the boulder board outside tant Clerk's Office committee believes in the rights of citizens to observe and comment during committee public meetings to ensure that all citizens have the opportunity to participate Township committee has adopted certain guidelines which will be read prior to any public comment number one the mayor deputy mayor or the designes will recognize as individuals in the audience who wish to make comment number two all members of the public attending in person committee meetings must treat each other and committee members with respect number three state your full name and address for the record number four please limit your comments to four minutes number five if you have a question that we are unable to answer at the meeting feel free to submit your questions to the township administrator in writing cud your name address and telephone number we can be reached and number six individuals offering comments are not permitted to make personal tax on the employee committee members staff other testifiers or members of public thank you Mr uh we'll begin with the first reading of an ordinance number 450241 fee schedule have a motion to approve motion second all in favor I I no that's good um the next portion we're going to open it up for public comments for Resolutions only so this portion is just if you have a public comment on any of our resolutions this evening seeing no one move to close public portion second second all in favor I we are closed so I'm going to read off uh the resolutions first resolution number 13924 memorializing an executive session from the meeting of April 8 2024 resolution number 14024 authorizing an agreement between the township of Vorhees and Blau and Blau for real estate tax appeal Services resolution number 14124 authorizing the extension of a shared services agreement between the township of Vorhees and the Vorhees board of education for groundskeeping services resolution number 14224 authorizing the release Le of a maintenance guarantee for Virtua Health birthing center block 228 Lots 7 10 and 12 resolution number 13 14324 authorizing the ratification of a collective bargaining agreement between the township of Vorhees and International Association of firefighters local number 3249 fire captains and Battalion Chiefs resolution number 14424 appointing BOS okay to the position of police officer in the Vorhees Township Police Department resolution number 14524 appointing Thomas O'Brien as Fire official in the Vorhees Township Fire Department of fire prevention Bureau resolution number 14624 authorizing the appointment of Garrett Walsh to the position of full-time emergency medical technician in the vores Township Fire dep Department resolution number 14724 authorizing the appointment of Kevin Bagnell to the position of part-time uccc inspector and subcode official in the Vorhees Township construction Department resolution number 14824 authorizing the appointment of Jacqueline Hy to the permanent position of clerk 1 in the Vorhees Township construction department and there is no need for an executive session this evening uh can I get a motion to approve resolutions second all in favor I I and we are approved okay uh approval of the minutes from April 8th 2024 approval of the work session minutes for April 8th 2024 approval of the executive session minutes for April 8th 2024 Court Administrator report for April 2024 registers report for March 2024 Tax Collector's report for April 2024 approval of bills for April 22nd 2024 and approval of bills for May 13th 2024 motion to approve motion second all in favor I rabits abstain from April 8th work session minutes April 8 executive session minutes but actual minutes of the meeting I was on through via phone okay uh the township of Wares would also let like to recognize and we have issued a proclamation which we have mailed uh National infertility awareness week this week and next I will open it up for uh comments from committee yes everybody looks at me gotta love it uh well first I wanted to say thank you to our fire chief um for uh the ordinance I'm excited that we are moving forward with our our fee ordinance change and also um for your assistance and getting us the closure on our collective bargaining agreement that we approved tonight also congratulations to uh Tom happy to have him as our Fire official and a welcome back I guess towai to our Police Department also wanted to let everybody know uh that the um Eastern High School student diversity committee is hosting an expo on May 21st at the high school and also that our Arts commission has moved the vast majority of their classes and events outside of the mall since the gallery has closed down due to the fire um some of them will be in Lion's Lake and some of them will be at the library so please do go online and check and hope that you will continue to support our Arts that's all I I'll let go what Jackie said about Tom O'Brien um congratulations to Tom Tom's been how long's he been in the fire department for 23 years 23 years he's a neighbor of mine and um he was integral in helping along with Chief poen and some mother of our current leadership into making our fire the fire district into a municipal fire department um which um allowed our current Department to have the equipment that they need to add adequately service our community and not rely on neighboring townships and uh this is a long a bunch of years now right Jim like eight years seven years eight eight years um I mean that it it was in really bad shape the district for those of you that don't know most fire departments in the state of New Jersey are run as separate entities kind of like school districts um and um we had a situation where the fire district which township committee had nothing really to do with and was basically broke and equipment was um not up to date bills piling up and I believe I could be pension or Healthcare something wasn't being paid if I recall um so I'm not saying everything's been smooth and and not had some rocky moments and learning experiences but um thank you to Tom uh for all his help in that transition because it's never easy in this state to do something like that and of course thanks to Chief Poland because he was integral along with their Union in in making that happen and chief B he he he was he had like five rolls in the town at that point so didn't need any sleep it's fine yeah I'll say congratulations to Tom also about no time since we coached that we our kids play soccer together 20 years ago so um always very friendly always very good at the job he's done uh very happy to see him uh become the Fire official and he won the wa Wawa hogi contest so yeah agreed thank you Mr O'Brien any other comments from committee okay I'm going to now open it up to comments from the public if you have a comment we ask that you just step forward to the podium and before you speak if you could just please state your name and address for the record so you welcome anyone who wants to make a public comment at this time I'm seeing no one seeing someone oh he wants to sit in this seat I think you're you're doing a darn job we're down one Mike very weird being on this side by the way Al it's good I get my Monday nights back um Mike freedan um I'm in acorn Hill development uh bores New Jersey um I want to thank the township committee for its clear and unequivocal written statement last month and statement sense that this body has has made against the rising tide of anti-semitism in our area and across the country as a whole uh and to even more importantly to reassure your constituents Vorhees residents at anti-Semitism and its purveyors have no Safe Harbor in Vorhees Township uh and this was even made more prominent after news came about regarding a proposed praza walk out in the middle of the school day at Eastern Regional High School a walk out where outside agitators were invited encouraged to come I mean uh just something that many of us didn't feel was appropriate or safe for high school students in the middle of the day um look as a federal litigator I am a huge proponent of free speech and and as a former Committee Member certainly however free speech is not absolute speech that may incite violence isn't protected nor speech that unduly disrupts the learning environment in a public school setting that's something that uh I think you all kind of uh certainly understood uh we need look no further than the horrific hateful violent demonstrators at so-called Elite universities recently to know that our high school here in town could have placed could have played host to such activities Jews in this country and the universities and Beyond have been attacked prevented from freely walking on campus going to class and one older demonstrator in California was murdered in the street in Cold Blood you don't hear about that too much anymore do you and then we have the disgusting anti-semitic chance to go along with it at these rallies protests whatever the hell you want to call them F the Jews go back to Poland everyone favorite of course from The River To The Sea which shamefully calls for the genocide of all Jews in the state of Israel the only democracy in the Middle East so don't tell me this isn't about anti-Semitism and I heard some of that at the eastern regional board meeting a couple of weeks ago ah it's not about antisemitism of course it is of course it is if it wasn't where's your outrage about uh the 1 million Wagers in China uh being thrown into concentration camps and and murdered and worked to death and where's your outrage about about the hundreds of thousands of syrians that are gased by their government where's your outrage about Muslims in Myanmar that are being murdered or defer Dar for that matter those are all true genocides we don't hear peep about those though do we and while some of it is born from anti-Semitism obviously or Marxism a great deal is born from sheer ignorance and impressionable kids literally knowing nothing about the region or its history but just going along for the ride is the next Trend they've learned from Tik Tock so ultimately it's incumbent Upon Us folks as a as a as Community leaders in school and Beyond to educate these students and our young people with facts and reality and not become complicit in allowing the spreading of hate false narratives and propaganda a speaker at the um High School Board of Ed meeting made a comment that uh the pro-israel crowd doesn't want to feel uncomfortable by our free speech by having to listen to to some of the propaganda that they were spewing in hate uh however I think it's them that that does don't want to feel uncomfortable as they remain seem seemingly immune to facts I encourage them I really do I encourage them to be brave and watch the 47-minute films of Hamas atrocity some of the worst stuff you can you can't even imagine how awful that stuff was awful filmed by their own body cameras and then of course Cheryl samberg's Brave documentary screams before silence which Chronicles hamas's use of sexual violence as a tool of War um so I really would encourage folks who who if they're truly open and they want want to learn facts I would start with those two films they'll be truly enlightening so in in closing um I do want to thank you all again for your leadership and being steadfast in in this really uh uh time that that we haven't seen really since the 1930s and 1940s so thank you again and it makes us all feel confident that we have you as Leaders thank you Mr Freeman [Applause] if anyone else would like to make a public comment hi my name is Ed gr and I lived in uh 1054 pendon Court um I would I actually had a whole speech just like you had um but I'll shorten it because I won't repeat the things that you already heard I do want to thank you I feel very fortunate more fortunate than my friends in Cher Hill uh that this board and Vorhees and Eastern are protecting our child that are that is there we feel very nervous about the rise of anti-Semitism and um I just want to repeat um your argument saying that if they don't protest um the 600,000 Arabs that were killed by Bashar Assad some of them with chemical weapons 150,000 of them were children if they do not uh protest 13 million Arabs dispersed from Syria if you do not protest half a million killed in Sudan if they do not protest Afghanistan's quarter of a million Yemen 400,000 and Iraq 300,000 then this is not about the death of innocent people this is about the Jews and if it's about the Jews it's about anti-Semitism if they're only protesting when Israel is involved then this is not about innocent lives this is about Israel and if I haven't convinced the distinguished Board of the moral issue of anti-Semitism the rise of anti-Semitism in our time which is deeply concerning perhaps I can convince you that uh we have seen um other institutions that in the name of free speech democracy and beautiful values wonderful values open their door to um people who may use uh the gentleness and the kindness of these moral values as Trojan horn to bring in their own values which are not so beautiful to me um you can see campuses and universities and offices vandalized all over the country and in Europe as well um and it feels to a lot of Jewish students like they had gone back to as you said Nazi Germany um we are very concerned it all started with one so-called harmless protest for innocent lives it sounds very nice it sounds very Democratic but the violence comes later and it always does so why open our gates to that thank you for your time and thank you for all that you have done we have feel we feel very fortunate to be here thank you thank [Applause] you I'll just leave it open for another minute a few seconds if anyone else wants to right hi hello Hillary Platt 18 Downing Lane um I recently heard that Eastern is going to have their peaceful protest um Monday the 20th I was wondering if you guys were talking with the school and making sure that this was actually a peaceful protest and putting parameters on it yeah yeah I I know we have been in communication with the school and I Know Chief bardy has been working directly with the superintendent to make sure that there are no outside um influencers has been very clear that's against school policy um so we're certainly staying on top it to make sure that it is a safe protest with um appropriate levels of um speech at it thank you and we also are very proud of the student groups that met to come to this decision to um together have not even call it a walk out but a Rally For Peace So to bring all the Eastern students together instead of um at least we didn't see the events that happened without Downing Char I'm a graduate of char o East but some of the images that happened at Char o East were awful and none of that happened because the students eventually got together with some of the administration not the Board of Ed but the administration there and decided that they were going to go forth this path and hopefully they stay in that direction and um that's what we're all hopeful for because um I think a lot of what um was just expressed is um I don't know how to frame say this like more geopolitical more Global the fear that Jewish people have but it's the same fear that a lot of the local Muslim Community has here now too um and um from from a war that's happening far away but then images we're seeing on TV or we have kids at these colleges that are now coming home and telling stories and it's a fragile it's a fragile time so um trying to to remain one Community warri has always been known as a diverse peaceful we're 11.2 square miles I think it is I know Char Hill's diverse but we're more diverse cuz we're more Compact and we really haven't had stuff like happen at the high school even leading up to the the end which again we all applaud um and um um you know we're I would ask as um as one of the Deputy mayors that we um that if if I'm if I'm I'm Jewish it's not that's no secret that all of us also think about our neighbors and the fear that they must have because it's not easy on either side when you're talking about adult you know the kids the kids at colleges and high schools are learning a tough lesson and going to some of this stuff's going to follow them for a long time which is a a shame but um because like Mike said they might have been chanting from the river to the sea but they don't know what the hell that even meant so um it's not an excuse but I would just ask that the community locally that you know we try to remain even keill even though that's hard for everyone sometimes those of us that are vested in this and and and um that we lose sleep at night um over stuff like this those of you that saw the video of what happened at the shop right in Englewood and my family owns some of the local shop rights I know that family really well the irony of it that family is a Jewish Family that that guy was going off about Jewish people about and um that video If you see it it's disturbing and that was not I'm not that was not a Muslim person um that I know of from what I'm being told but that was just that could happen that could happen here and that's when neighbors got to step up for each other because nobody did anything nobody and the poor guy that was getting yelled at I mean he walked away scared so was just approach again I think we had we had someone waiting to come up hello hi a Salem I live in alumium alium Blakes um obviously being here is not the EAS I EST thing for many in our community to do um but it's amazing to me that our community claims to stand against hate and intolerance take for example the peaceful walk out organized by high school students for Palestinian lives and human rights and America's direct funding and support the Outreach this has sparked in the community is mindblowing we're told it's all about opposing hate speech we oppose hate speech so much that the leaders and community members in this community responded to this peaceful walk out in this way and all of these are direct quotes it's a pro Hamas rally period supporting Palestine in 2024 equals supporting Germany in 1939 the terrorist supporters are doing a walk out these are pro terrorists they believe they're protesting for innocence take them all away send them to Gaza trade 10 of them for each hostage how about the name of the organizer glad to show up in front of their house and a group of friends are there any moderate Muslims are there any at all stop saying I'm for the Palestinian people those people don't exist a cafea might as well be a swastika they must be disallowed ignorant anti-semites did our memories of the shihar bombings in the 1990s and 9/11 simply simply vanish no one wants to say what the real problem is not all Faith are created equally these people don't value or believe in scientific Enlightenment or women and basic human rights and my favorite it's not islamophobia when they really do want you dead what I just read are all statements from our local community that's standing up against against hate ironic isn't it the community so against hate and intimidation that some are threatening to show up at kids' houses clearly the real hate here is not the peaceful walk out for human rights but the community's hateful reaction to it and as someone said tonight words is the beginning violence comes later thank you [Applause] I think there's a gentleman behind you okay so here we go so uh the has been made could you could you please state is Sir could you please state your name and address for the record yeah uh man Hashmi I'm a longtime resident of B in Bagel Club thank you uh my son and daughter went through school they all G fully employed and all settle in the real world and the challenge has been made that where is the moderate Muslim well we are very small uh you know presence here because because of that reason that we we feel under threat we feel under threat with a kind of mentality that uh all the people come in and they start you know reciting all the old news about uh what Jewish people have gone through well what uh what School uh students were going to do is that they were going to do a a peaceful workout in response to there was a walk out by the Jewish students all right but they were stopped and things gotten so uh so ugly that then I heard that even the principal uh Mr T had to resign because of whatever internal uh dissensions were there or whatever but so right now I have been told that there is a new peaceful rally going to happen on May May 20th I think next Monday is that true yes okay so uh we will uh we will only request that that peaceful uh rally should be allowed to happen uh and you know I understand that our numbers are very small compared to the other uh folk and you can see that here right uh we are only two or three maybe uh so because we f we feel threatened to go in public and support our cause now here is our cause whatever happened with Hamas we can go back to the history Thousand Years 2,000 years what caused that whatever Hamas did that was terrible and nobody is supporting that Muslim Community in the US in the worldwide none of the Arab countries are supporting Hamas we can see that Saudi Arab is not supporting Egypt is not supporting all right so now here we are where there was an attack and the reaction was volatile even our President Joe Biden acknowledged that there were all kinds of excesses were made last Friday there was a report that came out saying that Israel has used bombs that we have given them and that resulted in the thousands of people there are like 35,000 officially people died some other people are saying that there could be lot more so even Biden is trying to stop sending the weapon so that more people will not be killed by the way there has been all kinds of discussion there has you know uh resolution and ceasefire but last week even New York Times Wall Street General Washington Post they all reported that Hamas has accepted the ceasefire agreement but see see that's the problem okay can I you know go and speak because I see there is a there's like a violent reaction to to my small speech here yes let let's we can just be respectful and that shouldn't be allowed Mr RIT yeah all okay so why they are why they are shouting at me I didn't shout I was I'm silent telling them to be quiet you continue right but they shouldn't have resorted to that I mean they gave all kinds of spee and we just we just we're all under control now you can continue your comment sir please continue so to continue with that comment again that you know we pride especially in war Township and the reason I said to my children went through that this is back in '90s we have been here since 96 and we felt that you know our Township is very Diversified and they acknowledge the differences in religion differences in culture we have a diversity committee sir I you're just at you're just at the 4 minute Mark so we're just going to have to ask you to wrap up with your final closing pardon so you're at your 4 minute Mark for your um public comment so if you could just please wrap up um with some final com can I take one more minute yeah yeah that's fine all right okay so so at the at the end at the outset I will say and that for the peace and Harmony of the township and what he should be an example and how Muslims Jewish Hindus Christians Buddhists they're all living together and and some of you will remember that you know Mr Z maybe you know rest in peace see how you know he brought together different blue uh people and built that mosque which we are very proud of it supported that but now we feel that there last thing I want to say there was a sign made that one Jewish guy was kill all of you remember back in October there was a little 8year Palestinian kid who was killed and that was one example of islamophobia that kid was actually killed by somebody that was your extra minute all right thank you for you know some people along me to you know go one minute more and you know I just want to say that this we should have the work to show to the world we are let me be very thank you thank you let me let me just let me let me be very very clear about our role and our statement in this walk out and me personally which was I believe echoed in our statement and Congressman norcross's statement which was the only issue I am all for free speech and like Mr Freedman said though Free Speech has boundaries and I don't think any of the kids would have done I would hope that an Eastern kids walking out any race religion or Creed would not be chanting from the river sea and that they know what it means but my issue with with the timing and Congressman norc crosses was that the walk out was plann for during Passover and if if the situation was reversed and there was um Jewish kids that wanted to protest BLM because of some of the things that they've done um backing Hamas or with the par Troopers they had in that Hamas did to fly in the the kubu teim to get across the border there was a meme going around from BLM Chicago so if those if there was a group of Jewish students that wanted around MLK day to do it I would stop it because and we would stop it we would implore and all the Jewish parents that are here that you do it is not appropriate and Passover and yum kapor and Russia Shana are the holiest days we have in the Jewish religion if it was Ramadan and these Jewish kids wanted to do it or Christian kids I would be the first one to speak up and say that as the most disrespectful thing you could do or or Eid I I mean so it this the the this this committee was not against the walk out this committee was against the timing of the walk out based on the holiday Passover and I was actually contacted I think I don't know if everybody was but it's public record and I was contacted by one of the students that wanted to meet after the statement came out and I said that there is a precondition to the meeting and the precondition is that you move the walk out to after Passover and he respectfully declined and then we had some very respectful debate back and forth and he knew what he was talking about and I do about the history and we we walked away as we had a respectful conversation so those students the leaders were offered to me with Township committee if they moved it to nonp pass the walk out to a non-p Passover time but they declined so there's nothing I can do about that we also have nothing to do with perview over the school besides First Responders I'm pointing to cheap boarding they provide all the security make sure that road around Eastern has to remain open we cannot have people from outside the community come and they were threatening a car rally and this was not the Eastern kids these were adults threatening a car rally and I don't know who hijacked the the the students flyer and invited the community but that was when that Road's got to remain clear we have vores Pediatrics we have Lion's gate we have an over 55 traditions and I think other medical officers there that need to have EMS and our Police Department to respond at any moment's notice okay so that's why things got heated on that Wednesday night I think it was when that flyer got changed and we started seeing it on social media not by the kids but by outside um without naming the groups outside groups that were going to come to town and then it I have a post that's up from back then that says safety is more important you're not welcome in our town if you're not a student since Coline no kids nobody's been allowed on school campuses unless you have a past or you're a parent you're not allowed just one sir sir sir you already had your five minutes sir so I was just explaining I just wanted to make clear Township committee's position about the timing it was all had to do with the Jewish holiday and if the if it was reversed with any religion the same thing would happen hi my name is Asar roomi and I'm in B club I'm here to talk about the culture that this town can help shape it's absolutely absurd that anything that has to do with Pro Palestinian sympathy is labeled as Pro Hamas it is absolutely absurd that the criticism the acts of a government are labeled as anti-Semitism I think that I know that all the examples that were provided about where people have died where conflicts have happened where uproar has happened or not happened has everything to do with the fact that what's currently happening in that region is funded by us tax dollars our tax dollars everybody's tax dollars going towards funding and supporting the military and that's what all of these protests and encampments were about it's about the money if the US was funding weager Muslims or whatever China is doing or whatever darur is doing or whatever is happening in Haiti I guarantee to you that this protest would be about what's happening in Beijing or be about protesting what's happening in Haiti if the US tox dollars are funding it and people don't want their money going towards killing other people and that's the basis of it if Israel was bombing not Gaza or someplace else and the US was supporting that then there would be riots against that and encampments and protests against that too and in terms of what's happening what happened in Passover or the protest that was happening in Passover there have been so many Faith Interfaith peaceful saders I have been involved in many of them there are so many organized by Jewish brothers and sisters who want to talk about Passover as the the perfect opportunity to talk about people and their freedom and it's not that this protest was happening in the evening during Pro during seder uh dinner or ceremonies was happening during the school day where people were in the students were in the building it wasn't on the school holiday where somebody's religion or time off was being disrespected it was happening during the school day just like every other protest has happened and there's always some sort of law enforcement or safety but the students had the right and I will read for the record the letter from the ACLU that says that was sent to your friends Melinda Kaine and John Jeff Nash this letter incorrectly characterizes any pro Palestinian speech as anti-semitic and disregard student Free Speech rights under the federal and state constitutions anti-Semitism and anti- islamophobia anti-muslim and anti-jewish are both both sides of the same coin you cannot talk about one without talking about the other Jews and Muslims by faith are brothers and sisters they are cousins but the politics in between are dividing us any speech against Israel has nothing to do with Jewish people has everything to do with the government the funding and the bombing and I can guarantee you that if there's there are riots there are protests against the when the Pakistani um whatever is happening there are buses of people that go up and and rally at the embassy just because you don't see it on the news and just because it doesn't make mainstream media and you don't see it in your face does not mean that there aren't people posting protesting against what's happening in China protesting what's happening in darur or happening other atrocities around the world this one is front and center and this is what everybody's latching on to so I'm here to tell you that it is not the same thing it's all about taxpayer dollars and anti-Semitism has nothing to do with the encampments it is all about the policies of what's happening in that country and if it was any other country besides Israel that the US was funding their weapons it would be the same conversation thank you I would like to really quick I would like to read into the record yes um we received a letter today from students at Char Hill East and Eastern and you mentioned the ACLU and the ACLU and I think K New Jersey um had some back and forth with um the County Commissioners um Mr Nash and um Miss kanaine who by the way is a gold star mother uh her son Jeremy was killed um overseas in Conflict um um but I have a letter to read I nothing to say about care um their record speaks for themselves but I will read this in the record about the ACLU from students at Eastern and East dear dear ACLU New Jersey policy director Sarah Fardo I am reaching out to you to express my concerns regarding your recent letter dated May 7th 2024 addressed to the Canon County Board of Commissioners concerning their communication with the superintendent of the Eastern Canon County Regional District on April 22nd as a senior at Cher El East who has many friends at Eastern Regional High School I feel compelled to offer my perspective on the matter while I appreciate the dedication of the American civil liberties Union to defending civil liberties I believe your characterization of the protest may not fully refect the situation at hand specifically I feel that your assertion that the posters associated with the event were devoid of discriminatory content and violence may not capture the entirety of the circumstances it's important to acknowledge while the posters themselves may not have explicitly promoted discriminatory or violent message there were they were concerning the behaviors exhibited by the organizers including the dissemination of threatening and harmful messages to Jewish students these actions such as sending death threats created an atmosphere of fear and hostility at the school that could not be overlooked by the Commissioners in the days leading up to the protest student organizers engage in a disturbing pattern of behavior they inundated a Jewish student at Eastern Regional High School with numerous hateful and incendiary messages totaling in the hundreds these messages were targeted and aimed at the students decision to join the Israeli Defense Force in the coming year as a result a few Jewish students myself included from both Cher Hill East and Easter Regional High School brought this matter to the attention of school administrators including the superintendent Mr cluder what deeply concerned us was not just the content of the messages but they public and online nature given that such Behavior was displayed openly online there was a real fear Among Us that these individuals might escalate their hateful rhetoric in P public spaces in addition to the actions of the student organizers decision by the Commissioners to call for the cancellation of the rally was also influenced by plans orchestrated by various organizations in the South Jersey and Greater Philadelphia area and this is who I was referring to operating under the Banners at Philly for palestin SJ for Gaza and at New Jersey for Palestine this Coalition collectively has more than 5,000 Instagram followers was in intending to conduct a car rally originating from Cher Hill and extending into Vorhees with explicit intentions to disrupt the school day at Eastern Regional High School moreover they actively encourage non- student participation these organizations have a well documented history in disseminating anti-semitic anti-zionist rhetoric and we believe the presence on school property could pose significant harm to our Jewish Community especially during the holy Jewish holiday of Passover furthermore it's essential to keep in mind that permitting Outsiders potentially numbering into the hundreds to enter School property flagrant violates Eastern Regional School District policy 5842 equal access of pupil organization this policy explicitly states that non-school persons cannot directly conduct control or regularly attend a school activity Additionally the organizers of the protest claimed in their poster that the school and administration had approved their protest misinforming students of regional Le High School about its true nature the school and administration had never approved the protest to begin with these are not my words these are high school kids who attend Eastern and East having studied Tinker versus de Mo independent Independent Community School District 393 us 503 506 in 1969 which you referen I'm well versed in its significant form the apus from the apus government politics class which I took last year the Supreme Court's ruling affirmed that the students retain their first amendment rights while at school provided their do not Material or substantially interfere with the educational process as stated by the Constitution Center however it's evident that this specific scenario fails to meet this standard on the day the protest was planned numerous je Jewish students opted to stay home from school out of fear that their education would be D disrupted by a protest organized by individuals with documented history of in anti-Semitism this preemptive action highlights tangible interference with the educational environment anticipated from the protest furthermore the P potential arrival of outside organizers and groups such as at Philly for Palestine South Jersey for Gaza and New Jersey for Palestine onto school property during school hours would undoubtedly disrupt the learning environment their mere presence of these protesters could result in trespassing on school grounds without permission further exacerbating the disruption in the majority opinion of Tinker versus de Mo Justice AB foras highlighted the absence of evidence demonstrating any interference of the school's functioning or infringement upon the rights of other students spef specifically he stated that the school had no evidence whatsoever of the petitioner interference actual or nent with the school's work or of collusion with the rights of other students to be secure and to be let alone furthermore foras emphasized that the student speech or actions did not inrud upon the school's operation and the rights of fellow students however the situation at Eastern Regional High School presents a stark contrast to the circumstances and Tinker versus the mo contrary to the absence of interference in Tinker the planned protest at e res e resal high school as eer mentioned posed a tangible threat to the educational environment and safety of students the documented histories of anti-Semitism among the protest organizers coupled with the potential disruption caused by Outsource organizations clearly indicated an interference with the school's work and the rights of other students to feel secure in their learning environment in light of these concern concerns it's clear that permitting the protest to proceed would not have only jeopardized the safety and well-being of Jewish students but also have undermined the school's ability to maintain a conducive learning environment thus the action taken by the Commissioners to address these threats were necessary to uphold the Integrity of the educational process and ensure the rights of safety of all students finally your letter while well-intentioned appears to have inadvertently emboldened the organizers of the protest who have a history of using anti-semitic rhetoric moreover it has caused d damage the political reputation both of the superintendent and district and the Commissioners given these unintended consequences I respectfully urge you to reconsider your stance on this matter and recheck your letter I would welcome your opportunity to meet with you to PR further contests to discuss potential courses in action thank you for your time attentions manner I can't name names but a student government vice president government president student class past president Jewish student Union president and another student were part of this um and just one more thing addressing the comment that was made that um about these saders um I think they were called anti-zionist saders um perpetuated by Jewish people I'll let people in the crowd explain who those 5% of the Jewish population is because it's really not my place but yes they exist and no they don't represent the views of 95% of the Jewish people hi my name is Randy Kesler Beagle Club a 40-year Vorhees resident um whose kids are out of way out of the school district I just have a question that may sound kind of naive but I've been obviously reading about what's going on is there a reason and I know this isn't the school district so I recognize that and I appreciate very much the letter that you did write in support uh but why doesn't the school just what why does it have to take place at Eastern if somebody wants to have a protest say for example get a permit conell Park and let let that be run why is this happening in the school I mean I I again I understand you're not the school district but why must these whole things be attendant of the school cited a Supreme Court case that the kids have the right to walk out and the Jewish kids did after October 7th so there's no reason that the um the kids wanting to organize a pro Palestine uh walk out should not have been able to do it again our only issue was not during Passover and Passover is 8 Days the not only the two saders and the school might have been in session it would have no school district has ever given off 8 days for Passover except if they're um observant obviously I mean and it's a secular school and um or a not a SE a Jewish Jewish faith based school like a day school they were off all eight days um but I mean quite frankly I'd be afraid to send my child to school they're allowed to walk out they're allowed to peacefully walk out the Jewish kids were allowed the only again the only issue any of us here had in our statement was it was during Passover if if the Jewish kids or Christian kids wanted to walk out to show solidarity post 107 then the kids who are who want who are against what what's Israel's doing right now and everyone has their own opinion and we could go back and forth about this country supplying weapons and and our tax dollars and we could have a geopolitical debate all night long um but they're allowed to walk yeah why must it be during a school day that could it be after a school day that's really up to the organizers it is part of the it is part of the constitutional rights first Free Speech apply to public school as a parent who spent many years involved with the education of bores I would think people would be worried about what is our math what's our physics what's you know like this why are you sending your kid to school I understand you know that's up to the parent yeah I and I but I wondered if you have any influence to no it's totally it's totally we can we can put out a statement or whatever but besides that the school board is their own separate and total entity and it doesn't sound like they're very receptive we have no interaction with them the only interaction we have is with super Inon includ and any students that reach out and there's been dialogue for sure and I and I can assure you that um this committee is Jason referenced the only uh control type involvement that we have with relation to the schools is about the public safety um and our chief of police and myself have been actively involved in that regard so while we cannot ever say uh we do not run when they occur how they occur or the parameters around that we absolutely do work very hard to ensure that they are safe and secure at all times I only read that letter because the ACLU was brought up and anticipating that I got it you know those those were not my words those were the words of six student government leaders past and present and that was for he's in Cherry Hill yes okay I can name names okay okay well thank you very much thank you thank you she hand up have another speaker i v oh two I she for a while sorry hi there good evening uh my name is Naz Hashi I live in orot in Vorhees and I am quite upset about what's happening since last few weeks about the kids not being allowed to protest legally rightfully so uh while you know the other side was allowed to have a demonstration protest or support whatever you call it pro Palestinian people should be allowed also uh it should be a free uh place a diverse place and we should all be allowed to openly view our say what we desire to say as long as it's proper obviously keep in mind and um I think that um Wares should be more uh a place for really truly diverse place where everybody is allowed to come here study live here and and enjoy with freedom and without any threatening people who are you know putting fear in you that you are pro-israel or anti-israel or Pro Palestine or anti- Palestine this protest that's going to happen on 20th of May hopefully it's going to happen should not have all those uh these kids should be allowed to say it's just anti-war basically it's it's not a a protest uh Pro Hamas God forbid I don't think so it's it's really a protest to show that we should not be using our taxpayer money to kill people um that's how I feel and I think if those students want to say it they should be allowed and that's all the message I want to say thank you our only I think you would I think you would be hardress to our only understanding is that it's that the the the leaders of the Muslim student group and the leaders of the Jewish student group came together I think that Thursday before the Friday of the planed walk out and they decided that they wanted to do a March 20 March 20th May 20th peace rally together that's what our understanding is and again I don't know how to be any more clear our only issue I think you can be clear by saying that we agree with everything that you said but but but the you say you didn't say anything that anyone on this committee disag the issue was but I want to be clear the issue was pass over timing and that was it we we agree that a uh to the extent that the school permits a walk out again which we do not have control over that that as long as you said proper and peaceful that is up to the students that is up to the school we will deal with public safety that was never as Jason expressed his concern at all um as far as that occurring if that is what occurs we anticipate that will be what occurs and there's been dialogue by the way and again we I'm not at Liberty to name names there's been dialogue between my colleague Jackie that just spoke and myself and specifically a student leader on on the on the um Pro Palestine Muslim side that we we felt very productive and that I intend to meet with again and I asked him actually last week if you wanted to grab coffee and continue the you know talking and we we got more into the geopolitical stuff that you're talking about that is way above all of our heads we don't control any of that stuff that's more appt for Mr for Congressman nor gross's office um with the federal funding and all that stuff but I will tell you we had a very productive meeting and uh again we applaud the student groups coming together to do whatever they choose to do on May 20th but we will not tolerate as from a public safety perspective any outside agitators from coming in what what exactly happened the one which was pro Israel or Pro uh anybody that was there that was an adult and not or not a um school student admin or faculty was ejected well let's hope it's it goes well and they should be allowed to speak and they should be allowed nobody only yeah that that's just a SCH not allow on right whatever it is it should be allowed properly and they should be able to speak up that's what we are teaching them in school not to be you know you say that Iran is doing such and such Banning children not to speak if we do the same thing here then what's the difference right but that so that kind I agree with you yeah but that the Board of Ed some of these I wasn't there intentionally because I didn't want to be a distraction but there were people here that were there and evidently there was not much of this back and forth at those meetings from what I was told by people and they were I will I will also point out that the only person that made a statement about the students the situation was I believe the superintendent or the kids themselves there was one statement put out the Board of Ed was silent through the whole thing and that's a whole another story about leadership and if you have a kid at Eastern or had a kid at Eastern I don't anymore but you know I it's not a shock that's all I'll say well it should be fixed then because uh control it's a place of learning we also agree with that we agree with thank you I I just want to be clear on something too just so everyone understands because there were some comments that were read into the record that insinuated um that there was obviously some hate speech being said online we do not condone that or endorse that in any way on either side but I would be remiss if I didn't say that there were comments made on and I don't want to get into a tiff for Chad or open this up but there were heinous things that I won't read into the record written on an Eastern students commitment post which Mr raver referenced which are completely unacceptable and they were written by other Eastern students so it would be unfair as one of our speakers said if we talk talk about one but we we don't talk about the other we do not stand for that we do not accept that we do not endorse that so while we agree in with free speech and we agree that students should be able to come together and collaborate and figure out ways to make our community more diverse and coexist what were written underneath that students post were threatening and alarming and they should not be something that is allowed to continue so I just want to be clear that we do not support hate on either side um I I I totally I completely agree with that but I have seen the other side posting pretty nasty things suggesting and it's pretty visible you're you're at your four minutes thank you and and I think you know again listen I don't really want to Bab her this point because if anything I appreciate all of the comments I certainly appreciate all of you being here I think a couple of points need to be very clear we are not the Board of Education we are doing the best that we can uh Jason and I in particular have incessantly been in communication with the school the school leaders and our uh chief of police on a variety of issues um related to what has happened what I'm hearing that I think I can do cuz um let's me also be very clear I suffer no delusions of grandeur that sitting in this seat I will ever have an impact on what's going on millions of miles mil away in a foreign war okay I want to be very clear and I hope my colleagues would agree with me on that so all of the comments about the pars of what is happening there while they are certainly important and they may frame your beliefs I only want to hear about them as to how they affect how we engage as neighbors and community members our statement was prompted by hateful anti-semitic rhetoric by a student and we felt obligated to speak out against that I will tell you and share with you that there have been folks who have shared with me that certain terminology was maybe viewed a certain way and I will tell you that I am considering how the impact of messaging is most important and I'm going to ask everybody in this room to also consider how the impact of your messaging happens your intent is probably less important than your impact when it comes to being a good Community member so if you want to sit and fight with your neighbor about a definition of something occurring in a foreign war you can bet that that communication will not go very far what I think we and Vorhees need to focus on and what I believe my colleagues all agree with me that we can do for you as Leaders is to help you create community Through open communication and through Equitable advancement of those those theories meaning both sides both sides cannot speak hatefully yes we know and again ma'am I know your time was up and of course we see it all happening we don't condone any hate speech we've heard from people saying that the students were called terrorists do I feel good about a student probably my neighbor's child in high school being called a terrorist absolutely not do I think that a child should be threatened so Sol because of she is Jewish and Israeli absolutely not these are the things that we can control okay I cannot control except for by my vote in the federal government where my taxpayer money goes in a foreign war the things we can control are how we treat each other and I would like that to start here and tonight because the tit fortat does not go over well with me thank you and um Jackie Jackie and I have also met with some of the the people from the local um Muslim group new group called voice and we I think we had a productive meeting um last last last week um and um it definitely I told Jackie some light bulbs went off in my head that and that's why I said think about um if you're a Jew think about how it must feel to be um someone who could be identified easily as Muslim at like I'm not saying shoper I'll say Wawa but like and and um um it was expressed to us that that particular person again without naming names that we met with said that and I with and I could see that and that light bulb went off of my head cuz it never struck me and on on the other side of the coin I would ask that other that the Muslim Community and other you know Christians and um would understand what it's like for um Jews that have family that were murdered in the Holocaust or had medical experiments done on them in the Holocaust and and you know somehow we're standing here and I think that's a lot of the reason why people uh um Jews have a reputation for being able to mobilize and from an activist perspective um um but I I I do say and one of the things I walked out of that meeting was I never thought about how it must feel um to to be readily identified as Muslim you know wearing um the headdress and people looking at you and just like it is for an orthodox Jew that's dressed up in all black the men I I mean I've had PE look I've had pennies thrown at me um at work during a labor strike I I recently because of my social media activity I get phone calls on my phone from numbers that it could be like Michelle's calling me and it's a rerouted app and it's you know die you dirty Jew and a garbled voice recently to the point I'm sleeping with a handgun next to my bed okay and not letting my daughter sleep in my house so that was an enlightening back and forth we had and again we can debate the geopolitical stuff about the federal funding and all of that but that's not for here and I don't think that's I think people are going to have opposite views like Jackie said on the war itself but I think locally my takea away from meeting with one of the students and meeting with um the group from voice and having dialogue continued dialogue with um both of those folks have been that there's much we can learn we have more in common than we do different 90% of the stuff like Jackie said to me once we we all are on the same page it's that other 10 that's you know causing problems and again Free Speech there's no problem with the kids walking out during the school day they just are only opposition was Passover that is it I hope they do it on May 20th and that they have a walk out for peace Mr I'm going to stop your talk sorry I I just want to be clear I don't know how many times I to say you I I just make sure that the public has a chance to we got all night we we usually have nobody here I'll let you continue in a second no go hi my name is Mary mosar um I was born in Vorhees I still live in Vorhees um I'm an Eastern High School graduate and I just want to share real quick that the proudest moment I had at Eastern High School was in 2009 when the administration allowed the entire student body myself included to walk out of Eastern during school hours to counter protest the Westboro Baptist Church when they showed up specifically to Target our Jewish friends at Cherry Hill east during Hanukkah why they were allowed there to show up with slogans that call for the deaths of Jewish people in the first place why that was allowed is beyond me but Easter was on the right side and allowed us all to leave to Rally against people calling for the death of Jews that was the moment I was most proud of Easter they allowed that to happen and they should have so I am at a loss to understand why this why the line is drawn at Palestinian life when there were walkouts after October 7th after the loss of Israeli life and I don't know how many more thousands of children need to be killed to be worthy of being honored too just like there were Israeli people honored after October 7th um but I think it's been made abundantly clear that in Vorhees some lives are worth more than others and some civilians are worth mourning but but not all of them and I'm getting a little bit sick of hearing both sides both sides as if this is all proportionate in terms of what people are experiencing here and across the world if civilian lives were treated equally there would have been so many walkouts by now specifically for the civilians in Gaza do those lives not count even in death or are they Justified or they are children not considered to be civilians and like many students and young people I'm also questioning how we're defining things like safety things like proportionality things like self-defense if God forbid there was a shooter God forbid at our school would you condone bombing the entire School in the name of self-defense just as Israel has done to the vast majority of schools in Gaza I would hope not no one will forget the selective outrage that's been shown or the vital that you have that you've allowed to be spewed on social media Mr Ravis hopefully now that this has fallen under legal scrutiny and has captured the attention of the media you'll do the the right thing and take every step you can to write these wrongs because from experience I promise you that these students won't forget this moment in time or how they were treated and how you all reacted and to me I think it's the most anti-Semitic thing thing in the world to equate Judaism with what Israel has done to the people of Palestine with US dollars every single day since October 7th it makes me deeply concerned about how much the word anti-semitic will carry going forward in that is a tragedy it's not anti-semitic to condemn a foreign government that is currently defending itself from charges of genocide in the international court of justice and it isn't anti-American to protest the actions of our own government including in our [Applause] schools hi everyone I'm Julie kto over I've lived in Vorhees for 20 years um I'm listening to this conversation and I'm getting upset as I'm sure many of us here are but what I want to say is we might actually be the problem the kids in high school are coming together to talk and they're having a peaceful rally we are fighting and disagreeing about something that's not even happening here right now I am a proud Jew and a Zionist and I sat on the stage with that woman's husband a few months ago where we held a conversation that was facilitated by myself her and her husband we had a Muslim religious leader and we had a Jewish religious leader and we sat here and we facilitated a conversation because let's be honest folks to my people I say we can actually criticize the Israeli government and be pro-israel and we can have Humanity about the Palestinian lives lost to the Muslims in this community I say as American citizens our dollars fund military operations all over the world so why are we singling out what is what Israel is doing right now I am calling for higher levels of cander and intellectual honesty in this conversation what I would ask this body to think about since this is your charge not the bo not the Eastern Board of Education and not the Eastern school is to think about how you can lead us or support us to have a community dialogue about this because this back and forth is toxic we need to understand each other we are not going to agree we're not people say anti-zionism is not anti-Semitism I think it is some people won't won't agree with me if we if our goal is to agree we're not going to ever come together as a community we need to understand each other and talk respectfully with cander with honesty and with compassion and that is where I think you can come in and support a conversation thank Youk and and jully to that effect um we do have a diversity committee which we did invite many people to after what had happened uh recently at Eastern uh and they were welcomed and it was a good conversation so Vorhees Township does try to do that and I agree we're not going to agree on these points and these little Jabs that are done when Jackie said Tit for Tat you know but still people get up and talk about Tit for Tat um we're not going to agree with those things we're not but we can educate and we can learn about everything that we need to know about each other and why we have the points of view we do and coexist and live together we live together we're neighbors [Applause] yes Jesse do I have to say my you have to say your name you to say your address Jesse Carriage Brook Farms okay hi my name is Jesse and I'm 18 years old and go to Fusion Academy in Cherry Hill or at least I used to I refused to keep going because these kids were bullying me for being Jewish a 17-year-old 18-year-old 16-year-old 15-year-old bullying someone because of their religion I tried to stay there I really did I set I said I'm too mature for this while shaking and crying to my teachers I haven't been there in months I do online Zoom CL classes which is extremely depressing just like in 2020 I didn't really finish the speech but um I was debating about going to my graduation on June 6 and I decided that I've experienced a lot of stuff in high school and I should be able to enjoy my graduation even though there will be kids there that are against me I'm still going to go and I'll be back with my parents and I'll be okay um I also wrote I get scared to go to work knowing um it is run by Jewish Family um and we offer koser services I said to my dad the other day I always have a plan if someone comes in to hurt us um I always say to my co-workers a lot of times um I share with them my fears about people coming in with the gun and targeting a rabbit um I talk about hiding in bookkeeping and stacking chairs up by the door or running outside and leaving the people that I love inside not knowing that they'll make it out alive how is that okay I'm a child just like someone said before the problem is not the children it's the adults and you guys do not act mature this is a back and forth thing and it's not working and to fear for my life going to work or fear for my life going to school is something really scary and I should be able to go somewhere where I feel comfortable I haven't seen my dad in 3 weeks or stayed at his house in 3 weeks because he's been getting death threats as well as my family I'll see him in the store once in a while and he'll pass by but I work and he works and there's not a lot of time to talk how would you feel not seeing your dad for weeks because you're scared to go and someone's going to hurt you the other night I had a dream that Nazis were coming to take us in this day in this year 2024 I got separated from my mom and my dad and my brother and my grandparents were killed and remember hiding in My Best Friend's attic it was a nightmare I woke up the next morning to make sure that it was just a nightmare and not true I also got bought mitzvot in Israel in 2018 and to say how many different backgrounds were there is unbelievable I always say to the people who have not been to Israel you do not need to be Jewish to go to Israel um my best friend uh my childhood best friend we haven't talked in a bit um but she was in Israel on October 7th um she was one of the first people first person I thought of um I thought something had happened to her I hadn't heard from her I hadn't seen anything from her I I was so scared and finally she texted me back and I was so relieved but then to see that there were hundreds and thousands that weren't okay my heart was broken to say for all the Innocents I feel bad for everyone I do feel bad for everyone everyone all the Innocents but I will say that this is my side of the story and I will say that I want to go to school I want to be able to have friends I want to be able to do these things but I can't I want to be able to go to work knowing I'm safe my work is that's what I do I I sometimes I work six to S days a week I love doing it but honestly I'm scared to go every day sometimes I'm scared to go to sleep and everyone should feel okay and not be able to live in fear thank you than [Applause] sure than I was just listening to everybody very carefully and I um have to say that I'm very proud to live in a community that actually listens to each other and it's a very it's a shame that the gentleman and his lady um left right now because I would have asked them out for a cup of coffee or tea or maybe just to share some information because I feel that maybe both maybe I'm missing some of his information but he is sure missing some of mine um I feel that I have two things to say one is that I feel that the issue of equating and that there's both sides and yes we do want to live together and listen to each other for sure but there's no real equation here my husband's friend was zipped eye to his wife and two children and burned alive their neighbor's baby was put in an oven while his father was shot and his mother was raped raped um my son's friend his body is still being held by Hamas we are talking about horrible trauma that the Jewish Community spe specifically Israeli Community but the Jewish Community is bringing to this discussion and that needs to be recognized you do not have Jewish kids attacking people on campuses rather you have Jewish people being kept out of campuses today so equating both sides and saying all need to yes we all need to but unfortunately the reality is not like that and equating both sides or of diminishes the violence on one side and and and that is just horrible um and I think that for the two ladies that spoke earlier um I would also love to sit with you and discuss the American Tax my tax paying dollars going just two weeks ago to Hamas and to the PLO and to President Biden trying to circumvent Taylor force act in order to send more money to the people who are murdering my people so yes if you really really really wanted peace if you really wanted this to end you would have gone to protest Hamas and asked them lay down your weapons and give back the hostages that you took and then you [Applause] have thank you thank you I have a Community member in Israel a friend that she cannot bury her son because his body is still held there the second thing I would like to ask as you as a committee and not just me sort of emoting here is there any kind of consequence for the upcoming May 20th peaceful March if there's any kind of consequence that you as a board can make sure that is enforced against those on either side who try to pull this protest to an I think unwelcome Direction the only thing we can do is provide the public safety security if it's just if it's just if it just if it rises to a level of criminality on any side either way then the police would step in as they would do any other situation Define that for me without does what does that mean criminality if somebody shouts from The River To The Sea Palestine will be free is that Criminal and it would depend on the situation and exactly who they said to and without going into specifics it's a whole issue I don't want to deal with the hypothetical on it um but if there's any laws that are broken that will certainly be addressed in terms of if it's school policy and procedures that are broken that would be a school matter is there any way for the board to emphasize that or maybe reinforce that with school Bo I think I think that has has been I I'm fearful for my child in eastern I was fearful for that prot and and I'm going to suggest to you that the communication that has been occurring over the past 3 weeks I have a high level of comfort um that the students are likely to surprise us I think that they are very mature I think they are looking to do the right thing I certainly can't say um with any level of certainty I don't know that I can provide you the assurance that you're seeking as a parent um because I understand what you're asking but I can assure you you that the students that we have met with and the information that we have received through the administration about the student meetings is they are um they are people that we can be proud of as parents and as a community thank you thank you my name is Nicole I am a Vorhees resident here for about 25 years um I just wanted to say that I have a daughter in a Private Preschool currently and after October 7th my husband and I opted to keep her in the private school and not utilize the Township school until she's a little older and reasons are because given the nature of what we have been seeing across the country have been scary as a parent and a Jewish woman people are calling out for the death of Jews and the death of Israel and that is scary my husband's family survived the Holocaust and then fled to Israel before coming to the us and we still have a lot of family and friends in Israel and while Vorhees is a diverse Township it also has a strong Jewish presence which is why we chose to live here while we support free speech and encourage a diverse Community we're not comfortable knowing that a walk out that is happening at the local high school in the back in our backyards that can potentially incite violence as threats have been already made that's something I don't want my tax dollars to go to and finally if it is about peace then why don't they mention the hostes many from the US and why not protest Hamas because if we are going to free Palestine free them from Hamas [Applause] my name's um I live on Regency Drive been there 15 years Jason you don't know me but I want to thank you very much for speaking out I know it wasn't easy I know other board members spoke out as well um and I know uh the last couple weeks have been tough for you the truth is I'm not a very religious Jew and it has nothing to do with Passover in my opinion the moment that that walk out and I'm a proponent of free speech and I was at the Board of Education meeting and it was clear as day that there were going to be outside agitators planning on going the moment that that flyer was altered and made open to the public I have a ninth grade daughter we were not sending my kid to school and that was going to affect her education so you did the right thing by speaking up because it wasn't going to be safe I'm all in favor of a peaceful protest students can walk out that's okay but thank you for the [Applause] W hi my name is Bonnie Gallum I'm a vhe resident for only about two years but a South Jersey resident for my whole life and I actually want to bring your attention to an incident that happened last summer when my two children who were at Camp gun Israel I drove happened to drive past there and saw an extreme police presence I don't know if anyone knows that that's it's a summer camp that operates out of cman brown Academy during the Summers there was swap teams and I had people texting me saying that they're seeing things on neighborhood.com saying there's an active shooter at G Israel anti-Semitism has been rampant in vores and rampant in this country well before October 7th and it is imprudent of this Council to draw any sort of line in the sand saying that this is something new that this is something different because every Jew in here knows differently every Jew in here who attends a synagogue every Jew in here who sends their child to Day School like I do knows the price of being Jewish in this country and we know the price of being visibly Jewish we know the price of speaking Hebrew in this community in public and I do not accept that I do not accept the double standards of calling out taxpayer dollars that go for bombs when we don't call out the taxpayer dollars that go to unra that teach people to kill and murder Jews and our family members I will and in the same breath I am not afraid to mourn every single innocent Palestinian life that is lost I am not afraid to do that my Judaism is not watered down by that my proud Zionism is not watered down by that and if I wish that this community comes together the way that I hope these students do on May 20th on May on October 8th of last year then we could have been a model to the world because if we would have come together as a community the way that we hope our brothers and sisters in Israel and Palestine can do it starts here it starts with us and I encourage every parent here who thinks they know it all to get coffee with someone else from the quote unquote other side I don't accept other sides there are human beings period and we are citizens of Vorhees New Jersey and we are here as each other's equals none of us have more clout than anyone else based off of how long you've lived here we are in this together and any rhetoric otherwise should be turned down and I hope that these students truly set an example for the rest of us thank you so I do I do want to make a a comment in response I appreciate your comments very much um and as a mother I can only um fearfully think about the fear that you felt that day last summer um but to avoid misinformation there was no shooter on the premises there was no anti-semitic incident there was a u I'm I'm sorry I I apologize I apologize there was there's no thank you I appreciate it I just wanted to be clear that there was no um threat at the premises at the time um and I do want to let you know and and I apologize unfortunately I think that again why I mentioned one of the things that I believe that maybe you all in this room as clear leaders in the community can assist us in working on its communication maybe it wasn't communicated but um this town did in October uh right after the terrorist attacks have a um come together as Julie mentioned uh Julie and my colleague who is married to I in the back here Ahmed uh sat with uh the hazan from uh Temple bethl and the most recent past Imam from our local mosque and we had a wonderful engaging dialogue um of course not everyone disagreed there were certainly excuse me not everyone agreed there were certainly some disagreements at the time um but we really did take measures to try to assist people in communicating with each other as neighbors as humans despite differences despite different lived experiences and to understand that when we communicate we need to communicate with an eye towards the impact and the reception of our words and of our Behavior at all times especially when there is a time of of Terrible Terror that affects so many members of our community and continues to clearly months and months later so sorry I just wanted to clarify because if we leave here that so hi good evening my name is Eric simin I'm a Vorhees resident I believe that the tenants that America was found in that we live under are God family and Country and I would as a Jew I'm reminded every day that I'm a Jew living in the United States of America and I honor that flag at Eastern in the boardroom you can't even see the American flag I had to call and ask where it was it was tucked away in a corner it wasn't there when I spoke to Dr Tall I asked him what other flags are flown and he said that every flag that a student you know students nationality is there I personally believe in a public building especially one that I'm contributing tax dollars to there should be two or maybe three flags the United States of America New Jersey if there's a Vorhees flag that's great P Mia to uh to honor our veterans and I would just like to know everyone to know that we all stand under the flag of the United States of America thank you [Applause] thank good evening members of Township Comm Deputy Mayors my name is Stuart Platt and I am a 30-year resident of War's Township and I stand here tonight in support of the statement made by the mayor and Township committee I am a Jew I'm an American and I'm a Zionist let me say that again I'm a Jew I'm an American and and I am a Zionist [Applause] I want to go over the statement that was made by mayor and committee a few weeks ago because I think it's important that we hear that statement again if it's been read tonight I apologize but I'm going to read it again in light of the recent escalation in the Israel Hamas War by the Islamic Republic of Iran vor's Township committee urges all members of our community to take action to ensure that no members of our community are dehumanized for who they are are or what they believe we have recently become aware of an anti-semitic incident occurring at Eastern Regional High School notably in regard to a student's courageous and I underline courageous because that's what it was decision to enlist in the Israeli Defense Forces upon graduation Township committee respects our students choices and beliefs and while we acknowledge and respect that our community holds vast and differing opinions as you probably heard tonight on the conflict harassments threats and anti-Semitism will never be tolerated anti-Semitism hatred in all forms must be condemned in the strongest possible terms and while we committee understand the importance of free speech we entrust our Educators and administration to First ensure the safety physical and psychological of our children and ask that they lead with kindness and understanding but without tolerance for such hatred at all times especially during the upcoming Passover holiday in other times the statement would not be something which anyone would deem controversial or extraordinary oh how times have changed and how quickly these times have changed for the worst this statement is not ordinary but is extraordinary at this time because this Township committee had the wherewithal in the guts as one of the few government agencies to stand for justice take a stand for fairness and denounce anti-Semitism due hatred and again hatred of any kind unfortunately in this backwards upside down World in which we are now living in barbarism and hatred of Jews has become commonplace and the vilification and denouncement of Israel has become acceptable in many many quarters too many anti-Semitism anti-zionism and anti-israeli attitudes have become the lwh hanging tolerable poisonous fruit of hatred and racism in this country and around the world the statement made by the mayor and Township committee is extremely important because this is how the Holocaust started the h hoca did not begin with the death death camps at aitz and midon and the other killing centers which led to the murder and extermination of 6 million Jews 1.5 million of whom were children and 7 million others at the hands of the Nazis and their supporters that is the way the Holocaust ended the Holocaust started with words followed by Propaganda not based upon facts sentiment public sentiment and majority silence eventually involving an Evol excuse me evolving into the destruction of European jewry Jewish people and people of Goodwill everywhere who know their history understand this we understand that dehumanization and vilification be beginning with statements and vile words and the support of the murder of Jews is the beginning of a true genocide our enemies the Jew haters and those that hate Western democracy and Western democratic ideals had the Nazi blueprint for genocide and extermination of Jews our enemies know exactly what they're doing exactly what works and using the Jew and Jewish people and anybody who supports the Jewish people or the state of Israel as the historic scapegoat Mr Platt we too have this history excuse me to keep consistent with what we've given the other speakers I just want to let you know that you're at the five minute Mark I am almost done if you wouldn't mind we have we too have history as Jews and people of Good Will and we know how to present it and prevent it one of the ways to prevent it is a statement that was made by mayor and Township committee Jews and people of Goodwill must fight back and will fight back one thing the Nazis didn't have and that today's Jew haters must still face is the state of Israel this goes back to my statement about being a Zionist Zionism for those who do not know who have tried to change the definition is the dream now realized of a Jewish homeland that Homeland was created in 1948 as a direct result of the Holocaust where 6 million Jews were murdered while the world stood by and Jews had very little to know Refuge wonderful beautiful Israel the true land of milk and honey where the refugees of the Holocaust and those Jewish families who had been living there for centuries turned what was once a desert into a beautiful country a western-like democracy and a true Ally to America and all legitimate countries worldwide Israel is just the first offense and hopefully the last offense of this evil hatred that is spreading worldwide the world needs Israel America needs Israel and most importantly Jews worldwide need Israel whether you are a Zionist or not I will finish with this I'll finish with the statement and the words of Reverend Martin Neer who was a Critic of Hitler's Germany and wound up in prison in the concentration camps at the end of World War II and Reverend Neer said this he said first it came for the Socialists and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist and then they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew and when they came for me there was no one left to speak out for me the world must still answer for the Holocaust and the world must answer for October 7th thank [Applause] you hi I wasn't planning on speaking tonight and I know you don't want a lot of back I'm sorry could you just state your name yes my name is Jessica Dunlap I see uh my council member from Mount Laurel up here is administrator I didn't know you could hold both positions but the other one's not a full-time job believe it or not I got to pay my bills um I just in in light of the statements that have been made about free speech and also about um you know defending any particular Nation I just want to remind everybody that criticism is not the same as calling for the death of people I'm an American citizen who has protested our own government's policies many many times when the US chose to invade Iraq after uh the 911 attacks I was against that not because I thought it was great that all those people died in New York but because I thought our invasion of Iraq was misguided and I think history has kind of worne that out um so along the lines of free speech I think we just need to remember that criticism including criticism of the the very genocidal History of the United States of America um does not make me anti-American although I can hear from behind me that that's you know that's a concern um there are many of us who have been called anti-American I'm sure um because we did not support Donald Trump or his policies and I think it's very very important to distinguish between policies and governments and wanting death to a whole people I'm not a trump supporter I don't want his supporters to to all die that's that's not what I'm asking for but I vehemently opposed A lot of his policies as I know many of the Democrats up here did too so we really need to to contextualize and the Free Speech issue for students or for anybody in the community is about criticizing that which we are against and it does not mean calling for the death of an entire people sir sir sir sir thank you um it looks like we're about closing up I I I do just want to say um in final comment I think that again as Leaders we've we've heard everything you said and I can assure you um one of the most uh wonderful things that I've had the honor and privilege of being on this committee is that all of us will think long and hard about what you have shared with us we'll communicate and we will try to find ideas to ensure that every member of our community feels safe and welcome and included um I do want to reiterate um I know Mr plat reread our statement I personally uh stand behind um everything that this committee has done over the past three weeks I have shared with you earlier today um I've had Communications and um am listening and learning about use of certain words and verbiage and definitions or intent versus impact um I do also though want to say that this committee never intends that our words and our stances be weaponized against another member of our community so please be sure that if you are going to quote us um my my colleague and friend Jason ravitz Bears the brunt of this uh he has one of the biggest hearts of anyone that you'll ever meet and um if you are going to quote him be sure that you know what his intent was if you are going to quote us do not weaponize it against another person because that is never our intent we are here to um continue hopefully to create a safe space for all of our community members again I stand behind everything that we've done over the past three weeks I'm very very proud of this committee um in taking a stance because I do think that most don't um and I hope that you also know based on tonight that unlike other um areas other boards other commit commes that do not engage with the community we do um we're always available by email by phone we have a lots of advisory boards and would like for you to get involved you're always welcome to come to these two though I have to tell you by 9:00 like um Cinderella comes out so I may pay a little less attention but thank you all for being here i' like to make a motion to close public portion second second hi all in favor I I I public portion is closed and we are Jed thank you