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Jewish family flees Delaware school district's aggressive Christianity

Ody

Well-Known Member
This ticked me off soooooooooooo much when i first read it!

I can't believe this actually flipping happened!

A large Delaware school district promoted Christianity so aggressively that a Jewish family felt it necessary to move to Wilmington, two hours away, because they feared retaliation for filing a lawsuit. The religion (if any) of a second family in the lawsuit is not known, because they're suing as Jane and John Doe; they also fear retaliation. Both families are asking relief from "state-sponsored religion."

The behavior of the Indian River School District board suggests the families' fears are hardly groundless.

The district spreads over a considerable portion of southern Delaware. The families' complaint, filed in federal court in February 2005, alleges that the district had created an "environment of religious exclusion" and unconstitutional state-sponsored religion.

Among numerous specific examples in the complaint was what happened at plaintiff Samantha Dobrich's graduation in 2004 from the district's high school. She was the only Jewish student in her graduating class. The complaint relates that local pastor, Jerry Fike, in his invocation, followed requests for "our heavenly Father's" guidance for the graduates with:

I also pray for one specific student, that You be with her and guide her in the path that You have for her. And we ask all these things in Jesus' name.
In addition to the ruined graduation experience, the Dobrich-Doe lawsuit alleges that:

The district's "custom and practice of school-sponsored prayer" was frequently imposed "on impressionable non-Christian students," which violated their constitutional rights.
The district ignored the Supreme Court's 1992 Lee decision limiting prayer at graduation ceremonies -- even after a district employee complained about the prayer at her child's 2003 graduation..
District teachers and staff led Bible clubs at several schools. Club members got to go to the head of the lunch line.
While Bible clubs were widely available, student book clubs were rare and often canceled by the district.
When Jane Doe complained that her non-Christian son "Jordan Doe" was left alone when his classmates when to Bible club meetings, district staff insisted that Jordan should attend the club, regardless of his religion.
The district schools attended by Jordan and his sister "Jamie Doe" distributed Bibles to students in 2003, giving them time off from class to pick up the books.
Prayer --often sectarian -- is a routine part of district sports programs and social events
One of the district's middle schools gave students the choice of attending a special Bible Club if they did not want to attend a lesson on evolution.
A middle school teacher told students there was only "one true religion" and gave them pamphlets for his surfing ministry.
Samantha Dobrich's honors English teacher frequently discussed Christianity, but no other religion.
Students frequently made mandatory appearances at district board meetings -- where they were a captive audience for board members' prayers to Jesus.
The Dobriches said the prayers to Jesus' ruined the graduation experience for Samantha. Mona Dobrich, Samantha's mother, repeatedly called district officials to complain. A board member told her she would have to get the matter put on a meeting agenda -- then refused to put it on the agenda. The school superintendent slipped the topic onto the agenda and then told Mona Dobrich she would need to raise it during the public comment period.

School board unyielding
The board opened the June 15, 2004 meeting at which Dobrich was prepared to speak with a prayer in Jesus' name. The board was not forthcoming to her request that official prayers be in "God's name" rather than in Jesus' name. The high school athletic director veered from his agenda topic to encourage the board to keep praying in Jesus' name.

Board member Donald Hattier followed Dobrich out and offered to "compromise" by keeping graduation free of prayers to Jesus. And, according to the complaint, he warned her not to hire a lawyer.

A large crowd turned out for the next board meeting and many people spoke in support of school prayer. Mona Dobrich spoke passionately of her own "outsider" experience as a student in Indian River District schools and of how hard she'd worked to make sure her children didn't also feel like outsiders.

Hattier again approached her after the meeting. This time, the complaint alleges, he told her he'd spoken with the Rutherford Institute, a religious right legal group.

Talk show calls out a mob
The district board announced the formation of a committee to develop a religion policy. And the local talk radio station inflamed the issue.

On the evening in August 2004 when the board was to announce its new policy, hundreds of people turned out for the meetng. The Dobrich family and Jane Doe felt intimidated and asked a state trooper to escort them.

The complaint recounts that the raucous crowd applauded the board's opening prayer and then, when sixth-grader Alexander Dobrich stood up to read a statement, yelled at him: "take your yarmulke off!" His statement, read by Samantha, confided "I feel bad when kids in my class call me Jew boy."

A state representative spoke in support of prayer and warned board members that "the people" would replace them if they faltered on the issue. Other representatives spoke against separating "god and state."

A former board member suggested that Mona Dobrich might "disappear" like Madalyn Murray O'Hair, the atheist whose Supreme Court case resulted in ending organized school prayer. O'Hair disappeared in 1995 and her dismembered body was found six years later.

The crowd booed an ACLU speaker and told her to "go back up north."

In the days after the meeting the community poured venom on the Dobriches. Callers to the local radio station said the family they should convert or leave the area. Someone called them and said the Ku Klux Klan was nearby.

"Killing Christ"
Classmates accused Alex Dobrich of "killing Christ" and he became fearful about wearing his yarmulke, the complaint recounts. He took it off whenever he saw a police officer, fearing that the officer might see it and pull over his mother's car. When the family went grocery shopping, the complaint says, "Alexander would remove the pin holding his yarmulke on his head for fear that someone would grab it and rip out some of his hair."

The Dobriches refinanced their home so that Mona and Alexander could move to Wilmington, away from a situation that had become untenable, according to the complaint; Marco stayed behind because of his job, .

Ultimately, it continues, the expense of two households forced the Dobriches to sell their home. And Samantha was forced to withdraw from the joint program she attended at Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. She is being treated for depression.

The lawsuit states that the Doe family wants to remain anonymous in order to avoid the retaliation experienced by the Dobrich family. Jordan and Jane Doe are also suffering from depression related to their opposition with the Indian River School District's religion policy.



http://www.jewsonfirst.org/06b/indianriver.html
 
A

angellous_evangellous

Guest
Should be a slam dunk suit with a handsome settlement.
 
A

angellous_evangellous

Guest
AlanGurvey said:
I have even seen more sources ill post them soon


http://www.nsba.org/site/doc_cosa.as...=469&DID=35836
http://www.thecoastalpoint.com/archi...oveinsuit.html

http://www.healthvoices.com/feed/ite...behaving_badly

http://www2.delawareonline.com/newsj...ainstpray.html

I don't know if
A.)Has been embellished
B.) Is just a fake
C.) we actually have a community this screwed up to do such a thing

I

Probably C. I attended a graduation where a school superintendent said *publically* that the district was essentially a Christian private school funded by the state. :eek:
 

Smoke

Done here.
The idiocy of boards of education never ceases to amaze me. The really infuriating part is that these people are always absolutely certain they're doing God's will.
 

evearael

Well-Known Member
The idiocy of boards of education never ceases to amaze me. The really infuriating part is that these people are always absolutely certain they're doing God's will.
*nods* Reason number 3456 to homeschool...
 
A

angellous_evangellous

Guest
MidnightBlue said:
The idiocy of boards of education never ceases to amaze me. The really infuriating part is that these people are always absolutely certain they're doing God's will.

And while they can't be objectively certain that what they are doing actually is God's will, they most certainly are doing their will.
 

michel

Administrator Emeritus
Staff member
It seems incredibly strange that a Country so obsessed with freedom of speech should deny it (effectively) in a Religious sense.
 

Rejected

Under Reconstruction
michel said:
It seems incredibly strange that a Country so obsessed with freedom of speech should deny it (effectively) in a Religious sense.

It’s not really all that strange when you look in the driver's seat.

This country is run by the few, by blinding the many through lies and deception into thinking that they actually care about the wellbeing of the population.

They were (for the most part) brought up in a very privileged environment where protestant Christianity was the norm and they were taught to "do as I say, not as I do." Well, when the time came for them to be the one telling others what to do they followed what they saw and told the same tale. Hypocrisy has become a way of life and it is so deeply ingrained in their psyche that there's nothing that can be done.

Intolerance of other religions is just an extension of their fear of what they do not understand and an ignorant strike against people they have been taught to view as beneath them.

Separation of church and state is now only a figurehead. It has no real meaning. the men who originally put it onto the Constitution believed in it, but the men that have followed have eroded morals and values and care only for what will garner them more support, power and money.

Here in Georgia they are now allowed to place the Ten Commandments in courthouses by claiming that they are "historical documents" and have no ties to religion. It’s simply a convenient loophole, nothing more.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2006/07/02/georgia-allowing-ten-comm_n_24231.html

To me it’s just one more strike against the people who claim to be disciples of Christ. How can one claim to Love one’s neighbor and then make such condescending statements as:
Alan's post said:
I also pray for one specific student, that You be with her and guide her in the path that You have for her. And we ask all these things in Jesus' name.
 

ChrisP

Veteran Member
That's utterly ridiculous... Private schools can do whatever they like, but a school in the public domain has a responsbility to remain as neutral with regard to religion/evolution as possible.

As A_E said... even in NZ that would be a Slam Dunk suit... and there's nowhere near the amount of litigation over here.
 
Roman Catholics hold strongly to the belief that you practice your religion by committing yourself to a life of good works. You don't wear your religion on your sleeve for all others to see. That's hypocrisy! You live your religion by doing works of charity, being kind to others, living a selfless life and separating yourself from sin. What differentiates Catholics from other religions is that we believe that there is no faith without good works. When we pray, we pray alone in the privacy of our home or at Church. We do not pray in public for all to see so that they can take notice of our faith. That's also hypocrisy at its worse.

OK, with that in mind let's look at this situation. First of all, any student can pray at school in private and they can share NT readings with other like minded students. These public prayers at this school and at school district are pompous and pretentious and in bad taste.

But, let's put things in perspective here. Praying to Christ in public is not offensive, and its really cynical to believe that such an activity is in some way causing harm to non-believers such as jews. If a jew or a group of jews want to pray in public then I see it as a silly jester but I would in no way be offended or harmed by such an act. You need to get a grip on reality. Public prayers to Christ are not offensive to anyone. It's all in your head. If I attended a high school that had a majority of hindu students and if they wanted to say a hindu prayer at graduation then fine. I would think that it was in bad taste by I would by no means be offended.

Also, what about this student wearing a beanie on his head? Isn't that showing off your religion to others who are not jews. Isn't that also in bad taste? Personally, I strongly believe that religious expressions of any kind have no place in the public arena. That includes beanies and public prayers. As I said in my first paragraph, I strongly believe that you live your religion instead of wearing it on your sleeve. If you want to express you Christian religion in public then do it through good works and show others how Christ is working through you. If you want to express you jewish heritage then do it through your actions instead of wearing a beanie in public.

In my opinion, wearing religious symbols in public or praying in public is silly and in bad taste. But, these actions are not in any way hurtful. We live in a comfortable society where we have the luxury of focusing on such little things as these. We often lose perspective on what is really harmful and what is silly. Getting bombed in an Israeli market place is harmful; living through an African famine is harmful. Living with AIDS is harmful. Homelessness is harmful. Praying in public to Christ is not harmful. Learn that!

:rolleyes:
 

Jayhawker Soule

-- untitled --
Premium Member
Saint George said:
If a jew or a group of jews want to pray in public then I see it as a silly jester but I would in no way be offended or harmed by such an act.
That you for your honesty. One is tempted to make some remark about silly bigots playing with beads, but I think it enough to note that your condescension is not a central tenant of Catholicism.
 

MysticSang'ha

Big Squishy Hugger
Premium Member
Public expression of your faith is not harmful, Saint George. I doubt you will hear anyone claiming that on this forum.



But the complaint of this Delaware family was not about the public expression of the Christian faith. It was about the harassment they received from the overt Christian majority in their school district, and how they felt targeted for their own faith. There was also the refusal to include other faith expressions during public ceremonies. And how about the threat that went unnoticed about them "disappearing" the same way Madalyn Murray O'Hare "disappeared" by being dismembered after she stood up for her beliefs?



I am not surprised, either. And that is sad. :(




Peace,
Mystic
 
Jayhawker Soule said:
That you for your honesty. One is tempted to make some remark about silly bigots playing with beads, but I think it enough to note that your condescension is not a central tenant of Catholicism.

I used jews in the example because they were the ones who were complaining about how offensive praying in school was for them. But one could substitute any religion in the phrase if applicable. If a Roman Catholic were complaining about protestants praying in school then one could substitute Roman Catholic into the phrase.

My point is that public prayer of any kind is silly and annoying and pretentious. But it doesn't harm or hurt people who may hear it as these jews seem to imply.

:sarcastic
 
MysticSang'ha said:
But the complaint of this Delaware family was not about the public expression of the Christian faith. It was about the harassment they received from the overt Christian majority in their school district, and how they felt targeted for their own faith. There was also the refusal to include other faith expressions during public ceremonies. And how about the threat that went unnoticed about them "disappearing" the same way Madalyn Murray O'Hare "disappeared" by being dismembered after she stood up for her beliefs?

I went back and reread the article and I must disagree. The jewish families were complaining about Christian prayer in school. Public school is a public place. The harassing started AFTER the families had filed the law suit. I actually agree with the families that prayer of any kind has no place in public schools. But, I also believe that wearing religious symbols like yarmulkes also has not place in public schools. So, I found it a bit hypocritical and dishonest that the jews saw nothing wrong with wearing their yarmulkes but they took offense to the protestants saying prayers in public. I make no distinction between the two.

Last year, France passed a law restricting the use of muslim girls wearing religious scarfs in public schools. They did this to keep any religious practices out of their public schools. In my opinion that was a good idea and it's something that we should adopt here. Why should a student in a public school know or even care about another student's religion? It shouldn't be a factor. When the jewish kids wear their yarmulkes they are making a distinction. They want everyone to know that they are jews. They are introducing religion into the public schools with their wardrobe. But when others express their religious beliefs in other ways, the jewish families are the first to say that it's unconstitutional. That's why I say not religion in the public schools period. This is one thing that we can learn from the French.

:sarcastic
 
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