As has been outlined above, over the past several years, Newton Public Schools teachers have been have accused of promoting antisemitic, anti-Israel, and anti-Western views in lessons.  As a result of the increasingly personal nature of these attacks, our faculty is concerned about teaching controversial topics given the harsh and unfair criticism they have received. Should these attacks continue to escalate, we believe it will jeopardize our ability to expose students to diverse opinions and to teach them about controversial issues that require open minds and critical thought. It is important for our students to explore controversial topics in a manner that encourages respectful, thoughtful and open dialogue.