Back in 2006 a horrible example of religious intolerance occurred in Indian River, Delaware where two non-Christian families (one Jewish and one Muslim) were driven out of town by threats and abuse by religious fanatics because they wanted the community to follow the Constitution of the United States. Indian River's school board had instituted specifically Christian prayer in their PUBLIC schools, forcing everyone's tax money to support Christian prayer. This wasn't a "moment of silence," it was specifically sectarian prayer, explicitly prohibited by the Constitution and legal precedent.
These two families objected, as any patriotic American should when the Constitution is being violated. The response of the community, including school officials on school property, was to humiliate the Jewish and Muslim children, threaten the parents and a whole slew of anti-Semitic rhetoric including the age-old "Christ Killer" accusation. In the end both families were driven from town. A good old fashioned pogrom to shame all of America. Yes, let me say it. Delaware has shamed America with this intolerance.
You can go here to read my first piece on this based on the excellent work done by Jews On First, a pro-First Amendment, Jewish opposition group to Christian extremism.
Today Jews on First tells us that the families driven out by the Delaware Pogrom have settled a lawsuit with the Indian River school district. From the Jews on First article:
Two Jewish families who sued a Delaware school district for unconstitutionally sponsoring religion announced today that they have reached a negotiated settlement with the district. The settlement will require the Indian River School District, which spreads over a large part of southeast Delaware, to implement new policies regarding religion. It also provides compensation to the two families, whose children suffered religious discrimination...
The settlement announced today obliges the district to adopt a set of policies to prevent teachers and other employees from promoting religion. In addition to the policies themselves, as part of the settlement, The settlement includes a set of "real-world" examples illustrating how the policies will operate in typical situations.
According to Allingham, the concept of real-world examples originated with the plaintiffs, but was accepted by the school district. "The district offered a couple of its own examples that were incorporated in the settlement," he said.
Additionally, the settlement requires all district personnel -- including teachers, administrators and coaches -- to read the religion policies and the accompanying examples and then sign a written acknowledgement that they have done so. Said Jane Doe: "We entrust our children to our public schools. It's crucial that the teachers and guidance counselors who are in daily contact with them understand the boundaries of religious establishment and expression."
One issue -- the school board's insistence on opening its meetings with sectarian prayers -- was not resolved in the settlement. The Does are continuing their effort to have a court put an end to the practice.
Sounds like some issues have been resolved and the Indian River school district forced to reign in the worst of their un-American intolerance, but the fundamental Constitutional issue remains unsolved. Hence Indian River remains in violation of fundamental American laws and beliefs.
The Jews on First article includes an overview of what one of the families (the Jewish one) went through as described by one of the family members.
Let's keep one thing firmly in mind: the un-American intolerance and disregard for the American Constitution being displayed by Indian River is precisely what the Republican Party and Fox News have been advocating for years now. The Delaware Pogrom is precisely the kind of intolerant violence that people like Bill O'Reilly, Ann Coulter and Glenn Beck ROUTINELY advocate. Ann Coulter has advocated terrorist bombings of New York City...hey, has she been listening to al-Qaeda? She has advocated the assassination of a Supreme Court judge and a Congressman. Isn't that another al-Qaeda tactic?
Bill O'Reilly has also advocated al-Qaeda style terrorism, though he suggested hitting San Francisco instead of New York. He has publicly made anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim comments.
This is where the kind of un-American intolerance and disregard for American law that we see in Indian River comes from: the right wing fanatics of Fox News and the Republican Party.
I am glad that the families who were victims of the Delaware Pogrom have reached a settlement with the fanatics who threatened and insulted them. But the problem remains. Intolerance has reached new highs in America. Hate crimes of all sorts have been pretty steadily on the rise since Bush took office. The ugliness and intolerance of the Republican Party is almost as blatant as it's corruption. Time for America to reject Republican intolerance.
