At the Livingston Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, February 27, the Heritage Middle School cafeteria was filled with concerned parents and residents. Many were there to voice their support or opposition to a planned after-school event held Wednesday, February 28, in conjunction with the Jewish Federation of MetroWestNJ. The event aims to allow survivors of the October 7 terrorist attacks to share their first hand testimonies of what they witnessed.Superintendent of schools Matthew Block discussed his recent trip to Israel. As a former history and social studies teacher, Block said that he saw the invitation to travel to the country as an opportunity to seek understanding. During his 40 hours on the ground, he visited Hostage Square in Tel Aviv and went to different schools. He drove through demolished communities he described as “frozen in time,” and went to the southern border. Block described viewing the decimated Gaza through binoculars. “There is no doubt there are people suffering in Gaza,” Block said.He visited a destroyed Gaza/Israel checkpoint andnotedhis surprise that so many people commuted between the two nations.“In doing some of my own research, what you may not know is 1.8 million Israeli citizens are Muslim; that’s about 20 percent of the population,” Block said.Block visited the Hand in Hand school in Jerusalem, a Jewish/ Palestinian school that has Muslim teachers and Jewish teachers in every classroom.“If the Hand in Hand school in Jerusalem and the surrounding area can figure out a way to live together while to unthinkable is going on and has happened, maybe we can take some lessons from that,” Block said.He concluded his presentation by speaking about the tragedies on both sides of the war. At his conclusion, a large portion of the audience leapt to its feet with applause.The public comment section of the meeting lasted for nearly two hours, with various people sharing their opinions in support or in opposition to Block’s trip.James Proops, rabbi at the Synagogue of the Suburban Torah Center in Livingston, spoke of gratitude for the Livingston Police Department’s presence at the meeting and keeping everyone orderly and safe. “I hope the Board of Education sees all these people behind me and those who have left already to show you, our beloved Livingston schools, that you all have our support.”Livingston resident Stuart Wainberg spoke about the “unprovoked brutality and barbaric” brutality of October 7. “We must educate ourselves, educate ...
