SOUTH ORANGE AND MAPLEWOOD NJ DEMAND An ARMS EMBARGO 🇵🇸

Stop the genocide. Lift Gaza Siege. End the Occupation & Apartheid. Free Palestine

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Protect Our Children from Support of Genocide:
Demand Ranked Choice for PreK in SOMA

As Israel continues its genocide in Gaza, cutting off humanitarian aid and deliberately deepening a man-made famine, we must speak up against all forms of complicity in violence and apartheid.

This issue is not distant. It affects our community here in the South Orange-Maplewood School District (SOMSD), where several publicly funded pre-K sites have taken public stances or hosted events that align with or promote support for Israel’s genocide. Some have even chastised an elected official for opposing the flow of weapons to Israel. These are not neutral acts. They contribute to a climate that can be unsafe and exclusionary, especially for Palestinian, Arab, Muslim, and allied families.

Children as young as 2 years old, many too young to understand or speak out against racism, are placed in these schools. No family should be forced to choose between accessing public education and compromising their values or their children’s sense of safety.

We are, therefore, calling on the district to implement ranked choice for the 2025-2026 public Pre-K placements. Families should be able to rank their top three and bottom three site preferences, and the district must honor these choices before placements are finalized.

Please join us in taking action by emailing ljohnso3@somsd.k12.nj.us and jbing@somsd.k12.nj.us. You can easily send an email with the below message by clicking here, or personalize it with your own voice:

Dear SOMSD,

I am deeply concerned that several public Pre-K sites have spoken out or hosted events in support of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, actions that contribute to a hostile environment for some of our most vulnerable community members.

No child should be placed in a setting that feels unsafe or exclusionary, especially when they are too young to advocate for themselves. No family should be forced to compromise their values or their children’s safety to access public education.

I, therefore, urge the district to immediately provide a digital form that allows families who applied for the Pre-K lottery to rank their top three and bottom three site preferences, and honor those choices. Enabling parents to do this now, before placements are finalized, would help ensure a better fit for families, reduce placement-related stress, and uphold SOMSD’s stated commitments to equity, inclusion, and student safety.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]

We are specifically concerned about publicly-funded Pre-K hosted on these sites: 

1. Oheb Shalom Congregation: Hosted Israeli soldiers who served in Gaza during the ongoing genocide. Displays a prominent Israeli flag and has leadership that publicly condemned Senator Andy Kim for opposing weapons transfers to Israel.
2. Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel: Leadership signed onto the same letter condemning Senator Kim. The temple also published a blog where a member of leadership called it “mind boggling” that a mother of an Israeli hostage had sympathy for innocent Gazans.
3. Congregation Beth El: Reportedly terminated a teacher advocating for peace. Its leadership also signed the letter targeting Senator Kim.

Thank you for taking a stand for equity and justice.

In solidarity, 
The SOMA Collective for Palestine

Upcoming Event: Hiking for Palestine

Official Statement on Israeli Soldier Protest in South Orange, NJ

Download PDF at link below.

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