Late last week, after Israel killed one senior Hezbollah leader in Beirut and speculation was that they would assassinate another, the director of the Toronto French school board wrote to all students and their families commiserating with their pain over the Israeli attacks.
MIchel Laverdiere, of the Viamonde school board, told students and their parents in a Sept. 27 letter he understands that the days previous may have been “trying” due to the “Israeli strikes” on Hezbollah and Lebanon.
”At the Viamonde school board, we would like to express our support and compassion for all those concerned and we sincerely hope that their loved ones are safe,” he wrote.
Laverdiere continued with the usual woke pap, saying that they continue to ensure their schools are “welcoming, safe, respectful and inclusive spaces for everyone.”
He said school board officials understand the “significant effect on the mental health of many members of the school community” of the Lebanon strikes — no doubt amplified by information relayed in the media and the “discussions in their entourage.”
Laverdiere added that if their school family is “particularly affected by the current situation in Lebanon,” they are encouraged to talk to school management so support services can be organized for their children.
The letter, given to True North by a concerned parent, was so biased against Israel and so tone deaf, one would be led to wonder just how “inclusive” their spaces are.
It was clear Laverdiere and his minions were implying that Israel was/is the aggressor — no doubt mimicking the leftist anti-Israel media and completely ignoring the repeated strikes on Israel by Hezbollah and the fact that nearly 100,000 Israelis have been displaced due to the terror strikes.
It seemed to go completely over his head as well that Jewish students have been impacted for nearly a year not just by what’s happening over in the Middle East but by the disturbing rise in anti-Semitism worldwide.
Perhaps realizing that his letter was offside — or perhaps because he got considerable criticism over it — the education director issued one of those half-hearted leftist apologies (a la Fred Hahn) on Sept. 30.
Instead of admitting they screwed up, Laverdiere put the onus on those who “felt excluded, treated unfairly or misunderstood” as a result of his “communications about the situation in the Middle East.”
”We acknowledge that the letter sent last Friday may have been interpreted as an expression of bias towards the conflict,” he wrote, not having the guts to say that they did take sides and in doing so, displayed anti-Israel bias and ignorance about the Jewish state.
In fact, the education director had the gall to go on to “reassure” their school community that they “do not take a position in international conflicts.
”We promote peace and a world in which differences are recognized and accepted,” he said.
It makes one wonder why school board officials — this one made $208,000 last year — are so disconnected from reality and so loathe to admit they made a mistake.
This isn’t the first time Laverdiere has taken sides.
I asked for a copy of the letter sent out post-October 7 of last year.
Translated from French, the Oct. 10 letter from Laverdiere says they recognize that the past few days have been “particularly trying” for many families in the Viamonde community due to — get this — the “Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
”We sincerely hope that the loved ones of all those in our community who are currently in this part of the world are safe,” he wrote.
“We understand the emotional impact that families and students can experience when tense political situations arise,” he added, inviting those affected by the events or what they see in the media to let school administration know.”
Let’s be clear here.
This letter was written three days after the atrocities of Oct. 7 while Israelis were still trying to figure out who was dead and who was taken hostage.
They were mourning their dead, for heaven’s sake.
The country had not yet retaliated in any shape or form.
But this education director made no mention of the 1,200 Israelis killed by Hamas terrorists, of those taken hostage from a music festival, and of those paraded through the streets of Gaza City after being raped by the terrorists.
Now I don’t expect him to get into fine details in such a letter but to relegate the Oct. 7 to (another) Israeli-Palestinian conflict, shows a complete tone deafness, an anti-Israel bias and likely a deep-rooted anti-Semitism.
It would have been far better if he’d kept his nose out of foreign affairs.
This is why school kids and teachers — particularly in our Toronto school boards — feel quite comfortable with their Jew hatred.
The part-time chairman of the board Genevieve Ofer, responded quickly to my questions, contending that the educational teams at Conseil Scolaire Viamonde are “fully dedicated to supporting the success and well-being” of their students.”
She says that their school community is “extremely diverse,” bringing together many cultures and perspectives — all united by the “French language” and their focus on excellence.
Oger said the Sept. 30 letter “speaks for itself” adding that True North should look at the board’s 2023 EQAO results “which compare favorably with other Francophone and English-language boards.”
