Carmel School Trustee Criticized for Remarks Made at Pro-Palestinian Rally

Carmel Board of Education member Jim Wise was taken to task by his colleagues last week for remarks he made last month at a pro-Palestinian rally outside the Putnam County Courthouse in Carmel.

During a five-hour meeting on July 9, the Board of Education passed a resolution condemning Wise after the district received “several” complaints that his June 22 remarks “could be considered or interpreted as antisemitic.”

In the resolution, which passed 4-2, it states, “While acknowledging an individual trustee’s First Amendment rights, the Board views the remarks attributed to Trustee Wise as detrimental to the district’s work of recognizing the importance of addressing the issue of antisemitism and intolerance and working to foster a culture of respect, understanding and acceptance.”

“The Board of Education wishes to issue a statement to the community and the public-at-large emphasizing that all remarks attributed to Trustee Wise neither represent the view of the Board; nor were they authorized by the Board; nor are they condoned by the Board.”

Wise, who is Jewish, said the board’s action “shows a degree of cowardice.” He also said he rejected “absolutely” that the phrase “From the river to the sea, Palestine shall be free,” which he acknowledged saying, was antisemitic.

“Such attempts to weigh in on one side of a foreign policy question which there are deep divisions in our community are well outside any valid remit of a Board of Education,” Wise stated. “The claim that the only way Palestinians could be freed from the apartheid they now live under would be for Jews to die is deeply racist and white supremacist in its origins. I stand with the brave Israeli and American Jews saying ‘not in our name’ to the actions of the Israeli and American governments.”

Wise said he saw the board’s resolution “as an attempt to weaponize this board” and noted he would be framing it on a wall “as a badge of pride that I stand for what is right.”

The resolution was approved by newly-elected board President Melissa Orser, Vice President Dawn Dall, John Curzio and Jason Paraskeva. Wise and Trustee Jordi Douglas voted no.

“This is not the right forum for this,” Douglas said.

Orser and Paraskeva participated in a counterprotest on June 22 at the courthouse, which reportedly included some heated exchanges with the pro-Palestinian attendees.

“It is crucial to distinguish between political discourse and antisemitism. Period. End of story,” Orser remarked.

Curzio maintained Orser and Paraskeva didn’t raise the ire of the board because any comments attributed to them were not “antisemitic, racist or otherwise hateful in nature.”

“I think the resolution hits on all the right points,” Curzio said. “I personally felt that this rose to the level of having to be addressed by the board because the comments attributed to Trustee Wise became a distraction for the district and interfered with the board’s ability to effectively complete our work on behalf of the people we serve. I feel that as elected leaders in our community, the school board has an obligation to condemn divisive and dehumanizing remarks.”

Several parents and residents who attended last week’s meeting called on Wise to resign from the board since he also admitted saying the “U.S. is a terrorist state” at the protest. A petition with more than 600 signatures calling for Wise’s resignation is also circulating.

“We should not have people creating curriculum that believe the U.S. is a terrorist state,” one speaker said. “We don’t hate America, and we shouldn’t have those people on our Board of Education.”

Wise was elected to a three-year term in May 2023. Curzio believes he should stay put.

“I believe that he is entitled to serve out the entirety of his term, as the people elected him to do,” Curzio said. “I do not believe in subverting the will of the people.”

An earlier version of this report included incorrect information. The reference was removed on July 18. Examiner Media regrets the error.