Yesterday, I posted a story about a book in use to teach English, currently in use in some schools in Israel. In that post, I said that due to the nature of the story and the message, the book should not be in use in schools. Before posting, I attempted to contact some of those listed in the book such as editors, etc but did not receive a reply. After posting, I did hear from the author, who says that these pages were taken out of context. She said that this was part of a section dealing with Emuna (faith/trust) in Hashem, and that the story was meant to educate children on the topic of Emuna and Bitachon. Obviously, the intentions of the author were good intentions.
While I still maintain that the story line is not appropriate for children for reasons I already stated, I do wish to acknowledge a few things. The part of the story that I referenced was out of context. That story was meant to educate on the topic of faith in Hashem. It goes without saying (but I will say it anyways) that terrorism is a horrific thing and sadly is part of our world. Yes, there are clear bad guys and good guys in the war on terror. Yes, faith and trust in Hashem is how we move through our days. On all of these points, of course, I agree with the author. The areas I take exception with have already been noted.
I have updated my original post to make to reference this statment as well.
Sounds to me like a book to teach religion not English.
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