Tennessee: School parents blast textbook that 'supports terrorism'
Book asks whether 'Palestinian suicide bomber killing Israeli teenagers' is 'act of terrorism or wartime retaliation against Israeli gov't policies'; author claims to have been taken out of context
In "The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography," author James Rubenstein posits the following hypothetical question: "If a Palestinian suicide bomber kills several dozen Israeli teenagers in a Jerusalem restaurant, is that an act of terrorism or wartime retaliation against Israeli government policies and army actions?"
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The passage reportedly incurred the wrath of Williamson County parents, who regarded it inappropriate and potentially incendiary, Fox News reported on Saturday.
However, the text's author contacted the network to say that his question was taken out of context, as the paragraph from which the quote was taken elaborates on Israeli and Palestinian viewpoints on the conflict.
Rubenstein added that his goal was to help the reader understand the motives behind terror attacks rather than justify them.
"For example, we want to know why the Tsarnaev brothers bombed the Boston Marathon. Understanding why they did it doesn't mean we are justifying what they did. It's the same thing with other world conflicts and terrorist acts," he wrote in the email to Fox.
Tennessee educational officials were tentative regarding a possible move to ban Rubinstein's Human Geography reader. Superintendent of Williamson County Schools told Fox "I think it's a slippery slope to go down if we start banning books because people take opposing views."
The official added there is a formal procedure in place whereby parents can ask for a review of any school books they find inappropriate.
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