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Flores, Dora From:Susan Orbach <susan.orbach1@gmail.com> Sent:Sunday, January To:teren.shaffer@ocsarts.net; gregory.endelman@ocsarts.net; michael.ciecek@ocsarts.net; becca.freeland@ocsarts.net; maria.lazarova@ocsarts.net; kim.lyons@ocsarts.net; abbe.levine@ocsarts.net; gary.humphreys@ocsarts.net; halim.dhanidina@ocsarts.net; jessica.herthel@ocsarts.net; paul.satkin@ocsarts.net; vince.foley@ocsarts.net Cc:Amezcua, Valerie; Vazquez, Benjamin; Lopez, Jessie; Penaloza, David Subject:Keep the Keffiyeh out of our Schools Attention: This email originated from outside of City of Santa Ana. Use caution when opening attachments or links. To Teren Shaffer, President and CEO, Gregory Endelman, COO, Michael Ciecek, Principal, Orange County School of the Arts I am writing to call your attention to a situation that happened during a school performance at Orange County School of the Arts last week. Guests who arrived were greeted by the sight of students donning terrorist- supporting garb, keffiyehs, which directly undermines your institution's core values of "commitment to fostering a nurturing environment of creativity, respect, and collaboration" \[1\]. This has caused significant distress, alienation, and a sense of exclusion among Jewish staff, parents, and students. It is crucial that OCSA leadership fully grasps the gravity of permitting anyone to wear keffiyehs. Far from being a “cultural symbol,” the keffiyeh is often worn with the intent or reckless disregard to inflict emotional harm on members of the Jewish community \[2\]. While some may claim the keffiyeh represents "resistance" or "solidarity," these are mere cloaks for its violent associations. The keffiyeh is linked to ideologies that perpetuate murder, rape, abduction, and violent hatred. Historically, it has been worn by figures like Yasser Arafat, who was responsible for over 19,000 terrorist attacks \[3\], and Leila Khaled, a member of PFLP—designated by the U.S. State Department as a terrorist group—known for armed aircraft hijackings \[4\]. More recently, the keffiyeh symbolizes support for Hamas, a designated foreign terrorist organization \[5\] responsible for the horrific massacre of innocent Israelis on October 7, 2023. This attack included gang rape, the gruesome slaughter of babies, the burning of families alive, and the kidnapping of innocent people still being held captive \[6-7\]. The keffiyeh represents support for the repeated execution of these barbaric acts perpetrated by Hamas. This is not “resistance”; this is savagery. The keffiyeh is linked to violent chants such as “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” a call to annihilate all Jews from Israel, and “Globalize the Intifada,” which calls for violence against Jews worldwide \[8-9\]. It is also connected to calls of “Death to America,” further demonstrating its ties to hate and the destruction of our democracy. Imagine how triggering seeing a keffiyeh must be for military families fighting terrorism around the world. Can you recall a time when the keffiyeh was so ubiquitously displayed or worn before October 7? Since that day, it has become a tool for antisemites to mask their hatred for Jews under the guise of social justice, similar to how the Nazis used swastikas to spread their ideology. This has fueled a staggering surge in antisemitism and violence against Jews, such as has not been seen since the Holocaust \[10\]. 1