Social Media Posts Bashing Israel And Implying Jews “Weaponized Their Religion” Lead To Call For Barrington (RI) School and DEI Committee Member To Resign
Democrat Amanda Basse accused of sharing gross anti-Israel graphics, including one strongly suggesting Jews “weaponized their religion” to “ethnically cleanse Palestinians” in Gaza. Republican town leader calls on Basse to resign: “How can she continue to serve if this is how she feels about Jewish people in Barrington?”
A Barrington, Rhode Island, School and DEI committee member set off a firestorm of online criticism after an Instagram account that appears to be hers shared posts crudely bashing Israel, including implying Jews “weaponized their religion” for genocide.
Amanda Basse is an elected Democratic Party member of the Barrington School Committee, which functions as a “School Board” functions in other towns. There are three Democrats and two Independents on the School Committee. Basse also is the co-chair of the Barrington Public School DEI Committee. The DEI Committee promotes “intersectionality” as its 2023-2024 priority.
As described below, posts were shared on what appears to be her Instagram account implying Jews “weaponized their religion” to “ethnically cleanse Palestinians,” as well as other gross pejoratives about Israel. Basse has not responded to our multiple requests for comment.
The controversy swirling around Basse’s remarks is the latest to beset Barrington, where Legal Insurrection is based. Once known as “Borrington” because nothing much happened here, the town has become a hotbed of government and school activism in the past few years, as we previously covered. Controversies have included the town flying the BLM flag over the Veterans Memorial, and then stripping the local veterans group of its role organizing the Memorial Day Parade after it protested. The Town Council even sponsored as an official town event an appearance by Ibram Kendi, while refusing to sponsor an alternative viewpoint.
That activism, we also noted, has seeped into the school system, where “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” has reached near-religious dogma. In 2021, a high school teacher allegedly offered extra credit to students who spoke out against anti-CRT legislation. We later wrote about the parents’ revolt after the school district attempted to eliminate honors courses as part of an ‘equity’ and ‘deleveling’ agenda. And, in a series of posts, we covered the termination of three religious Christian teachers after the district refused covid-vax religious waivers, resulting in a lawsuit and large payout.
Basse’s social media posts have put the Barrington school system back in the spotlight in an unfavorable way.
In addition to her school committee and DEI committee membership, Basse sits on the Board of Directors of Alliance of Rhode Island Southeast Asians for Education (ARISE), an organization that trains Southeast Asian and other Rhode Island youth of color to become activists—“Youth Leaders”—supporting Critical Race Theory (CRT). ARISE promotes ethnic studies, a program for pushing CRT—and, more recently, anti-Zionist content—into the public school curriculum, as we explain here, by casting Jews and the state of Israel as “white” oppressors.
Basse’s social media posts gained attention after they were brought to light by the group StopAntisemitism.org. The posts cited by StopAntisemitism.org state:
- “Jesus was Palestinian.”
- “You know who else weaponized their religion to dehumanize entire groups of Indigenous people, & justify their role in the violent ethnic cleansing and genocide of said people?”
- “Yet our government has no problem sending billions to Israel. $3.8 billion are spent every year to supply Israel with weapons to murder Palestinians, as well as bombing homes and key infrastructure like the Rafah crossing. Per capita, $11.5 million of that money comes from Rhode Island.”
Barrington, RI – Amanda Basse serves on the DEI subcommittee for Barrington Schools.
She falsely claims:
* Jesus was Palestinian
* Jews weaponize their religion to ethnically cleanse Palestinians
* Israel murders Palestinians with the $3.8 billion in U.S. aid they receive… pic.twitter.com/RXHMFY8jxl— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) December 22, 2023
According to StopAntiSemitism.org. Basse responded to complaints about those remarks by claiming that she is not antisemitic, but rather anti-Zionist, by posting this screenshot:
Just to clarify …
i’m not anti-semitic. i’m anti-zionism, anti-colonizing, anti-occupation, anti-fascism, anti-dehumanization, anti-baby murdering, anti-civilian killing, anti-carpet bombing, anti-white phosphorous, anti-torture, anti-ethnic cleansing, anti-genocide. and no, it’s not that complicated.
If you don’t know the difference between war crimes and antisemitism, READ A BOOK
After dozens of complaints were submitted, Amanda Basse issued a response – she is not antisemitic yet is against Zionism, aka the Jewish right self determination.
90%+ Jews globally are Zionists.
We must ask ourselvesagain how someone with such bias can serve in a DEI… pic.twitter.com/F2wvfdAmjm
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) December 22, 2023
The StopAntisemitism.org tweets gained several thousand shares and many hundreds of responses. Once those remarks went public, Basse came under viral attack, much of it crude, that we will not repeat here. But the controversy included calls for action by the School Committee to defend the town’s Jewish students:
@bps_ri will you remain silent about the hatred @AmandaBasse has spewed? Are you going to let Jewish students in your community feel marginalized?
See you Thursday!!!
— Jax Dillion (@JaxMax6969) January 2, 2024
We reached out to Basse several days ago to get her side of the story. In our email, we requested an interview, or alternatively, a written response to specific questions:
Hi Amanda,
I’m a writer at Legal Insurrection, a Barrington-based website and non-profit foundation that covers, among other things, politics and education. I saw a controversy raging on the internet regarding your comments last month on Instagram about Israel that were captured here, https://twitter.com/StopAntisemites/status/1738253795971240219, and your response here: https://x.com/StopAntisemites/status/1738256574857035881?s=20.
In writing this up, I’d really like to get your perspective and ‘side of the story.’ Would you be willing to have a recorded interview with me? If not:
- Please confirm or deny that the postings mentioned in the StopAntisemites tweets above were in fact yours?
- Would you like to elaborate on your views on Israel and your response, particularly sharing the claims that “Jesus was Palestinian” and that Jews “weaponized their religion”?
- Have you expressed your views on Israel and Jews in the course of your duties as a school committee and/or DEI subcommittee member, and if so, how and to whom?
- Are there any more tweets or Instagram or other social media posts by you or others you think I should be aware of?
- If there is anything else you want to add, please do so.
If you could respond to me by 5 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, January 4, 2024, that would be great.
Thank you.
Basse has not responded as of this writing, despite a second request from us for her to comment. Meanwhile, Basse has taken her Instagram account private.
We also contacted two other members of the school committee, requesting an interview or written response:
Hi _________,
I’m a writer at Legal Insurrection, a Barrington-based website and non-profit foundation that covers, among other things, politics and education. I saw a controversy raging on the internet regarding Amanda Basse’s social media posts about Israel and Jews that were captured here, https://twitter.com/StopAntisemites/status/1738253795971240219, and her response here: https://x.com/StopAntisemites/status/1738256574857035881?s=20.
I’m writing this up, and I’d really like to get your comments on whether and how the school committee will respond to Basse’s social media postings. Would you be willing to have a recorded interview with me? If not:
- What is your view on Ms. Basse’s social media postings?
- Do you think Ms. Basse’s social media postings are compatible with her position on the school committee and DEI subcommittee?
- Has the school committee issued any statements or taken any action in response to Ms. Basse’s remarks?
- Is there any investigation regarding Ms. Basse’s social media postings, and if so, who is conducting that investigation and what is the status?
- If there is anything else you would like to add, please do so.
If you could respond to me by 5 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, January 4, 2024, that would be great.
Thank you.
They have not responded as of today’s post, despite a second request.
[Update: Monday morning, January 8, School Committee member Patrick McCrann responded that he has no comment.]
Finally, we reached out twice to the party chairs for both the Barrington town Democrats and Republicans. The Democrat chair has not responded as of this writing.
Lisa Daft, chair of the Republican town committee, issued a statement calling on Basse to step down:
Sitting School Committee member and DEI Co-Chair Amanda Basse should step down from her role on the DEI committee based on her public stance regarding the conflict in Gaza. While it is understood she has a right to free speech, it is my opinion that elected officials serve all constituents and their public stances on divisive national political issues will face a higher level of scrutiny. Her comments could be interpreted by some as anti-semitic, condoning the events of October 7th. One of the roles of a DEI Committee is to promote inclusion. How can she continue to serve if this is how she feels about Jewish people in Barrington? DEI in Barrington is selective. It serves the purpose to promote the agendas of the far left who pushed to have these committees in our schools and town.
Selective DEI was on full display when the Barrington Library Director purposely blocked all the library rooms on August 5 last summer ahead of Brave Books calling for a National Storybook hour. This was discovered by a resident who requested a room to host a Brave Book event. Pictures were taken of the empty rooms that day as well as a screenshot proving that all the rooms were blocked as early as July 8th. This information was brought to the Town Manager and after two meetings the library director still had no apology and there were no consequences for her actions. Furthermore, the event was listed on the agenda of the town DEI meeting the following week after the event was allowed. Is this Inclusivity? I think not. Are Amanda Basse’s comments inclusive? I think not.
The Barrington Republican Town Committee also called Basse out in a Facebook post:
“This is what sitting member of the Barrington School Committee Amanda Basse thinks about Israel. She is also the School Committee rep on the DEI committee. We deserve better! Please consider running in 2024. Come by our open house / presidential signature party January 6 to learn more!”
Legal Insurrection understands that a complaint has been filed following Basse’s remarks, althougth the exact parameters and process is still to be determined, and that the town’s lawyers are looking into the matter. We’ll be seeking more information in the coming days and weeks.
Meanwhile, as the town Republicans’ post points out, Basse’s term on the school committee ends this year. If she seeks re-election, her opponents will ask whether a School Committee member and DEI Committee member can serve the entire community after conveying such antagonism.
UPDATE: Amanda Basse has stepped down from her role on the DEI subcommittee for Barrington Schools (RI), according to StopAntisemitism.org:
UPDATE: Amanda Basse has stepped down from her role on the DEI subcommittee for Barrington Schools (RI). https://t.co/8X2dpZ86AV pic.twitter.com/dLqUSX0ajg
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) January 9, 2024
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Comments
LOL.
The Romans only renamed Israel “Palestine” after they had dispersed the Jews and in order to extend the ultimate insult, since the Phillistines were some of the worst enemies of the Israelites.
But as to Jews being called Palestinians … that was normal during the Palestine Mandate period. Jews born in Israel were called Palestinians. Arabs were just called “arabs”, or “Syrians”, or “Egyptians”. You can even see this in the movie “Exodus” where Paul Newman is introduced as “a Palestinian”, since it was during the Palestine Mandate.
The arabs didn’t come up with the fanciful “Palestinian” name until 1964 with the creation of the PLO, when the West Bank was occupied by Jordan and Gaza was occupied by Egypt. Israel didn’t get control of those territories until 1967.
I thought he was from Chicago? ZZTop did an entire song about him leaving.
Great song.
Of course, La Grange is still their best – and one of the best ever.
That opening riff is epic. One of those songs you instantly identify.
Only a historical illiterate, a supreme liar, and no doubt both, could accuse Jesus of being Palestinian since the Romans didn’t rename the province Syria Palestina until after they had put down the bar Kokhba revolt. That uprising lasted from 132-136 A. D. The Gospels have proven accurate, but if anyone wants to reject them even though they fall solidly in the genre of Greco-Roman biography, a very hostile Roman historian, confirms the Biblical account. Jesus was crucified during the reign of Tiberius under the perfect Pontius Pilate.
In other words Jesus was born in the Roman province of Idea (
The Romans called Judea Iudea in Latin.
It’s true the modern leftist lie of a Palestinian/Palestine was invented by Yassir Arafat and the KGB in 1964. But it didn’t catch on until after the 67 war. While the Jordanians governed the West Bank there was absolutely no push for a separate nationality. The people living west of the Jordan were the exact same as the people living east of it in every possible way. They were the same identical generic levantine Arab Muslims they had been for centuries under the Ottoman Turks. While the Egyptians ruled Gaza there would have been slight differences. They would have spoken different dialects of Arabic mainly, but they difference would have been minor. Jew hatred (actually hating all non-Muslims but especially Jews) is a duty in Islam. Now that things had changed and all of a sudden the Arabs were living under those hated, filthy (all non-Muslims are unclean) then and only did the Muslims need their own nationality.
They also knew as long as world opinion was on Israel’s side they could never win. When it was the Arab-Israeli conflict the Israelis would always be the underdog (one they were finally learning the vaunted Arab armies couldn’t beat). They needed to invent an even tinier people so they could play victim to the world and turn Western leftists against the Jews.
I have to admit they can play Western leftists like a fiddle
That’s only because the letter J is a relatively recent invention. I served as both a consonant and a vowel; later the consonant form developed a tail and got a new name. Likewise V was both a consonant and a vowel; later the vowel got a rounded bottom. That’s why W is called “double-you” not “double-vee”.
Dubious.
It is, in fact, called “double-vee” in French, which (unlike English, which is from the Germanic branches) is a Romance (Latinate) language.
If you think there is a significant difference between anti-zionism and antisemitism, READ A BOOK. Also if you think Israel has ever committed a war crime.
Re: Israeli War Crimes
Some Jew committed war crimes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_killings_and_massacres_in_Mandatory_Palestine
None of those were war crimes; few of them were crimes at all. And none were committed by Israel.
“War crime” means something. You can’t just use it for anything you don’t like.
“War crime” means nothing. There is no such thing. There is just war, and the winning side gets to punish the losing side for anything it wants.
That is not true. It is a term with a specific definition, and civilized armies (including the IDF) try their own members for war crimes, if they are caught committing any.
Wikipedia as a research source?
Wikipedia is a reasonably reliable source, at least as reliable as other encyclopaedias, provided that one understands its nature.
First off, WP lives on its sources. If something isn’t cited to a source it’s worthless, and if it is you have to consider how reliable that source is.
Second, if you see something on WP that seems odd, check the history; if the thing that caught your attention was only added recently it’s likely to be vandalism. If you’re reasonably sure it is vandalism, be a good citizen and reverse it immediately. You might also want to look at what other edits the same user or IP made, and check them for potential vandalism too.
On non-political topics if what it says seems plausible it’s probabl correct.
On political topics WP is going to have a left-wing spin, because despite all the denials there is a Wikipedia Cabal, in the form of long-entrenched admins who stick together, and who view the world through a left-wing lens, which greatly influences their view of what is a RS (reliable source — this is a huge deal on WP). And that is written with a huge does of AGF (assume good faith).
But one thing you always have to do, not just on WP but anywhere, is read for content; the list ParkRidgeIL linked above doesn’t purport to be a list of war crimes; PR seems to be assuming that at least some of them must be, or else that “war crime” has no definition and can be used however s/he likes.
While it is true that anti-zionism is, for all practical purposes, identical with antisemitism, this fact doesn’t prove it. I’m not anti-black, I’m anti-Democrat, and I maintain that despite the fact that 90%+ of blacks are Democrats.
“We’re Anti-Zionists and all we want to do is eliminate all Jews to eliminate any Zionist tendencies”. Islam is welded to Mecca. Judaism to Jerusalem. The big difference is that G-d bequiffed the Lands of Israel to the Jews. Allah…not so much. When one believes nothing they can be prone to believing anything.
The big “BUT” is obvious here.
1. God isn’t dead, so He can’t have bequeathed anything. (I assume that’s the word you were going for.) I think “endowed” is probably more appropriate.
2 More to the point, those who support the Arab cause don’t believe God did any such thing. Arguments from the Bible can only be used to convince those who already believe in it. You can’t base an argument against the Arabs and their supporters on a source they reject; they simply respond that the Jews made the Bible up and nothing in it is evidence of anything. They’re wrong, but it’s impossible to prove that, so arguments against them must be based elsewhere.
Fine. Base it on the Arabic language. Their word for Jew is yahud or yahudi. Every time they call someone a Jew in their own language they’re acknowledging the yahudi or originated in yahuda. Or in English Judea.
I think they deny it was ever called that. Which is no more insane than the rest of their ahistorical position.
And when I hear “90%” of anything I know it’s PFA no matter who says it.
(not just you, Milhouse)
JR and Thad screaming in to call you a racist in 3, 2, …
They sure act like they are one person, but either way, not very bright losers.
Orthodox Jews in Palestine (specifically, in Jerusalem) during the Mandate were “anti-Zionist” because they believe God would provide salvation for the Jewish people, and were against the political solution posited by Zionists – the creation of a largely secular state for Jews. Also note, that early in the Zionist movement, “Palestine” was not the only potential location under consideration for the new state. Zionism isn’t anti-anyone just because they finally determined to settle in Palestine. That is, they didn’t decide to create Israel in Palestine to stick it to the Arabs.
“Anti-Zionism” isn’t necessarily “anti-Jew,” and, in fact, a facet of anti-Zionism was driven by extreme faith in God, by Jews. Can’t get more anti-anti-Jew than that.
That’s why I was careful to write “if you think there is a significant difference”. There is a theoretical difference between anti-zionism and antisemitism, but not a practical one.
Whether anti-zionism is proof of antisemitism depends on why one opposes zionism. I can identify three possible non-antisemitic bases for anti-zionism. But all three also work against the “Palestinian” cause. Anyone who opposes zionism for one of those three reasons must also oppose the “Palestinians”. And yet very few anti-zionists do so. That proves that their anti-zionism is motivated by and a consequence of their antisemitism, and is essentially the same thing.
This is especially so since most non-antisemites who claim to be “anti-zionist” are using an esoteric definition of “zionism” that to the outside world looks almost identical to zionism. To them they are anti-zionist and this is very important to their self-definition, but to your average anti-zionist they are just as zionist as all the rest of those Red Sea pedestrians. The differences that seem so massive from close up look insignificant from far away.
Who better? I don’t think anyone without such bias can serve in such a capacity! It would be like someone who believes in science serving on a committee to
Oops. […] to propagate astrology, or “glowball warmening”.
The shock that unleashed the ongoing cascade in reverse was the Hamas massacres of October 7. The chain of events that they triggered in the U.S.—anti-Jewish demonstrations, the Congressional hearings, the plagiarism revelations—brought to the surface outrage that had been building up quietly for years. As public criticism of DEI grew, and as it became clear that broad segments of the left share the outrage, the DEI-favoring false consensus disintegrated.
https://twitter.com/timurkuran/status/1742439137372762427
I am so tired of the communist drivel from supposedly intellectual idiots. The professors must have been smirking with delight giving these low IQ idiots passing grades and heaping on the praise of how smart they are.
Just disgusting.
Every Child an Honor Student.
Participation trophies for all!
Sarge: when I was a youngster, I stunk at any form of athletics or virtually anything needing coordination. Hell. I couldn’t even tie my own shoes until I was 8. I was always the last to be picked for any team.
But, you know what? I accepted that fact. No crying to my parents about not getting this or that trophy or prize of award. I just accepted the fact that John and Jim and Steve played ball better than I did.
In short, life is neither fair nor easy.
Yeah Grizz?
But I bet that you came into your own, figured out that there other things you were good at, and became successful in those endeavors.
I didn’t play football well. Lives and played baseball well.
My son, a gangly youth wasn’t great at sports. Hated them actually. To this day, hates mindless chatter about sports.
But he’s a brilliant engineer.
I find those who made sports their whole lives usually are the Al Bundy’s of the world.
“Jews “weaponized their religion” for genocide.”
No, that is Islam.
Yeah, that’s rich.
Islam is a weapon.
It is an amazing example of psychological projection (perfected by Democrats) that they can accuse Jews of genocide, when they have been the recipients of multifaceted genocidal attacks since Judaism was founded.
Similarly, they leftist seem to be able to compartmentalize the hideous terrorism by Hamas, supported by most Palestinians, which started this whole response.
I would ask if they expected to get away with this, but after seeing the rabid antisemitism on display here and in other countries, I fully believe they did. Think of the insanity of breaking a ceasefire on Oct 7, committing heinous acts of barbarism, and then demanding another ceasefire when Israel responds.
As Chuckie Schumer once said, “let them reap the whirlwind.”
They broke it, now they bought it.
I can imagine that. It’s Islamic doctrine that non-believers do not have a right to self-defense against righteous aggression committed against them in the name of Allah. This is why Muslims seem so incredulous when Israel counter-attacks – from their own POV, self-defense is not a legitimate response. Islam expects aggression to lead to submission.
“Just to clarify … i’m not anti-semitic. i’m … anti-baby murdering”
But pro-abortion… yes?
There will never be peace in the region until the PLO / Hamas / Hezbollah want peace.
The only way they’ll get the peace they want is when the region is wiped clean of Jews and Israel.
The Word became truly flesh insofar as the Word became truly Jewish. No true Jewishness, no true humanity. – John Meier
Or you can discover the Hebraic roots of the Greek words of the New Testament and hear the Semitic voice behind it, ala the Chouraqui Bible.
When they write the post-mortem on America, it will be ‘public education’ that will correctly be cited as the instrument of the Republic’s destruction.
Good coverage!
A slightly wider perspective from RI Coalition for Israel, “boots on the ground”
https://mailchi.mp/jamestownr/breaking-ri-ed-dei-leaders-post-anti-zionism-to-social-media-action-alert-no-ceasefire?e=05a7267faa
Great article. But when someone at Legal Insurrection writes an individual about which it is doing a story–even someone as vile as Ms. Basse–one should not address that individual by his or her first name, since one does not really know that individual on a personal level. Phony familiarity and social media pretendships are some of the scourges of our culture. There is something important and valuable in addressing even one’s adversaries with respect and dignity.
Nope. My enemies are open to nonstop scorn and ridicule.
A la Alinsky. We’ve learned the playbook.
LI is technically based in Barrington — who’s to say Jane doesn’t?
These stupid and historically/theologically ignorant Dhimmi-crats should take some time to learn about the intrinsically supremacist, totalitarian, belligerent, hate-filled and pathology-laden ideology of “Submission,” and, its most fanatical and fascistic adherents — they’ve been weaponizing Submission for over 1,400 years, against Jews, Christians, Hindus and other non-Muslims.
I was born and grew up in Barrington. Never heard the term “Borrington,” but it fits. It was a dry town… but nobody much noticed, because you had to drive next door to Warren even to buy school clothes at the Gob Shop, or furniture, or a restaurant meal (even a burger), or even see a doctor/dentist/optometrist… so beer/wine/liquor was just another such item. When I was eight, we finally got ourselves a Y with a pool and a trampoline for recreation (otherwise, you better love to fish or own a boat).
It’s the last place on earth I would ever have expected to be a hotbed of woke, leftist political nonsense. It’s like returning to Narnia, and finding it has been taken over by The Grinch and the Wicked Witch of the West.
This is DEI in action-anti Semitic to the core
The word Palestinian means Jew in ancient Greek (Palestinian rhymes with Corinthian). From the Greek word ‘palestasis’ meaning wrestler. The Jewish origin story: Jakob wrestled with the angel who declared ‘your name shall be Israel’ (Genesis 32:28). Israel is three words in Hebrew: Is Ra El which mean “he wrestled with God”. To make Joshua (his Anglo name, why do we call him by a Latin name since we use Mary and Joseph which are Anglo names for Miriam and Yosef?) a “Palestinian” in modern terms is to erase both Judaism and Christianity.
The rest about the PLO as KGB propaganda and appropriating the term in 1964 is accurate and well documented – by the Soviets. Thankfully those documents are now housed at the University in Cambridge, UK.
There’s no letter ‘P’ in the Arabic alphabet. No one makes a Hajj to Israel and the Muslims in Israel pray with their backs to Jerusalem in order to face Mecca. Muslims never turn their back on the sacred. These facts – along with the Dead Sea Scrolls which exist as written record, along with mountains of archeological evidence – that the Islamic people were the very last to arrive.
In the Old Testament, the terms Zion and Jerusalem are used interchangeably. To be an anti-Zionist is to be anti-Semitic.
Two words. Yisreh El, “he prevails over a divine being”. In Genesis it’s given in the second person past tense, Saritha, “you have prevailed”, but in Hosea 12:4 it’s in the third person, Sarah, “he prevailed”. It’s related to Sarar, “to rule”, and Sar, “a ruler”. (In modern Hebrew “Sar” is a minister. Sar haBitahon, the Security Minister, Sar haOtzar, the Treasury Minister, etc.)
Now they do. But when Mohammed started Islam, Jerusalem was the original Qibla. Then he changed it to Mecca because the Jews rejected him, so he said this was their punishment; the Qibla was taken away from their city and given to an Arabic one. Which, incidentally, means that Islam acknowledges that Jerusalem is a Jewish city; otherwise the punishment makes no sense.
Goes to further show that DEI is not what it publicly purports to be. DEI is a pernicious racist philosophy and implemented as a wholly non-value added administrative burden. It is time for all good people to voice their rejection of DEI at all opportunities.