Wednesday Journal has published an article and an editorial about Anthony Clark and the fact that he and OPRF High School have parted ways [Anthony Clark’s contributions, Our Views, Viewpoints, Jan. 29]. We believe the Journal has abandoned any reasonable standard of journalism as well as its responsibility to the community. The Journal suggests that Clark’s departure is related to complaints that were made last year regarding online statements made by Clark about Israelis and Jews. The Journal rehashes some of the events of last year related to tensions at OPRF about the Israel-Hamas war and actions taken by the Middle Eastern and North African Student Club’s advisors (MENA).

As documented by the Chicago Tribune (https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/01/07/oprf-resignation-agreement-includes-25k-payout-to-anthony-clark), OPRF has explicitly denied that Clark’s departure was related to complaints of antisemitism and the formal complaint filed with the Illinois State Board of Education about the actions of Clark (and others). If the Journal did not know about OPRF’s statement reported in the Chicago Tribune, we have to conclude that the Journal’s writers and editors are not competent and do not understand their responsibility to the community. If, on the other hand, the Journal writers and editors knew of this statement by OPRF and the Tribune article, we have to conclude that they operated in bad faith and simply used this opportunity to cast aspersions and arouse suspicion where none is warranted.

Clara Rubinstein, Beth Peres, Michael Zmora, Rya Ben-Shir, Morrie Goldman
River Forest

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