Is Bibi going to get booted out of the Cheltenham High School Hall of Fame?
That’s the question multitudes of CHS alums are asking themselves and, for the most part, vehemently protesting after 200 current Cheltenham students filed a petition to have Israeli prime minister and 1967 grad Benjamin Netanyahu removed from the school’s hall of fame. Or, at the very least, the students want to add some notation about their dissatisfaction with the 1999 inductee.
While one classmate and former school district board member fears this is a done deal, others remain hopeful the outcry of Netanyahu support since the story broke in The New York Times on July 18 will make them reconsider.
“If they take Benjamin Netanyahu off the wall, it will change a lot of feelings about the validity and honor of it,” said Lynn Kay Geller, administrator of the unofficial Cheltenham alumni Facebook page. “And I think that it will turn a lot of people off. I’ve learned that anytime Bibi’s name is mentioned, the haters come out.”
The petition cites Netanyahu being accused of committing war crimes while spearheading Israeli’s current war in Gaza, following the horrific Oct. 7 Hamas attacks that killed approximately 1,200 men, women and children while taking 251 hostage, along with previous corruption indictments against him.
“When students see these alumni on the wall of fame as we walk past every day, we understand that these are people we should look up to and we strive to be like them one day,” wrote students on the petition. “As such, we feel it is not right for him to continue to be recognized in our school.”
Netanyahu attended CHS and lived in Elkins Park when his father, Benzion, was teaching at Dropsie College in Philadelphia.
“I just feel that it’s anti-Zionism, antisemitism, probably 80% or more antisemitism,” said one former Netanyahu classmate. “There are a lot of people behind the scenes that stir stuff up, very quietly, and then they don’t really want to admit to anything. The thing that kills me the most is that they quote statistics from a terrorist group, Hamas. They’re basing all this hatred not on history, because most of them don’t know 5% of the history of Israel.”
“I do think it’s antisemitic, 100%,” said Ben Berliner, CHS class of 2002. “In the wake of Oct. 7 especially, I’m incredibly skeptical of any kind of so-called criticism towards Israel’s right to defend itself in this war. The message if they were to actually kick him out would mean that they’re giving in to ideological trends and not respecting history. He’s obviously an incredibly controversial figure, but he’s a statesman for a democratically elected country, the only Jewish state. So I think that would be a tragic mistake and it would leave a really dark mark on the school and on his legacy.”
Others were more blunt.
“Should Cheltenham High School decide to remove his plaque on wall of fame, I remove myself from remembering CHS,” said one man on Facebook.
“If the Cheltenham Alumni Association caves to the pressure of the vocal minority, as so many others have, then I’m tearing up my diploma,” Israeli-based Rabbi Hayim Leiter, son of longtime Jewish Exponent writer Robert Leiter, wrote in a Philadelphia Inquirer op-ed.
Following a July 18 meeting between administrators and the alumni association, the decision was put off. They issued the following statement:
“The Cheltenham School District recognizes the public interest surrounding the inclusion of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the CHS Hall of Fame,” wrote Cheltenham Superintendent Dr. Brian W. Scriven, CHS Class of ‘83, in the statement. “We understand that this is a topic of deep concern to some members of our diverse school community as well as the broader public. Given the complexities involved and the heightened public discourse, we must proceed in a deliberate manner.
“This morning, officials from the Alumni Association of Cheltenham High School and CSD administration met to discuss logistics surrounding the previously scheduled November induction of additional members to the hall of fame. No determination was made regarding the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s status in the hall of fame.”
The district would provide no further comment when asked for clarification or a projected timeline on a decision. No one from the alumni association would respond, either.
But prior to that meeting, Alumni Association Secretary Emily Brecker Greenberg told The New York Times: “I believe that most people on our board would like to keep Netanyahu up, but maybe with an update in his biography. It is interesting that the world really doesn’t do much about other world leaders who massacre thousands of their population, but Israel is always the one in the hugely negative news. And I say that letting you know that everyone on our committee is not happy with the situation in Gaza …. From EITHER side!!!!”
For now the matter remains on hold, with pressure mounting from both sides.
Jon Marks is a Philadelphia-area freelance writer.