Parents at the ultra-exclusive Avenues The World School are outraged after it was revealed that last weekend the Chelsea campus was rented out for a Ramadan & Eid Holiday Bazaar where vendors hawked “From The River To The Sea, Palestine Will Be Free” merchandise.
The controversial slogan has been deemed antisemitic by the Anti-Defamation League, which says it implies the destruction of the state of Israel and annihilation of the Jewish people.
Avenues, a for-profit private school that Suri Cruise reportedly attends, alerted parents to the issue on Thursday night via a vague email sent by Head of School Judy Fox.
“A celebratory event planned by one of the groups that rents our space included some vendors who sold merchandise with slogans that violated our own community values,” the email, which was shared with The Post, read.
The email did not mention the group by name, nor did it reveal the nature of controversial merchandise.
Shrewd parents noted that Eventbrite had a listing for the Ramadan & Eid Holiday Bazaar, which was hosted by the Islamic Learning Center of NYC at Avenues on Sunday, March 3. The organizers described the market, held when school wasn’t in session, as “fun for the whole family” with food, raffles and over 40 vendors selling pre-Ramadan & Eid gifts.
One of the bazaar’s main vendors, Sabr Unlimited, openly promotes its “From The River To The Sea” merchandise on Instagram. The designer boasted about a customer buying and wearing one of the incendiary sweatshirts at the Bazaar on Instagram Stories.
Avenues said it was not aware of the nature of the merchandise that would be featured at the event.
“This was not an Avenues event, and we were unaware that merchandise of this type would be sold or displayed,” Tara Powers, a spokesperson for the school, told The Post. “There is no scenario in which we would have approved or condoned this, and we fully understand that the presence of this merchandise within our campus walls was hurtful and offensive.”
A parent, who is Jewish and asked to keep her name private, is calling on Fox and Todd Shy, the incoming Head of Avenues, to resign.
“This is a disgrace,” the parent told The Post. “It puts our students’ safety in jeopardy and shows astonishingly poor judgement and lack of leadership. I am asking that you both resign effective immediately, and that our children’s school stop being used as an outsourced party venue.”
Avenues is hardly in need of money. Tuition hovers around $67,000 a year, and privileged families range from Wall Street heavy-hitters and fashion designers to media personalities and tech titans. One parent estimated that at least twenty percent of the student body is Jewish. The school also hosts a Jewish Culture Club, according to their website.
Avenues has since terminated their rental agreement with the Islamic Learning Center of NYC.
The organization told The Post, “ILC-NYC provides a diverse group of children a space to learn the teachings of Islam. Its mission is one of inclusivity and kindness. The choice to abruptly cut off these young students’ access to their education without notice on the eve of Ramadan is disheartening and shows the differing treatment of Muslims in these chaotic times.”
Avenues opened in 2012 in New York City, and has since expanded with campuses in Silicon Valley, California; São Paolo, Brazil; and Shenzhen, China. Last year, the schools in New York and São Paolo were acquired by Nord Anglia Education, an international school with over 80 schools in 33 countries.
