Supt. Tom Horne asks 2 Valley schools to remove Amnesty International, citing antisemitism

PHOENIX – Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne is asking two Valley high schools to remove Amnesty International from campus, citing concerns about antisemitism.

“Amnesty International was once a well-regarded organization but is now in the thrall of antisemitic interests. Its presence on high school campuses poses a serious concern to Jewish students because of the organization’s blatantly antisemitic reaction to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel,” Horne said in a press release Thursday.

On Wednesday, Horne sent letters about the issue to the superintendents of the Cave Creek and Chandler unified school districts regarding Amnesty International’s presence at Cactus Shadows High School in Scottsdale and Hamilton High School in Chandler.

The letters cited an Amnesty International presentation to students at Desert Mountain High School in Scottsdale last year.

“It was a one-sided pro Hamas presentation; as you know Hamas is listed as a global terrorist organization. Some of the impressionable students adopted antisemitic attitudes that caused Jewish students at the high school to feel unsafe and uncomfortable,” Horne wrote.

Horne also has been pushing schools to comply with a state law that requires schools to educate students about the holocaust.

Schools that don’t follow the law will be noted in the education department’s online school report card in red letters.

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