Ben Gamla Charter School  The Ben Gamla Charter School is an English-Hebrew Charter school, the first of its kind in the U.S., located in Hollywood, Florida. It opened August 20, 2007, with approximately 400 enrolled students from kindergarten through eighth grade, though the Ben Gamla system has expanded to 5 campuses in South Florida in both the Ben Gamla Charter Schools, as well as the Ben Gamla Preparatory Academy. The entire Ben Gamla system currently enrolls students from grades K-12 across all 5 campuses, with a total enrollment of about 2,000 students. Of the five total schools in the Ben Gamla system, three schools are in Broward County, one is in Miami-Dade County and one is in Palm Beach County. The school's director is an Orthodox rabbi and at least 50% of the students accepted to the school are Jewish. The name of the school is taken from an Israelite high priest (Yehoshua Ben Gamla), known in the Talmud for his campaign to establish yeshivas throughout Judaea. On August 23, 2007, the Broward County school board ordered the school to suspend its Hebrew classes because the curriculum referred to a website that discussed religion. Supporters of the Hebrew classes compare the program to hundreds of other dual-language schools in the United States that provide lessons on foreign culture and language such as the Spanish, French and Greek language charter schools already operating in Broward County and elsewhere. Parallels have been drawn between Ben Gamla and the Khalil Gibran International Academy, an Arabic public school in New York City that also opened in autumn 2007. But some say the Hebrew school could be more problematic. Since it is a charter school it receives public funding but is exempt from certain rules of public schools and is subject to less oversight. Their founders are often teachers, parents, or activists who feel restricted by traditional public schools. Basically, the operators are private contractors who make a deal with the government to educate the children. In contrast, the Arabic school is under the direct management of the NYCDOE system and subject to all its rules, regulations, and statutes. Others, such as Jeffrey Wiesenfeld, a trustee of the City University of New York feel that Hebrew language schools do not pose the kind of "potential threat to the society" posed by Arabic language schools. Opposition to the school is led by Broward County Jewish day schools who have lost students to Ben Gamla and therefore suffer losses in tuition income. The "South Florida Sun-Sentinel" reported that "an advertisement distributed in kosher restaurants" in the area of the Hebrew school reads: "Excellent Academic Program.