A Statement of Support to Portland Association of Teachers

We, the undersigned, express our deep and heartfelt support for your work to prepare educators for the crucial and pressing work of teaching Portland students about Palestine and Israel. At a time when billions in US taxpayer dollars are being spent on weapons for the State of Israel— whose government is credibly committing genocide against the Palestinian population—the leadership of PAT is demonstrating its commitment to listening to students and educators in providing a forum for discourse and a roster of resources to support teaching about and advocating for the liberation of Palestine and Palestinians. We denounce the aggressive charges of antisemitism against PAT’s leadership and members, and as proud Jews we reject the notion that these charges represent the views of the Portland Jewish community as a whole. Israel has killed over 36,000 Palestinians and injured over 80,000, while forcibly starving and displacing millions more. It is not, nor will it ever be, antisemitic to speak out and educate about such immense violence.

On Friday, March 15th, 2024, Portland Public Schools students organized a citywide march in support of Palestine, calling for a walk-out and rally. Hundreds of students convened at the PPS headquarters in Northeast Portland, demanding above all that they be educated on settler colonialism, apartheid, and genocide in Palestine. The event was powerful and inspiring, with many PPS students and staff—including Jewish and Palestinian students—speaking out clearly against the root causes of international oppression and war. PPS has not yet agreed to the students’ demands for education. It is only reasonable then, that PAT would step up to meet the needs of their members in responding to the needs and requests of the students they serve.

The handbook that Oregon Educators for Palestine published with PAT on May 28th was created to support educators and administrators working for PPS who have been targeted for speaking out in support of Palestine. This targeting has been disproportionately directed at Palestinian, Arab, and SWANA educators and has include demanding teachers take down Ceasefire Now posters and other signage recognizing Palestinian human rights, censoring student work displaying factual data about Zionism and the Balfour Agreement, and censoring staff members for wearing clothing with the phrase “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free,” claiming the phrase constitutes hate speech and threatening to write staff up for insubordination if worn again. 

Barely a week since its publication, the resolutely pro-Israel members of the Portland community have already expressed outrage at the handbook. As of June 6th, 2024 the news has even reached Israeli outlets, with the Jerusalem Post reporting on the handbook, categorizing their story under the definitive heading “Antisemitism.” According to Portland parent Josh Levine, the PAT guide “is extremely one-sided,” and does not encourage “a comprehensive conversation.” KGW’s June 4th article notes “some pages called the Israeli government ‘apartheid rule,’” as if such a designation were extreme, even though such figures as Nobel Peace laureate Desmond Tutu have described Israel’s treatment of Palestinians as apartheid since at least 2014. As have Israeli human rights groups such as B’Tselem and many highly regarded international human rights groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. 

The primary charge against the PAT handbook is similar to charges we’ve heard levied against the Palestine solidarity encampments at campuses across the United States: that it makes Jewish students feel unsafe. As Jews, we believe that everyone has a right to be safe. And here we ask Jewish students and parents to make a distinction between feeling unsafe and feeling uncomfortable. After all, it is the dominant, default narrative of US mainstream society, as well as many mainstream Jewish institutions, that Israel is beyond reproach. Our own President Biden repeats the strange and offensive lie that “Were there no Israel, no Jew in the world would be ultimately safe.”

Learning about the realities of the past and present is a painful and uncomfortable endeavor, yet we cannot let that discomfort prevent students from learning the truth about Israel's history of colonization, apartheid, and ongoing genocide of Palestinians. It is indeed disturbing to learn of Israel’s ongoing slaughter of civilians using US-supplied weapons, such as the June 6th bombing of a UN School where around 6,000 displaced civilians were sheltering, which killed at least 45 Palestinians including children and the elderly. And yet being disturbed by these revelations does not mean we can turn away from them, nor does it mean other students should be barred from learning the truth.

The State of Israel is clearly at war with the truth. Consider the bombing of the UN school; IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Peter Lerner “told journalists the military was not ‘aware of any civilian casualties,’ stating the intended targets were “‘20 to 30 Hamas and Islamic Jihad’ militants,” though CNN was unable to confirm any militants were killed. We heard similar lies to cover up the IDF’s horrific operations in Al Shifa Hospital. Israel has killed over 103 journalists in Gaza since its offensive began, has prevented journalists from entering, and has shut down entire news outlets’ operations throughout the country. Schools have also been a major target. Beyond the UN facilities, Israel has destroyed universities throughout Gaza, leaving one 21-year-old student to declare, bluntly, “Our future is dead.” US weapons killed this man’s future. How can this not be relevant to Portland students?

We often hear concern for the safety of Jewish students, and where these concerns are sincere we will always welcome them. But we rarely if ever hear concern for Palestinian students, whether in Palestine or in the Diaspora. Israel has killed over 14,000 children since October 2023, thousands more are injured, missing, or left without parents. And yet pro-Israel American Jews and non-Jews view symbols of Palestinian pride and cultural identity like the flag and the kuffiyeh as inherently threatening. Israel is committing a genocide of Palestinian people in the name of a Jewish state; it is intolerable that we do not put the same care into the emotional and educational needs of Palestinian students that we do for Jewish students.

This, fundamentally, is why we are proud of PAT’s contributions. It is necessary to counterbalance the familiar story, fueled by American military interests, Christian apocalyptic evangelizing, and Zionist indoctrination propped up by Jewish ancestral trauma, that Israel must exist no matter how many crimes against humanity it commits. PAT’s efforts lay the foundation to prepare teachers to educate on this subject with greater confidence and knowledge. And further, these materials lean into deeply held Jewish values: speaking truth to power, questioning authority, and committing oneself to just causes no matter how unpopular such a position may be.

Signed,

Jewish Voice for Peace Portland, Maxine Fookson, Fletcher Christie, Linda Mckim Bell, Jehan Yahya, Kolade Odetoyinbo, Cassie Cohen, Megan Baglien, Bruce Poinsette, Dylan Dills, Keri Hughes, Elle livengood, Alatasi Clancy, Eric Gold, Kip S, Raphael Leonard, Hallie Saber, Naomi Bergkaela Dolan, Sarah Foster, Ilya Fridman, Danica Fierman, Amanda Boman-Mejia, Nicholas Taylor, Sara Jaffe, Nesa Levy, Brooke Herout, Lydia Hanssen, Elijah Foster-Wysocki, Renee Taylor, Meaghan Scanlan, Emily Weddle, Ed Rosario, Hannah Kitts, Carol Blenning, Chad Walter, Bec Kaplan, Payam Torgoley, Zia Laboff, Damian Lichtenstein, Layzer Rosenburg, Caitlin Chow-Ise, Eugenia Huang, Lex Tingey, Dee Watson, Sophia Aron, Sienna K, Kelly Ng, Nanao Carey, Mandee Campos, Maryam Moussaoui, Arielle Ross, Katie Morrissett, Ahson Saeed, Laura Adams, Naomi Rothschild, Misha Pfliger, Laura Nitti, Julia Ford, Nicci Kaufman, Caroline Toney-Noland, Jess Bird, Lincoln Fisher, Jamie Partridge, Catherine Tucker, Melissa Blount, Stephen Siegel, Rina Miyamoto-Sundahl, Amanda Kassab Johnson, Sakura Hamada, Kiyoshi Hashiguchi, Darrin Hoop, Christopher Miyamoto-Sundahl, Langston Hamilton, Jennifer Greenstein, LaQuisha Minnieweather, Hailey Rosario, Rachel Ellick, Tala Al-Mangour, Ary Solomon, Elizabeth Ochoa, Asha Sandhu, Aimee Gordon-Suematsu, Maia Gersten, Heather Klawender, Toby Lyons, Ada Banasik, Lacey Wambalaba, Amanda Edelstein, Melanie Hindman, Jackie Zusi-Russell, Rebecca Rothstein, Alex Stegner, William Hartley, Theresa Tauer, Laurel Walker, Nathan Goldbaum, Erin Howe, Suzanna Kassouf, Angelina Vasile, Nickolas Hurlbut, Sam Wrigglesworth, Benjamin Gilbert, Zachary Melzer, Aaron Phillips, Mara Zusman, Terry Fitzgibbons, Heather Heatlie, Lea Tawd, Patrick Magee-Jenks, Rowan Harvey, Emily Elman, Megan Bradley, Blix Smith, Liliana Kennedy, Jessi Presley-Grusin, Matthew Schuster, Kate Lindstrom, Lara Alauddin, Alex Rose, Britte Marsh, Joshua Eichen, Steve Herff, Barbara Schuster, Allen Menegay, Olivia Rose, Katie Clark-AlSadder, Judith Lienhard, Au Nguyen, Jennifer Wilde, Kenzi Garner, Nancy Hedrick, Christina Buck, Andrea Leoncavallo, K Huseby, Laura Horani, Beth ZAUNER, Maxine Fookson, Mel Ginsberg, Rod Such, Andrew Seles, Jenna Goldin, Touk Keo, Brooke Schiefelbein, Angie Fadel, Jenn Pereau, Caitlin Quinn, Kai Koran, Mikaela swing, Hilary Holmes, Jennifer Hill, Joel Shapiro, J Pearl Waldorf, Audra McCabe, Lisa Catranides, Linda Ginsberg SantAngelo, Carol Mollet, Ryan Beam, Miles Woods, Kelsey Baker, Marley Sherwood, Rebecca Moore, Morgin Carpenter, Jessi Presley-Grusin, Reem Mountaser, Harry Kershner, Melanie Liu, Phil Goldsmith, Jennifer Grosvenor, John Grosvenor, Sophia Aepfelbacher, Chelsea Brazzo, Jacob Apenes, Ted Dreier, Lynsea Coy, Gitanjali Hursh, Sofi Ronning, Kris DeMaria, Christian Mecham, Colleen Dixon, Maria Sipin, Cierra Hall, Laura Sayler, Alix Veronica, alix lunsford, Yelena Kolova, Jaidyn Walker, Jennifer Hall, Hannah Lee, Laurie Mercier, Rin Web, Thorne Davis, Angela Bonilla, Gail sanford, M Katzman, Eli Lichtenstein, Christina Buck, Christopher Olson, Mikel Clayhold, Carlos Gavilanes, John Adams, Lydia Kiesling, Heather Dorfman, Herschel Weinstock, Niles Armstrong, Kate Rayner Fried, Robin Woodland, Betsy Zucker, Maria Moreno, Lee Wilmoth, Sheyla Hirshon, Rocky Cohen, Phil Viana, Cindy Bagby, Isaiah Kaplan, Leah Velez, Darcy Sharpe…