Portland, Oregon, has earned its reputation as America’s most dramatic area. The country’s public school system has much encouraged students to engage in political activism and was a pioneer in left-wing racism. The outbreak of Hamas violence in Israel has given Portland’s public college revolutionaries another reason du day: they have then traded in the raised palm of Black Lives Matter for the black-and-white keffiyeh of Palestinian militants, just like George Floyd’s death four years ago.
The Portland Association of Teachers, a branch of the state teachers ‘ union that encourages its more than 4, 500 members to” Teach Palestine,” has compiled a collection of documents that are open to the public. ( The union did not respond to a request for comment. )
The training programs are steeped in radicalism, and they begin teaching the rules of “decolonization” to kids as young as four and five centuries old. The federation promotes a workbook from the Arab Feminist Collective, which tells the tale of a hypothetical Arab boy named Handala, for prekindergarten children. ” When I was just ten years old, I had to escape my residence in Palestine”, the son tells viewers. Zionists, a group of bullies, seized our area and used force to enslave several people, according to the statement. Learners are encouraged to come up with a phrase to chant during a demonstration and finish a maze so that Handala you “get back home to Palestine,” represented as a chart of Israel.
Other pre-K tools include a movie that repeats left-wing adages like” I feel secure when there are no police,” and a slide show that glorifies the Palestinian uprising, or violent resistance against Israel. A” visual guide for youngsters” on attending protests is also included in the recommended reference list. It teaches children what they might see, hear, taste, touch, and smell at protests, and promotes photographs of slogans such as” Abolish Prisons” and” From the River to the Sea”.
In school through next grade, the ideas deepen. The teachers ‘ union recommends a session,” Art and Action for Palestine”, that teaches kids that Israel, like America, is an aggressor. The goal is to” connect Arab history and resistance to slave colonialism from Palestine to the United States,” with an emphasis on Palestinian children’s opposition.
The lesson recommends that teachers arrange the kindergarteners in a circle and instruct them on Palestine’s history: “75 years ago, many decision-makers around the world decided to seize Arab land in order to create a nation called Israel. The training concludes that Israel may have a majority of the rules applied to Jews with white skin. ” There’s a BIG word for when Indigenous land gets taken away to make a country, that’s called resident colonialism”.
Before snack time, the teacher is encouraged to share “keffiyehs, flags, and protest signs” with the children, and have them create their own agitprop material, with slogans such as “FREE PALESTINE, LET GAZA LIVE ,]and ] PALESTINE WILL BE FREE”. The goal, according to the training, is to move students toward” taking social action in support of Arab emancipation”.
A book titled” All Out for Palestine” is also included in the recommended education. The book is directly political, with a thread- headline screaming in all funds letters: “STOP THE GENOCIDE! END U. S. AID TO IRSAEL! Independent PALESTINE”! The authors denounce” Zionism’s much murderous war on Arab life” and encourage students to help “boycott, withdrawal, and sanctions” laws against Israel.
Educators may use chants in the classroom, as well. Some imply aid for violence and social violence:” Opposition is justified when individuals are occupied”!,” We salute all our martyrs! mother, fathers, sons and daughters”!,” Fairness is our need! No tranquility on stolen property”!
It’s not immediately clear to what extent the” Teach Palestine”! In the rooms of Portland Public Schools, classes have been implemented. However, the teachers ‘ union claims that the district has been “actively censoring teachers” for spreading pro-Palestine ideologies. In response, it has created a legal guide to help teachers continue to promote the lessons while adhering to state curriculum standards.
This content was first published in the City Journal.
