Revere, MA – Teachers in a Massachusetts school district are being directed to a resource calling Israeli “terrorism” significantly “worse” than that of Palestinians in the wake of the Hamas invasion, sparking outrage from a parents’ rights group.
Dr. Dianne Kelly, the superintendent of Revere Public Schools, sent an email titled “Racism and Antisemitism” to district staff Monday, according to a copy obtained by advocacy group Parents Defending Education (PDE). In the email, Kelly points staff to teaching resources from Learning for Justice, a program under the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The link provided takes staff members to a page on Learning for Justice’s website. The page, published in May 2021, states that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict “connects to imperialism and other oppressive systems” that educators are encouraged to “name and address with students.”
“We know that people are dying, fighting for their lives and engaging in liberation movements to be heard and treated with dignity, and that they’ve been doing so for decades,” the page reads.
A resource included on the Learning for Justice page leads educators to an external page titled “Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.” That page, written by a professor at the University at Buffalo, states “my central argument is that, contrary to the standard mythology, especially in Israel, Israeli terrorism has been significantly worse than that of the Palestinians.”
“In particular, the truth should make it clear that Israel has neither the moral legitimacy nor the national interest to refuse to negotiate with Palestinian organizations that have employed terrorism, particularly Hamas, without whose participation there is no chance for a compromise settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” the page continues.
Michele Exner, a senior advisor for PDE, told Crisis in the Classroom (CITC) that Revere Public Schools should be “ashamed” for leading educators towards such language.
“I think what we’re seeing is this ideology of oppressor versus oppressed, these teachings that some educators and administrators and schools are trying to get into our classrooms,” Exner told CITC. “It’s wrong and there’s no room for it.”
Exner also criticized Kelly for failing to “explicitly” condemn the attacks by terrorist organization Hamas in her email. While the email does lack any direct mention of Hamas, Kelly tells staff members to “remember that your personal ideologies and views should not be the focus of discussions with students.”
CITC reached out to Kelly for comment, but did not immediately receive a response. This story will be updated if a response is received.
Exner raised concerns to CITC that the stances being taken in higher education are seemingly seeping into K-12 schools. This week, student-led groups at universities nationwide have faced backlash for publicly backing Palestine following the Hamas invasion.
The largest display of support came from Harvard University, where 31 student groups signed a letter holding “the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.” Similar sentiments have been expressed by students at Yale University, the University of Virginia (UVA) and Portland State University in Oregon.
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares condemned the UVA group Tuesday for referring to the invasion as “Palestinian liberation,” calling it “hateful.”
