OAKLAND, Calif. (CITC) — A pro-Palestine organization is hosting a teacher training on "incorporating Palestinian history, narratives and culture into K-12 classrooms" in Oakland, California this weekend.
The Saturday training will be held by the Middle East Children's Alliance (MECA) through its "Teach Palestine Project," according to documents obtained by advocacy group Parents Defending Education (PDE). MECA works to raise awareness of and provide humanitarian aid to the Middle East, as well as to "protect the rights and improve the lives" of children living in the region, according to its website.
A description of the "Teach Palestine Project" states that the "recent history and current reality" in Palestine is "connected to many issues K-12 educators already teach," yet "very few" actively teach about Palestine.
"That silence feeds demonization of Palestinians. lack of understanding of their struggle for human rights and Islamophobia," the description reads.
Saturday's training in Oakland will include Palestinian and Arab speakers discussing the "effects of invisibility and silencing," according to the documents obtained by PDE. The documents also note that a "multiple perspectives framework for teaching Palestine" with a "focus on Gaza" will be featured.
An email included in PDE's findings also states the training was planned "long before the current assault on Gaza." However, PDE senior advisor Michele Exner argues the training is political activism in schools.
"This isn't 'teaching to the moment,' this is a coordinated effort to brainwash children," Exner told Crisis in the Classroom (CITC). "While they [political activists] continue to push their political objectives, children continue to suffer from historic academic loss."
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The training comes weeks after Oakland teachers came under fire for leading an unauthorized pro-Palestine teach-in during the school day. A video announcing the teach-in argued educators must provide "counternarratives" to students, claimingthe "dominate narrative" in the U.S. currently instructs individuals to "accept the human suffering of others as a forgone conclusion."
The Oakland Unified School District condemned the training, with the district's superintendent saying he was "deeply disappointed by the harmful and divisive materials."
In October, Oakland Unified's teachers union released a statement demanding an "end to the occupation of Palestine." The union wrote at the time that while it mourns the loss of both Palestinian and Israeli lives, much of the blame for the current conflict can be pinned on Israel's "apartheid" government.
The union later retracted the remarks after they prompted Jewish parents throughout Oakland Unified to fear for their children's safety.
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MECA has repeatedly taken anti-Israel stances since the onset of the Jewish state's war with terrorist group Hamas. In a section of its website calling for humanitarian aid for Gaza, the organization claimed "Israeli government and military officials are openly talking about ethnic cleansing."
Additionally, in a Nov. 7 statement, MECA wrote that one month prior "Israel launched the bloodiest attack on the people of Gaza ever." The statement contains no direct mention of Hamas.
CITC reached out to MECA for comment, but did not immediately receive a response. This story will be updated if a response is received.
Have something for the Crisis in the Classroom team to investigate? Call or text the national tip line at 202-417-7273.
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