Edited by:  Fern Sidman

A virtual “curriculum share” seminar held over the weekend has drawn significant criticism as about 80 New York City and New Jersey educators gathered to discuss teaching methods related to the “Israeli occupation” and the “ongoing genocide in Gaza,” as was reported by the New York Post on Saturday. The event, organized by NYC Educators for Palestine and Teaching While Muslim, has faced accusations of promoting anti-Semitism and injecting anti-Israel politics into classrooms.

During the virtual seminar, educators were provided with tips on “getting around censorship” while teaching about the Middle East, specifically the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. According to the information provided in the Post report, organizers encouraged participants to use fake names and consider blurring their videos, citing concerns about potential doxxing by “conservative Zionist individuals” who may target attendees.

The event has sparked outrage, with critics condemning it as vociferously anti-Semitic and divisive. Bronx Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres expressed concern in a letter to the New York City Department of Education, accusing the organizers of pushing “anti-Zionism propaganda” and injecting divisive politics into classrooms, as was indicated in the Post report. Tova Plaut, a founder of the advocacy group NYCPS Alliance, raised concerns about educators with limited knowledge of Jewish experiences and Israel’s history being exposed to anti-Semitic narratives.

Critics argue that the curriculum share empowers teachers to incorporate skewed information into their classrooms, potentially perpetuating anti-Semitism among students. As was noted in the Post report, the one-sided event, targeted at K-12 classroom teachers, featured breakout rooms led by educators from various disciplines, sharing lessons that incorporated perspectives sympathetic to Palestine.

Screenshots obtained by The Post revealed that lessons incorporated Palestinian olive harvesting in fifth-grade math lessons and applied a “human rights lens” to middle school poetry teachings. The Post reported that recommended materials for the event came from The Progressive Classroom Project, which uses content from the Qatar based, notoriously anti-Israel Al Jazeera news service.  A lesson on Zionism from this source encourages students to “develop an awareness of its colonial nature.”

The event not only discussed teaching methods but also touched upon how to handle opposition from students, particularly those with Zionist viewpoints. Participants inquired about incorporating the Holocaust into the framework when facing protests from Zionist students, the report in the Post said. Additionally, promotional materials for the seminar highlighted discussions on “getting around censorship” and featured a panel of organizers and legal experts.

One of the speakers at the event was Rabab Abdulhadi, a San Francisco professor and activist, and co-founder of the Institute for the Critical Study of Zionism. The institute’s perspective, as outlined in an article co-authored by Abdulhadi, posits that Zionism is “enmeshed with racism, fascism, and colonial dispossession,” as was indicated in the Post report.

The seminar also faced criticism for linking the Israeli flag to “racial supremacist political messaging” observed at the Capitol riot and Nazi rallies in Europe.

The controversy gained further attention when at least one principal, Terri Grey, who heads the remote Virtual Innovators Academy high school, sent out an email informing recipients about the event. As per the Post’s report, Grey’s email raised concerns about the lack of oversight and potential promotion of biased narratives within the educational system.

The New York City Department of Education (DOE) distanced itself from the event, stating that it had no involvement, endorsement, or authority over the Zoom conference. The Post report also said that a spokesman for the DOE emphasized that it was not the intent of Principal Terri Grey to promote the event to her staff and asserted that the DOE had no control over how the event was conducted.

This controversy adds to a series of incidents where public school educators have been accused of pushing anti-Israel narratives with little oversight. The information provided in the Post report said that examples include a third-grade teacher at PS 705 in Prospect Heights thanking a website that referred to Israel as a “made-up place” for materials, and PS 261 in Boerum Hill displaying a Middle East map that omitted Israel and labeled it as Palestine.

City Schools Chancellor David Banks has previously warned educators to keep their personal political views separate from their roles in NYC Public Schools, according to the report in the Post. Last month, he unveiled a plan to address tensions related to the Israel-Hamas conflict. Despite these directives, concerns persist about the enforcement of regulations and the potential fostering of hatred within the educational system.

The NYCPS Alliance, in a post directed at Chancellor Banks, criticized the “lack of enforcement” of regulations, asserting that it allows hatred to fester within the educational system, the Post reported. The incident highlights ongoing challenges in maintaining a balanced and unbiased educational and rooting out anti-Semitism in all its egregious forms.