'A group of bullies called Zionists': Portland teachers union creates anti-Israel k-12 lesson plan

The Portland Association of Teachers (PAT) promoted and collaborated in the creation of an anti-Israel lesson plan for pre-kindergarten to high school that teaches about Israel as an illegitimate settler-colonial state, anti-Zionism, and participation in protests.

At an information session last Tuesday, PAT and Oregon Educators for Palestine (OEP) presented their document “Know Your Rights: Teaching and Organizing for Palestine Within Portland Public Schools” and their companion “Teach Palestine! Resources for Portland Public Schools” lesson guide.

The Know Your Rights document was created in response to alleged censorship by the Portland Public School District of “teachers and other education workers who are teaching about Palestine, posting pro-Palestine sentiments in schools, and even those wearing pro-Palestine messages.”

Examples of alleged censorship included banning student work on settler colonialism and Zionism, presentations about Palestinians, and wearing clothing with the phrase “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

In addition to explaining legal and contractional protections and rights for educators seeking to teach pro-Palestinian perspectives, the document provides definitions for key terms. Antisemitism is described as a European Christian phenomenon, and Zionism as a “settler colonial political ideology and movement.”

The guide also advises that in English and Language Arts studies, teachers have the academic freedom to choose content to teach reading and writing and that they should use literature on Palestinians or by Palestinian authors so that they can offer context on the author’s background.

The resource list for Pre-K offers lessons or materials for talking about grief, death, and genocide. The discussion on how to teach young kids about genocide is Holocaust-themed but is included to discuss current events in the Levant. Resources present a narrative about how Israel has illegitimately taken control of Palestinian land and is oppressing Palestinians.

Suggested books include the Palestinian-themed alphabet book P is for Palestine, which includes a passage about intifada as “rising up for what is right.” In Eliyas Explains What’s Going on in Palestine, while it emphasizes that Jews are not enemies, it explains the October 7 massacre and the ensuing war with the main character’s mother, saying, “Throughout the years, since the occupation, the Palestinians have tried to resist. They have tried all the ways they can think of. Sometimes peacefully, like marching, and sometimes with force. This time, it was with force, so there has been violence in Israel and Palestine.”

The book called on children to protest to “free Palestine” and “end the occupation” and tell others about the narrative. A children’s workbook featured the Palestinian cartoon character Handala relating that “a group of bullies called Zionists wanted our land so they stole it by force and hurt many people.”

Kindergarten to Grade 2 resources in the lesson guide suggest explaining “ceasefire” and “protest” as a word of the day, and a color-by-number sheet has students coloring Gaza, Israel, and the West Bank under the Palestinian flag.

Suggested social studies lessons for grades 3-5 include a week-long curriculum on “settler colonialism and Palestine,” which teaches children, “The people who are taking over Palestinian land have no right to kick anyone out. This is settler colonialism. This is not okay.”

“Right now a lot of people are talking about Gaza because the Israeli government has been attacking and killing Palestinian people there,” read one of the slides. “This is not the first time this happened, the Israeli army has done this many times and many Palestinian people have been hurt by this.”

High school lessons propose teaching about questioning the use of the term terrorism, and a lesson on “who benefits from Islamophobia” asks students to role play as the child of US citizen Anwar al-Awlaki, who was alleged to be tied to al-Qaeda and was assassinated in a US drone strike.

“My dad was increasingly angry about the racist behavior of the US government and he used some strong language, like calling for ‘jihad,’” read the lesson plan on Islamophobia. “It is easy to get scared of foreign words, and yes, my dad was calling for war against the US government (though jihad can also be expressed positively as a struggle of great importance in a desire for self-improvement and social justice, like in the term ‘gender jihad’). I understand that my dad’s words were threatening, but why not put out a warrant for his arrest and try him in a court of law?”

Condemning the lesson plans

Jewish Federation of Greater Portland CEO and founder Marc Blattner wrote in a blog post last Friday that PAT, which represents over 4,500 Portland educators, handed out documents claiming that the October 7 massacre was justified “resistance” and that Israeli intelligence was homophobic because it blackmailed gay Palestinians with threats of outing.

“This is an effort by the teachers’ union to promote what many feel is a biased and historically revisionist curriculum,” said Blattner. “The Jewish Federation of Greater Portland received numerous complaints from Jewish PPS teachers, parents, and even elected officials about the meeting and the materials. Sadly, the PAT continues to engage in and lead anti-Israel activism.”

Blattner said the Jewish community was meeting to create “K-12 parent advocacy groups.”

South Carolinian Sen. Tim Scott decried the guides as “indoctrination” in a social media post on Thursday.

“The antisemitic hate that is being permitted, and often promoted, at schools across the country is a disgrace,” said Scott. “No Jewish student should ever feel threatened in any classroom or on any campus!”