Washington DC, February 10—
“Teachers draw the line, No genocide in Palestine” rang out at the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) headquarters as over 50 teachers and supporters demanded a cease-fire in Gaza. We marched past the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the U.S.-based mouthpiece of Zionism, condemning their fascist support for the murder of tens of thousands of Palestinians. After two miles of marching, we arrived at the headquarters of the National Education Association (NEA) for a final rally. Progressive Labor Party (PLP) teachers and others spoke with marchers and distributed over 30 CHALLENGEs and 70 anti-imperialist communist leaflets to bring a revolutionary message to the assembled workers. We challenged the reformist slogan of “No endorsement for Biden without a cease-fire.” Only armed struggle and revolutionary communism to crush capitalism can bring liberation to Palestine/Israel, not a U.S. election. The U.S. capitalist empire backs Israeli fascism 100 percent to guarantee U.S. control of oil, pipelines, and sea routes and to sustain a military presence in the Middle East. This will not change, no matter who is president.
Educators give lessons in anti-fascism
PLP teachers and supporters insist that opponents of fascism and genocide in the Middle East must also fight fascist attacks in the U.S. by defending embattled anti-Zionist teachers and students throughout the U.S. The school bosses in the D.C. area attacked teachers in Montgomery County (CHALLENGE, 1/17) and Anne Arundel County with suspensions, “investigations” and hearings while lawsuits and protests continue in response. Organizing among teachers and supporters in an ad hoc group, “Solidarity Not Silence,” we shared petitions and information about upcoming protests at the Board of Education. The bold PLP banner proclaimed “Anti-Fascism is not Anti-Semitism” and “Workers of the World Unite.” Our flier stated clearly, “U.S. Imperialism Drives Fascist Attacks on Teachers and Students.” Unions must openly proclaim support for the teachers and call for strikes and walkouts, if necessary.
The local Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA), a chapter of the NEA, has not called for a ceasefire and is dragging its feet on even allowing a resolution to be presented. At the last meeting, PLP members were able to raise the issue during open mic and have been scheduled to present the resolution next month. But this will not be easy, as Zionists in the Maryland community have already proved their willingness to use repressive means to shut down anti-Zionist teachers.
Fighting Zionism in the classroom
At another level of struggle, we have learned that the school bosses are determined to block the history of Palestine and the role of U.S. imperialism. They go along with Zionist tirades accusing all opponents of Israel’s military actions of antisemitism. They betray educators and block factual instruction. Just as U.S. history instruction lied about slavery and Jim Crow, so the current “history” of Israel and Palestine being offered in classrooms omits the history of the Nakba and the forcible displacement of over a million Palestinians. Approved teaching materials in Anne Arundel County state that “Gaza is a hard place to live. About half of the Gazans don't have jobs, electricity goes out frequently and the tap water is polluted. Palestinians in Gaza cannot leave the territory without permission. This makes it extremely difficult to leave the country to work, study, or visit family.” Who is doing this to the Palestinians? The man on the moon? No! The “approved” article is silent on the fact that Israel controls all the supplies entering Palestine (such as water and electricity) and that it is Israel that makes it difficult for workers in Palestine to travel or live a normal life. Moreover, no material from the United Nations, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, or any other major human rights group, let alone alternative media such as Al-Jazeera or Middle East Eye, is allowed in classroom assignments and discussions. So much for “balance!”
As the battle continues, teachers need to form a stronger group in the union to resist these attacks, learn more about the history of the Palestinian struggle by reading CHALLENGE and recent entries in the multiracialunity.org blog, and demand that suspended teachers be returned to the classroom immediately. Through this process, more teachers can become part of the revolutionary movement for communism and put imperialism (from Queen Victoria to Genocide Joe) in a museum where it belongs
