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Antisemitism in America: Teachers Introduce BDS-like Materials for Pre-Schoolers

A pro-BDS demonstration. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

As the Israel-Hamas war rages on, some educators in America haven’t stood idly by.

But instead of teaching young children about the dangers of antisemitism, they have attempted to normalize anti-Israeli views in school curricula.

The Oakland Education Association (OEA), a teachers union in California, used the jargon of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign last month, when it voted to “become involved in the growing anti-apartheid movement demanding freedom for Palestine…” and resolved to distribute “educational materials and resources” to teachers:

In early November, the @OaklandEA voted to “become involved in the growing anti-apartheid movement demanding freedom for Palestine…” and resolved to distribute “educational materials and resources” to teachers. pic.twitter.com/8BfvFZCvFH

— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) December 1, 2023

In accordance with that decision, the OEA issued the following statement — without any mention of Hamas’ genocidal October 7 rampage across southern Israel:

We, the Oakland Education Association, mourn the tragic loss of both Palestinian and Israeli lives these past weeks. We unequivocally condemn the 75 year long illegal military occupation of Palestine. The Israeli government created an apartheid state and the Israeli government leaders have espoused genocidal rhetoric and policies against the people of Palestine. As educators of a diverse community here in Oakland, including those with family and friends directly impacted, our conscience demands that we say clearly that OEA calls for a ceasefire and an end to the occupation of Palestine.

After facing criticism, the OEA updated its statement, adding that “our union unequivocally condemns anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. We call for the release of hostages held by Hamas.”

And it planned to hold “a teach-in on the Palestinian struggle”:

While smearing the official materials distributed by the Oakland County School District on the Israel-Hamas war as Zionist propaganda, the OEA introduced alternative resources, which espouse nothing less than hatred against the world’s only Jewish state.

For example, the OEA’s pedagogical offer to pre-K through 3rd graders includes “Handala’s Return: A Children’s Story and Workbook” presenting the plight of a young Palestinian child, Handala, whose political cartoon character has become the iconic symbol of Palestinian “resistance” and has been widely adopted by the BDS movement:

The Oakland County school district provided materials for teachers to discuss the Israel-Hamas war, but @OaklandEA smeared those as being biased tools of the “Zionist lobby.”

So what did the teacher’s union send out as “educational resources?” Things like this: pic.twitter.com/peCKUdOQsN

— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) December 1, 2023

The claim that “Zionist bullies” scare and torment non-Jewish children, and steal their homes, is blatantly false. Moreover, it draws on centuries of antisemitic blood libels portraying Jews as evil predators who prey on non-Jewish children.

Handala’s story continues:

And this.
Yafa (Jaffa) is undisputed Israeli sovereign territory. Al Quds (Jerusalem) is the capital of Israel. Including them as part of a “Free Palestine” is calling for the destruction of Israel. pic.twitter.com/qshoyLROSV

— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) December 1, 2023

What the workbook creators don’t reveal in this example is that “Yafa” is Jaffa, located in undisputed Israeli sovereign territory; and that “Al Quds” is Jerusalem, the capital of Israel. Including them as part of “Free Palestine” is the equivalent of calling for the destruction of Israel.

According to OEA’s database, the source for “Handala’s Return” story is “The Palestinian Feminist Collective.” A quick search reveals that this organization glorified Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel as “a Palestinian triumph”:

 

And here is an exercise sheet for 3rd-5th graders giving the impression that Israel is an apartheid state created just because Jews were “killed and mistreated” during World War II (and not because of their historical ties to the land):

 

And a resource called “Art and Action in Palestine” for pre-K through 2nd grade, presents an interactive map titled “Palestine Shrinking, Expanding Israel” with the following talking points:

75 years ago, a lot of decision makers around the world decided to take away Palestinian land to make a country called Israel. Israel would be a country where rules were mostly fair for Jewish people with white skin.

And, this from a workshop for 4 to 7 year olds:

“75 years ago, a lot of decision makers around the world decided to take away Palestinian land to make a country called Israel. Israel would be a country where rules were mostly fair for Jewish people with White skin.” pic.twitter.com/QPhyDwoSXL

— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) December 1, 2023

All of the examples above, which are only a few “highlights” from the OEA’s educational resources, implicitly violate the IHRA working definition of antisemitism.

The OEA says that they don’t want to indoctrinate, but rather “introduce our students to a range of perspectives.”

But the only perspective presented in their curriculum is one that generates decades-old hatred towards the Jewish people.

Despite some local media coverage and a story in Newsweek, this dangerous initiative passed largely under the radar.

But when educators use their position to impose BDS-like content on young American minds and rely on sources that praise terrorism, it should raise national and global alarm bells.

The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.

The post Antisemitism in America: Teachers Introduce BDS-like Materials for Pre-Schoolers first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Saudi Arabia Rejects Israel PM Netanyahu’s Remarks on Displacing Palestinians

US President Donald Trump and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talk in the midst of a joint news conference in the White House in Washington, US, Jan. 28, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Saudi Arabia affirmed its categorical rejection of remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about displacing Palestinians from their land, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

Israeli officials have suggested the establishment of a Palestinian state on Saudi territory. Netanyahu appeared to be joking on Thursday when he responded to an interviewer on pro-Netanyahu Channel 14 who mistakenly said “Saudi state” instead of “Palestinian state,” before correcting himself.

While the Saudi statement mentioned Netanyahu’s name, it did not directly refer to the comments about establishing a Palestinian state in Saudi territory.

Egypt and Jordan also condemned the Israeli suggestions, with Cairo deeming the idea as a “direct infringement of Saudi sovereignty.”

The kingdom said it valued “brotherly” states’ rejection of Netanyahu’s remarks.

“This occupying extremist mindset does not comprehend what the Palestinian territory means for the brotherly people of Palestine and its conscientious, historical and legal association with that land,” it said.

Discussions of the fate of Palestinians in Gaza has been upended by Tuesday’s shock proposal from President Donald Trump that the U.S. would “take over the Gaza Strip” from Israel and create a “Riviera of the Middle East” after resettling Palestinians elsewhere.

Arab states have roundly condemned Trump’s comments, which came during a fragile ceasefire in the Gaza war that Israel has been waging against the terrorist group Hamas, which controls the narrow strip.

Trump has said Saudi Arabia was not demanding a Palestinian state as a condition for normalizing ties with Israel. But Riyadh rebuffed his statements, saying it would not establish ties with Israel without the creation of a Palestinian state.

The post Saudi Arabia Rejects Israel PM Netanyahu’s Remarks on Displacing Palestinians first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Egypt to Host Emergency Arab Summit on 27 February to Discuss ‘Serious’ Palestinian Developments

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet at the White House in Washington, DC, US, Feb. 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz

Egypt will host an emergency Arab summit on 27 February to discuss what it described as “serious” developments for Palestinians, according to a statement from the Egyptian foreign ministry on Sunday.

The summit comes amid regional and global condemnation of US President Donald Trump’s suggestion to “take over the Gaza Strip” from Israel and create a “Riviera of the Middle East” after resettling Palestinians elsewhere.

The post Egypt to Host Emergency Arab Summit on 27 February to Discuss ‘Serious’ Palestinian Developments first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Thai Nationals Held Captive by Hamas in Gaza Return Home

Relatives hug a released Thai hostage, who was kidnapped during the deadly October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas and held in Gaza, as the hostages arrive in Thailand following their release, at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, in Samut Prakan, Thailand, February 9, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

When Surasak Rumnao, 31, left his home in Thailand’s rural Udon Thani province three years ago to go across the world to the southern Israeli town of Yesha for agriculture work, his family never imagined they would lose touch with him for over a year when he was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists in October 2023.

He and four others were reunited with their families this weekend after their release from captivity in Gaza.

Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists abducted more than 250 people, including Israelis and foreign nationals, in their October 2023 attack on Israel.

During the attack, Hamas terrorists killed more than 40 Thais and kidnapped 31 Thai laborers, some of whom died in captivity, according to the Thai government. Later that year, the first group of Thai hostages was returned.

Surasak’s mother, Khammee Rumnao, was relieved that her son was not mistreated and has returned to his home, about 620 km(385 miles) northeast of the capital, Bangkok.

“He mainly got to eat bread, he was looked after well and was fed all three meals (each day). He got to shower, he was looked after well,” Khammee said, and that he ate whatever his captors had.

Her son does not plan to go back and wants to use the knowledge he gained in his agricultural work in Israel at their home, she said.

His grandparents and other relatives came to their home to welcome him home.

His stepfather, Janda Prachanan, was elated.

“I couldn’t find the words to describe how happy I am, that my son is safe and finally home,” he said.

Earlier on Sunday, the other returnees, dressed in winter jackets, were met with tears of joy from their families who were waiting for their arrival at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.

“We are all deeply touched to come back to our birthplace … to be standing here,” said Pongsak Thaenna, one of the returnees said. “I don’t know what else to say, we are all truly thankful.”

Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa, who met the hostages in Israel after their release last week, expressed relief.

“This is emotional … to come back to the embrace of their families,” he said. “We never gave up and this was the fruit of that.”

Before the conflict, approximately 30,000 Thai laborers worked in Israel’s agriculture sector, making them one of the largest migrant worker groups in the country. Nearly 9,000 Thais were repatriated following the October 7 attacks.

The workers primarily come from Thailand’s northeastern region, an area comprising villages and farming communities that is among the poorest in the country.

Thailand’s foreign ministry said a Thai national is still believed to be held captive by Hamas.

“We still have hope and continue to work to bring them back,” Maris said, adding that this includes the bodies of two deceased Thai nationals.

The post Thai Nationals Held Captive by Hamas in Gaza Return Home first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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