The teachers union in Portland, Oregon, has reportedly sparked controversy with a curriculum that portrays Jewish people In Israel as engaged in “settler colonialism” and positively represents pro-Palestinian protests.
Titled “Teach Palestine!” and co-published by the Portland Association of Teachers (PAT), this curriculum targets students as young as four and five years old, according to City Journal contributor Chris Rufo. The PAT “represents over 4500 educators in the Portland Public School system,” the organization’s website reads. (RELATED: REPORT: New Viral Slogan Targeting Israel’s Campaign In Rafah Is AI-Generated)
EXCLUSIVE: The teachers union in Portland, Oregon, has created a curriculum that teaches kindergarteners that “Jewish people” are “settler-colonial” oppressors, prepares them to attend “protests,” and celebrates Palestinian “martyrs.”
Inside Portland’s kindergarten Intifada. 🧵
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) June 5, 2024
The union promotes the curriculum to its more than 4,500 members, providing legal justification for its inclusion in classrooms, Rufo reported. For pre-kindergarten students, the curriculum includes a workbook from the Palestinian Feminist Collective, which depicts Zionists as bullies who stole Palestinian land. A fictional character says, “A group of bullies called Zionists wanted our land so they stole it by force and hurt many people.”
It also offers “a sensory guide for kids” to prepare children for attending protests, with slogans like “Abolish Prisons,” “From The River To The Sea” and “Save Gaza,” Rufo reported.
In kindergarten, the curriculum intensifies with an “Art and Action for Palestine” lesson plan, according to Rufo. Activities include sharing “keffiyehs, flags, and protest signs” and creating agitprop materials with slogans such as “FREE PALESTINE,” LET GAZA LIVE,” and “PALESTINE WILL BE FREE.”
Objectives of the lesson include celebrating “Palestinian culture and resistance throughout history and the present,” tying “histories of settler colonialism from Palestine to the United States” and practicing “taking collective action in support of Palestinian liberation,” Rufo reported. (RELATED: Biden Says People Have ‘Every Reason’ To Believe Netanyahu Prolonging Israel-Hamas War For Political Benefit)
Another part of the curriculum is a pamphlet titled “All Out For Palestine,” according to Rufo. This document encourages students to chant in support of Palestinian martyrs and suggests that violence against Israel is justified, with slogans like “Resistance is justified when people are occupied: we can stick to our principles without going into details about the actions/forms of resistance.”
The PAT has also alleged that the school district is “actively censoring teachers” advocating for pro-Palestinian views, prompting the union to provide a legal guide for teachers to promote the lessons under state curriculum standards, Rufo reported.
Rufo noted that Portland has a history of radicalism in its public school system, which has long pushed students towards political activism.
