PORTLAND, Ore. — Days after taking down some pro-Palestine teaching guides after backlash from the Jewish community, the Portland teachers union moved some content to a more discreet location on its website.
The material is color-coded, based on the level of caution teachers should use before teaching the curriculum. Still, Jewish leaders said much of the material that is still posted is hateful.
"It's just totally inappropriate," said Bob Horenstein, the Portland Jewish Federation's community relations director.
Some of the guides that remain up on the teachers union website linked to sources that categorized Israel as an apartheid regime. Another linked to an op-ed piece that argued Hamas’ October 7 invasion of Israel was not surprising and was provoked by Israeli aggression.
On Tuesday, Portland Association of Teachers (PAT) President Angela Bonilla told KGW some material had been taken down for review. Though on Friday, dozens of linked sources remained.
"You would hope that teachers would actually be teaching from multiple, fact-based perspectives," Horenstein said.
There are also links to material that contain Palestinian and Israeli viewpoints, though some Jewish teachers said much of the material is slanted.
"I'm angry and I feel betrayed," said David Goldstein, a Robert Gray Middle School teacher.
Bonilla told KGW that the union is committed to social justice, as well as keeping schools free of Islamophobia and antisemitism.
On Tuesday, some material was taken down for review. It's unclear if that material is still off of the union website or has been reposted. Leaving Goldstein and Horenstein worried that the teaching guides could lead to a rise in antisemitism.
"I believe that this behavior by our union leadership really creates an intimidating and threatening environment for Jewish students," Goldstein said. "I don't accept this behavior from my leadership."
"You can't be opposed to antisemitism and at the same time putting out hateful propaganda," Horenstein added.