PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland teachers' union has taken pro-Palestinian teaching material off of its website after weeks of backlash from Jewish community leaders and teachers.
Recently, some Portland city council candidates have also spoken out against the teaching guides. Some content within the material referred to Israel as colonial settlers. Other documents referred to Israel as an apartheid regime.
"It is perhaps a partial step in the right direction, but it's not nearly enough," David Goldstein, a Jewish teacher at Robert Gray Middle School, said of the removal. "We don't know why they took it down. There hasn't been any statement. There hasn't been any apology. There hasn't been any recognition of the harm that they've caused."
In a statement, Portland Association of Teachers (PAT) president Angela Bonilla said the PAT executive board chose to remove and revise the guide. PAT will update the guide, focusing on protections for educators using Oregon’s ethnic studies standards. The updated guide will also focus on Portland Public Schools policies on curriculum, censorship and complaints.
The removal of material comes as pressure mounts within the union — and outside of it.
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Recently, Jesse Cornett, a city council candidate who was endorsed by PAT, sent Bonilla an email, asking her to take down material with the phrase "from the river to the sea." In a text to KGW, he claimed that the phrase was antisemitic.
"The information they put on there is slanted,” Sam Sachs, another Portland City Council candidate said. “It's a one-sided perspective."
Sachs is Jewish and founded a nonprofit focused on ending hate and racism. Though even though pro-Palestinian material has been removed, he worries it could still have a negative impact on students and staff.
"I believe what they did by putting that information on the website has created an antisemitic, discriminatory, biased and unsafe environment for Jewish students and teachers," Sachs said.
KGW also heard from Jewish community leaders that another PAT-endorsed city council candidate campaign manager is meeting with Jewish teachers Tuesday night to discuss the pro-Palestinian messaging.