A New York City middle school principal is under fire for telling teachers and administrators to “take action” in the Israeli/Palestinian war and to aid in the liberation of Palestine. But she failed to explain why there has never been peace in the Middle East. Twice there were agreements that would have created a free Palestinian state. But, the PLO rejected both offers including the one giving back the land won by Israel in the 1967 war.
The two efforts, one by Jimmy Carter and one by Ronald Reagan were turned down by the Palestinians who would have been bound by UN Resolution 242, denouncing terrorism, and recognizing “the right of the region’s states to live in peace.” The Palestinians have always been unwilling to say that Israel has the right to exist. They had been offered everything they wanted but recognizing Israel’s right to exist was not negotiable.
Principal Amanda Bueno emailed staffers at MS 136 in Brooklyn a list of actions they should take in order to aid the Palestinians. Does this include replenishing their supply of missiles?
She wanted them to commit to the liberation of Palestine. Palestinians are relative newcomers to the region especially after you consider Jews have been living there for over 3,000 years. Does Bueno support gutting the right for Israel to exist? If not then how can they be liberated since they won’t agree to it.
Bueno began the email with:
“Yesterday was the Day of Action in Solidarity with the Palestinian Uprising & General Strike. If you have been watching the news in absolute horror, you are not alone.”
“You can take action today by protesting, attending a vigil, making a public commitment to Palestinian Liberation, signing a petition, or calling your government officials to place sanctions on Israel.”
“The time is now to take a stand for those impacted by state-sanctioned violence and crimes against the humanity of the most vulnerable in our world,” the email read. “We need not prove their humanity and right to exist for us to spread awareness about these issues. Empathy is the bare minimum.”
The email included a list of links and resources to enable teachers to take action against Israel and support Palestinians.
“Here are some notes and resources from the Institute for Anti-Racist Education,” the principal wrote.
How do you confidently negotiate with someone claiming that you have no right to exist, like in no right to live?