"Oakland Education Association, the union representing Oakland Unified teachers, has released multiple resolutions in support of Palestine, with no mention of the Hamas attack on Israel in the official resolutions." -- Zara Quiter, seventh grade
Oakland Education Association, the union representing Oakland Unified teachers, has released multiple resolutions in support of Palestine. These resolutions fail to mention the Hamas attack on Israel in the official resolutions, and encourage teachers to attend marches and teach students of all grade levels about Palestine and the conflict using this curriculum. OEA has received backlash for their actions, and a group of concerned parents and teachers have joined together on a Facebook group called OUSD Parents Against Antisemitism on Campus. OEA’s position on the conflict started out as a post on Instagram but has turned into much more.
On Oct. 7, Hamas attacked Israel, killing over 1,200 people. The war started soon after, and on Oct. 27, OEA released a statement on Instagram, stating that, “Educators have academic freedom (Article 9 of the OUSD-OEA contract) and the responsibility to teach young people about the realities of the world we live in. Teach Palestine is a great resource for classroom materials.” They wrote, “OEA calls for a ceasefire and an end to the occupation of Palestine.” There was no call for Hamas to release the hostages.

This post received negative attention from parents and teachers alike. The post was eventually taken down on Instagram, but an updated version is still on Facebook.
On Nov. 6, OEA passed an official resolution, stating that, “OEA leadership will support teachers by publicizing and distributing educational materials and resources for teachers to use in classrooms and give support to any teachers that are reprimanded for teaching about Palestinian liberation in their classrooms.” In this resolution, there was no mention of the hostages. At the end of the resolution, this was written: “We stand against all forms of racism, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, ethnic-cleansing, bigotry, and genocide.”
The meeting in which this resolution was voted on was supposed to end at 6:30 pm but lasted until 8:00 pm. The people who stayed until 8:00 were either “passionate for or against” the resolution, said an anonymous person who attended the meeting. This person spoke to the OEA executive board afterwards and said, “We realized the wording had no mention of the Hamas attack on Israel because it was so rushed.”
“People have different perspectives within the union, but using a democratic process where many, many teachers shared their perspectives, the union came to a decision,” said a teacher at a large Oakland high school who wished to go by Ms. F. Ms F is a member of OEA and a representative for OEA for Palestine.

On Nov. 16, at Montera Middle School in the 200s building, Montera teacher Arvind Reddy put two signs on their door and a poster on the wall next to it. The first of the two handmade signs featured a quote from Nelson Mandela: “But we know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.” The other handmade sign said “END GENOCIDE NOW.” Next to these two posters was a poster of Jesus dying in Mary’s arms, called “La Pietà di Michelangelo,” one of many images with a history of being used anti-Semitically.
“[La Pietà di Michelangelo] references Christians blaming Jews for Jesus’ death,” said a Senior Rabbi at Temple Sinai, Rabbi Jacqueline Mates-Muchin.
Anti-Semitic people use this image to evoke the misguided concept that the Jewish people killed Jesus and that this was an attack against Christianity.
Some students walking by Reddy’s classroom felt uncomfortable and confused. Montera student Sophia Fitelson said, “I have seen [the signs]. They are very disrespectful and I feel uncomfortable walking around and seeing them.”
There was also a sign that said, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” According to Mates-Muchin, signs with that language “called for the destruction of Israel.”
OEA’s resolution complicated any action the administration or district could take in regards to these signs and Reddy, who posted them. The resolution said, “Any educators who face disciplinary actions based on their teaching [about the conflict in Palestine] will have the full support of the Association and OEA leadership.”
There is at least one student who does not go to Reddy’s class at all anymore. Instead, they do their classwork at home.
The signs were taken down on Dec. 3. An anonymous Montera teacher could not officially confirm as to why they were taken down, but they did say, “I can let you know that many people complained to the district on many levels about the offensiveness of the signs and the fact that the signs were eroding our community as well, and that they were of a sensitive matter that a lot of parents had tried to keep from their children."
There is at least one student who does not go to Reddy’s class at all anymore. Instead, they do their classwork at home.
The signs were taken down on Dec. 3. An anonymous Montera teacher could not officially confirm as to why they were taken down, but they did say, “I can let you know that many people complained to the district on many levels about the offensiveness of the signs and the fact that the signs were eroding our community as well, and that they were of a sensitive matter that a lot of parents had tried to keep from their children."

On Dec. 4, a picture of a new statement from OEA was sent around to teachers, in which OEA “Endorses the Dec. 6 Oakland to Gaza teach-in and re-affirms that teachers have the right and option to participate in their classroom.” The resolution was officially released on Dec. 5.
The Dec. 6 teach-in was led by some teachers across the district.

Beside is the Instagram post advertising the teach-in.
As of Dec. 6, Reddy was not currently teaching at Montera for unknown reasons. An anonymous teacher was unable to confirm why they are no longer at Montera, because it’s been classified as an HR (human resources) issue.
“Palestinian liberation should not be framed as a threat to the safety of Jewish people. We teach students that there’s a difference between governments and the people they represent. There’s a difference between a nation state and the working people who make up that state. It’s super important that teachers make that framing clear to students,” Ms. F said. “Teachers are not supposed to be indoctrinating students with a particular stance. We can elevate Palestinian perspectives – ultimately our job is to introduce students to multiple perspectives and support students to draw their own conclusions.''
There is concern that teachers will incorporate their own bias when teaching students about the war in Palestine.
A teacher at Montera said, “It feels like our union is really taking a side here and taking a position.” They continued, “The wording of this resolution, and in general coming from OEA goes along with my greatest concern, which is how do you teach something which adults and professors and experts have a really difficult time agreeing on what the facts are in terms of occupation and liberation?”
“When I look at the wording of [the resolution], it's encouraging our teachers to be actively teaching and supporting something that I think is really, really complicated when it comes to the liberation of Palestine,” the teacher said. “There’s this terrible war happening and at the same time [the union is] expecting teachers to be able to teach what’s happening without bias and without the risk of hurting or alienating any of our students.”
Some Jewish families are leaving OUSD because they do not feel comfortable at an OUSD school any more. Families on the Facebook group OUSD Parents Against Antisemitism On Campus have reported on Facebook that their IDT (Interdistrict Transfer) forms have been approved.
The reason why many families feel it's necessary to take action against this resolution is because they worry about it leading to further anti-Semitism.
One Jewish parent at OUSD explained that the Holocaust started with anti-Semitic graffiti. “I was running around Lake Merritt and I saw anti-Semitic and anti-Israel graffiti everywhere.” Regarding the resolution, she said, “I was flabbergasted. I couldn't believe that this was happening in our own town.”
“All the teachers [at our school] said they do not stand for anti-semitism or hate in the school, and they signed their names on the statement,” she said. “Our union rep sent an email after the first vote saying we did not vote for this resolution for two reasons: it is harmful for our students and the second is we have no say in foreign politics.”
“Even though we have been granted these IDTs, I believe strongly that our kids are in strong places and at this point in time I won't be moving them,” she said.
“I know of several families who are thinking of leaving OUSD because they are afraid that their kids will be put in difficult situations in terms of how Jews and Israel will be discussed in classrooms, and then that the teachers, administration and the District won’t take the necessary precautions to protect their kids from bullying or harassment,” Rabbi Mates-Muchin said.
“I think the anti-Semitism and Islamophobia have always been there. Having this discussed in the news, where there is talk of who is at fault, and communities here are arguing with each other, has given permission for people to give those feelings [a] voice,” said Mates-Muchin. “I worry that some of the things that have been said to the Jewish community will never be forgotten, and it will be problematic for our American communities for a long time after this war is over.”
“People are taking out their anger on what's going on there on people here, as if a Jew here is responsible for what the Israeli government is doing, or a Muslim here is responsible for what Hamas did there,” said Rabbi Chai Levy of Congregation Netivot Shalom. “As Jews, we feel very connected to each other and our extended family in Israel, and I think people were very sad and maybe even traumatized. They feel afraid that an attack against Jews hasn't taken place like this since the Holocaust and was basically a pogrom*.”
“I don’t think this is the only school where there are divisions and tensions,” said a Montera teacher.
*a pogrom is, according to Oxford Languages; an organized massacre of a particular ethnic group, in particular that of Jewish people in Russia or eastern Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries