NYC Educators for Palestine, a group of public school educators who fight for “Palestinian liberation in our school system,” is organizing a “Palestine teach-in” for children ages 6-18 on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 19.
Some noted on social media that King was a “staunch supporter of Israel” and “outspoken Zionist.”
Mika Hackner, director of research at the North American Values Institute, told JNS that, unlike prior teach-ins for educators, this one is “explicitly for children.”
“It’s not a surprise that these activists would escalate their tactics to go directly to the targets of their indoctrination, bypassing other teachers altogether,” she said. “A similar teach-in is planned for Philadelphia, also on Jan. 19.”
The group has accused Israel of “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing” and called on Zohran Mamdani, the New York City mayor, to ensure that schools “end the targeted repression of Palestinian families” and “refuse to bow to calls to discipline young people for taking action and expressing their view.”
The group has also asked city officials not to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of Jew-hatred, to end contracts with “curriculum vendors that reinforce harmful rhetoric about Palestinians and promote Zionism,” and include the “nakba and the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians that led to the creation of the State of Israel” in educational materials.
