SWC: Stop Teachers in Oakland Elementary School Teaching Anti-Israel Tropes

December 6, 2023

The Simon Wiesenthal Center joins the Oakland School District in opposing a pro-Palestinian teach-in by teachers in the district that is part of an ongoing effort to embed anti-Israel tropes into the minds of young children.

Rabbi Abraham Cooper, SWC Associate Dean and Global Social Action Director:

“The goal of these extremists is to inculcate and normalize into the minds of impressionable youngsters poisonous violent anti-Semitic and anti-Israel tropes that will serve to demonize the Jewish State of Israel and her Zionist defenders here in California and beyond.

“Yesterday, FBI Chief Wray declared there has been a 60% spike in hate crimes since the October 7th butchery and mass murder of Israeli by Hamas terrorists.  To allow this propaganda to be 'taught' by any Oakland public school teacher ensures more pro-Hamas hate and more Jewish children bullied and attacked in school.

"The SWC urges the Oakland School District to immediately remove any and all teachers from the classroom who teach clueless children to remember that 'I stands for Intifada,' the deadly campaigns that took the lives of so many innocent Israeli children and their parents.

“The current war in Gaza is the sole responsibility of terrorist Hamas. Americans should not allow the importation of their narratives into our Public Schools.”

For further information contact the Center’s Communications department at pressinquiries@wiesenthal.com, join the Center on Facebook, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent directly to your Twitter feed.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).