The entire letter has not been published, but local media quoted enough of it to show how insanely biased it was.
“As we continue in our anti-racism journey, it is important to bring attention to the injustices that have escalated against Palestinians in recent weeks,” wrote the school's “culturally-responsive committee,” which is supposed to advance the school’s anti-racism and equity goals.
The letter gave a list of words for teachers to use, and not to use, when referring to the Israel/Palestinian conflict - one of the words not to use.
The “words to use” list included: apartheid, colonialism, ethnic cleansing, boycott Israel, and anti-Zionism. “Words not to use” included: ‘clash, war, both sides and conflict.”
When the backlash started, the committee that sent out the letter didn't apologize for its anti-Israel viewpoint. Instead, it said it wasn't antisemitic.
“The CRC’s critique of state-sanctioned violence is never intended to give either implicit or explicit condemnation of a religion,” the committee wrote in its follow-up message. “Any antisemitic ideologies should be given no quarter in our community or in our committee. We are deeply sorry for the harm that we caused by not making that more clear.”
But calling to boycott Israel and to be explicitly anti-Zionist and implicitly support Hamas is perfectly okay!
It took the school district two full weeks after the letter to finally acknowledge that they screwed up.
Schenectady Interim Superintendent Aaron Bochniak apologized on Wednesday for the “hurt, anger, disappointment and fear” caused by the email.
Bochniak, said "it did not include the necessary context and framework to help move the dialogue in the right direction.”
But his defense of the committee that sent out the email is unbelievable:
“Ultimately, the work is intended to make teaching and learning relevant and supportive of all students,” Bochniak said of the culturally relevant committee. “The work of these teachers does not mean that they are the experts; they are learning the work by doing the work and encouraging difficult conversations. Sometimes they need help and support, too.”
Excuse me? The teachers that send out an email telling other teachers how to teach aren't experts, and this fiasco is just a learning experience for them? We should feel sorry for these bigots because they are just muddling by, trying to do the best they can?
Imagine if a teacher said a racist statement in the classroom, or said that Native Americans really didn't suffer when America was colonized. Would that be chalked up as a mere mistake that the teacher can learn from, or would the teacher be immediately fired?
The fact is that this “culturally-responsive committee” is filled with ignoramuses who look at the world through the lens of "privileged whites" and "oppressed people of color", they know literally nothing beyond that. This letter proves it. It shows that the current members are supremely unqualified not only to be members of such a committee but unqualified to be teachers in the first place.
