TORONTO, ON– Palestinian and Jewish families of TDSB students held a joint press conference at the Toronto District School Board head office on Wednesday to draw attention to a pattern of anti-Palestinian racism in the Board.
“For the past two years, Jewish families and Palestinian families have repeatedly urged the TDSB to address anti-Palestinian racism,” said Nadine Nasir, Palestinian mother of two. “Now with tensions high and our communities in grief, we demand action.”
Surrounded by supporters, the representatives of the Palestinian families and Jewish families described their ongoing frustration in trying to engage the Board proactively and the ways their concerns have been repeatedly ignored.
“The Board conflates Judaism with Zionism, and allegiance to Israel. This logic dismisses criticism of Israel and Zionism as being antisemitic, even when that criticism is coming from Jewish community members,” said Ben Losman, spokesperson for Toronto Jewish Families and a TDSB parent.
“Recently, a TDSB trustee demanded that we stop using our group name because, in their opinion, we ‘do not represent Toronto Jewish Families’. This kind of identity policing indicates a deeper issue at the Board – that only certain Jewish perspectives are counted as legitimate, and Jews who want equal rights for Palestinians just don’t count as Jewish enough to be heard,” Losman added.
Nasir spoke about her own experience of erasure as a Palestinian student and her fear that the current climate, combined with the TDSB’s failure to explicitly address anti-Palestinian racism, will have a similar impact on current Palestinian students.
“I have taught my child to be proud of his Palestinian identity and to express himself freely, just like every other Canadian child. But now, due to the chilling effect of anti-Palestinian racism at the board, many Palestinian children are too afraid to do so. It is clear to us that the TDSB’s commitment to equity and safety for all does not apply to Palestinian families,” she said.
The two groups outlined a series of demands including: adding anti-Palestinian racism in the Board’s equity policy; developing resources and training related to anti-Palestinian racism and Palestinian human rights; publicly affirming that TDSB students and staff will not face reprisals for supporting Palestinian human rights, and an apology to Palestinian families for Board-wide communications which ignored Palestinian suffering.
Both speakers emphasized the urgency of their demands.
“Palestinian students are sitting at TDSB desks and grieving the loss of their family members. They’re trying to learn math while worrying about loved ones whom they haven’t heard from in days. When we send our children to school, we are trusting the TDSB to care for them, and we feel that the board has let us and our children down. Our children deserve better. We demand better.”
Toronto Palestinian Families 