Oakland parents divided after teachers union passes resolution supporting Palestinian liberation
OAKLAND — Tensions are rising at Oakland schools where a pair of resolutions supporting Palestinians are dividing teachers, parents and students.
"Every morning my daughter wakes up probably at 6:30 and she dives into an art project," said Jonathan Goldberg as he walked through his daughter's room.
She's in 2nd grade and her brother is in 5th grade. Both are students at Cleveland Elementary in Oakland — And both, like their father, are Jewish.
When asked if he had ever had a conversation with his son about antisemitism before, Goldberg said, "No, I haven't. Last night was the first night I sat down with him and we started talking about the current situation."
The situation he's talking about has to do with the Oakland Education Association, the union that represents OUSD teachers. A little over a week ago OEA posted an official statement of solidarity with Palestine and condemned the "genocidal and apartheid state of Israel."
OEA later walked back the statement. On Monday night, according to parents, OEA passed a different resolution saying, "standing unequivocally in support of Palestinian liberation." The resolution went on to say OEA would distribute educational materials for teachers to use in classrooms to teach about Palestinian liberation.
KPIX 5 reached out to OEA leadership to confirm the resolution shared with KPIX 5 was the resolution that passed. OEA denied it, but would not provide KPIX 5 with a copy of a resolution that did pass.
"As a Jewish family, it really has me concerned for the safety of my children, it has me concerned about how we're teaching our children," said Goldberg.
"It makes me feel really heartbroken and disappointed to hear that some parents are taking that stance. Being in solidarity with Palestine doesn't mean that we are being antisemitic or discriminating toward Jewish students, right," said Chela Delgado.
She is a graduate of OUSD schools and now has two students in the district: a 5th grader and 7th grader.
She agrees with OEA's statements of support for Palestinians and said she sees it as part of their responsibility to students.
"Teachers are just supposed to say, 'Well, I'm not going to comment on that because it's political.' No! I mean, absolutely not. I want those teachers to be trying to help my kids understand what's happening," said Delgado.
In addition to the OEA resolution, Oakland school board member Valarie Bachelor also drafted a resolution in support of Palestinians. It is on the agenda to be discussed during the regular OUSD board meeting Wednesday night.
