GUELPH – A forum focussed on “Addressing Anti-Palestinian Racism in Our Schools” brought about 70 people to 10C Shared Space in Guelph on May 4.
The event was presented by UGDSB Parents for Palestine and featured Toronto Palestinian Families, Sporas Scattered, Independent Jewish Voices, Guelph 4 Palestine and the UGDSB Black Parents Council.
The forum came after more than 100 Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) parents signed an open letter calling on the board to “address issues of systemic anti-Palestinian racism.”
Event organizer Shabina Lafleur-Gangji described how Palestinian students at the UGDSB feel afraid to talk about their own heritage or to wear cultural items to school, and have been told that they can’t do projects based around their Palestinian heritage.
Lafleur-Gangji expressed a desire to work in collaboration with board officials to address systemic racism and other forms of oppression at the UGDSB.
She stressed the importance of relationship building amongst people attending the forum as well as others in UGDSB’s community.
“Our relationships are what makes this work,” she said. “Let’s build on these relationships and help each other out.”
UGDSB officials said board staff did not attend the event in order “to uphold the impartiality and integrity” of a recently launched human rights review of the board, and to ensure participants felt “safe and confident contributing openly to the independent process.”
UGDSB spokesperson Heather Loney said the lawyers conducting the review have been informed of UGDSB Parents for Palestine’s interests in contributing to the review, and call their concerns “a key focal point in the consultation process.”
In an email sent to UGDSB Parents for Palestine, board officials thanked them for their continued engagement and stated “we look forward to ongoing dialogue particularly as it relates to strengthening supports for Arab, Muslim and Palestinian students across our board.
Speakers at the event included Ameena Sultan and Iman A., who talked about their experiences as part of a group called Toronto Palestinian Families that has pushed for change at the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), to ensure that their Palestinian children are safe at school.
They described how they focus on education to create this change and offer training on recognizing and addressing anti-Palestinian and anti-Semitic racism.
This training works to dismantle the false narrative that pits Jews and Palestinians against each other, Iman said.
Parents often reach out to Toronto Palestinian Families for advice to support their children after they experience anti-Palestinian racism at school, Iman said, and so the group created a guide to help parents navigate the system.
“It’s very key for us to be able to empower parents,” she said.
They also work to protect staff, she noted. “When a teacher talks about the Nakba we don’t want the teacher to be … penalized in some way,” she said.
Iman noted the group does not want to silence others – “We are only asking for a seat at the table. We are only asking for equality.”
After years of advocacy from Toronto Palestinian Families, the TDSB adopted anti-Palestinian racism as part of its strategy to combat hate and racism, Iman noted.
Members of Independent Jewish Voices Guelph spoke during the forum, including Natasha Pravaz, an anthropology professor at the University of Laurier, a member of the Jewish Faculty Network, and “a very concerned parent with the UGDSB.”
“Anti-Semitism is a serious and ongoing problem that should be opposed at every turn – it has no place in our schools,” Pravaz said.
She said that it’s essential not to conflate criticism of the state of Israel with anti-Semitism, calling this “weaponized anti-Semitism,” and to recognize that the rise of anti-Semitism is connected to the rise of other forms of discrimination including Islamophobia homophobia, transphobia and white supremacy.
