Friday, June 21st, 2024

Across the USA this week, the holiday of Juneteenth was celebrated, commemorating the end of slavery in 1865.  When I moved to south Florida from liberal Massachusetts in the 1970s, there hadn’t been slavery for over 100 years, so I was shocked to discover rampant discrimination and racism. Integration was still a relatively new concept as African American kids were bussed into the previously all-white school that I attended. The state of Florida didn’t yet recognize Martin Luther King Day, and the thought of celebrating the end of slavery would have been akin to celebrating the arrival of Martians. Simply unthinkable. But somehow we reached today, and now Florida joins the other 49 US states in celebrating both Martin Luther King Day and Juneteenth.

Here in Canada this week, the Toronto District School Board voted to include a newly invented concept of “anti-Palestinian racism” (APR) among the types of bigotry they will be challenging. This is in addition to homophobia, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and anti-Arab racism. Personally, I’m not sure why a separate category of APR is needed, but let’s put that aside for now. In theory, it sounds reasonable. We don’t want any anti-anything. We are all about acceptance and love and living together in peace and harmony, right? 

But here’s the problem. No one involved in this initiative clearly defined exactly what “anti-Palestinian racism” is. Unfortunately, this lack of clarity becomes a danger for Jewish and Israeli students. Thousands of outspoken (and aggressive) pro-Palestinians believe that “Zionism” means “an end to Palestinians”. So just as Hamas has led its followers to believe in a one-state solution (Israel has no right to exist), this undefined APR allows for the belief that any support of Zionism falls into the category of anti-Palestinian racism.

Sadly, we are learning that many school educators are themselves not educated in this realm. There are those in positions of influence who truly believe that wearing a Magen David necklace is a call for death to Palestinians. Really.  In 2024. They actually think that this is what the Jewish people want. They confuse pride in one’s Jewish identity with something more sinister. And we Jews are dumbfounded as we try desperately to be heard. 

Something else that is truly disturbing with this is that if they’re adding APR, doesn’t it stand to reason that they should be adding anti-Israeli racism? Plus, according to their own data, anti-Semitism remains the most reported hate-motivated crime within the TDSB, but the school system doesn’t seem to be doing anything concrete about this. I cannot count how many Jewish families have told me in the past few weeks that their children will leave public school in September and attend Jewish day school instead. While I always celebrate a child strengthening his/her Jewish education, I can’t help but feel as if we are headed in the direction of a “Judenfrei” public school system.

I pray that, unlike Juneteenth in Florida, it will not take another hundred years to recognize and do something about the disparity in the current situation. I pray that we actually WILL be able to live safely with our neighbours, and experience a true peace together.

Am Yisrael Chai!