Canadians For Palestine: Joint Letter To School Boards to Demanding They Fight Anti-Palestinian Racism

This letter will be sent to representatives of school boards across Canada on as a public call to action in response to continued Anti-Palestinian racism, Islamophobia, and other discrimination faced by our students.

If your organization would like to be included as a signatory to the letter, click here

************************

Letter Text

Over the past 7 months, our communities have seen an alarming increase in anti-Palestinian racism, Islamophobia, and other forms of hatred and discrimination. Unfortunately, our schools have not been immune to this trend, and students are exposed to this intolerance in their places of learning.

Since October, students have faced letters calling for bans of Palestinian clothing, signs, banners, and flags; inconsistent double-standards around students’ political expressions; and cultures of censorship and discrimination, among other impacts. UN experts have noted the unfortunate rise in retaliations against those who advocate, including that “calls for an end to the violence and attacks in Gaza, or for a humanitarian ceasefire, or criticism of Israeli government’s policies and actions, have in too many contexts been misleadingly equated with support for terrorism or antisemitism.”

The latest incident at the Iroquois Ridge High School (IRHS) in the Halton District School Board (HDSB), involving a guidance counsellor is just the latest in this unfortunate series of incidents, bearing hallmarks of anti-Palestinian racism, Islamophobia, and other forms of discrimination. We appreciate the response from the IRHS principal and HDSB acknowledging that this is harmful and discriminatory anti-Palestinian racist language and investigating the incident.

Students representing Palestinian culture through clothing, including the keffiyeh, fall at the intersection of many protected characteristics under the Ontario Human Rights Code – such as race, ancestry, place of origin, ethnic origin, and creed – and are entitled to freedom from discrimination on these grounds. The keffiyeh (traditional cultural scarf), and other similar items are important symbols of the identity, struggle, and self-determination for the people of Palestine. These protected traits are a cornerstone of the HDSB Discriminatory & Harmful Language Protocol, and equivalent protections across other school boards.

Teachers, administrators, and other leadership within our schools bear an extra responsibility in these regards, to model appropriate behaviour within the education system. To mitigate the unfortunate consequences of hatred and maintain schools as safe spaces for our children, swift responses are needed.

We, the undersigned, call on all school boards to:

• Acknowledge and condemn all forms of anti-Palestinian racism, and its intersections with Islamophobia and other forms of discrimination increasingly faced by students;
• Implement mandatory proactive sensitivity training and educational awareness for staff and administrators, particularly around the unique manifestations of discrimination in these contexts; and
• Connect with community-based organizations to facilitate educational opportunities for students, including around Palestinian history and culture.

We call on the HDSB, additionally, to:

• Ensure transparency in the process of investigating this incident;
• Work to rebuild trust with the community and student body, including through clear and public statements affirming the rights of students to represent Palestinian culture and engage in Palestinian advocacy.