Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter said Saturday that the Brooklyn middle school principal, who sent an email to staffers encouraging them to protest against Israel, should apologize for her actions.
Porter said in a tweet that Charles O. Dewey Middle School 136 Principal Amanda Bueno's decision to promote political activism to teachers and administrators was an act of "poor judgement."
The MS 136 principal must apologize for her email. This was a clear exercise of poor judgment & we will take appropriate follow-up action. We must teach complex current events without bringing our political activities or beliefs into the classroom.
— Chancellor Meisha Porter (@DOEChancellor) May 22, 2021
As I reported earlier, Bueno urged staff to advocate for Palestinian Liberation and demand government sanctions against Israel, which resulted in a pending probe by the school system’s independent investigator.
The principal referenced the conflict between Israel and Hamas terrorists, which has since come to a ceasefire, telling staff that “If you have been watching the news in absolute horror, you are not alone.”
You can take action today by protesting, attending a vigil, making a public commitment to Palestinian Liberation, signing a petition, or calling your government officials to place sanctions on Isreal. The time is now to take a stand for those impacted by state-sanctioned violence and crimes against the humanity of the most vulnerable in our world. (sic)
She included a list of anti-Israel hashtags, and, at the end of the email, provided resources for educators to use to teach students about Palestine, which included the “Teach Palestine” website and an article about Rep. Rashida Tlaib's (D-MI) tweet that criticized the Israeli raid on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem.
As US governments push to restrict anti-racist education in several states, we must keep pushing forward! Sign petitions, call your state officials, share on social media, divest your funds from companies that invest in human rights violations, talk to your family and friends about what is happening, send your donations, and offer space for racial healing and truth-telling in your classrooms.
Bueno did not respond to multiple email requests from Townhall.