Full CAIR-Philly Press Conference: Keziah Ridgeway Sues the School District of Philadelphia

This is Ahmet Selim Tekelioglu, Executive Director of CAIR-Philly:

Next, they trotted out some anti-Zionist Jews ( a small minority of the Jewish community), members of the extremist Jewish Voice for Peace, to Kosher Ridgeway’s claims, including a Rabbi in a watermelon yarmulke - Ari Lev Fornari. And Ethan Cohen, professor at Temple University.

Cohen expressed exactly the problem - it is not the role of a teacher or professor to teach “truths” or what they see as truths to their students. It is the role of an educator to present information neutrally, without bias, so that students might learn to think for themselves and reach their own conclusions. But as Rabbi Fornari noted, Ridgeway is focused on “liberatory”, that is to say political, education.

There were no questions from the press.

Just a reminder that Ridgeway posted this to her instagram, accessible to her students, when it was still public:

From Canary Mission - Threatening Violence Against Jewish Parents

In September 2024, the National Postreportedthat Ridgeway threatened the parents of Jewish students, according to a legal complaintlodgedby the Deborah Project, a public interest law firm, on behalf of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia.

In an August 31, 2024 post, Ridgeway posted[p. 7] a graphic that read: “Ain’t no fun when the

got the

,” making a reference to a gun.

In a September 3, 2024 post, Ridgeway wrote[p. 8]: “Black owned

shops in or near Philly? Asking for a friend.”

The complaint also took issue with Ridgeway naming previously anonymous SDP Jewish Family Association leaders on social media. In one post, Ridgewaywrote(p.6): “Part 1. I asked y’all nicely to leave me alone. I asked y’all nicely to keep my name out y’all mouth. Now I’m taking my gloves off…”

Per the complaint that Ridgeway filed in her suit against the district:

Forgive me if I’m wrong but my reading is that after an investigation, the District found that Ridgeway had in fact made credible threats against members of the Jewish community and so she was suspended with prejudice.

As the lawyer and the complaint argue, Ridgeway’s First Amendment rights have been impeded - however, as employees of the district, teachers have a duty to maintain neutrality in the classroom, presenting both sides of an issue, and sticking to facts, so that students can pursue free and open inquiry - teaching only one side of a complex issue, presenting opinion as fact, and using social media to communicate those views to students, in my view, falls well outside the role of a responsible educator.

Again, good luck with that lawsuit.