Philly teachers rail against the "Zionist entity" and how ((Zionists)) think Black Americans "owe them something". These are the great minds teaching your children...

Keziah Ridgeway, suspended pending investigation into allegations she threatened Jewish parents, hints at a return to the classroom.

Tonight, Philly Educators for Palestine through its parent group Racial Justice Organizing Committee, itself an offshoot of the Caucus of Working Educators, held a general meeting on Instagram live to get followers “plugged in to the work”, including advertising Rethinking Schools’s Teaching Palestine book.

Readers might remember that the Racial Justice Organizing Committee (RJ) is run by teachers - Hannah Gann, Keziah Ridgeway and Norman Shaw Macqueen, with support from Philadelphia School District Head of Social Studies Curriculum, Ismael Jimenez. Ridgeway has been removed from the classroom pending an investigation into allegations she threatened Jewish parents. Gann, Ridgeway and Macqueen make no secret of their hatred of Israel and view that Hamas is “legitimate resistance.”

Ridgeway and Gann contributed to the “Teaching Palestine” book currently being shopped around to schools and teachers. “Teaching Palestine” includes lesson plans for teachers to implement. This Substack has covered some of the lessons included in the book, including lessons that are currently in use in some public schools. During the Instagram Live, Ridgeway and Grann congratulated themselves on creating a “balanced” lesson…Of course, it is hard to take seriously the claim that the lesson was designed in good faith when these “teachers” are happy to so casually call Israel “the Zionist entity.” You can read our summary of the lesson here.

Here are Gann and Ridgeway discussing their “lesson”:

Gann (5:09): “ what Zionism specifically and colonialism in general does is it tries to tell very simplistic narratives particularly when it comes to non-white people - and I think a lot of the Zionist discourse around black people is a very flattened and simplified narrative, it’s like “well, Jewish people were allies during the civil rights movement”…but then also this narrative of “there was always this unquestioned solidarity between Jews and blacks during Civil Rights and now somehow black people owe the State of Israel something based on that.”

Next, they advertise upcoming workshops involving “Teaching Palestine” and students, and an upcoming a joint event with Rethinking Schools to publicize the “Teaching Palestine” book - the event includes an “interactive workshop” with members of the Philadelphia Educators for Palestine “dissecting the lessons.”

The event is co-sponsored by, among others, the W.E.B Du Bois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction - the group which shared the stage with terrorist entity Samidoun (and on whose board Ismael Jimenez sits).

Next, they excitedly share that next Tuesday Ridgeway will be speaking and running a workshop at the Writers Against the War on Gaza townhall event “Free the People, Free the Land.” Once again, the usual suspects are involved.

Proceeds for this event go to “Palestine Shield” - a US/Palestinian charity that provides “defensive” materials to Palestinians in the West Bank, including “protective gear” and “trucks and off road vehicles.”

Ridgeway talks about why its so important to talk about Palestine, she says Palestine is connected to many other issues, including “police brutality” against “unarmed” black people, genocide, colonization and:

“Israel rolls out these new weapons of destruction and they test them on the Palestinian people and then end up selling them to other countries…who’s going to be victims of that? More than likely they’ll be people of color.”

Next, Ridgeway praises “Pedagogy of Resistance” - an organization that provides curriculums and lesson plans for K-12 but also has started a “disruptor fund” to support teachers facing “discipline” for “speaking out for Palestine.”

And most troublingly, Ridgeway hints that she may be returning to the classroom. Ridgeway was moved “off-site” while an investigation into allegations she threatened Jewish parents was carried out.

This last bit of news leads Ridgeway into an odd monologue in which she waxes lyrical about one’s purpose in life. God, she says, only takes those who have fulfilled their purpose on this earth. Even babies. Gann, to her credit, realises that this philosophy doesn’t quite jive with the ire they hold for Israel’s “genocide” and other injustices that might lead to death.

Ridgeway attempts a course correction to get back on message: the purpose of all the dead in Gaza, she claims, is to bring awareness to Palestine and to Islam. They are martyrs for the cause:

Of course, one shouldn’t expect reason, rational thought or even consistency of position. These are the brilliant minds teaching your children in Philadelphia right now…

Though they congratulate themselves as “people who are light workers and hope bearers”…no seriously, they actually said that:

It would be funny except that these people who have a shallow, conspiratorial view of history and current events, who are illiberal in the worst sense, bring those views into the classroom.