Students for Peace: Strike for Palestine!

When

This strike will happen the Mar 15, 2024 2:00 PM. We want everyone to walk out of school during class time to disrupt their classes, apply pressure on PPS, and raise awareness. The rally will be held 3:15pm-4:20pm (PPS District Office located at 501 N Dixon St).

Lincoln HS

Franklin HS

Cleveland HS

Benson HS

Roosevelt HS

Grant HS

McDaniel HS

Jefferson High School

Ida B Wells High School

2:00 PM: Walk out of Lincoln, meet on the patio

2:30 PM: Rally @ Pioneer Place

2:45: MAX to Moda Center

2:00 PM: Walk out of Franklin, meet at the outside Benji statue.

2:08 PM: Walk to the FX2

Transfer to Streetcar B-Line 

2:00 PM: Walk out of Cleveland, meet in front of school.

Then, take Trimet Bus 9 to Pioneer Place to meet up with Lincoln

2:45: MAX to Moda Center

2:00 PM: Walk out of Benson, meet in front of school.

Then, Powell Blvd MAX to Moda Center

2:15 PM: Walk out of Roosevelt, meet in front of school.

Then, take Trimet Bus 75 and transfer to MAX Yellow Line to Moda Center

2:00 PM: Walk out of Grant, meet in front of school.

2:21 PM: Catch the Bus 70 at 33rd and Grant Place.

Then, transfer to Bus 17 at Broadway & 24th, get off at Broadway & Benton

2:25 PM: Walk out of McDaniel, meet in commons.

Then, take the MAX to Moda Center

2:30 PM: Walkout out of school, meet outside on Kerby Street in front of the parking lot

Take Bus 4 to the PPS Headquarters

2:00 PM: Walk out of class, meet outside of school near the food carts

2:10 PM: Take Bus 44 to Bus 4 to the PPS District Office

(There’s also other bus lines you can catch, check on Google Maps)

3:15 - 4:00 PM: Final Rally at Portland School District, where all schools join together. There will be speeches, poems, chants and general rally activities.

What

The State of Israel is committing a genocide on the Palestinian people of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The number of fatalities has surpassed 30,000, ⅓ of which were vulnerable children. We must condemn this crime against humanity and call for peace.

We walk out in solidarity with all who have called for a ceasefire, including those who wrote over 6000 letters sent to the school board started by PPS Workers for Palestine. We have three primary demands:

  1. Educate students and PPS staff members on the genocide occurring in Gaza, Zionism, the Israeli occupation, and settler colonialism. This includes hosting mandatory training for educators where the voices of Palestinian and SWANA (Southwest Asian & North African) community members are uplifted. Anti-racist lessons about the causes of the Israeli occupation and the intergenerational trauma caused by settler colonialism in Palestine need to be incorporated into teachings in all schools and grade levels. This education needs to detach Judaism and Jewish people as a whole from the ideology of Zionism and its roots in white supremacy and imperialism. Here is a list of lesson resources compiled by Oregon Educators for Palestine which demonstrates how Palestinian liberation and social justice can be taught in all grade levels. District managers must involve students, parents, and educators from every school to organize the educational materials and events to uplift Palestinian perspectives.
  2. Release a district-wide statement condemning the genocide in Gaza, honoring the 30,000+ Palestinian civilians killed by the state of Israel in the past five months, and calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire. On October 11th, 2023 PPS released a statement recognizing the Israeli lives lost, but no mention of Israel's subsequent murderous attacks on Gaza or the Zionist systems of apartheid, militarism, and land theft that have oppressed Palestinians for over 75 years. According to the IPC report, 100% of Gazans are facing levels of starvation. Palestinian suffering is intentional; it is the product of Israel’s starvation strategy, denying Palestinians food, water, and medical care. IDF soldiers have been recorded exterminating families, massacring civilians gathered at food trucks, and destroying hospitals filled with sick children. We are angered at the racist hypocrisy of the PPS administration which fails to recognise the state of Israel’s goal is to create an ethnostate from the river to the sea, by admission of its own prime minister.
  3. Cut all current and future ties with companies and organizations complicit in the violent settler colonial occupation of Palestine by Israel. PPS has contracts with companies like SHI International. SHI International is complicit in Israel’s human rights abuses as one of HP Inc.'s top partners globally. HP aids Israeli police and state surveillance that restricts the movement of Palestinians by implementing a racially segregated, biometric ID system. We demand that PPS refuse future contracts with companies on the BDS Movement list, as well as products produced by those companies.

Why

We must do our part as witnesses of this injustice and push people in power to impose sanctions by divesting from companies who either support Israel or are complicit with the mass genocide perpetrated. Alone we are small but together we can make change.

Where

We will be marching to the PPS District Headquarters. The full schedule for your school is listed above in the When section.

Who

This strike is for everybody, regardless of school district or other affiliations. The more people, the bigger the impact. All are welcomed and appreciated to help our cause! This action is safe and will NOT be arrestable. There will be adults with medical and de-escalation training who will be present.

Other Resources

Editable Poster Template (make a copy): View on Canva 

Questions?

PPSStudentsforCeasefire@gmail.com