Dear Chancellor Banks,

We as NYCPS employees write you today to express our serious concern and deep disappointment in the guidance you put forward on Wednesday, November 8th. New York City should be a place where all students, families, and school staff feel respected and safe; where critical thinking is supported; and where students are encouraged to take bold stands for justice, and against violence and war. Instead, we have seen you center the voices and needs of Israelis while completely erasing those of our fellow Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim community members. At the same time, we have seen right wing blogs and tabloids attack educators who have expressed support for Palestinians. And yet, instead of being a leader and protecting your staff’s constitutional right to free speech, you too have stooped to targeting and threatening retaliation for those of us who support Palestinian liberation.

We wholeheartedly reject the notion that Palestinian freedom is in opposition to Jewish safety; and we reject any propaganda, as well as censorship and intimidation of those who critique the ongoing violence. As educators, we cannot ignore the over 5,000 children have been killed in Gaza since the start of this most recent war and the additional 2,000 who are still missing under the rubble. We are appalled that Israel is bombing schools and institutions of higher education like the University of Al-Azhar, where thousands of Palestinians are sheltering. So many students have been killed that the official school year in Gaza has been indefinitely canceled. Indeed, these attacks on Palestinian civilians and the land’s educational infrastructure are considered war crimes under the very international laws that we are expected to teach our children and students about. We know that we cannot achieve peace by falling into traps of islamophobia, antisemitism, and racism; rather, now more than ever we must recommit to building healing-centered classrooms and schools steeped in love and critical pedagogy -- schools that are committed to teaching and working for the dignity of all peoples.

It is because we believe in the power of education for liberation that we feel compelled to ask you, Chancellor Banks, to be a leader and champion for human rights. Be bold and support what many across the world are already calling for:

(1) an end to the bombing of Gaza and a complete ceasefire;