California school shut down student Palestine meeting after complaints from ADL

 

Orange County School of the Arts shut down a student meeting on Palestine after being contacted by the Anti-Defamation League. Students say the administration won't acknowledge that it was censorship.

BY MICHAEL ARRIA  SEPTEMBER 27, 2021 

There have been multiple pro-Israel events organized at Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA) and the administration has never objected. However, things went much differently when a group of students tried to set up a meeting about Palestine in May.

“We have a club called Building Bridges, and it specializes or its main goal is to basically give students the tools to understand systems of oppression, to presentation discussions and talking about one’s own experiences,” a member who requested to remain anonymous explained to Mondoweiss. “And that semester we were going for more anti-imperialist sort of motif, and we have presented on Palestine before. But I think the whole trouble started when we publicize the meeting on our Instagram. And specifically the flyer we used had the words ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.'”

That (frequently misunderstood) phrase immediately generated controversy. Students and parents complained to the school’s administration, while teachers warned the meeting’s organizers about the growing backlash. It was strongly recommended that they take any posts about the meeting down over potential safety concerns. The event was ultimately canceled and that evening OCSA Principal Michael Ciecek sent out a school-wide email about the situation:

Earlier today, school administration was made aware of a social media post about a planned club meeting surrounding the topic of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This post was not authorized or approved by the club advisors or by school administration. At OCSA, we always promote and encourage opportunities for healthy and positive dialogue; however, this planned meeting was canceled as it was not in alignment with OCSA’s core values and steadfast commitment to maintaining a safe and nurturing environment for all students.

In response to the school’s move, the club’s students put together a petition that demanded an acknowledgement of the censorship, a promise to protect the free speech of Palestinians, and a green light to move forward with the presentation. Parents, and other community members, also created a group in support of the students called Friends of Building Bridges Club. In early August they organized a picnic for the students that featured Palestinian food and informational booths set up by local organizations like  by Yalla Indivisible and Jewish Voice for Peace – LA.

The students and some of their supporters testified about the situation at a Board of Trustees meeting on August 25th. At the meeting Ciecek contradicted the school’s own assertion that event had been canceled, insisting that it had merely been postponed. He also acknowledged that the ADL had contacted the school about the situation.

“On May 13 the school became aware of a meeting by the OCSA Building Bridges club that was going to be having a discussion around the Israeli/Palestine conflict,” he told the board. “As more messages came in and we began our investigation that day we discovered that the advisors..had no idea of the content or awareness of what was taking place that day. Further communications that we received unsolicited from the Anti-Defamation League also indicated that imagery and the wording used to promote the meeting was consistent with imagery and wording used in antisemitism and [they were using] anti-Zionist words that were inflammatory and created an unsafe space for our Jewish students…”

“So we made the decision after that morning after consulting and explaining this to the advisors that the meeting had to be postponed,” he continued. “There was no outright canceling but the meeting had to be postponed until both perspective could be offered.”

The board also received a letter from Rabbi Peter Levi,  the ADL’s regional director for Long Beach and Orange County. Levi asserts that the ADL takes no position on whether or not the event should be canceled and merely wants to provide relevant information about antisemitism:

Anti-Israel activity can cross the line into antisemitism when: all Jews are held responsible for the actions of Israel, Israel is denied the right to exist as a Jewish state and equal member of the global community, and traditional antisemitic symbols, images or theories are used.

Here is an explanation of some of the potentially problematic language and images used:

• The slogan “From the River to the Sea” raises fear among many Jews, who recall reports of Arab political and military leaders bragging that they would ‘push the Jews into the sea’ in the years following the founding of Israel. Usage of this phrase, regardless of intent, has the effect of making members of the Jewish community feel ostracized and unwelcome.

• The social media posts negated the Jewish people’s historic connection to the Land of Israel. Instead, these social media posts use antisemitic tropes to explain why Jews would want to return to the land.

• The social media posts also use traditional antisemitic stereotypes and tropes, including Jewish control of the media, money, and greed.

Levi’s last example is referring to a social media post which claimed that “many big names such as the Rothschilds, Rupert Murdoch etc have invested in [oil] – this explains why what you see on the media is so biased.” There’s just one problem: the club had nothing to do with that post. In fact, the students told Mondoweiss they had no idea where it came from.

“I think that’s an Instagram post that was circulating but none of us ever liked it, shared it, or put it on the Building Bridges Instagram,” one of club’s members told Mondoweiss. “We’ve never referenced it at all. It’s literally a blatant lie that we ever did anything with it. I had to look it up to even know what it was.”

The club’s members say that the board never addressed any of their statements or concerns. Days later they had a meeting with administration and were also disappointed by the results. The school again insisted that the meeting had merely been postponed, despite declaring that it was canceled originally. The club’s members were also told that the school didn’t necessarily have a problem with the meeting, but with the flyer used to promote it. It didn’t matter whether “From the river to the sea…” was an antisemitic phrase, what mattered is that students said they felt harmed by it. Therefore the school was compelled to act in an effort to defend its “core values.”

Despite its veneer as a civil rights group the ADL has a long history of Islamophobic and anti-Palestinian rhetoric. It’s also consistent embraced police departments and right-wing leaders. Last year over 100 racial, economic, and social justice organizations released an open letter urging other progressives groups to cut ties with the organization.

“We are deeply concerned that the ADL’s credibility in some social justice movements and communities is precisely what allows it to undermine the rights of marginalized communities, shielding it from criticism and accountability while boosting its legitimacy and resources,” it read. “Even when it may seem that our work is benefiting from access to some resources or participation from the ADL, given the destructive role that it too often plays in undermining struggles for justice, we believe that we cannot collaborate with the ADL without betraying our movements.”

After nine House members voted against extra Iron Dome funding last week, the ADL sent out a tweet smearing the lawmakers as terrorist supporters unconcerned with protecting civilians.

“So cynical that this is framed as ‘defense.’,” tweeted In These Times‘ Sarah Lazare. “Please remember this the next time the ADL is depicted as an impartial, above-the-fray civil rights organization.”

The club’s students say that they’re taking a step back from the situation to focus on their studies, but they’ve drafted a statement about the entire saga.

“As students, our voices have been ignored and disrespected by administration. This has taken a considerable toll on our mental health and on energy we should have been able to devote to other things, such as our studies and also in simply enjoying our last year of high school together,” it reads. “We, as students in our senior years of high school, do not have an infinite supply of time and energy, especially as we prepare for our futures and attempt to prioritize our mental health. This matter seems to have grown beyond the harm caused to our club and our power as its student leaders, and we now turn to the concerned members of our community for support. We cannot thank you enough.”

https://mondoweiss.net/2021/09/california-school-shut-down-student-palestine-meeting-after-complaints-from-adl/