MINNEAPOLIS — The battle between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip continues to reverberate here in Minnesota, leading to a war of words between the region's oldest Jewish advocacy group and the union representing Minneapolis teachers.
The Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas is calling on the Minneapolis School Board to distance itself from the statement made by the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers Local 59 about Israel's role in the conflict.
"The union, which is supposed to represent the teachers, took a position that is very hostile to the vast majority of American Jews and the vast majority of the Jews they serve," Ethan Roberts, deputy executive director of the JCRC, told KARE.
The MFT59, which made national news last year with a historic strike against the Minneapolis Public Schools, posted its "Israel-Palestine Resolution" to social media on Nov. 14. It called for a cease-fire to allow humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians, but also criticized the US government for support of Israel.
The post began with, "MFT mourns the loss of innocent life in Israel and occupied Palestine. We categorically reject violence against all civilians whether Israeli or Palestinian."
It went on to say, "As Americans, we also condemn the role our government plays in supporting the system of Israeli occupation and apartheid, which lies at the root of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict."
By Sunday evening the union's post had already received 162,000 likes on X, the site formerly known as Twitter.
"Apartheid, genocide -- these words are meant to dehumanize Jews," Roberts remarked. "These are false charges, and it's language like that all over social media which leads kids to bully Jewish children."
The JCRC posted its own message to X asking parents, teachers, and taxpayers in the district to sign on to a letter in Google Docs asking the board to publicly distance itself from the MFT59 resolution and to offer district teachers training on how American Jews perceive anti-Semitism.
"The kids need to know, the families need to know, that their schools are a safe place for them. They need to know that teachers are people they can trust, and that trust is broken."
He said there have already been physical and verbal assaults against Jewish students in Minnesota. Some parents told the organization their children stopped wearing their Star of David necklaces to school.
"It's leading students to think that maybe that Jewish child sitting next to me, maybe they support apartheid, maybe they support genocide, which is the furthest thing from the truth."
KARE left messages for the union and union leadership Sunday but had not received a reply yet.
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