A coalition of community members defending the right to teach about Palestine.
We are Portland-area educators and activists organizing a rapid response network to defend educators who teach honestly about Palestine and Israel. Many of our colleagues have faced coordinated campaigns of intimidation: threats, retaliation, discipline, and pressure to alter or erase lessons. These efforts silence classroom conversations and leave students uninformed.
The loudest local opposition has come from the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland (JFED). While JFED does not represent all Portland-area Jews, it has been able to mobilize hundreds of letters and pointed threats that influence decision-makers.
We are building a countervailing force: a network of hundreds — and hopefully thousands — of supporters who will pledge to act quickly to support educators under pressure. When an incident occurs, cosigners pledge to send messages within 48 hours to building administrators, superintendents, school boards, and parent/community groups. We will provide sample language you can use; you do not need to write anything from scratch.
WHAT WE ARE ASKING YOU TO PLEDGE
Pledge to respond when notified of an instance of educational repression (we’ll ask for email support only).
Allow us to contact you only for the purpose of responding to repression and censorship of classroom teaching.
Share this pledge with family, friends and/or your organization.
OUR PLEDGE TO YOU
Your name and contact will not be shared with other organizations.
This campaign will run through the 2025–26 school year; after that we will evaluate whether to continue.
No fundraising is required to cosponsor nor pledge. We expect expenses to be minimal; if you’d like to offer financial support, contact info@palestineeducationdefense.org
WHY THIS MATTERS
We are at a pivotal moment. The U.S.-backed violence in Gaza has left students asking urgent questions; educators need the freedom to teach fully and accurately about past and present events. If educators are silenced, students lose access to essential knowledge and critical thinking.