Toronto students forced to wear 'Colonizers' shirts at anti-Israel protest

[Beastly Boy]

Middle school students were forced to take part in a protest in Toronto earlier this week, where teachers allegedly instructed them to wear blue shirts to identify themselves as “settlers” and “colonizers,” Canadian media and government officials reported on Friday. Parents had been told the 7th and 8th-grade students were at the protest to “observe,” but videos and witnesses who spoke to the Toronto Sun revealed that the students were encouraged to take an active role.

'You'll get over it': While the protest had been in support of the Grassy Narrows First Nation and the ongoing water crisis, anti-Israel chants reportedly quickly took over. On the permission slip it explicitly stated that “students will not be participating in rallies itself. ”Then what is this? @tdsb your schools are now openly lying to parents and sending them to scream anti-Israel slogans with no understanding. @JillDunlop1 it’s time for action pic.twitter.com/C6Pytn8qjo
— Ariella (tortured poet version) (@ariellakimmel) September 19, 2024

One Jewish student expressed their discomfort to their teacher about the anti-Israel chants, the student’s cousin told the Sun. The teacher allegedly responded, “You’ll get over it.”

“It is very frustrating that elements of the anti-Israel mob are using their positions as educators to drive this agenda on impressionable children who know nothing about this conflict in the Middle East,” Toronto City Councillor James Pasternak told the Sun. “Our education system must nurture young minds in a positive way and not teach them to demonize those they don’t agree with.”

https://www.jpost.com/international/article-821109

This type of nazified exploitation of minors to promote the normalization of ideological bias would have been unheard of just a year ago. I fear that "encouraging" children to wear yellow Stars of David and/or pink triangles is not far behind. God help us all.

[struggle4progress]

1. Whatever actually happened, the story's about Toronto CANADA

[Beastly Boy]

2. It is. And if it happened in Nurenberg Germany, it would be of great concern to us in the US too.

Because those of us who have elementary familiarity with history know how events like this impact us all in the US.

[struggle4progress]

3. Toronto CANADA seems to be handling their own issues just fine

[Beastly Boy]

5. They didn't have the need to handle it just fine a year ago. And that's the point, isn't it?

[Sympthsical]

4. Should take a look at the Oakland, CA school district some time

A lot of similar shit went down there, where the "educators" seemed to think their anti-Zionist politics needed to be centered in their mission.

Was interesting watching the parents react to that one.

Spoiler: It did not go well.

[sarisataka]

7. Are we only allowed to speak of antisemitism

That occurs within the US?

[orange jar]

13. Some would prefer if we didn't bring up antisemitism at all.

[Cha]

32. It Appears So.. I can't even with that post.

[kcr]

10. What does the fact it's in CANADA

have to do with anything? Am I missing something?

[Cha]

31. omg.. brilliant.

I'm disappointed in that statement.

[rog]

6. Is this really how it happened? I looked at the supposedly incriminating video ...

Last edited Sat Sep 21, 2024, 12:49 PM - Edit history (1)

... posted on xitter, and it just showed a long shot of the stage with someone doing a pro-Palestine speech which instigated some call-and-response from the crowd. The camera was located on the fringe of the crowd, and a panning shot showed no one that I could see wearing a 'colonizer' blue shirt. Ultimately it showed a few middle school aged kids standing around, casually talking to each other, laughing, and checking out the scene. Two of the kids held a banner that simply said 'River Run'. They were not even close to demonstrating.

I don't see any photos or videos that show people wearing masks.

The event is described here: a walk at Grange Park, a chance to hear from affected First Nations re. mercury pollution at Grassy Narrows. https://ontarionature.org/event/grassy-narrows-river-run-2024/

The two most likely explanations seem to be:

1. the First Nations event was infiltrated by protesters whose concerns have nothing to do with mercury and are halfway around the world, or ...

2. the students went to a different rally.

My uneducated guess is that it might be #1.

Edited to add that this article has a photo at the top of the article that shows someone with a bandana holding a pro-Palestine banner ... he is an adult with a beard, standing next to another adult. The article includes a Xitter post that I imagine is intended to be incriminating, posted by the Elementary Teachers of Toronto.

In that post, there are 3 photos of a peaceful march in support of First Nation rights, none of which appear to show middle school kids. All the people in the foreground appear to be adults ... 'maybe' teachers? Is this even associated with the field trip? I don't see any evidence, or any reference to the field trip ... just teachers marching in solidarity. The caption in the post simply says, "Marching the streets with students, parents & teachers united in our demand for justice for @FreeGrassy. Clean water is a human right. We’re here to ensure that right is honoured for all communities. Together we can create a future where every child thrives with clean water & air."

Also, the School Board is looking into this.

What I saw in a search was the same article posted verbatim in many different tabloid-type publications, many of which had embedded Xitter inks. I imagine the situation is a lot more nuanced than is reported here, and that the students were caught in a protest cross-fire. I'll wait to find out if there was coercion on the part of the teachers, but on the surface that just sounds like a stretch.

I'm also willing to be convinced otherwise.

.rog.

[Beastly Boy]

9. As per the article, this is what "Canadian media and government officials reported on Friday."

I would venture a guess that a video on Xitter doesn't fully show the extent of the incident.

And one of your two likely explanation is exactly what the reports and witnesses accounts allege:

While the protest had been in support of the Grassy Narrows First Nation and the ongoing water crisis, anti-Israel chants reportedly quickly took over.

So your guess turns out to be well educated indeed, with a caveat that at least one of the school teachers who participated in the events had an active role in this infiltration:

“It is very frustrating that elements of the anti-Israel mob are using their positions as educators to drive this agenda on impressionable children who know nothing about this conflict in the Middle East,” Toronto City Councillor James Pasternak told the Sun.

[rog]

14. Just pointing out that Pasternak has an agenda.

Just as a matter of information. There's a lot to be learned about this story. I see red flags, so I'm holding back an opinion. BTW, I also added a bit to my post above, which includes a bit more information. I'm opposed to coercing students in any way, but I will be surprised (and dismayed) if the bit about 'forcing' students to 'participate in a protest' happened. I don't see any video or photographic evidence of that, so far.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Pasternak (Pasternak is Jewish, so it's not surprising that he's pro-Israel. Not surprising, and absolutely nothing wrong with that. It seems to me that the issue we're discussing is 'coercion of students to participate in protests they know nothing about', not whether protests, protestors etc, are inherently good or bad.)

--- 'QuAIA = Queers Against Israel Apartheid --

Israel apartheid debate

In 2012, Pasternak introduced a motion that asked City Manager Joe Pennachetti to update Toronto's anti-discrimination policy and to determine whether including QuAIA in Pride events violated the policy. Pasternak believes "QuAIA is not there to support the Palestinian people; it’s there to bully and demonize Israel, its supporters and the Jewish community." The following year, in 2013, Pasternak continued to lead the effort to defund Toronto Pride over the use of the term Israel apartheid by its participating members.

Yes, this is old news. Re: QuAIA, "The group announced in February 2015 that it was disbanding after seven years of activity."

Here's a 2023 press release from his website. I imagine there are a lot of folks who feel the same way.

All I'm saying is that he's not exactly an impartial source, and that I understand his position.

[Beastly Boy]

18. Being Jewish is not an agenda.

Questioning the agenda of a group that contains "Israel Apartheid" in its title is not an agenda. This is not pro-Israel, it is anti-defamation. Including this nonsensical and provocative term in a title of any organization IS, however, a clear statement of an agenda, and rightfully deserves scrutiny that Pasternak requested long ago. So do the allegation stated in the OP.

If you find the report in any way incomplete, you can remain skeptical in the absence of any justification for your skepticism. You cannot deny, however, that this event is unprecedented, and the likes of it would not have been conceivable a year ago.

I, knowing the past history of antisemitism and being keenly aware of the escalating trajectory of it being normalized and institutionalized, am extremely alarmed and fearful of these accounts, no matter how you may interpret them.

[rog]

19. Maybe I just should have said he has a particular point of view.

The word 'agenda' admittedly is a charged word, so I retract that and apologize. But the fact remains that Paternak is himself an activist. I won't go beyond that.

What I'm trying to get across is that the story about teachers 'coercing' their students to 'participate in a protest they know nothing about' seems suspect to me, and I'm certainly not willing to throw teachers under the bus without a lot more convincing evidence that this happened.

As far as I'm concerned this is over and above the Israel/Palestine conflict. This whole thing started with an event in solidarity with First Nations people, concerning pollution that affects their health.

I am waiting for evidence that the teachers intended for their students to take part in a pro-Palestine demonstration, or that they even knew this was going to be an issue at this event.

I don't think Pasternak has any idea about this.

[Beastly Boy]

21. Maybe you should have.

[rog]

23. Yikes ... ok ... duly chastised. My apology still stands, though.

n/t

[Cha]

33. Yeah, you most Definitely Should Have. Vast Difference.

[rog]

41. Again, duly chastised. Not sure why an apology needs further spanking, but the apology still stands.

n/t

[rog]

15. Just curious how Pasternak's statement, above ...

... implies that, "one of the school teachers who participated in the events had an active role in this infiltration."

Was he there? It appears he's just referring to this report, and he may be assuming that the teachers knew the event was going to be hijacked, or were 'in on the protest', somehow, and 'forced' the students to take part. I really have not seen any evidence of that. Not one photo, not one video ... nothing.

I am more than skeptical that Toronto teachers 'coerced' their students into participating in any sort of Israel/Palestine protest. I think they went there to observe the rally in support of First Nations, and this happened while they were there.

I will eat crow willingly if it turns out otherwise.

.rog.

[Beastly Boy]

20. It is the account of an alleged victim's relative.

One Jewish student expressed their discomfort to their teacher about the anti-Israel chants, the student’s cousin told the Sun. The teacher allegedly responded, “You’ll get over it.”

I would argue that a figure of authority curtly dismissing a child's legitimate objections to offensive behaviors during the event constitutes active participation in promoting these offensive behaviors.

And it is my argument, not Pasternak's

[rog]

25. Jeez. 'Alleged' victim, teacher 'allegedly' responded.

See the photo in another response. I can't go on third-hand hearsay. There is no reporting on this.

I am not condoning this 'alleged' situation ... I am, however, questioning if this is exactly how it happened.

I don't see ANY documentation of middle school aged kids participating in anti-Israel/pro-Palestinian activity, neither willingly, nor because they were 'forced' to participate.

The photo I posted is a still shot from an 'allegedly' incriminating video at the exact moment when someone at the microphone is leading a pro-Palestinian chant. Those kids are bored stiff.

[Beastly Boy]

26. We are not in court.

And you will have to forgive me for responding to familiar patterns with due anxiety. For me, foresight may be a matter of life and death.

[rog]

28. While I don't have first-hand experience, I believe I understand.

... and I fully empathize with that reaction, or at least I can try to.

I am just questioning if this particular incident happened in the way it was presented. There are a lot of reasons to be skeptical, and I am definitely not willing to throw teachers under the bus without knowing a lot more about this ... forgive me ... alleged incident.

I just don't see it. There is not one photo showing masked middle school kids, not one photo of a kid in a blue 'colonizer' shirt, not one photo of a kid holding a sign that has anything to do with Israel/Palestine, not one photo or video or audio of kids chanting slogans. They are just standing around while other people do that ... and there's no indication that they had any idea that this was going to happen.

How do you interpret the photo I posted here? The kid in the photo is holding one end of a banner that says, 'River Run', and I think the sign in the back says either 'Mercury Justice' or 'Mercury Injustice', hard to tell. But they just look sort of bored, although probably happy to get out of school. (Edited to add that the kid holding one end of the banner is actually right next to the kid in the Hurley T-shirt ... she's not actually in this screen shot.)

[Beastly Boy]

35. Obviously, the photo you base your skepticism on does not depict the entire event.

Nor does the video it was taken from. It couldn't possibly do such thing.

The OP report on the...umm... alleged incident includes an allegation, a description of one incident, an announcement of the event that includes its description which is inconsistent with the accounts reported by Canadian media and government officials one of whom expressed outrage over "compromising the security and safety of students", calling it "unacceptable” ,and another accusing the teachers of “[lying] about the purpose of the field trip”, witnesses confirming these accounts, and reactions from outraged parents. And, according to the article, "the Toronto District School Board promised to investigate the incident".

Surely the way they all presented this particular incident was not based on a single photo. While they all see it, you don't.

This pretty much informs me on what I should base my conclusion.

[rog]

40. Fair enough.

I'm going to wait for the school board investigation. I'm glad they're looking into this, as they should investigate any such allegation. I'm sure they'll get to the bottom of it ... I'm just not willing to jump to a conclusion on the basis of information that's available. Teachers are not infallible ... I am not going to go surfing for answers, but I'm going to try to keep this on my radar.

[Hekate]

16. I looked at the article itself, which is dated today, this year. Jerusalem Post is considered a legit source.

Toronto students forced to wear ‘Colonizers’ shirts at anti-Israel protest
Parents were told that their children would be observing a protest on Grassy Narrows First Nation and the ongoing water crisis, but instead students participated in an anti-Israel rally.
By DANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARD
SEPTEMBER 21, 2024 13:00

[rog]

22. Can you show me a picture or video of middle school students protesting against Israel?

I have not seen one piece of hard evidence that supports this story.

Can you show me a picture or video of middle school students wearing blue shirts that label them as 'colonizers', etc?

From what I can see in the video, there appear to be middle school aged kids who just happened to be there when the stage got hijacked. I don't see any kids shouting slogans or participating in an anti-Israel activity. I do see two kids who may be of middle school age holding either end of a banner that simply says 'River Run'. Most of the kids in that group are standing with arms folded, hands in pockets, talking to each other, gawking at the stage, etc ... in other words, 'observing'. Here's what I see ... they actually look sort of bored. I just noticed ... it appears that the sign in the background says 'Mercury Justice'.

[Hekate]

24. Can you?

[rog]

27. You didn't see the photo in the post above ...

... which you responded to???

It's right above your response. I'm not going to repost the photo, but here's a link to it ... right above this.

[questionseverything]

29. If it's a legitimate source, you should be able to provide one picture to back up your claim

[Hekate]

30. My claim? The article is written in words. In the English language, which is the native tongue of most here.

What do the words in the article say to you?

[questionseverything]

36. The article says "allegedly " which is not the claim you made

[sarisataka]

8. Interesting coincidence

September 19, 1941, wearing the Star of David became compulsary in the German Reich. from twitter

[Beastly Boy]

12. That's scary...

[Hekate]

17. What a coinkydink

[Cha]

34. ""You'll get over it." That's Scary. Appreciate you Reporting this from CANADA!

James Pasternak told the Sun. “Our education system must nurture young minds in a positive way and not teach them to demonize those they don’t agree with.”

James Pasternak is correct.

[Beastly Boy]

37. Mahalo, Cha

Rec.

[Cha]

38. Your're Welcome, Beastly Boy.

There's more I wanted to say but thought better of it.

[LexVegas]

39. The far right and far left bend and meet at antisemitism. nt

[Cha]

42. Yep... speaks well for Neither.