At the Annual General Meeting of the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) two weekends ago, teacher delegates passed a historic motion about Palestine. The motion asked the BCTF to push the Ministry of Education to include the Nakba and the military occupation of Gaza and the West Bank in the BC curriculum. The Nakba, which means “catastrophe” in Arabic, refers to the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.
This isn’t the first pro-Palestine motion that the BCTF has passed; a motion to call for a ceasefire and an end to the occupation of Palestine also passed at a BCTF Representative Assembly in the Fall. But the fact that this new motion was passed by the more than 500 teacher delegates speaks not only to the shift in public opinion in support of Palestinian rights, but also to the impressive organizing that was done by teachers in groups such as Teachers for Palestine and the new Vancouver Chapter of Labour for Palestine.
Spring Magazine is fortunate to publish this interview between a Spring member who is a member of the BCTF, and K.Z., one of the teachers involved in organizing to pass this motion.
Spring Magazine: So K., the first thing I wanted to ask you was to tell me a bit about this motion to include the Nakba in the BC elementary and secondary school curriculum.
KZ: So the idea for this motion came about after the unfolding events that we’ve been witnessing in Gaza, and a big part of it is because it was a response to the growing questioning and confusion that students had around this topic: how they were engaging with it on social media, some of the harmful things that they’ve been learning online, the way their questions are being posed and how they’ve been discussing it amongst themselves and with their teachers. We realized that right now there’s really nothing much in the curriculum about Palestine and Israel. So the intention of this was to give a starting point, not just for the students but for the teachers as well.
There’s been a lot of fear when it comes to discussing this topic, especially in the classroom. So by having it in the curriculum, the intention is to give educators a place to start and to be able to discuss it with their students in an ethical and truthful manner.
SM: Right, so it’ll give the teachers a bit more protection against parents who might phone the principal to complain—that makes sense. Is there any reason this motion is particularly important to you, K.?
KZ: I’m Palestinian and I’ve grown up with my history continuing to be pushed aside, erased, denied. I think why [the motion focuses on] the Nakba specifically is because it’s such an integral part of Palestinian history and its inclusion in the curriculum would not only be important for students to learn about, or for educators to discuss with their students about, but would also be validating for Palestinians and Arabs who’ve had their history denied and erased.
SM: I agree. It’s been totally erased by so many people, so it was exciting to see that motion pass.
KZ: It was exciting!
SM: Why do you think we were successful this time? Was there anything that contributed to that success?
KZ: Yes, I think this motion passing was hard proof of the power of collective action and really coming together, working together, and strategizing. It’s been weeks of discussing this motion: what to say, who’s going to say what, ensuring that we fully understand and follow the rules of the democratic process, that we respect every member’s right to share their perspective, but also ensuring that the rules and procedures don’t work against us. So there’s not one specific answer I can give you other than having meetings, ensuring the group decides on a goal and stays on the task, and using our time effectively during those meetings.
In a way we are making a political statement, as with many other motions, but we tried to focus on, ‘Okay, what do we need to do to convince people to vote for it?’ That’s the angle that we took, that’s the vision and path that we tried to stay on.
SM: If there are other teachers or union members who want to pass something similar, I was wondering what advice you have for them?
KZ: Organizing early and really emphasizing what actions we need to take to get things done.. We all have so much time, energy, and emotion invested and it can be easy to get off track. We have to remember that people are still learning about this topic and everyone is at a different stage in their learning. It’s important to meet the people who are voting where they’re at in a kind, compassionate, and open-minded way to try and convince them that this is something that benefits students and educators.
SM: I know that sometimes in similar debates, I’ve seen people come to the microphone to use the standard counter-arguments that we are being antisemitic or to ask, ‘What about Hamas?’, but we didn’t hear any of those arguments today. I was wondering if you have any thoughts as to why that was?
KZ: I’m not sure as to why those things didn’t come up but I think getting as many people as possible on board and really trying to get as many voices to speak in favor and to make convincing arguments really helped us.
SM: Is there anything else you want to add?
KZ: I think at the end of the day, it’s important to understand that this is about human rights and equal rights for everyone, such as the right of return for Palestinians and their right to live freely and safely. Ultimately we come at this from a place of love and compassion. I hope in my lifetime I’m able to go back to where my ancestors are from, along with the millions of other Palestinians.
SM: Thank you, K, for sharing your thoughts. I do hope you get to go home one day.
Text of the motion:
That the BCTF:
1. Continuously lobby the Ministry of Education and Child Care to include, where applicable, the following as part of the grades 6-12 Socials and History curricula until it gets added to the elaborations:
a) The Nakba
b) The 1948 Arab-Israeli War
c) Military occupation of Gaza and the West Bank
2. Have the BCTF president acknowledge through the next Teacher magazine that these events are essential to understanding the history of Palestine and Israel in the President’s Message.
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