U.S. Teachers and the Schools of Gaza
Teachers in the U.S.A. should have a special concern for the children and schools in Gaza.
----- As teachers we’re naturally outraged by the terrible destruction of Gaza schools.
-----All the children of the Gaza Strip suffered mental trauma in one degree or another
-----Our tax money goes to support Israeli military action to the tune of $3 billion a year.
-----Almost all U.S. teachers are in unions and U.S. unions are major owners of Israel bonds, loans to the Israeli government.
In December and January 37 UN schools were partly or severely damaged in the Gaza Strip by the Israeli armed forces. The New York Times reported that a bomb turned the elementary school in El Atatra into a house-sized hole. The $7 million American International School in Gaza was totally destroyed. So were the Ladies Building and the building holding science labs at the Islamic University. Several schools tried to be areas of refuge from the fighting, but they were not always left alone. At the al-Fakhura school in Jabaliya camp Israeli shells killed 43 people on the school grounds.
In another case the IDF fired a shell - believed to be white phosphorus – which landed in the UNRWA Beit Lahia Boys School, which shelters civilians. As the refugees tried to evacuate the school, an artillery shell struck a classroom, where terrified civilians are sheltered. The shell broke through the roof and exploded on the ground, spreading its shrapnel into classrooms. Two children were killed and their mother; Nujoud Sha'ban Al-Ashqar, was injured. The children were identified as: Bilal Mohammed Al-Ashqar, 5; and Mohammed Mohammed Al-Ashqar, 4. The IDF then fired another shell that hit the school and injured 14 refugees; including 6 children. The refugees escaped from the school and went to the Kamal Udwan Hospital in Beit Lahia seeking safe refuge. A third school “The Asma' Bint Baker” in the beach camp was also hit by IDF. Three civilians were killed in the attack on the school.
All told some 400 children were killed in the three week Israeli attack on Gaza. Many more were injured by everything from tank shells, to fires to phosphorus bombs to DIME shells. Think of the grief felt by their brothers and sisters and friends. When schools finally reopened a basket of flowers was put on the desk of each student who was killed. However, the trauma reached far more that those directly injured. For three weeks people did not sleep as Israeli F-16 thundered across the skies, and the ground shook from their bombs. In most wars people can run somewhere, but Israel and Egypt made sure the borders were sealed shut. Even now during the "truce" F-16's roar over the Gaza Strip and children remember and are terrified.
There are many places where there are wars and many people suffer terribly, Darfur, the Congo, etc., but Americans are responsible for what's going on in Israel/Palestine. Our tax money supplies the Israeli and Egyptian government with billions in aid and every kind of advanced weapon. We supply Caterpillars to build the walls, drone airplanes, Apache helicopters and F-16 jets and much more. Whatever the justification, the U.S. was involved in the destruction of Gaza schools and the killing of Gaza children.
The American Federation of Teachers is part of the AFL-CIO union federation. These unions have loaned money to Israel by buying Israel Bonds, big money, by some estimates $5 billion. The fact that Israel bombed and completely destroyed the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions in January of 2008 was not protested by U.S. trade unions.
It's time teachers and their unions stood up for human rights for Palestinians.
Here’s what you can do:
· Send money to the UN for Gaza via your credit card http://www.un.org/unrwa/
· Start a fund drive for the Gaza schools in your school
· Ask your local union or education association to contribute to the Gaza schools. Ask your local to get the national union involved.
· Put pictures of the destruction around school during the drive.
· Learn more about Palestine and Gaza. Look at the UNRWA http://www.un.org/unrwa/ website or just Google the words “Gaza” and “Palestine”.