Petition -- Protect Students and Education WorkersTo Director Falconer, Interim Director of Education, TDSB
Her article was aimed to publicly discredit and vilify Mr.Davila for sending out carefully curated educator resources on Israel and Palestine. These resources have been reviewed by multiple organizations, experienced educators, Human Rights and legal experts who have all concluded they are legitimate, anti-oppressive resources. There are no instances of anti-Semitic content within the resources (from May 16th, and May 19th). The resources are consistent with the TDSB's commitment to equity, anti-oppression, anti-racism, Indigenous education, and on-going mission to decolonize our schools. They are also consistent with Mr.Davila's professional duty to uphold the principles of the OCT, and to principles of equity consistent with the Vision for Learning directed by the TDSB. Hence the hypocrisy, and intent behind this article is highly questionable, and should not have been the basis for any punitive action or investigation from the TDSB towards Mr.Davila. It is important to state that through his position as a Student Equity Program Advisor, Mr.Davila has consistently shared invaluable resources with educators through an opt-in mailout list. The GBVP mailout has been active for 12-years and supported countless educators in: - Using a critical anti-racist, intersectional, and decolonial framework that calls out antisemitism and Islamophobia; - Using a power analysis and supporting critical thinking and action on transforming conditions that enable harm in order to support learners in creating ones that promote healing, care, dignity and liberation; - Aiming to support 2SLGBTQ+ youth with multiple intersecting identities and who belong to BLACK, INDIGENOUS, RACIALIZED and DISABLED communities. They also support Indigenous sovereignty, Indigenous self-determination and LAND BACK movements. This resource has been received by a diverse group of educators, including Jewish educators who have expressed enthusiasm at the nuance and clarity demonstrated in the resources. The TDSB has already taken an institutional stance on decolonization, as well as all forms of racism and oppression including anti-Black racism, anti-Asian racism, anti-Indigenous racism, antisemitism, and Islamophobia. Exceptionalizing its stance on Palestine sends a conflicting message to educators, students and our school communities. Rather, to target educators for denouncing ethnic cleansing and settler colonialism in the global South takes a radical political position which harms many students, educators, and community members within the TDSB who have experienced similar violence. We urge you to be consistent in your application of decolonizing principles. Israel, much like Canada, is a settler colonial state with the distinction of the intergenerational trauma on both sides of this issue. The TDSB's genuine commitment to decolonization of our schools in Canada requires international solidarity and opposition to all forms of imperialism and colonialism or it suffers from appearing hollow. The TDSB has a moral and professional responsibility to support and defend Mr.Davila and educators like him who demonstrate a commitment to decolonization. This is a nuanced conversation, and as anti-oppressive educators, we have a responsibility to ask for intentionality and care in having these discussions, in ways that are trauma-sensitive, name power dynamics, and call out antisemitism and Islamophobia. We cannot merely ignore this issue, and to do so is to be complicit in the violence itself. Instead the TDSB's response has served to legitimize an intensely right-wing journalist, by providing institutional credibility behind her baseless claims. The fact that the TDSB's response to Sue Ann Levy included mention of confidential employer-employee processes without even informing Mr.Davila himself further demonstrates an institutional abdication of responsibility and good-faith. By doing so, the TDSB is creating a platform to permit the abuse of educators like Mr.Davila from known right-wing hate groups. This stands in contradiction with the TDSB's own policies to create safe schools for all, and its on-going commitment to "maintaining a learning and working environment which actively promotes and supports human rights." Any disciplinary action that may be considered against TDSB employees like Mr.Davila will constitute an attempt to silence, intimidate, and increase vulnerability for those who have remained steadfast in their commitment to fulfilling the TDSB's mandate of equity, anti-oppression, Indigenous education, and the decolonization of our schools, outlined in the Equity Policy and Multi Year Strategic Plan. It also sets a precedent of demonstrating that the equity praxis of the TDSB is limited to simply talking the talk, while never actually walking the walk. This is unacceptable, and needs to be addressed immediately. We call on the TDSB to: - Not deign to respond to the incredibly biased reporting or messaging of known hate-groups or individuals affiliated with such groups; - Fulfill its moral and professional responsibility to support Mr.Davila and other educators who demonstrate a commitment to anti-racism, anti-oppression and decolonization, and publicly denounce attempts at censorship by: Not surveilling the social media of anti-oppressive educators; Understanding that the identities and lived experiences of anti-oppressive educators inform their activism and need to speak out against institutional violence; Extending tangible support to educators who are harassed for their anti-oppressive work within the TDSB; Challenging the toxic culture of silence around many equity issues, especially Israel and Palestine which prevents ALL TDSB educators from engaging in this work confidently; - Release a statement condemning Israel's illegal occupation and colonization of Palestine. This precedent has already been established within the TDSB, and demonstrated through efforts to respond to anti-Black racism and anti-Asian racism within education through public statements that stress an institutional position on the issue; - Follow through with its stated commitment to "build capacity among leaders to facilitate learning in human rights, equity and anti-oppression" by developing scholarship, educational resources, and training on Palestine -- and, more broadly, settler-colonialism and imperialism in the global South by including organizations that have consistently demonstrated a commitment to Human Rights and integrity such as Independent Jewish Voices (IJV), Teachers 4 Palestine (T4P), Palestine House, and Jewish Voice for Peace. Standing for justice is never easy, but we urge the TDSB to remember the words of Desmond Tutu, "If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor." In this instance, it's painfully apparent that the TDSB has proven through its actions to be siding with harm, violence, censorship and oppression. We urge you to do the right thing as the world watches. To sign the petition or view the list of signatories click here.
This article was published in Article Link:   Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca |
We, the
undersigned, are writing in support of Javier Davila, an
educator in the Toronto District School Board who was recently targeted
by Postmedia Columnist Sue Ann Levy. Levy has a longstanding track
record of Islamophobia and has been censured from the NewsMedia Council
of Canada for a "serious breach of journalistic standards
for accuracy in reporting." The same newspaper within the same 24 hours
has insisted that criticizing Israel is not anti-Semitic in and of
itself.