Thursday, March 21, 6:00 PM EDT

Anti-Racism Webinars

In honor of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, MTA's Anti-Racism Task Force is hosting a virtual webinar, The Struggle Against Anti-Palestinian Racism, on Thursday, March 21, from 6 to 8.p.m..

It is often said that the issue of Palestine is ‘complicated.’ For this reason, many educators do not feel confident to speak about it in their classrooms or with their colleagues. However, the idea that Palestinian history is more complicated than the history of other struggles against oppression means that anti-Palestinian racism too often goes unnoticed.

A team of MTA rank and file members, along with Jewish Voice for Peace, have created a workshop to engage their MTA siblings in a conversation about questions such as: What is anti-Palestinian discrimination? How does Palestine fit into the larger framework of colonialism and imperialism? What are Zionism and anti-Zionism, and what are their histories? Why is anti-Zionism not antisemitism?

Presenters include:

• Elsa Auerbach, professor emerita, English Department, UMass Boston; Jewish Voice for Peace Boston

• Heike Schotten, political science professor, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, UMass Boston

• Leila Farsakh, political science professor, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, UMass Bosto

Merrie Najimy, elementary STEAM educator and former MTA president, will serve as facilitator.

Learn more and register: Anti-Racism Webinars (massteacher.org)