S.F. teachers union calls for Israel boycott

Following weeks of recent violence between Israel and Palestine, the San Francisco teachers union is calling for a boycott of Israel, according to a May 19 letter from United Educators of San Francisco. The union voted in mid-May to endorse the boycott and called on President Joe Biden to cease aid to Israel.

“As public school educators in the United States of America, we have a special responsibility to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people because of the 3.8 billion dollars annually that the US government gives to Israel, thus directly using our tax dollars to fund apartheid and war crimes,” the letter reads.

The political declaration in San Francisco drew immediate and heated criticism from parents, local Jewish leaders and the national Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish advocacy organization.

While many teachers came out in support of the statement, other parents and teachers were disappointed in the union’s decision.

“The teachers union has failed in its most basic mission this year, opening schools and educating San Francisco’s children,” said Todd David, a district parent who is Jewish, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. “Instead of focusing on that, they are weighing in on an international political land dispute that experts have been unable to resolve for 70 years.”