“There’s a definite fracture,” said one parent, who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal a common sentiment these days while speaking outside a tense school board meeti…
On Oct. 18, hundreds of Berkeley High School students, with the blessing of some of their teachers, left their classrooms in the middle of the day and gathered at a nearby park.One of their teachers, Becky Villagran, thanked the crowd of roughly 150, telling them not to forget that the toll of the victims of the war in the Gaza Strip was more than a number.
Reflecting the complexity surrounding this dispute where symbols, slogans and flags have different meanings to supporters of both sides some Israel-backing parents saw the march and others that followed at Berkeley public schools as hateful. The shock of the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel and the resulting bombardment of Gaza has changed the equation.
Ford Morthel has been tight-lipped about the request to testify. She released a statement delivered by the district’s chief spokesperson: “Berkeley Unified celebrates our diversity and stands against all forms of hate and othering, including antisemitism and Islamophobia.” Yes, she admits, she taught a lesson guided by the question about Israel and apartheid. “But we had just been studying apartheid for three months,” she counters. “The timing was just right.”
After the initial protest, more walkouts took place, and public school board meetings turned heated and sometimes ugly.
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