DC-CORE Calls for an Immediate Ceasefire in Gaza and for Our Members and Allies to Take Action

On Sunday, October 29th the President of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Randi Weingarten, sent an email that went out to all AFT members that condemned Hamas’ attack on Israel but said nothing about Israel’s disproportionate response that has resulted in the deaths of over 9,000 Palestinians. This came after a New York Times Article titled “Democrats Splinter Over Israel as the Young, Diverse Left Rages at Biden” from October 27th stated that in a meeting for the AFL-CIO, where she represents the organization:

“Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, who is married to a rabbi, responded [to Mark Dimondstein, the president of the postal union, who demanded the AFL-CIO call for a ceasefire] by asserting Israel’s right to defend itself, the people familiar with the meeting said.”

In her October 29th email, Randi Weingarten solicited funds from AFT members to the “AFT Disaster Relief Fund” that gave no real breakdown of how those funds would be spent beyond listing three organizations - two of which are focused on Israeli victims - and nothing regarding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

We condemn the framing that was presented in the email from Randi Weingarten sent to AFT Members and presented in the AFL-CIO meeting on behalf of the AFT . We believe that labor leaders must consult their membership before speaking on its behalf and we, as rank and file members of the Washington Teachers Union and part of the DC Caucus of Rank and File Educators, call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

We urge our members and allies to take the following actions:

1. Attend the rally in DC in support of an immediate ceasefire on November 4th, 2PM. [Logistics information: https://www.answercoalition.org/logistics]

2. As educational workers we reproduce systems of oppression in our classrooms and have to take active stances on teaching the truth about genocide both in the history of the US as a colony and around the world in places like Palestine. Decolonization means land back, both here in the US and abroad in Palestine, and an immediate end to state sponsored genocide. Teachers can find more resources on education materials here: https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/violence-in-israel-and-gaza/ .

3. Sign this DC-based petition to the DC Council from Harriet's Wildest Dreams [Link]

4. Sign this US-labor based petition to Members of Congress [link]