The BC Teachers’ Federation has denied specialist recognition of a Holocaust education group, making it ineligible for the same funding for curriculum development that the union provides to some three dozen other associations, including one promoting pro-Palestinian resources.
Members of the Jewish community say they are stunned and disappointed by the decision.
Denying funding to the Holocaust and Antisemitism Educators Association (HAEA) is a “double standard,” said Nico Slobinsky, vice-president of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs.
“They need to explain that you have a collective group of educators here who are subject matter experts in their field … who are being denied not only a voice at the table, but their rights to organize and to provide resources to teachers. How do you explain that double standard?” Mr. Slobinsky said.
Representatives of Jewish and Muslim groups have been decrying a rise in the number of hate incidents since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, and schools are frequently caught in the crossfire. Last week, a committee of the Toronto District School Board added anti-Palestinian racism to its strategy for combatting hate, which already involves working groups to combat racism against Indigenous, Asian and Black people, antisemitism, Islamophobia, homophobia and transphobia.
The BC Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) endorses 31 provincial specialist associations (PSAs), each representing like-minded educators who are members of the union and share focus areas. The union funds these groups to facilitate the development of teacher resources and conduct professional development sessions.
The Holocaust educators came together after the province mandated Holocaust education for high school students last fall.
In a letter to HAEA president Eyal Daniel provided to The Globe and Mail, Jonathan Dyck, chair of the BCTF Provincial Specialist Association Council, wrote that the council “has chosen not to recommend recognition” of HAEA.
Instead, Mr. Dyck wrote that the council would “like to find ways to help members of your association feel valued and included and to support Holocaust education and fight against antisemitism in K-12 schools.”
The letter does not explain why the group’s application was rejected, but in a later, unattributed statement on its website, the union said the council determined that existing PSAs “already can and do support the proposed work.”
One of the groups the union funds is the Anti-Oppression Educators Collective, or AOEC.
The group’s website was taken down after The Globe reached out for comment on its work last week.
An archived version of its homepage noted that it was formed in 2019 and was “dedicated to challenging systemic oppression in education. … We know injustice is rooted in the historical formation of colonialism, and the only way to justice is to unlearn the colonial.”
The AOEC’s Facebook and Instagram pages have also disappeared since last week, and the group did not respond to The Globe’s request for comment.
It held a workshop in April called “Teaching for Palestine,” designed to “guide educators through the complexities of teaching, organizing, and advocating for Palestinian human rights and equality within classrooms and schools.”
In its unattributed statement, the BCTF did not respond to a question about why the AOEC received funding but the Holocaust educators did not.
But in a statement sent to The Globe on Tuesday, BCTF president Clint Johnston said the AOEC was formed as a PSA to address all forms of discrimination and oppression, including antisemitism. Members of the AOEC have been developing more resources on antisemitism and have expressed an interest in working with members of the HAEA on contributions. Mr. Johnston added that another PSA – the BC Social Studies Teachers’ Association – has also done work to support Holocaust education and genocide studies more generally.
Mr. Johnston said his union has scheduled a meeting with the HAEA leadership to start a dialogue; however, the union executive does not have the power to overturn the decision of its Provincial Specialist Association Council.
An unattributed statement from B.C.’s Ministry of Education said the funding issue is an internal matter of the BCTF and will not affect the implementation of mandatory Holocaust education in the province.
Premier David Eby said in a statement that “teachers have autonomy about how they deliver education in their classroom. What they don’t have autonomy about is whether or not this gets taught. It will get taught.”
Selina Robinson, a former B.C. cabinet minister who now sits as an independent, said she was baffled by the council’s decision.
“It’s the first application that they’ve ever turned down, like, ever,” she said.
Ms. Robinson, who is Jewish, said she’s heard from Jewish parents who have noticed teacher associations exhibiting anti-Israel bias, leading some to consider pulling their kids out of public schools.
“They don’t believe that the teachers are committed to keeping their children emotionally and spiritually safe, which is very problematic,” she said. “And so the fact that the union is taking this position hurts Jewish children, and that, I think, that’s outrageous.”