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Muslim students suspended in Edina over pro-Palestinian chant
The phrase — used during a recent student walkout — is considered antisemitic by many in the Jewish community.
EDINA, Minn. — Two Edina high school students who were suspended for using a controversial, pro-Palestinian chat during a walkout in October, are now filing a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights.
During a news conference held by the Council on American-Islamic Relations in St. Paul on Monday, attorney Bruce Nestor said he filed the complaint on behalf of the two students — who wish to remain anonymous — after they were suspended for three days for using a specific chant during a walkout on Oct. 25.
“Edina High School authorities and school authorities accused them of being antisemitic, on the basis of using the chant during the walkout of ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,'” Nestor said. “That is a slogan that is used by elected representatives here in the United States, it is used by hundreds of thousands of demonstrators in support of the aspirations of the Palestinian people for freedom.”
That certainly hasn’t stopped the phrase from generating plenty of controversy.
Representative Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American serving in Congress, was formally censured by the House earlier this month, in part, because she used the phrase in a video.
Several Jewish groups, Including the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), consider the slogan to be antisemitic.
“It is fundamentally a call for a Palestinian state extending from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, territory that includes the State of Israel, which would mean the dismantling of the Jewish state,” the ADL wrote in a recent online statement.
Edina Public Schools sent a statement to KARE 11 responding to the complaint:
Edina Public Schools is aware that there has been threatened legal action against the District related to recent student walkouts that have occurred on District property. The District would like to affirm its unwavering support for students’ First Amendment right to free expression and to peacefully advocate for causes that are important to them. Similarly, the District has strong policies prohibiting any type of discrimination against students based on their religion or any other basis protected under the Minnesota Human Rights Act.
The District cannot comment on any particular students or allegations as that information would be considered private data protected by the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act (MGDPA) and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). However, students do not have unfettered First Amendment rights while on school property and students do not have a right under the First Amendment to engage in speech that is substantially disruptive or that violates District policies.
Our core beliefs in Edina Public Schools are grounded in the inherent dignity of all people. We value and appreciate the diversity of all of our students. Edina Public Schools deeply condemns islamophobia and antisemitism. We will not tolerate hateful or inappropriate comments or behaviors and will work diligently to provide a safe and inclusive environment for our students and staff.
Nestor, who is a volunteer attorney for Palestine Legal, disputes the characterization of the phrase as antisemitic and says the discipline by Edina Schools didn’t take into account the intent of the students or their experiences as Muslim students during this war.
“The school district expresses concern for people experiencing stress and trauma as a result of the attacks on Israel, but don’t express that for the attacks on Muslims or the attacks in Gaza,” Nestor said. “The Edina school district suspended these two students, adopted the view of some people that that particular slogan is antisemitic, and claimed that it would be disruptive to the school district in the absence of any actual evidence of disruption.”
Nestor says the goal of the complaint is to rescind the suspensions, remove them from the students’ records, and to make clear that speech in support of the Palestinian people will not be suppressed.
According to CAIR Minnesota, despite several other walkouts and protests at Minnesota schools in recent weeks, they don’t know of similar suspensions.
“Other students have protested similarly and have echoed the same statements,” said Jaylani Hussein, Executive Director of CAIR Minnesota. “Those students did not get suspended.”
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The Poisoned Apple
- 1 oz Liquid Alchemist Blood Orange Syrup
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Glassware: 9 oz Bucket Glass
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The Black Widow
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- 0.25 oz agave
- 0.75 oz Cointreau
- Big pinch of black luster dust
- 1.5 oz Patron Silver
Garnish: Half Black Salt Rim
Prep: add all ingredients to a shaker with ice, vigorously shake and strain into a glass.
The Green Intensity
- 0.25 real lychee puree
- 0.5 oz St. Germain
- 0.75 oz fresh lime juice
- Green Luster dust
- 2 oz Bombay Sapphire
Garnish: lychee and Luxardo cherry
Prep: add all ingredients into a shake with ice, vigorously shake, and strain into a martini glass
