Portland teacher files lawsuit over alleged anti-Israel bias in school

A Portland high school math teacher is suing the school district, teachers union and school board, alleging they discriminated against him by allowing teachers to

distribute and promote anti-Israel material

without a “balanced perspective.”

The

suit

was filed Monday in federal court in Portland by lawyers from the Freedom Foundation, a conservative think tank founded in Washington state.

The teacher is an Israeli Jew who complained about the hostile environment in his school but said the district didn’t support him, according to the suit.

He’s identified in the suit as John Doe out of “fear for his physical safety,” the suit said. He worked in one Portland high school during the 2023–2024 school year, then was transferred to another high school for the 2024-25 school year,


according to the suit.

The suit alleges the practices of the teachers union and school district violated his First Amendment rights to freedom of association and religion.

School district spokesperson Valerie Feder declined comment, citing the ongoing litigation. Angela Bonilla, president of the 4,500-member Portland Association of Teachers, also declined comment, saying the union was just learning of the suit.

The teacher suing alleged the Portland Association of Teachers, in collaboration with Oregon Educators for Palestine, co-published guides called

“Teach Palestine!”

and “Know Your Rights!” and held informational sessions for teachers to learn how to “teach and advocate for Palestine within Portland Public Schools,” on May 28, 2024, at the union hall.

Oregon Educators for Palestine is a community group that provides resources for pro-Palestinian educators.

The suit presented as an exhibit one of the union’s lesson plans for grades 1 through 5 that describes in a children’s workbook the history of the state of Israel as a “group of bullies called Zionists.”

The guide and lesson plans drew wide criticism from Jewish teachers and parents with children in Portland schools who said it demonized Jews and supporters of Zionism by focusing on the death, destruction and upheaval experienced by everyday Palestinians without mentioning that the Israel-Hamas war began with the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israeli civilians, killing 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages.

Zionists support the existence of a Jewish state in their ancestral homeland.

The teacher suing called his school a “forum for one-sided, anti-Israel rhetoric,” noting that his administration allowed posting of Palestinian flags and print-out maps of Palestine that eliminated Israel, according to the suit. When he asked if he could display an Israeli flag, he was told it would be “too disruptive,” the suit said.

“Plaintiff does not object to sharing a building or working closely with colleagues who disagree with his positions and beliefs as long as the environment is neutral, fair and safe, and allows for expression of his opinions and beliefs as well,”


attorney Rebekah Schultheiss wrote in the suit.

The teacher said he complained to his principal and the district’s human resources but got nowhere.

When he removed a printout of a Palestinian flag placed on a wall in the school library, an employee filed a theft complaint against him and the district launched an investigation of him, he said. Nothing came of it, but he had to go through a full inquiry, his lawyer said.

The suit alleges that the main sources of his harassment were union representatives. In March 2024, he said he was “physically intimidated” by a colleague who was vocal about her “anti-Zionist views,” and “blocked him from entering the copy room to use the copy machine.”

The suit said the teacher suffered post-traumatic stress due to his treatment at work and he eventually took a medical leave. He repeatedly asked to be transferred to another school but wasn’t reassigned until the 2024-25 school year, the suit said.

The suit also contends his compelled representation by the Portland Association of Teachers violates his constitutional right to freedom of association.

Even though the teacher does not pay dues to the union, he is represented by it and feels “that’s an infringement of his freedom of association when its public statements are so clearly against his beliefs,” Schultheiss said.

The suit asks the court to find that the alleged “non-neutral religious viewpoint“ and actions by the district and teachers union were unconstitutional. It seeks an order barring each from engaging in such behavior as well as damages for mental and physical distress.

“He loves his job. He loves what he does. He wants to continue to keep teaching,” Schultheiss said.

During the Portland teachers strike in November 2023,


Jewish union members and community members raised concerns about the union’s posting on social media about Palestinian advocacy events, including repeated promotion of a student walk-out on social media.

Teachers union leaders announced a social media pause, then later resumed

regular pro-Palestinian event

postings, while also posting that it “will not tolerate anti-Semitism, Islamophobia or any forms of hate.” The union also convened a forum for Jewish teachers.

At the time, Bonilla told The Oregonian/OregonLive that the union was supporting the right of educators to teach the Palestinian perspective, which she said had often been overlooked and disregarded, but that she also had been unaware of the content of some of the lesson plans and other material posted on the union’s website.

—

Maxine Bernstein covers federal court and criminal justice. Reach her at 503-221-8212, mbernstein@oregonian.com, follow her on X


@maxoregonian


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