Main Entry: in·ti·fa·da
Function: noun

Etymology: Arabic intifAda, literally, the act of shaking off
: UPRISING , REBELLION ; specifically : an armed uprising of Palestinians against Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip A rebellion is, in the most general sense, a refusal to accept authority. It may therefore be seen as encompassing a range of behaviours from civil disobedience to a violent organized attempt to destroy established authority. It is often used in reference to armed resistance against an established government, but can also refer to mass nonviolent resistance movements. Those who participate in rebellions are known as “rebels”.Wikipedia.com

Surely, the civil rights”movement” in the United States might be viewed by some as an intifada “the shaking off “of an established authority i.e. the unjust Jim Crow laws.

The civil rights rebellion in the USA took many forms: from the civil disobedience of Rosa Parks; the non-violent resistance of Dr. King; to the armed resistance of the Black Panthers.The civil rights rebellions were a cause of great concern during President Johnson’s administration. Many feel that it was the “threat” of violence which led to the signing of the Civil Rights Act. America did not want or need another civil war.

I have lived through the civil rights movement ~the boycott of Woolworths in Mount Vernon, NY in the 50s and in Philadelphia ’61. I have witnessed the aftermath of the 1964 Riot in Harlem; the Ocean Hill Brownsville debacle in 1967 as well as the Leonard Jeffires/Michael Levin controversy; the Afrocentrism/Eurocentric controversies; the Curriculum of Inclusion. All of the aforementioned events polarized many members of the union.

Today, The Sixties (1960-1969) is remembered as the turbulent decade in which five civil rights leaders were assassinated: John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Medgar Evers, and Martin L. King. The Sixties is also remembered as the decade in which three courageous young civil rights workers, “Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Chaney were murdered in Mississippi by the Klu Klux Klan:

Certainly, we have persons representative of all races, cultures and communities within our union. We cannnot afford to polarize the members,again. Because, as stated by Abraham Lincoln:” a house divided cannot stand.”

Therefore perhaps Sean Ahern’s letter will lead to an open dialogue on matters which impact us all. And perhaps ” a suitable forum in the pages of the NY Teacher to allow for a open exchange of these matters by members so inclined.” Perhaps this may just lead to opening this “topic for rational discourse and inquiry.”

In Unity,

Phyllis C. Murray

Dear Sister Weingarten,

I am a UFT member and I am writing to register my criticism of your role in the forced resignation of Debbie Ammontaser, former Principal of the Kahlil Gibran School . (“Randi Rips Intifada Principal” Yoav Gonen , NY Post 8/9/07).

Why have you followed the lead of Daniel Pipes, the NY Post and the Sun on this matter? Is Labor to lay down with the Likud in New York as well as Tel Aviv? This is a self defeating proposition for us in New York and a recipe for perpetual war and occupation in the Middle East . The issue at the center of this controversy is the defense of civil liberties for all. Free speech is the ‘canary in the mine’ in this time of creeping totalitarianism at home and abroad. What are you thinking?

Who but a soul mate to Torquemada and Stalin demands a recantation and then deems their victim’s own self abnegation inadequate? Defend free speech in the face of these budding Inquisitors! Lamentably, your remarks as reported by the NY Post have lent support to a witch hunt which you could have stopped.

The remarks attributed to you effectively damn “Intifada” as a new “politically incorrect” word. Step by step, inch by inch… When do we damn the politically incorrect books and their authors? When do we burn them? You have turned a word into a leper’s shroud and draped it over human suffering. What’s to become of empathy and solidarity if inquiry is pre empted by fear?
Literally translated from the Arabic, we are told that “intifada” refers to a tremor or a shaking off. I suggest that our own term “Movement” ( as it is commonly appended to Labor, Women’s, Civil Rights, Black Liberation, Black Consciousness, Zionist, Populist, Gay and Lesbian, Fascist, Communist, Socialist, Anarchist, Nationalist, etc) captures the contextual and is pretty close to the literal meaning. My concern is that educators should not rest content when a “Movement”, “uprising”, “rebellion” or “Intifada” of Palestinian youth is proscribed and thereby removed as a topic for rational discourse and inquiry.

One’s views on the term “intifada” or more specifically, the civil resistance to Israeli occupation to which it refers, are matters to be openly studied, considered and discussed both outside and inside the classroom in an age appropriate and balanced fashion. No understanding or resolution of the conflict in the Middle East and our own role there is possible without such a discourse.

In closing I request that you provide a suitable forum in the pages of the NY Teacher to allow for a open exchange on this matter by members so inclined. Ms Ammontaser seems to be viewed by all but her inquisitors at the Post and Sun as a bridge builder, peace maker and dedicated pedagogue. Unwarranted notoriety and political cowardice on the part of those who should be her advocates has interrupted her career and disrupted the Kahlil Gibran school community. I urge you to seek out Ms Ammontaser and use the weight of your office to heal this breech. and repair the harm done to this school.

Peace,

Sean Ahern

I do write as a representative of the UFT, and Randi speaks as its president.

But for both of us, we chose to do that work because our personal values and beliefs are in accordance with the union’s principles. We work here, rather than at the Post or Tweed.

In the instant case before us, I would say that both of us sincerely and strongly believe that the UFT’s position was a reflection of principles of its non-violent, social justice tradition, and that we both share a deep commitment to that tradition.

It’s not my intention to attack anyone’s character and I respect the work that you do. But on Edwize you don’t simply offer your personal opinions, you write as a paid representative of a political organization. Thus, I don’t think it’s unfair for me to consider the political motives behind the positions you take.

I don’t have a one-sided view of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. But I do have a one-sided view of organized attempts to stifle criticism of Israel, such as the one that resulted in Joel Klein’s banning Rashid Khalidi from DOE professional development classes (while the UFT stood silent)- I think they’re completely wrong.

Steve Quester

*for identification only