Montreal, August 13, 2025 — The Anti-Racism Program of the CJPME Foundation (ARPCF) welcomes the recent resolution passed by the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) at their current Annual General Meeting, which calls for the creation of a pedagogical resource to support Palestinian students. Originally introduced by the Elementary Teachers of Toronto local, the resolution—passed by 71.32% of voting delegates—commits ETFO to developing and distributing materials that help educators affirm Palestinian identity, address anti-Palestinian racism, and teach Palestinian history. The ARPCF applauds this crucial step toward equity and inclusion in Ontario classrooms and echoes the resolution’s rationale: educators need age-appropriate tools to foster safe, affirming spaces for Palestinian students and to deepen their understanding of the structural nature of anti-Palestinian racism.
“This resolution marks a significant shift toward recognizing anti-Palestinian racism as a systemic barrier to equity in education,” said Jamila Ewais, lead researcher of the ARPCF. Palestinian students in Canada regularly face the erasure of their identity, silencing of their histories, and discriminatory responses to cultural expressions such as wearing the keffiyeh. By formally committing to address these realities through education, the ETFO is acknowledging that Palestinian identity and experiences are not marginal but must be actively included within broader anti-racism and equity work. It also affirms that Palestinian students—like all racialized students—deserve to see their identities represented and protected in schools, free from fear of retribution or exclusion.
The ARPCF commends ETFO educators for their principled leadership in advancing this motion, particularly in the face of targeted harassment from far-right and anti-Palestinian groups such as the Jewish Defence League (JDL) and Rebel News. Their efforts underscore the immense courage required to challenge entrenched systems of silencing and discrimination. That the motion passed by such a clear margin speaks to the growing understanding among educators that Palestinian students are a vulnerable and underserved population in need of meaningful support. The backlash faced by supporters of the motion further highlights the very climate of intimidation and repression this resolution seeks to address.
The ARPCF calls on other teachers’ unions, school boards, and ministries of education across Canada to follow ETFO’s example. Combating anti-Palestinian racism in schools requires structural interventions—not only to ensure safety and inclusion, but to uphold educational integrity and human rights. Just as anti-racism strategies must address Islamophobia, anti-Black racism, and anti-Indigenous racism, they must also confront the specific forms of erasure and hostility targeting Palestinians. The ARPCF urges the swift development of the proposed resource and stands ready to support efforts to implement it in classrooms. This resolution is not just about curriculum—it is about protecting the dignity and well-being of a generation of students whose identity has been systematically sidelined for too long.
About the ARPCF – The mandate of the Anti-Racism Program of the CJPME Foundation (ARPCF) is to create public awareness about racism in Canada. This mandate falls in line with the Foundation’s broader purpose of monitoring and combating manifestations of racism, xenophobia, and discrimination by increasing public awareness of such biases.
For more information, please contact Jamila Ewais, 514-389-8668
ARPCF, [email protected] www.cjpmefoundation.org
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