ANN ARBOR, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – In a five-hour meeting that dragged on past midnight, the Ann Arbor School District passed a nonbinding resolution calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and encouraged teachers to discuss the conflict in their classrooms.
What is a cease-fire?
“It’s a call to ease the pain for everyone to promote peace, humanity, and moving forward,” said trustee Rina Mohammad, who is Palestinian. “This is needed right now to heal the community.”
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The resolution passed with two members abstaining, one voting “no,” and four voting “yes” after hearing more than two hours of animated public debate.
“Who is going to be educating and supporting our staff? Who will deal with the personal bias, misinformation, and emotions that will no doubt arise?” said Abby Rosenbaum, a parent in the district who spoke against the resolution during the meeting. “Is this really what you want to unleash in our classrooms?”
What’s in the resolution?
The first draft of the resolution, presented in a December 20 meeting, called for “peace, understanding, and mutual respect” to further the district’s diversity and inclusion goals.
“The Board, understanding its limited role in international affairs, nonetheless expresses its support for a ceasefire in Gaza, emphasizing the importance of protecting human lives and seeking peaceful resolutions to conflicts,” the initial draft read. “The Board encourages educators within the Ann Arbor School District to facilitate informed and respectful dialogue about the conflict, aiming to foster a deeper understanding among students and staff, and to combat misinformation and prejudice.”
Some revisions have since been made to the first draft of the resolution, according to video of the December 20 school board meeting.
“I clearly hear that those parents who are supportive of Israel feel that this is one-sided, and that it doesn’t take into account the grief and suffering and feel that they have felt over, probably, their entire lives … and certainly after the heinous attacks of Hamas on October 7,” said Jeffrey Gaynor, a trustee and former teacher, who suggested revising a mention of the “conflict in Gaza” to include Israel.
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Gaynor also recommended revising one of the resolution’s bullet points to indicate a bilateral cease-fire that would lead to release of both hostages and political prisoners. Both suggestions were adopted and recorded in a Google Docs version of the petition.
A counter petition made the rounds.
A change.org petition calling for the immediate withdrawal of the ceasefire resolution received nearly 2,000 signatures before it closed. The petition was started by a group called FocusOnEducationA2BOE.
“While we all mourn the innocent lives lost in the current Middle East crisis along with all the innocent lives lost in the numerous humanitarian crises that plague our imperfect world, the AAPS Board is not the appropriate forum for addressing these international and humanitarian crises,” the petition authors wrote. “We implore the Board to return to its duties prioritizing education.”
The December 20 draft of the petition can be found here.
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