Murmurs: Teachers’ Union Doubles Down on Middle East

TEACHERS’ UNION DOUBLES DOWN ON MIDDLE EAST: Decrying what it describes as censorship of classroom protest, the Portland teachers’ union has escalated its rhetoric in support of Palestine, distributing an instructional handbook that’s become a new flashpoint in the fraught local debate over the Israel-Hamas War. On May 28, as first reported on wweek.com, the Portland Association of Teachers co-published a handbook “for asserting educators’ rights to teach about and advocate for the liberation of Palestine and Palestinians.” The handbook asserts that Portland Public Schools has censored and harassed teachers and students who advocated for Palestine on school grounds, and offers suggested language for classroom discussions. Bob Horenstein, director of community relations at the Jewish Federation of Portland, called the handbook “propaganda” and said its use could make Jewish students feel unsafe at school. Under president Angela Bonilla, PAT has assisted teachers’ pro-Palestinian advocacy since last November. After media reports about the handbook, Bonilla told The Oregonian she would review and remove some of the supplemental materials the union had posted. But she also told WW: “We will continue to ensure our members are aware of their rights when they are teaching about polarizing topics like the current humanitarian crisis in Gaza.”

BRAWL AT EAST PORTLAND JAIL LEAVES TWO INMATES HOSPITALIZED: On the afternoon of June 2, a fight broke out among inmates in an open dorm at Multnomah County’s Inverness Jail. “Two adults in custody were transported to the hospital,” jail spokesman Chris Liedle says. Liedle confirmed detectives were investigating but declined to say how many inmates were involved. Sources familiar with the incident describe a brawl involving more than a dozen people in Dorm 11, which was the scene of a riot three years ago during tensions over a COVID-19 outbreak. The county jails are currently understaffed, and seven inmates died within their walls last year. Last month, the county announced a yearlong plan to fix problems identified in a slew of critical federal, state and local reports by outside inspectors.

GONZALEZ OBJECTS TO LOBBYING RULE CHANGE: Last week, Portland City Auditor Simone Rede was set to present the City Council with a slate of tweaks to lobbying requirements for parties interested in doing business with the city. But at the request of City Commissioner Rene Gonzalez, Mayor Ted Wheeler’s office instructed Rede to pull the item from the agenda. Gonzalez’s contention: One of the tweaks, he says, was an attempt by the City Auditor’s Office to “justify retroactively” a recent judgment by the office against Urban Alchemy. The office found that the California nonprofit, which runs the city’s mass encampment at Clinton Triangle, had failed to disclose meetings and visits with the mayor’s office in 2022 as it sought the contract. Urban Alchemy argued that those meetings, held in response to a request for proposal by the city, did not count as lobbying. Gonzalez said the change in language by the auditor was “unfair to both Urban Alchemy and City Council.” Rede says her proposed changes are “meant to ensure transparency in the new form of government” and that “they codify long-standing interpretations” of existing administrative rules.

KATE BROWN TO LEAD WILLAMETTE FALLS TRUST: Former Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has been hired to lead the Willamette Falls Trust, a nonprofit that’s been trying for years to build a public walkway up to the state’s largest waterfall. “After conducting a nationwide search, we’re convinced we’ve found the right leader to continue our work to restore the falls for all,” said the chair of the organization’s board of directors, Davis “Yellowash” Washines. Brown, Oregon’s governor from 2015 to 2023, replaces Andrew Mason, who for six years led the trust’s efforts to secure public access to the Oregon City falls, which are considered sacred by Northwest tribes. It has not gone smoothly. The trust’s effort has been complicated by the fact that Indigenous peoples have presented multiple visions of what public access to the nation’s second-largest waterfall by volume should look like. In 2019, the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde purchased a former paper mill on the Willamette River’s south bank and subsequently announced plans to build a shopping district and hotel there. Four other tribes are represented on the board of the Willamette Falls Trust, which envisions creating “public walkways, viewing structures, spaces for interpretation, cultural events, community programming and other public amenities” along the falls.

FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF CONTRARIAN INDICATORS: Oregon Ballet Theatre says it set a new attendance record during its 2024 season that ends this month, with 92,000 people coming downtown to see an OBT performance. That’s 10% more than the previous record, set in 2017, before anyone had ever heard of COVID-19 and no one had rioted downtown. OBT executive director Shane Jewell, on the job since November 2023, credits work by the city and county to clean up downtown and make ballet lovers feel more safe. “I’ve already seen a change in downtown,” Jewell said in an interview. “It’s important to celebrate the wins.” The top attraction at the ballet this season was December’s Nutcracker, which accounted for about half of all attendance. Peter Pan, staged in February, was second, Jewell said. Oregon Ballet Theatre performs at the Keller Auditorium and the Newmark Theatre. June 6–9 is Made in Portland, three premieres created in Stumptown. The show at the Newmark features the Jefferson Dancers, the troupe from Jefferson High School.