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The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council posted a pro-Palestine message on an internal agency web page last month, declaring the war in Gaza an “internationally recognized illegal occupation.” The post was up for about four days before it was taken down at the end of June.
The DEQ is a state agency that protects the state’s air, land and water quality. It also works on recycling and waste prevention-related projects and employs about 700 people.
The message condemns anti-semitism and Islamophobia before discussing the conflict. “This message is also not meant as an invitation to begin a debate on this topic,” the council wrote. “In our view, human rights are not a matter of debate any more than whether racism is wrong.”
“What the world is witnessing in Palestine right now is an internationally recognized illegal occupation and the oppression of a racially marginalized group whose right to self determination has been suppressed,” the post continued. “Millions of Palestinians are being forcibly displaced and are facing a humanitarian crisis being subject to multiple international war crimes that also constitute ethnic cleansing.”
DEQ leaders disavowed the message.
“Director Feldon and the DEI Council had a discussion about why this message was not appropriate to send out over state systems prior to the message being posted,” Lauren Wirtis, a spokeswoman for DEQ, wrote in in an emailed statement. “DEQ recognizes worldwide events can impact staff and continually encourages staff to access the resources available to support them if needed.”
The council, formed in 2021, comprises 14 members from across the state agency. Its membership is not named. The council serves to “identify priority actions and work areas, including training and education, recruiting, retention and career advancement, ways of supporting community, and barriers to success.”
Their statement of support echoes some of the advocacy by the Portland Association of Teachers, which has spurred high-profile controversy.
The difference here, though, is that the DEQ is a government agency, not a labor union.
The end of the message connects the war in Gaza to the DEQ’s environmental work.
“Resources used for the oppression of Palestinians are resources not being used to address the urgent climate crisis which threaten our collective survival and in fact are further exacerbating them,” the message read.