“Free Palestine” t-shirt used as example of call to violence in Canada’s TVDSB

Ontario (QNN)- A public school board in southwestern Ontario, Canada, used a “Free Palestine” t-shirt as an example of school dress which would “promote or incite… violence,” prompting anger among Palestinian-Canadian community.

About two weeks ago, the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) issued new “Guidelines for student dress.”

In the FAQ of these guidelines, a “Free Palestine” t-shirt was used as an example of school dress which would “promote or incite… violence,” referring to “Free Palestine” as a “political slogans” “of a political nature” which “will be considered based on all of the context and circumstances of the situation” and a slogan “that has a known association with violence or hate.”

However, the School Board quietly removed this example – likely due to complaints.

Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) slammed the move and called the School Board to apologize to its students and to the Palestinian-Canadian community.

In a letter sent to the TVDSB on Tuesday, CJPME said this “incident was an act of pure anti-Palestinian racism: “Free Palestine” is a call for freedom and equality, not a call to violence.”

The group referred to the Arab-Canadian Lawyers Association’s report which was published earlier this year defining anti-Palestinian racism.

The report describes anti-Palestinian racism (APR) as “a form of anti-Arab racism that silences, excludes, erases, stereotypes, defames or dehumanizes Palestinians or their narratives.”

Among the examples they cite include is “Defaming Palestinians and their allies with slander such as being inherently antisemitic, [or] a terrorist threat.”

CJPME said the “Free Palestine” slogan is “obviously a call for freedom – from oppression and colonial domination – much as the “Free Ukraine” slogan would similarly be a call for freedom.”

“That the TVDSB would use this example in its FAQ is hurtful and offensive, both to the district’s students, and to the broader Palestinian-Canadian community.”

In addition, the CJPME said it “believes that the TVDSB should incorporate zero-tolerance for any form of anti-Palestinian racism in its equity, diversity and inclusion.”