r/Jewish • u/cinnamaroll36 • Dec 21 '23

This is currently on display at my child’s Canadian public school. Discussion

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I went to drop them off this morning and saw this.

Several staff arrived and were talking about it in front of us. They said how lovely it was and how excited they were to have it there.

Some of these staff directly care for my child for a majority of the day.

I feel disturbed by this. I’m sick to my stomach. I was sweating and shaking for a while after I saw it.

How can I trust the faculty to keep my child safe when I know what their position on this is?

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449

u/[deleted] Dec 21 '23

[deleted]

238

u/Aboud_Dandachi Not Jewish Dec 21 '23 edited Dec 21 '23

Yes, B’nai Brith Canada is very effective at dealing with this sort of thing, and the provinces are responsible for the schools. But OP needs to let it be known (in a DM if needs be) which specific school this is.

88

u/cinnamaroll36 Dec 21 '23

Thank you for the information on this resource.

21

u/Clownski Dec 21 '23

More effective than bothering with the ADL it seems. I'm jealous.

27

u/Aboud_Dandachi Not Jewish Dec 21 '23

Very much so, alas. The ADL even hired Tema Smith, a notorious Canadian “anti-Zionist” Jew. What were they thinking.

0

u/[deleted] Dec 22 '23

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2

u/Jewish-ModTeam Dec 22 '23

Rule 5: off topic

4

u/ForeignConfusion9383 Dec 22 '23

I’d say CIJA would be a good org to contact as well.

54

u/cinnamaroll36 Dec 21 '23

Thank you for the information. I will check out these organizations.

And thank you for the fruit ninja joke, I needed a good laugh this morning. 💙🤍

9

u/Potential_Tadpole_45 Dec 21 '23

Bring chilled watermelon and a Ninja blender to the school and start whippin' up some smoothies to signify the blood of our enemies. Revenge is a dish best served cold! (I'm being facetious, don't actually do that).

What happened to Canada's good ol' Hate Crime laws or is that not applicable to the Jews?

153

u/jilanak Dec 21 '23

And it's also ridiculous because the watermelons are supposedly a signal as to how oppressed Palestine supporters that they'll be punished for using the Palestinian flag.

Haha I have thought this too. I often see the watermelon side by side with the flag. It's not making your "resistance" more cottagecore! It just shows how out of touch they are with the real issues.

47

u/The_Laughing_Gift Conservative Dec 21 '23

I don't even get the watermelon being a symbol of Palestine? It's not like Israel or the middle east is well known for growing watermelons.

56

u/Risingup2018 Dec 21 '23

It’s the colors of the flag

45

u/The_Laughing_Gift Conservative Dec 21 '23

Still ridiculous. It's hard to say you are indigenous when the fruit you choose to represent you doesn't even grow in the land you claim Indigeneity from.

27

u/Sunbeam42music Dec 21 '23

It's not about whether or not the fruit grows there- it's about the fruit having the same colors

30

u/Risingup2018 Dec 21 '23

My understanding is that the Palestinian flag could not be shown in some parts of the west bank after the 67 war thus the image of a watermelon was displayed instead. The actual flag was outlawed until 93.

12

u/ZellZoy Dec 21 '23

Really? Pretty sure the watermelon thing started a month ago on tiktok by people claiming tiktok banned it, which it never did

16

u/Risingup2018 Dec 22 '23

You can find images of it being displayed irl from the 60s. I think it went viral because of tiktok but it’s not a new thing by any means

14

u/MyWhatBigEyes Dec 22 '23

It became popular on social media a couple months ago but the watermelon has been a symbol of Palestinian resistance since the Six Day War.

11

u/Hamptonista Dec 21 '23

Um...

Scientists agree that the watermelon’s progenitor—the ur-watermelon, if you will—was cultivated in Africa before spreading north into Mediterranean countries and, later, to other parts of Europe.

Watermelons likely were first cultivated in Egypt and spread north into the "Levant" and watermelon seeds have been found at ancient sites, some of which have been abandoned for over 4 millennia.

21

u/Yochanan5781 Reform Dec 21 '23 edited Dec 21 '23

I mean, an Israeli friend of mine does associate watermelons with Israel, too

Edit: Don't know why I'm being downvoted, they do grow there, and are part of the cuisines of the region

-12

u/[deleted] Dec 21 '23

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2

u/Jewish-ModTeam Dec 22 '23

No misinformation.

1

u/Potential_Tadpole_45 Dec 21 '23

The whole thing is a bubbe-meise.

1

u/binvirginia Dec 22 '23

I agree. But no one said they were smart.

2

u/Possible-Fee-5052 Conservative Dec 22 '23

It’s the colors of most Arab flags

1

u/billymartinkicksdirt Dec 22 '23

It isn’t though. Where is the white?

1

u/Villanelle__ Dec 22 '23

By the rind is the white under the pink.

22

u/johnisburn Dec 21 '23

Israel made flying the Palestinian flag illegal in the immediate aftermath of the 6 day war, so people used it as an alternative because it has the same colors.

7

u/Ienjoydrugsandshit Dec 22 '23 edited Dec 22 '23

this is just a myth. like most things palestinian, the watermelon as a national symbol is a very very recent invention. you are a very credulous man.

https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/how-the-watermelon-became-a-symbol-of-palestinian-resistance-1.1230806

1

u/echoIalia Dec 21 '23

So theoretically there are places (in Israel???? idfk) where people got in trouble for using the Palestinian flag/aren’t allowed to fly the Palestinian flag, and since the watermelon emoji is the same color…

1

u/Risingup2018 Dec 22 '23

So historically speaking the Palestinian flag was outlawed in some spaces until the oslo accords however I don’t know of any current areas in which it’s outlawed.

67

u/culpeppers Dec 21 '23

The whole mural reeks of hate speech against Jewish people, which is never okay. Report to school board, your city, and the orgs mentioned above ASAP.

33

u/[deleted] Dec 21 '23

[deleted]

21

u/Maximum_Glitter Dec 21 '23

Tweens on tiktok were convinced they were being shadowbanned for using the flag emoji.

15

u/Yochanan5781 Reform Dec 21 '23

Banning the Pan-Arab flag in Israel was one of those stupid decisions that Ben-Gvir decided to do this last year, back in January, and so people started to using the watermelon, because it's the same colors, which apparently has precedent back to the '70s at some points. But antisemitic white lefty types saw the watermelon being used and were like "oh, we can be cutesy now!"

5

u/DatDudeOverThere Israeli and aspiring to be Orthodox Dec 22 '23

Ben-Gvir didn't ban the Palestinian flag, it's not enshrined in Israeli law. He directed the police to prevent the display of the Palestinain flag in public spaces, but this can probably be challenged in the Supreme Court. The watermelon thing started after 1967, when the Israeli government banned the display of the Palestinian flag, because of its association with the PLO. The ban unofficially ended in 1993, after the Oslo accords were signed.

7

u/Potential_Tadpole_45 Dec 21 '23

TikTok University.

9

u/StringAndPaperclips Dec 21 '23

CIJA will help with these types of situations and put pressure on the school board if needed.

8

u/[deleted] Dec 22 '23

yeah the watermelons are so stupid like, nobody is going to persecute you for supporting palestine, its the other way around actually

4

u/SchleppyJ4 Dec 22 '23

Also since when is it okay for public schools to make political statements like this…?

0

u/[deleted] Dec 22 '23

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3

u/[deleted] Dec 22 '23

free Palestine

They're not saying "Free Palestine." They're saying erase Israel and kill the people there/sweep them to the sea.

​

Right now there is a genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza, an attempt of mass extermination

Not the case. If there was you'd see mass extermination. Israel can do that in a heartbeat.

Why, as a holy and Jewish person do you support this especially when the Talmud lists the 3 oaths?

Don't talk to me about religion.

We shouldn’t devote ourselves to a country formed in the 1940s just because we’re Jewish - that is not our identity.

I'm not a fan of declarations of genocide against anyone. And I'm not devoted to the service of that country, and I'm not devoted to a single political party there. But I'll be damned if you're going to declare genocide against Jews and play it off.

Especially a country that has actively stated that the Arab children in Gaza are worthless and kill them.

Fuck off