Students, Teachers and Parents Support Attacked Teacher

Photos: Leon Kunstenaar

(Berkeley, June 12) - What do you do when the message is irrefutable criticism of those you identify with? In time honored tradition you, of course, attack the messenger. This is what some have done to beloved Berkeley art teacher and muralist Eric Norberg who has taught and inspired young people for twenty three years. Guilty of the crime of teaching about Palestine, he was put on administrative leave in March due to pressure from Zionist groups.

But this was not acceptable to his students, fellow teachers and parents. With drumming and speeches, they rallied in front of the Berkeley Unified School District's meeting room at 1231 Addison Street. They then packed the year's last board meeting of the year and made their feelings known.

Called the berkeleycollectiveliberation:

"We teach Palestine in our district from a liberation from settler colonialism lens. This is how we teach Native American and African American, Asian American and Latinx studies too. Zionist groups don’t want our students to know that Israel and the U.S. are settler colonial states so they are attacking our Ethnic Studies framework."

See all high resolution photos here.