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California Teacher Union Activist: U.S. Is An ‘Evil Empire’ That Funds ‘Ugly Zionism’

   DailyWire.com
LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 22: Educators, parents, students, and supporters of the Los Angeles teachers strike wave and cheer in Grand Park on January 22, 2019 in downtown Los Angeles, California.Thousands of striking teachers cheered for victory at the rally after it was announced that a tentative deal between the United Teachers of Los Angeles union and the Los Angeles Unified School District heavily favored educators' demands including a cap on rising class sizes, funding for school nurses, and a significant pay increase.
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An anti-Israel activist within a California teachers union called Zionism a “sick bourgeois” ideology and claimed that Israeli committed “war crimes.” 

According to a report from the Washington Free Beacon, left-wing activist and teacher Soni Lloyd used his Facebook to call the U.S. an “evil empire” that funds “ugly Zionism.” In a May 14 post, the teacher published a YouTube video of Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib entitled, “Watch Rep. Rashida Tlaib Blast U.S. Aid for Israel & Attack on Gaza in Dramatic House Floor Speech.” 

“The evil empire funds war crimes all over the world,” Lloyd wrote. “[Tlaib] connects the Black and Brown struggle in the US to the Palestinian fight for self-determination against ugly Zionism. White supremacy and Zionism are sick bourgeois ideologies. End Israeli war crimes and colonization.” 

via Washington Free Beacon

Lloyd also posted a cartoon photo of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dropping a bomb on the Gaza strip with the assistance of Uncle Sam. Uncle Sam is handing Netanyahu bombs. An arm that is crushed beneath writes “HELP” in blood. 

via Washington Free Beacon

The Free Beacon reached out to Lloyd for comment on his anti-Semitic posts. He promptly changed his Facebook profile to private. 

In 2020, Lloyd ran an unsuccessful bid to become the president of the United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) union. 

During the most recent conflict in the Middle East between the State of Israel and the terrorist organization Hamas, UTLA members voted to support a resolution that calls for the cessation of reported evictions in Sheikh Jarrah, an end to Israel dropping bombs in the Gaza strip, an end to all U.S. aid to Israel, and support for the Boycott, Sanctions, and Divestment Movement (BDS). 

The resolution was supported by several chapter chairs, though it has not been formally voted on by UTLA leadership or the rest of the membership. 

In a statement on the resolution, UTLA said: 

Concerns have come up about motions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict brought up at some of the eight UTLA Area meetings this month. The motions were debated and discussed, and they passed in some of the Area meetings. They did not pass in all of the meetings.

As educators, it is our job to create nurturing, safe environments for all of our students. UTLA stands against racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, xenophobia, homophobia, Islamophobia, and oppression in all forms. We stand against both anti-Jewish hate and violence and anti-Arab hate and violence wherever they occur, and we denounce the recent attacks on Jewish people in Los Angeles. 

According to the Free Beacon, the organization California Students United ripped into the president of UTLA for being more concerned about condemning Israel than reopening schools. 

“The leadership of the union representing our children’s teachers has no business singling out one country and its people,” California Student United said. “The position of the union you lead has thrown gasoline on the fire of what was already a volatile, unsafe, and increasingly frightening environment for Jews.” 

The Daily Wire reported that the Los Angeles Unified School District will be reopening in the fall for on-campus, in-person learning five days a week. However, the district will still offer an online option for students. 

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