Jamila Osman’s recent opinion piece, “To the Beaverton school board, ‘Palestine’ is a four-letter word,” reflects a passionate viewpoint but unfortunately promotes a deeply misleading and divisive narrative, particularly within the context of our school system.

To begin, equating calls for accountability with censorship is a false premise. Dr. Tammy Carpenter is not being investigated for expressing concern for Palestinian lives. She is under investigation because community members (particularly from Beaverton’s Jewish families) have raised legitimate concerns about whether her conduct, language and apparent bias have created a hostile and exclusionary environment for Jewish students. Public officials must be held to professional standards that ensure inclusivity and neutrality, especially when representing a diverse and impressionable student body.

Osman’s portrayal of Israel as an unchecked aggressor and her repetition of highly politicized talking points such as “ethnic cleansing,” “apartheid” and “colonialism” rely on selective and ideologically charged interpretations that distort international law and historical reality. Israel’s operations in Gaza are in response to an unprecedented terrorist assault by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, an attack involving rape, mutilation and the slaughter of civilians, including infants. These facts are not “distractions” from the Palestinian experience; they are essential to an honest account of the current war.

Moreover, Osman fails to acknowledge that groups like Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have openly embedded military operations within civilian infrastructure, a war crime under international humanitarian law. Her one-sided framing denies Israel’s right to self-defense and erases the very real trauma endured by Israeli civilians, including Arab Israelis.

The notion that merely invoking “Palestine” results in censorship is an overstatement. The issue is not advocacy for Palestinian rights. It is when such advocacy morphs into a vehicle for demonizing the only Jewish state, or, more insidiously, for recasting Jews who support Israel as complicit in genocide. That is not criticism. It is incitement, and yes, it is antisemitic under the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition widely adopted by democratic nations worldwide.

School board meetings and classrooms are not platforms for ideological litmus tests or political grandstanding. The Beaverton school board acted responsibly by initiating an independent investigation to ensure all students, including Jewish students, feel safe and respected. This is not a “witch hunt”— it is governance.

To accuse Jewish organizations like the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland of weaponizing antisemitism is not only wrong; It perpetuates a dangerous trope that Jews illegitimately manipulate discourse to stifle dissent. This too is a form of antisemitism, one with a long and ugly history.

Jamila Osman asks us to “name the history.” So let’s do just that: The Jewish people are indigenous to the land of Israel, with uninterrupted ties spanning millennia. The modern State of Israel represents not colonialism, but the culmination of a successful decolonization struggle against British rule and the restoration of Jewish self-determination after centuries of forced exile and persecution.

The Beaverton School District must ensure that education is rooted in academic integrity, historical accuracy, and above all, a commitment to fostering unity. Not ideological division.

Let us raise our voices for all children: Israeli, Palestinian, Jewish, Muslim and beyond, by insisting on honesty, balance and peace rooted in fact.

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Jason Levin is a parent of two Beaverton students and a teacher in the Woodburn School District.