EXCLUSIVE — A collation of pro-Palestinian Philadelphia public school teachers is working closely with Students for Justice in Palestine, an activist group that has publicly praised Hamas and faces multiple congressional investigations over its alleged terrorism ties, private messages obtained by the Washington Examiner show.
“We are beginning talks about a collaborative teach-in with several local chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine, which will focus on connections between local Philly issues and the genocide/occupation in Palestine,” Hannah Gann, a Philadelphia public school teacher who helps lead Philadelphia Educators for Palestine, wrote in a Signal group chat on November 11.
Another message sent by Gann around November 16 confirmed that Philadelphia Educators for Palestine would be holding a teach-in with SJP and went further by reporting that her group “had another productive meeting” with it, where they discussed ways to cooperate on a campaign to pressure Capital One into divesting from an Israeli defense contractor.
On March 26, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) announced an investigation into SJP amid allegations that multiple leaders of Americans Muslims for Palestine — the organization that reportedly established the student group — have strong ties to Hamas or Hamas-linked organizations.
Among these was AMP’s former executive director, who previously served as “secretary general” of the Islamic Association for Palestine, which court records show was founded with startup capital from Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzook. Other individuals flagged by Cassidy included AMP’s current executive director, who worked for IAP’s media operation where he interviewed top Hamas leaders, a former board member who was the “Michigan representative” for IAP, and the organization’s accountant who previously served as IAP’s president. Several individuals associated with AMP, and by extension SJP, were also involved with the Holy Land Foundation, which, according to U.S. government estimates, sent “$12.4 million outside of the United States with the intent to willfully contribute funds, goods, and services to Hamas.”
Cassidy’s investigation, which is being carried out by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, follows a similar investigation launched by Rep. James Comer (R-KY) and the House Oversight Committee in 2024, which probed AMP, SJP, and their connection to U.S.-designated terrorist organizations.
SJP isn’t shy about its admiration for Hamas. The organization infamously released a “tool kit” calling for a “national day of resistance” shortly after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, terrorist attacks in Israel. The organization called on domestic activists to mobilize and show support for the Palestinian cause and explicitly praised the terrorist attacks.
“Today, we witness a historic win for the Palestinian resistance: across land, air, and sea, our people have broken down the artificial barriers of the Zionist entity, taking with it the facade of an impenetrable settler colony and reminding each of us that total return and liberation to Palestine is near,” the document reads. “As the Palestinian student movement, we have an unshakable responsibility to join the call for mass mobilization.”
SJP’s support for Hamas has not wavered since then.
On Oct. 7 of this year, Philadelphia public school teachers joined a local SJP chapter for a “rage and resistance” rally celebrating the second anniversary of Hamas’s attack on Israel.
“October 7 marks two years since Palestinian resistance fighters bravely broke out of the prison that the zionist regime has turned Gaza into,” read a post promoting the demonstration on an Instagram account run by PEFP’s parent organization. “Now more than ever, we must reject all normalization with the zionist regime, uplift indigenous Palestinian resistance, and honor the martyrs.”
Previous reporting indicates that PEFP has roped students into its activism through its group chat, which, if true, would constitute a violation of district policy. Screenshots of the group chat’s members list obtained by the North American Values Institute show that students were included in it.
“The teachers in this signal chat are abusing their position and the trust parents and the wider community place in the people who are supposed to steward our children,” Mika Hackner, director of research for the NAVI, told the Washington Examiner. “And it’s not just the Signal chat — the activism spills over into the classroom. We know that at least some of these teachers have posters up, in a public school room, with political messaging and which encourages students to explore the resources and websites of terror-linked organizations. This is a betrayal of the civic values we expect from our schools.”
Indeed, a video posted by Philadelphia teacher Keziah Ridgeway — who was previously suspended from her post after allegedly threatening Jewish parents — shows her classroom where a poster containing the phrase “from the river to the sea” and a QR code is hung on the wall. Critics have claimed that “from the river to the sea” is a call for the ethnic cleansing of Jewish Israelis, and its use prompted the bipartisan censure of Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) in November 2023.
The QR code directs to a resource list containing a speech from George Habash, the founder of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization. The list itself was curated by the Palestinian Youth Movement, an organization that praised Hamas in the immediate aftermath of the October 7 terrorist attacks and which French and Israeli authorities have linked to the PFLP.
Evidence exists suggesting that the pro-Palestinian activism occurring in Philadelphia’s public schools is just one arm of a much broader national network. For one, a screenshot obtained by the Washington Examiner shows that Nora Murad — a woman from outside Philadelphia representing a national campaign to remove materials published by the Anti-Defamation League — was in PEFP’s group chat and was soliciting “case studies” from members documenting “interference” on the part of the ADL. Further, many of the Philadelphia teachers involved with PEFP are also affiliated with the Zinn Education Project and Rethinking Schools — a pair of education nonprofits that seek to provide teachers across the country with left-wing curricular materials. Mimi Eisen, the Zinn Education Project’s program manager, is also in the PEFP’s group chat.
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The pro-Palestinian, and arguably pro-Hamas, activism of Philadelphia’s educators has not gone unnoticed.
Following reporting from the Washington Examiner, NAVI, and others, the GOP-led House Committee on Education and Workforce opened an investigation into the School District of Philadelphia to probe whether it is failing to meet its obligation under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by allowing antisemitic harassment to fester. Even Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor has taken notice of what’s going on in Philadelphia.
“Governor Shapiro takes a back seat to no one on these issues, and as he has repeatedly spoken out about, antisemitism and this kind of hateful rhetoric is unacceptable and has no place in Pennsylvania — especially not in our classrooms,” a spokeswoman for Gov. Josh Shapiro said in reaction to reports of classroom antisemitism. “This is a matter the Governor has made clear the district needs to take very seriously.”
