Edina School Board adjourns before hearing from pro-Palestinian protesters
The Edina School Board adjourned its meeting early Monday after refusing to hear from pro-Palestinian protesters.
Dozens of people came to the meeting to share criticism and support for the district’s suspension of two high school students for an alleged antisemitic incident during a “walkout for Palestine.”
In a complaint filed in November, the students said they were suspended for three days for using a pro-Palestinian chant during the school walkout protesting the Israel-Hamas war.
The chant — “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” — has been called hateful by the Anti-Defamation League. While the district has not commented on this specific incident, it has said it “won’t tolerate hateful or inappropriate comments or behaviors.”
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The lawyer who filed the complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights stated that the suspensions violated the students’ freedom of speech. The complaint also said the suspensions constituted “discrimination on the basis of religion and national origin.” The two suspended students are of Somali descent.
Protesters carrying signs with messages of support for the students and Palestinian flags filled the meeting room, along with several people there to support the school board. The board began its meeting by voting to limit public comment to nine speakers in 30 minutes.
“One of the key tenants in our strategic plan is to explore multiple perspectives, practice civil discourse, encourage empathy, create interpersonal connections and embrace diverse identities,” board chair Erica Allenberg said at the start of the meeting.
“As a board, we wanted to share this with our guests in the hope that as adults we model for the students of this district what civil discourse and embracing multiple perspective looks like,” Allenberg said.
After hearing a presentation on tax revenue, board members asked if the audience had any questions related to the presentation. Protesters instead changed the topic, asking the school board why they weren’t letting them speak about the students suspended.
The school board members responded by calling a recess and leaving the room. Attendees took over the meeting, with various speakers expressing their frustration with the school board and support for the students for over an hour.
One attendee spoke up after the board left the room and said she was frustrated that protesters had disrupted the meeting after being asked by the board to stay quiet, leading to a tense back-and-forth with protesters.
School board members briefly returned to the room and officially adjourned the meeting. Most of those who were not there to protest in support of the students left as well, while those in support of the students stayed to talk to each other.
The local chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Committee held a protest outside the building just before the school board meeting. They say the chant is not antisemitic, but a call for Palestinian freedom.
Jaylani Hussein, executive director of Minnesota’s CAIR chapter, spoke to students and other supporters gathered outside the building.
“Edina schools is shameful for saying that we cannot say the aspirational message that has been said all over this land, in all parts of the world, that from the river to the sea, surely Palestine will be free,” he said.
Protestors want the suspensions taken off the students’ records.
Latifah Moss is a member of the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Committee who helped organize the protest outside the meeting.
“I think it’s really important to always support the students,” Moss said. “I think it’s really awesome that we’re out here today and that students are really supportive and feel supported by the community.”
In a previous statement, the district said it does not tolerate “hateful or inappropriate comments or behaviors,” though it did not comment on these students’ situations or on legal actions. Staff at the meeting declined to comment.