NYC Activists Co‑Opt MLK Day to Host “Palestine Teach‑In”
NAVI’s K‑12 Extremism Tracker reports that the MLK Day teach‑in organizer shared pro‑Hamas content online and links the event to a broader network of NYC educators and affiliated activists
A new report by the NAVI K‑12 Extremism Tracker said it reportedly obtained information indicating that New York City teacher Katrina Cassell was among the organizers of an NYC Educators for Palestine MLK Day “teach‑in” aimed at school‑aged children. The report outlines that Cassell has publicly shared social media content that appears to be supportive of Hamas and dismissive of reports of sexual violence during the October 7, 2023 attack. The K-12 Extremism report frames the event as part of a broader organizing ecosystem that includes individuals affiliated with New York City’s teachers union and a union caucus.
Katrina Cassell’s Alleged Funding Links
The report cites donation records it says show contributions from individuals named Mark and Katrina Cassell to a Heal Palestine fundraiser. Heal Palestine was co-founded by Steve Sosebee, described as the founder and former president of the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF). According to findings from NGO Monitor, PCRF has allegedly partnered with organizations accused of terror financing or Hamas links, and notes that Heal Palestine works with ANERA, which the report characterizes as having documented ties to Hamas-affiliated groups.
Apparent Pro-Hamas Social Media Rhetoric
Cassell’s public social-media reposts has been flagged by critics. The report claims the posts include content “expressing support for Hamas,” criticizing attacks on Hezbollah, and “casting doubt” on accounts of sexual violence on Oct. 7.
Records document Cassell re-tweeting a post of an excerpt of a VICE interview with former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. Additionally, Cassell shared a separate post linking to “On the Record with Hamas,” a Drop Site News article by Jeremy Scahill that features interviews with senior Hamas officials and other sources and presents Hamas’s perspective on the Oct. 7 attacks.
A Wider Activist Network in Education
The report outlines what it identified as a wider circle of educators it describes as affiliated with NYC Educators for Palestine. These include a former United Federation of Teachers (UFT) executive board member, a UFT chapter leader, and educators linked to MORE (Movement of Rank and File Educators) — a caucus within the UFT.
This report underscores how a wider activist network can lean on the legitimacy of schools and unions, and even reframe familiar American traditions, to advance radical political messaging, pushing K–12 further toward politicized instruction where the boundary between education and activism is increasingly difficult to separate.
The only good thing in this article, are the horns coming out of Sinwar's head!!!!!!!!!! The sociopath "teacher" that's the subject of the article, MUST be fired immediately. She should not be allowed anywhere near an impressionable child. That's outright child abuse!!!
American kids can’t read and can’t do math. One reason is because their teachers are ignorant. The “teachers” described in this article would rather play at activism than actually do the hard work of teaching. An unfortunate consequence of the women’s movement, which has enabled women to pursue any career (which is a good thing) has resulted in the best and brightest women going into STEM and law, whereas before they were only allowed access to primarily teaching and nursing. People educated in the 50s and before had brilliant female teachers. Now these brilliant women are mostly on to more challenging jobs and the more average or mediocre students pursue jobs as teachers. I was a teacher myself and I admire people who do this hard work, but the current lack of basic reading and math scores of our kids reveals the poor quality of the current teaching pool. Nothing exemplifies this more than Hamas’s useful idiots in the teachers unions.