Randi Weingarten’s plea for peace: Letter to the Editor— Sep. 20, 2024

The Issue: American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten’s response to a Post editorial.

The New York Post editorial (“Hamas Kills, and Randi Blames Bibi,” Sept. 4) accusing me of “appeasing” Hamas is simply untrue.

The brutal murder of innocents and those civilians taken hostage by Hamas is horrific, as I have repeatedly stated since Oct. 7, the day the war began. The indiscriminate killing of civilians, whether Israeli or Palestinian, is unacceptable.

Responsible leaders have a duty and a moral obligation to give diplomacy a chance to end this conflict and bring the hostages home.

On this important principle, I stand with the hostage families and have called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the entire Israeli government to set aside their personal interests and negotiate an end to this war — a stance supported by most Americans and Israelis.

My union, the American Federation of Teachers, overwhelmingly passed a resolution in July condemning Hamas and advocating for the release of the hostages, an end to the war, a surge in humanitarian aid and a two-state solution.

We have supported self-determination and security for Israel and the Palestinian people for decades. But support for the Israeli people does not mean support for Netanyahu, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich — which is why millions of Israelis are in the streets protesting their government and why I stand with them. In Tel Aviv alone, 500,000 people marched last weekend — the equivalent, when adjusted for city size, of two million rallying in New York.

Both sides, Israelis and Palestinians, have an inalienable right to live in peace, with dignity and freedom. My wife Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum and I were in Israel after Oct. 7 to pay a shiva call to the Israeli people. I saw the sorrow and anguish that now plagues them. We must seek an end to this horror.

This position is a far cry from appeasement. It is a position that honors the deep pain and urgent wishes of the hostages’ families and all of us who seek peace, security and a future in the region.

Randi Weingarten

President, AFT

Washington, DC