Daily Herald: Stevenson High promises policy changes after Palestinian display draws objections

Stevenson High School District 125 officials said Tuesday they will institute policy changes after a pro-Palestinian student group was required to cover up and remove “false and inaccurate information” in their school cultural fair display over the weekend.

The students’ poster board identified “Palestine located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River,” and an image depicting colors of a watermelon — which has been used in protests and artwork as its colors match the Palestinian flag — overlaying the borders of Israel…

Ahmed Rehab, executive director of the Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, sent a letter to district officials Tuesday asking that Stevenson be a “sacred space” for the free expression of conscience and that differences be negotiated through debate.

Whatever review processes are put in place going forward, Rehab said they should be equitable for all groups.

“Here we have a situation where it is attempting to silence and confiscate people’s freedom of expression,” Rehab said.

He questioned if there would be the same reaction if a Russian group objected to a Ukrainian student putting up a map that included Crimea as part of Ukraine.

“That map means what they mean it to mean … the legacy of Palestinians is throughout this whole land,” Rehab said. “Their stories are throughout this whole land, their ancestry throughout this whole land. This isn’t even a political statement. This is a cultural reality and historical reality.”

Both sides are expected to be at the next school board meeting Feb. 10.