Jon Levine writes for the Washington Free Beacon about questionable activity involving the teachers union in one of the nation’s largest cities.
The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) hosted a Marxist, virulently anti-Israel conference last weekend which openly celebrated terrorism, introduced fledgling activists to “the growing BDS movement,” and called on its members to support Iran’s “axis of resistance” and prepare for violence against the United States and Israel.
“We are all here to toughen our knuckles,” Ryan Delaney, chair of communications for Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network, told attendees at the conclusion of events Saturday.
“I hope that everybody leaves here ready to fight when they get home,” he told roughly 200 cheering attendees.
Sara Flounders, a member of the Secretariat of the Marxist-Leninist Workers World Party, thundered to the crowd that “the enemy is at home. … Change doesn’t ask for permission. It’ll be violent. It’ll be stormy. It’ll be unpredictable.”
Flounders praised attendees as “a really militant, determined group.”
The conference, where activists went so far as to discuss how to shut down a major U.S. port to force out an Israeli company, was the second annual gathering of Anti-War Action Network (AWAN), an agglomeration of dozens of local activist groups around the country united by their hatred of Israel and mission to obstruct American “imperialism.”
The Washington Free Beacon purchased a ticket online and was able to seamlessly mingle with attendees for two days without incident.
Though the teachers’ union was not manning a booth, the gathering was held at its headquarters at 1901 W Carroll Ave in the city’s West Town neighborhood. Teachers’ union signage, and even a headless mannequin wearing “Chicago Teachers Union” t-shirts, were present throughout the venue.
Conference-goers were a motley crew of aspiring revolutionaries. About 20 percent wore masks, many attendees were noticeably obese, and there was also a large contingent of openly transgender participants. Breakfast included gluten-free empanadas and vegan fare while a gender-neutral bathroom did brisk business.
