Netanyahu Says Australia ‘Marching Into Rabbit Hole' on Palestinian State Recognition
In a press conference held on Aug. 10, he said such steps would not bring peace and warned, 'We will not commit national suicide to get a good op-ed for two minutes.'
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The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
White House puts a low bar for Trump-Putin summit
Trump and other administration officials have indicated Friday's summit in Alaska is not meant to be one that will bring an end to the fighting in Ukraine, using terms like 'listening session' and 'feel-out meeting' to describe the planned discussion about the war in Ukraine. The president and his team have also largely avoided predicting any deliverables that might come out of the meeting and noted that it will likely take a follow-up summit involving both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for any concrete progress to be made on a ceasefire. 'There's a very good chance that we're going to have a second meeting that will be more productive than the first,' Trump said Wednesday. 'Because the first is I'm going to find out where we are and what we're doing.' The White House has steered clear of making any firm commitments about what will come out of Friday's gathering in Anchorage, and details have been scarce as officials work to rapidly pull the event together on one week's notice. The president himself has offered mixed signals about what will happen. Trump is expected to meet one-on-one with Putin, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, and the event will take place at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. But other logistics were still being sorted out as the summit approached. 'This is a listening exercise for this president,' Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday. 'Look, only one party that's involved in this war is going to be present. And so this is for the president to go and to get, again, a more firm and better understanding of how we can hopefully bring this war to an end.' Trump is a wild card in Friday's meeting. He has avoided setting expectations for the event, telling reporters earlier this week that the conversation with Putin 'will be good, but it might be bad.' Trump on Wednesday threatened 'severe consequences' if Russia did not stop the fighting after this week's summit, then minutes later acknowledged that he is unlikely to be able to get Putin to stop targeting Ukrainian civilians. And he said he hoped to arrange a second meeting quickly involving Putin and Zelensky, or that perhaps a second meeting would not happen at all. 'If the first one goes OK, we'll have a quick second one. I would like to do it almost immediately,' Trump said. 'I think the second meeting – if the second meeting takes place. Now there may be no second meeting, because if I feel it's not appropriate to have it because I didn't get the answers that we have to have, then we're not going to have a second meeting.' Some critics have bemoaned that Trump is giving Putin a win simply by holding the meeting on U.S. soil without Zelensky or leadership from Ukraine present. And European allies have approached Friday's meeting with caution, expressing appreciation for Trump's efforts while bracing for the possibility that he may go off script. Trump has in recent days suggested Ukraine may have to give up land to Russia as part of a peace agreement, something Ukrainian leaders have said is a non-starter.
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
S.F. school district to teachers: Your political opinions don't belong in the classroom
Days before the start of classes, San Francisco school leaders reminded teachers that they can't express political opinions during the school day, including in what they say, wear or what they put on their walls. District officials encouraged principals to reinforce those restrictions as educators and staff participated in back-to-school training this week. The guidance follows a divisive battle last school year over accusations of political activism among educators in city schools, particularly in ethnic studies courses. Controversial activities included teachers encouraging students to write letters to Mumia Abu-Jamal, a former Black Panther sentenced to death in 1981 for murdering a Philadelphia police officer, or asking them to participate in anti-Israel protests. In other cases, teachers hung pro-Palestinian posters in classrooms, or described Israel as colonizers committing genocide. While the laws and policies are not new, they have been often ignored or absent from staff training sessions. District officials, last year, gave principals the materials to train staff on bias and personal opinions, but it was unclear how many used them. This year, one veteran teacher said it was the first such training in their career. 'Many teachers have been dangerously misled about their professional freedoms and responsibilities,' the educator said. 'K-12 teachers don't have the same academic freedoms as university instructors. Our students are minor children.' The district's teachers union, which has taken a pro-Palestinian stance and has advocated for teachers who wish to speak out about the war in Gaza, did not immediately return requests for comment about the training. In February, officials from the union wrote in a pro-Palestinian resolution that 'educators who utilized their democratic rights to speak out against the war were repressed or harassed by school authorities.' In recent years, Bay Area schools have seen an uptick in politically motivated instruction and the opinions of staff and educators publicly displayed. That has included student walkouts, bolstered by teachers and their unions, as well as posters and staff clothing reflecting beliefs, including candidates, government policies and the war in Gaza. Accusations of antisemitism, Islamophobia and other forms of harassment in schools have grown specifically since the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel in and the retaliatory bombing of Gaza, with hundreds of official complaints filed at the district, state and federal level. District officials said the most recent training was proactive and not punitive and aimed to help staff navigate complex and sensitive topics in a way that aligns with state law and school board policies. 'If parents or students see something they are concerned about they should contact their principal,' said district spokesperson Laura Dudnick. 'When concerns arise, we follow a clear process for reviewing them that is consistent with labor agreements and Board policy.' State education law requires an education free of harassment and bias and equal access to learning regardless of race, religion, national origin or other protected status. But that has been broadly interpreted across public schools in San Francisco and the Bay Area and, at times, rarely enforced. In the spring, San Francisco Superintendent Maria Su vowed to address the issue following community concerns raised specifically about ethnic studies courses and, more broadly, antisemitic content and harassment amid pro-Palestinian activism. 'Teaching should be about teaching students how to think,' not what to think,' she said in June. Su decided to suspend the district's homegrown ethnic studies curriculum, which critics said was divisive, antisemitic and promoted progressive activism. The board in July purchased an off-the-shelf replacement to be used for the year-long required ethnic studies course for ninth graders. In addition, Su is expected to issue an administrative order regarding the use of supplemental materials used by teachers to ensure they adhere to state and district guidelines. The training materials given to principals also notes that employees cannot solicit students or families to further their ideological persuasions or use district resources, including district email, to communicate or advocate for their political opinions. 'Students should be challenged in their coursework and schools should provide a safe and rigorous experience where they can express their thinking and listen to others,' said school board President Phil Kim. 'Our whole job here as educators is to create the conditions for all of that to take place. 'This is what I come back to: What is our responsibility as educators?' he said. 'It's not about us. It's about the kids.'
an hour ago
Trump threatens 'severe consequences' if Putin doesn't end Russia's war in Ukraine
Pres. Trump spoke with Ukrainian Pres. Zelenskyy and European allies to strategize ahead of his summit with Russian Pres. Putin.
