Late into an Evanston Ceasefire teach-in hosted at Lake Street Church on Sunday, Andrew Ginsberg — the embattled Evanston Township High School teacher who was reprimanded in May for displaying a “Jewish Acts of Dissent” poster in his classroom — sat beside Liora Ostroff, the Baltimore-based artist who designed it.
“When did you first realize that talking about Palestine wasn’t like talking about other social justice or societal issues?” Ginsberg asked the audience near the top of the event.
Two separate panels took the stage Sunday — the first: a group of five students, educators and community leaders recalled firsthand experiences of times they felt their free speech was suppressed during Palestine-related events and discussions. That panel was followed by a trio of representatives, including Ostroff, who discussed right-wing politics.
Both panels were moderated by Ginsberg and Lesley Williams, a former Evanston Public Library official who left her job in 2017 after debate regarding the postponement of a Palestinian speaker event.
But before an estimated 200 attendees gathered in MacLeish Hall adjacent to the church, Ostroff led them in a printmaking demonstration. Afterwards, black and white artwork symbolizing Palestinian solidarity decorated the building’s corridors.
Following an introduction of the event’s speaker portion, Ginsberg acknowledged that many attendees already knew “the basics of (his) story,” referring to his teacher sponsorship of ETHS’s student-run Palestine Solidarity Club and the poster takedown controversy.
In response to individual inquiries Ginsberg said he received from attendees, he confirmed that he is still employed by ETHS and plans to return to his position this fall — “If they’ll have (him).”
Before he joined the first panel on the stage, Ginsberg called ETHS’ disciplinary action against him “frustrating,” citing what he views as a “pattern of censorship” regarding Palestine that does not exist for other social justice issues.
“The hypocrisy is so glaring that I can’t just let it go,” Ginsberg told The Daily. “I want to stand up for the town they sold me on.”
Two other educators and two former students echoed Ginsberg’s sentiment during the program’s first panel.
Danielle Foster, a third grade teacher at Dawes Elementary School, recalled a 2024 incident in which a photo of her wearing a watermelon T-shirt — a symbol of Palestinian solidarity — circulated on parent Facebook groups after two of her students created Palestinian flags for the school’s Black History Month assembly.
Foster said parents from outside of Evanston/Skokie School District 65 flooded the principal’s email after the assembly, calling for her firing. She was ultimately asked to submit her read-aloud book list, class newsletters and teaching materials to administrators, she recalled.
“The reality is, I gave my students the freedom to explore justice and protest in ways that were meaningful to them,” Foster said. “Unlike Andrew (Ginsberg), I was fortunate in that my principal and district stood by me.”
SESP Prof. Shirin Vossoughi and Isabelle Butera (Medill ’25) spoke about their experiences supporting Palestine at Northwestern.
Butera, a former member of Jewish Voice for Peace, a pro-Palestinian Jewish student group, recalled the October 2024 moment when University employees dismantled their “Gaza Solidarity Sukkah.”
The temporary structure at Deering Meadow, which honored the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, called on NU to divest from companies with ties to Israel and for the U.S. to enact an arms embargo against the country.
Vossoughi discussed what she called NU’s “institutional” view, criticizing repercussions for staff when it came to vocally supporting Palestine.
“The penalty for speaking is high, but the penalty for not speaking is higher,” Vossoughi said.
Email: [email protected]
Related Stories:
— ETHS teacher reprimanded by administrators over ‘Jewish acts of dissent’ poster, prompting backlash
— D202 board weathers criticism for reprimanding teacher, approves 2026 budget
