Khalid al-Alim, a front-runner for the Los Angeles Board of Education and backed by an influential teachers’ union, was accused of agreeing to anti-Semitic content, gun glorification and prominent pornographic images. He has come under fire for his reprehensible social media activities.
A post on X (formerly Twitter) that drew particular criticism was a post by the Nation of Islam organization called “The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews: How Jews Gained Control of the Black American Economy.” It was al-Alim’s praise for anti-Semitic publications. According to the introduction to a book about the Nation of Islam, the book teaches that Jews stole prosperity from black people, that they had “40 acres and a mule” and that they were “racial terrorists like the Ku Klux Klan.” “We are cooperating with, and even providing funding for,” he said. online store.
Al Alim, who is running for a seat representing much of South and Southwest Los Angeles, said in an October 2022 post that the book should be required reading in Los Angeles schools. We are not playing,” he tweeted.
In a statement Tuesday, Al Alim, 56, appeared to acknowledge all or most of the social media posts and likes and expressed regret. He did not say they were from fake accounts or that the accounts had been hacked.
“I have spent my life fighting anti-Semitism, anti-Arab hatred, Islamophobia and all forms of oppression,” Al-Alim said. “I have spent my life fighting for equality for all people. There is a very long history of Jews and Black people supporting each other and working in solidarity for justice. I want to continue doing important work.”
He also appeared to acknowledge the porn and gun-related “likes,” adding, “I also apologize for liking graphic content on social media. It was inappropriate. I will never do that again. ”
Al Alim is one of seven candidates running to replace George McKenna, who is retiring from the school board. District 1 includes historically black Los Angeles and areas with the highest concentration of black students, and all candidates are black. This district also includes significant numbers of white and Jewish voters. The majority of students attending schools in the district are Latino.
The emergence of Al Alim’s social media activity comes as a parent and longtime community activist who has received support from the influential United Teachers Los Angeles and the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. This could derail the campaign.
Teachers’ unions have spent more than $650,000 on independence campaigns supporting Mr. Al Alim and are organizing frontline workers on his behalf, according to figures reported through Wednesday. Al Alim’s own campaign raised $24,302 as of the last reporting period.
The next largest independent funding effort was $280,515 on behalf of Didi Watts by a Sacramento-based political action committee called Kids First. Actual contributors to this campaign are protected from immediate disclosure because they did not directly contribute to the campaign on Watts’ behalf.
One of the early online promoters of al-Alim’s social media activity was political operative Mike Trujillo, who said he was working on behalf of Watts and three other candidates for office. .
However, criticism does not only come from those politically motivated to oppose al-Alim in the District 1 election.
United Teachers Los Angeles responded sharply to his actions online on Tuesday.
“Mr Kafried Al Alim’s reported social media activity is offensive and unacceptable,” the union said. “They contradict what we have seen about Khalid as an education justice organizer for decades. Elected leaders embody professionalism and set a positive example for those they represent. His reported social media conduct does not meet these fundamental ideals.”
The union left open the possibility of withdrawing its support. “We have contacted Mr. Khalid Al Alim to clarify our position regarding both the content and nature of his posts. We have today called upon him for a public response. UTLA is considering next steps.”
UTLA sent a statement to the Times at 12:32 p.m., and Al Alim’s full apology arrived eight minutes later.
As of Wednesday afternoon, teachers union leaders were still debating whether to maintain or withdraw their support and how to respond if leaders support withdrawing their support. The UTLA approval process is typically complex, involving several steps and many individuals and groups.
The county feds had not responded as of Wednesday afternoon whether it would withdraw its approval.
But outside political pressure is starting to materialize, including from House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rick Chavez Zubru.
“As a gay man, I have experienced discrimination firsthand and understand the ugliness of hatred in society,” Zubru said. “This hatred has no place in California and definitely has no place in public schools.
“Khalid Al Alim’s anti-Semitic comments are disgusting and antithetical to the welcoming and inclusive learning environment that should exist at LAUSD. That is why I would like to ask Mr. Al Alim that LAUSD We request that you withdraw from the board elections.”
In an ad in the Feb. 16 issue of the locally published Jewish Journal, the Israel Democratic Party of Los Angeles nominated Mr. al-Alim as its opponent, but his negative review is just another in a long list of supporters. It also applied to candidates. . Within the teachers’ union, the Israel Council of Educators, which goes by the handle @JewTLA, also strongly opposes al-Alim. In this reference In response to the post Mr Al Alim resigned from on Tuesday:
“What we have here is just some anti-Semitic, Jew-hating garbage.” @kahlidA The posts on his personal account are outlandish conspiracy theories that Jews are running the world and are destroying it. ”
Apart from a general apology, Al Alim specifically retracted his promotion of the Nation of Islam’s book.
“I would like to apologize for the post about Mr. Farrakhan’s book,” Al Alim said, referring to the group’s leader, Louis Farrakhan. “I was wrong. I connected with educators and community members and have since learned about the issue. I completely retract that post. There is no place for that in our school.”
By early this week, al-Alim’s personal account on X had been made private and later permanently deleted.
Critics also highlighted a “liked” image they said they found on Al Alim’s campaign account, posted shortly after the Israeli-Hamas war began on October 7. The tweet portrayed Hamas’ attacks on Israel as Palestinians rising up against occupation, apartheid, and ethnic cleansing. It cannot be found on that account at this time.
The original post is from J-Town Action & Solidarity, which describes itself as a “grassroots collective dedicated to revolutionary organizing and community power building in Little Tokyo.” Masu. Images like Al Alim’s, which appear to have been recently removed, were captured by multiple critics.
Aside from the one example he cited, al-Alim did not specify other posts that critics had found.
According to internationally accepted definitions, expressing support for the Palestinians or expressing criticism of Israel or Zionism (the movement that establishes and maintains a Jewish homeland in Israel) is not necessarily a violation of the law. Not Jewish. But such views can cross the line into anti-Semitism.
Likes of unrelated sexual orientation include at least one sexually explicit image and many suggestive photos. In one, a woman wearing a see-through halter top holds a high-powered gun. These images began surfacing over the weekend. The images were provided not only by political opponents, but also by Jewish critics and union members concerned about the union’s support for al-Alim.
Al Alim has a long history as a community activist, including as a founding member of Reclaim Our Schools LA, a coalition of parents, students, educators, workers and community organizations that works closely with the LA Teachers Union. Masu.
He was also a longtime member of the district’s Task Force on African American Achievement and Advancement and a leader on the Hyde Park Neighborhood Council. Al Alim, currently a janitor in Los Angeles, also served as a medic in the Army for 16 years.
In the recent 1st District election debate, Al-Alim was the candidate who spoke most critically of Saputo’s performance. Alberto Carvalho said the district leader’s accomplishments to date merit an F grade.