The war in Gaza continues to roil Minnesota politics and government, most recently causing a sharp division among a group of state employees who meet regularly to discuss racial justice issues.
The Equity Justice Black Caucus is one of several state government “employee resource groups” in which state workers meet to discuss ways to support one another and build cross-agency relationships.
Minnesota Management and Budget — which serves as the state’s HR agency and facilitates the employee resource groups — suspended the group from hosting further events or activities after receiving a complaint about alleged “antisemitic or Islamophobic” comments and content during a recent meeting about the Israel-Hamas war.
The EJBC holds sessions about every other week for state employees to share updates about their experiences and bond with each other as people of color and minorities in the workplace.
The group held a virtual meeting on Oct. 25 that was intended “create a supportive space where the members of the community could share, listen, and learn to better understand the deeply distressing ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians,” they wrote in a change.org petition calling on the state to allow the group to continue its meetings.
MMB received a complaint about the meeting, alleging that it included inaccurate statements and “antisemitic or Islamophobic” comments and content.
In an email obtained by the Reformer, MMB Commissioner Erin Campbell wrote to the hundreds of state employees who attended the online Oct. 25 meeting, saying that it had hurt employees and she was sorry for “the pain, anxiety and frustration this event caused.”
“While the session was intended to educate employees, it included content and comments that were not factual and, in some cases, antisemitic or Islamophobic,” Campbell wrote. “These comments and this content do not represent the views and values of the state of Minnesota, are out of line with state policies and guidelines for our state Employee Resource Groups, and are inconsistent with our goal of fostering an inclusive and respectful workplace.”
MMB declined to release the complaint, saying it was personnel data not subject to the state’s public records law. Leaders of the EJBC declined to speak with the Reformer, citing the ongoing investigation.
The EJBC said in an update to its change.org petition last week that MMB had asked the group’s leadership team to step down. The group also said that MMB is considering disassembling the group altogether.
MMB said in a statement that it expects the group will be able to resume meetings next year — but with new leaders.
“Our expectation is that the EJBC will resume activities early next year with new leadership,” a MMB spokesperson said.
Ethan Roberts, deputy executive director for the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota, said state employees who attended the Oct. 25 meeting alerted JCRC and said the meeting was unwelcoming and felt hostile toward Jewish people.
Roberts didn’t personally attend the meeting, but he said he spoke with four people who did. JCRC spoke with Campbell about their concerns, Roberts said.
According to Roberts, one Israeli state worker told the group that she has family and friends living in southern Israel and spoke of the horrors they’d seen. Her words didn’t seem to make an impression on the other attendees, she told Roberts. In contrast, attendees were empathetic and comforting toward people who spoke about the experiences of people living in Gaza, Roberts said.
Roberts said someone wrote in the meeting’s chat that antisemitism isn’t about Jewish people, which he cited as another example of hostility toward Jews in attendance.
“This is an incredibly divisive and fraught topic which needs to be handled with the utmost sensitivity and we have to be really careful to not allow the conflict to irreparably damage the relationships that we have here in Minnesota,” Roberts said.
The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned the state’s suspension of the EJBC in a statement.
“The EJBC has been pivotal in promoting dialogues on racial and social issues, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, within various Minnesota state agencies,” CAIR-MN said. “Its suspension following a session intended to foster understanding of this complex issue has been viewed as a silencing tactic, undermining the voices of Muslim employees and others committed to peaceful and equitable discourse.”
MMB said it’s investigating the event.
“Every employee is a valued friend, colleague, and leader in our employee community. (MMB) is reviewing future activities for alignment with statewide policies, bylaws, and guidelines and to meet our goal of fostering an inclusive and respectful workplace,” the agency said in a statement.
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State employee group suspended over alleged comments made at meeting on Israel-Hamas war - Minnesota Reformer
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