Today is Valentine’s Day and I got my heart broken. Here’s what happened.

Ms Rachel is so powerful and amazing at what she teaches and inspires children and their families around the world. I’ve seen where children’s development through sounds, letters, and words has built confidence and changes lives. As a speaker and educator I am in awe of her creativity, work, and impact.

Today when Ms. Rachel shared on her Instagram of (almost 2 million followers) a collaboration post with “Save the Children”, naturally it sounded like a great organization. When I looked at their page, I noticed they work with children all over the world. At first glance, it looks like they do great work. Except if you look deeper into the posts, there’s one population of children missing, the Jewish kids.

 

The focus of the messaging is on the brutality of the IDF. No mention of the brutality inflicted on the Israeli children who were shot, murdered, and kidnapped on October 7th. How is it Save the Children can talk about children being displaced and affected by war, but only focus on the Palestinian kids in Gaza? Jewish children matter too.

Many Israeli children in the north and the south have not been in their homes and schools for over 138 days due to thousands of rockets launched. Save the Children, if you prefer to focus solely on children in Gaza why is there no mention of the Israeli children being held hostage now for over 138 days? We don’t even know if they’re all alive or being fed.

Ms. Rachel, it broke my heart this Valentines Day when I shared my perspective on your post to consider the division your partnership is creating when there is so much unity and community embedded in the magical work you do. When my comment was deleted you denied the opportunity for others to meaningfully engage.

 

I don’t know how this partnership came about or how much research you did into the organization, but as someone who writes kids books and educates children of all different backgrounds the significance of being inclusive, one of my heroes let me down today. You left us out.

I probably will never have that conversation with you, but I hope through sharing my story I can educate and inspire others. Until I am blocked, I will continue to follow you and show love on all your posts as I always do. My comment this morning and this message are coming from a place of learning and love, not hate.

All children have the right to feel safe and have the opportunity to learn- Palestinian, American, Syrian, Israeli, it doesn’t matter. They should be allowed equal access to your content and your concious no matter their religion, sex, nationality, etc.

I tell kids all the time that to understand each other doesn’t mean that we have to agree, but it means we have to listen. If you’re reading, thanks for listening. Ms. Rachel and Save The Children. 

I’d love to send you copies of my books and have a conversation. Send me a DM anytime