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Dear President Pringle,
We are writing to express our deep concerns about the growing level of antisemitic activity within teachers’ unions, particularly since the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023. Passage of New Business Item (NBI) 39 at the National Education Association (NEA) Representative Assembly this past weekend, which shockingly calls for the boycott of the Anti-Defamation League, is just the latest example of open hostility toward Jewish educators, students and families coming from national and local teachers’ unions and their members.
Among the undersigned organizations are those that represent the depth and diversity of Jewish life across the United States. We have heard directly from NEA members who have shared their experiences ranging from explicit and implicit antisemitism within the union to a broader pattern of insensitivity toward legitimate concerns of Jewish members – including at the recently concluded Representative Assembly. We are also deeply troubled by a broader pattern of union activity over the past 20 months that has targeted or alienated Jewish members and the wider Jewish community. A few illustrative examples are included in the attached addendum and underscore the urgent need for NEA leadership to speak out and take meaningful action.
We understand that NBI 39 passed at the NEA Representative Assembly and has been referred to the NEA Executive Committee for further consideration. As you know, NBI 39 would bar NEA and its members from using or promoting any educational material or data published by ADL, a respected national organization founded in 1913 with a decades-long history of fighting bigotry, bias, and discrimination.
While we recognize that NEA has its own internal procedures, we call on you to do everything in your power, as president of the union, to ensure that NBI 39 is rejected. ADL has been a national leader in anti-hate education in K-12 schools for decades and is widely recognized as one of the country’s foremost experts on antisemitism. Although NBI 39 does not explicitly say so, we understand that much of the underlying concern prompting this resolution is directed at ADL’s Holocaust education materials. That reality makes this proposal especially disturbing. This is precisely the kind of education that is vital not only to combat antisemitism, but also to fighting hatred and intolerance of all kinds. The effort to exclude ADL’s voice from educational spaces at a time of skyrocketing antisemitism — including in K-12 classrooms — speaks volumes about the climate within NEA that allowed this measure to pass, and the lack of understanding, if not outright hostility, behind it.
We are particularly alarmed by reports that Jewish teachers who spoke out against the resolution at the Representative Assembly were harassed and shouted down during the proceedings. It is our belief that the goal of those who introduced NBI 39 is to marginalize mainstream Jewish voices within this country’s public school systems and to limit the ability of educators to address the growing threat of antisemitism with their students. In both content and context, NBI 39 represents a direct attack on Jewish educators, Jewish students, the broader Jewish community, and all who stand against antisemitism.
We urge you to take immediate action, including:
- Reject NBI 39.
- Issue a strong condemnation of the antisemitism within the NEA.
- Outline a plan of action to address antisemitism within your national and affiliate state and local NEA chapters.
- Reject any effort to use an educator’s support for the existence of Israel as a means to attack their identity.
The Jewish community is facing a historic crisis of antisemitism not seen in generations. ADL’s recently published 2024 Audit of Antisemitic Incidents tracked 9,354 incidents across the United States. Since the events of October 7, there has been a dramatic spike in incidents across nearly every sector of American life. An increase in antisemitic incidents in our K-12 schools has been especially concerning, with 1,162 and 860 incidents reported in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Reports of Jewish children being called “baby killers,” taunted with Hitler and Holocaust jokes, and exposed to swastika vandalism at school have become frighteningly normal.
Given this highly concerning landscape, we are especially disturbed by the volume of reports by Jewish K-12 teachers regarding antisemitic activity happening within their unions. Hateful resolutions and rhetoric have left Jewish educators feeling hurt, isolated, and abandoned by their unions. Those educators who have spoken out against such actions have often faced hostility and ostracization and suddenly feel excluded and unwelcome.
We are available to assist in this work, but the NEA leadership must demonstrate a sincere commitment to addressing the issue, make clear that there will be no tolerance for antisemitism in its ranks, and recognize the harm that its inaction to date has caused to member teachers and the students and families your members serve.
Sincerely,
ADL (Anti-Defamation League)
American Jewish Committee (AJC)
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations
Jewish Federations of North America
#EndJewHatred
3GDC
3GNY
A Wider Bridge
Academic Engagement Network
Adath Israel, Merion Station; Merion, PA
Adath Shalom; Morris Plains, NJ
Adventure Judaism
Adventure Rabbi
Agudath Israel of California
Alpha Epsilon Phi Sorority
Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity
Am Shalom; Glencoe, IL
American Jewish Congress
American Zionist Movement
AMIT Children
Ancient Tempo Inc.
Anshe Emet Synagogue; Chicago, IL
Arthur M. Glick Jewish Community Center of Indianapolis
Association of Holocaust Organizations
Association of Jewish Psychologists
B’nai B’rith International
Baltimore Jewish Council
Barry and Florence Friedberg Jewish Community Center of Oceanside
Beth David Synagogue; West Hartford, CT
Beth Israel Congregation; Ann Arbor, MI
Beth Israel Congregation; Chester County, PA
Beth Sholom Congregation; Elkins Park, PA
B'nai Israel Synagogue
B'nai Israel; Southbury, CT
B'nai Shalom of Olney, MD
Board of Rabbis of Southern California
Boulder Chapter of Hadassah
California State University, Fullerton's Jewish Faculty and Staff Association (JFSA)
CAMERA (Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting & Analysis)
Canton Jewish Community Federation
Center for Jewish Philanthropy of Greater Phoenix
Chabad of Louisiana
Chabad-Lubavitch of the Shoreline; Guildford, CT
Charleston Jewish Federation
Chicago Sinai Congregation
Chicago United Synagogue Youth (CHUSY)
Colorado Israeli American Council
Combat Antisemitism Movement
Combined Jewish Philanthropies' Center for Combating Antisemitism
Congregation Beth Adam, South Florida Center for Humanistic Judaism, Delray Beach, FL
Congregation Beth Am; San Diego, CA
Congregation Beth David; San Luis Obispo, CA
Congregation Beth El; New London, CT
Congregation Beth El; Norwalk, CT
Congregation Beth El; Voorhees, NJ
Congregation Beth Israel; Asheville, NC
Congregation Beth Israel; Scottsdale, AZ
Congregation Beth Shalom; Clearwater, FL
Congregation Beth-El Zedeck; Indianapolis, IN
Congregation B'nai Amoona; St. Louis, MO
Congregation B'nai Israel; Bridgeport, CT
Congregation B'nai Jacob; Charleston, WV
Congregation Bonai Shalom; Boulder, CO
Congregation Etz Chaim of DuPage County
Congregation Etz Chaim; Marietta, GA
Congregation Gates of Prayer; Metairie, LA
Congregation Har HaShem; Boulder, CO
Congregation Har Shalom; Potomac, MD
Congregation Har Tzeon-Agudath Achim; Silver Spring, MD
Congregation Kneseth Israel, Elgin, IL
Congregation Kol Emet; Yardley, PA
Congregation Kol Tikvah; Parkland, FL
Congregation Ner Tamid; Henderson, NV
Congregation Or Tzion; Scottsdale, AZ
Congregation Rodef Shalom; Boulder, CO
Congregation Shaarai Shomayim; Lancaster, PA
Congregation Shaarey Tefilla; Carmel, IN
Congregation Shaarey Zedek; Southfield, MI
Congregation Shalom; Milwaukee, WI
Congregation Temple Israel; St. Louis, MO
Congregations of Shaare Shamayim; Elkins Park, PA
Darchei Noam; Ambler, PA
Democratic Majority for Israel
Dr. Jud Newborn, (U. Chicago) Holocaust & Antisemitism Multimedia Lecturer
East End Temple; New York, NY
Eckerd Hillel
El Paso Holocaust Museum and Study Center
Emanuel Synagogue; San Francisco, CA
Esther Raab Holocaust Museum and Goodwin Education Center
Flagstaff Jewish Public Affairs Committee
Florida Holocaust Museum
Fort Wayne Jewish Federation
Foundation to Combat Antisemitism (FCAS)
Gratz College
Greater Hartford for Israel
Greater Miami Jewish Federation
Greensboro Jewish Federation
Greenwich Reform Synagogue, Cos Cob, CT
Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America
Harlem Arts Foundation
Haston Hebrew Academy of Indianapolis
Hate Ends Now
Hebrew SeniorLife
Hillel at Florida International University
Hillel at Southern Methodist University
Hillel International
Hillel Montreal
Hillel of Colorado
Hillels of North Texas
Hillels of the Florida Suncoast
Holocaust Learning and Education Fund, Inc.
Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach
Holocaust Memorial Museum of San Antonio
Holocaust Museum Houston
Holocaust Museum Los Angeles
Hopkins Hillel
Houston Congregation for Reform Judaism; Houston, TX
Human Services Consulting
Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation
Indianapolis Jewish Community Relations Council
Israeli-American Council
Jacksonville Jewish Center
JCAN (Jewish Community Action Network)
JCC Association of North America
JCC Federation of San Luis Obispo County
JCC of the North Shore
JCRB|AJC Kansas City
JCRC of Colorado
JCRC of Greater Orlando
JCRC of Greater Santa Barbara
JCRC-NY
Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island
Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Boston
Jewish Collaborative of Orange County
Jewish Community Alliance of Lancaster
Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine
Jewish Community Center and Federation of Augusta
Jewish Community Day School
Jewish Community Federation of Richmond
Jewish Community Relations Coalition of New Mexico (JCRC-NM)
Jewish Community Relations Committee of Richmond and Central Virginia
Jewish Community Relations Council of Augusta, GA
Jewish Community Relations Council of Broward County, Florida
Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston
Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater New Haven
Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington
Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas
Jewish Community Relations Council of St. Louis
Jewish Community Relations Council of the Birmingham Jewish Federation
Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Naples
Jewish Community Relations Council of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation
Jewish Community Relations Council of United Jewish Federation of Stamford, New Canaan and Darien
Jewish Community Relations Council, Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester
Jewish Community Services of South Florida
Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA)
Jewish Council of North Central Florida
Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA)
Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana
Jewish Faculty Resilience Group (JFrg)
Jewish Family Service of Colorado
Jewish Family Service of Greater New Orleans
Jewish Family Service of Metrowest (MA)
Jewish Federation & Foundation of Northeast Florida
Jewish Federation in the Heart of New Jersey
Jewish Federation Los Angeles
Jewish Federation of Arkansas
Jewish Federation of Atlantic & Cape May Counties
Jewish Federation of Central MA
Jewish Federation of Central New York
Jewish Federation of Cincinnati
Jewish Federation of Cleveland
Jewish Federation of Cumberland, Gloucester & Salem Counties
Jewish Federation of Detroit
Jewish Federation of Dutchess County
Jewish Federation of Eastern Connecticut
Jewish Federation of Florida's Gulf Coast
Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor
Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta
Jewish Federation of Greater Buffalo
Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte
Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas
Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton
Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines
Jewish Federation of Greater Fairfield County
Jewish Federation of Greater Harrisburg
Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford
Jewish Federation of Greater Houston
Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis
Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City
Jewish Federation of Greater Lafayette (Indiana)
Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest New Jersey
Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven
Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans
Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia
Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh
Jewish Federation of Greater Portland
Jewish Federation of Greater Raleigh
Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester
Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara
Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle
Jewish Federation of Greater Toledo
Jewish Federation of Greater Washington
Jewish Federation of Howard County
Jewish Federation of New Hampshire
Jewish Federation of Northeastern New York
Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey
Jewish Federation of Omaha
Jewish Federation of Orange County
Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County
Jewish Federation of Peoria
Jewish Federation of Reading
Jewish Federation of San Antonio
Jewish Federation of San Diego
Jewish Federation of Sarasota Manatee
Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey
Jewish Federation of St. Louis
Jewish Federation of the Berkshires
Jewish Federation of the Greater San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys
Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley
Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities
Jewish Federation of Ventura County
Jewish Federation of West-Central New Jersey
Jewish Federation of Western Connecticut
Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts
Jewish Grad Organization
Jewish Long Beach
Jewish National Fund - USA
Jewish Nevada
Jewish on Campus
Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance
Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation
Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona / Center for Jewish Resilience
Jewish Sacred Aging®
Jewish Silicon Valley
Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Chicago
Jewish Women International
JEWISHcolorado
JewishColumbus
JIMENA: Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa
Kavod Senior Life
Ken Jewish Community
Lappin Foundation
Legion Hartford Chapter
Leichtag Foundation
Lester and Jewell Morris Hillel Jewish Student Center at Michigan State University
Levine Center To End Hate
Loudoun Jewish Educators (LJE)
Makom NY
Mark Schonwetter Holocaust Education Foundation
MD Jewish Alliance
Memory Workers
Memphis Jewish Federation
Midbar Kodesh Temple; Henderson, NV
Mid-Kansas Jewish Federation
Minneapolis Jewish Federation
Missouri Alliance Network
Montgomery County Jewish Parents Coalition
Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to The Holocaust
Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center
National Association of Jewish Legislators
National Council of Jewish Women
National Council of Jewish Women Atlanta Section (GA)
National Council of Jewish Women Austin Section (TX)
National Council of Jewish Women Chicago North Shore Section (IL)
National Council of Jewish Women Cleveland Section (OH)
National Council of Jewish Women Colorado Section (CO)
National Council of Jewish Women Florida
National Council of Jewish Women Greater Dallas Section (TX)
National Council of Jewish Women Greater Long Beach & West Orange County Section (CA)
National Council of Jewish Women Greater Rochester Section (NY)
National Council of Jewish Women Indianapolis Section (IN)
National Council of Jewish Women Louisville Section (KY)
National Council of Jewish Women Maryland Action Team
National Council of Jewish Women Michigan Section (MI)
National Council of Jewish Women Peninsula Section (NY)
National Council of Jewish Women Rockland Section (NY)
National Council of Jewish Women Sacramento Section (CA)
National Council of Jewish Women San Francisco Section
National Council of Jewish Women St. Louis Section (MO)
National Council of Jewish Women West Morris Section (NJ)
Novachai Foundation
NSS Beth El; Highland Park, IL
Oak Park Temple B'nai Abraham Zion; Oak Park, IL
Ohev Shalom of Bucks County; Richboro, PA
Ohio Jewish Communities
Ohr Shalom Synagogue; San Diego, CA
Olami
Old York Road Temple - Beth Am; Abington, PA
One8 Foundation
Orthodox Union
Rabbinical Assembly
Rabbinical Council of America
Religious Zionists of America
Rose Community Foundation
Ruth Fajerman Markowicz Holocaust Resource Center of Toledo Ohio
SECTOR
Shaare Tefila Congregation; Olney, MD
Shaarey Tzedek Synagogue; The Woodlands, TX
Shalom Austin
Shalom Orlando, Florida
Shalom Park
SHIELD - Supporting Honest Instruction & Equitable Learning for our Diaspora
Shir Ha Yam; San Diego, CA
Shma Koleinu; Bellaire, TX
Shomrei Torah, Wayne Conservative Congregation; Wayne, NJ
Sid Jacobson JCC
Sigma Alpha Mu Fraternity
Sigma Delta Tau
Simon Wiesenthal Center
Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Hartford
South Carolina Council on the Holocaust
St. Paul Jewish Federation
Stan Greenpon Holocaust Education Center
StandWithUs
StandWithUs - Midwest
Stop Antisemitism Colorado
Tampa Jewish Community Center & Federation, Inc.
Temple B’nai Chaim; Wilton, CT
Temple Beth Am; Pinecrest, FL
Temple Beth El South Orange County
Temple Beth Hillel; Valley Village, CA
Temple Beth Israel of Port Washington, NY
Temple Beth Sholom; Cherry Hill, NJ
Temple Beth Sholom; Las Vegas, NV
Temple Beth Sholom; Topeka, KS
Temple Beth Tikvah; Madison, CT
Temple Beth Torah; Humble, TX
Temple Beth Torah; Ventura, CA
Temple Beth Torah; Wellington, FL
Temple De Hirsch Sinai; Seattle, WA
Temple Emanu-El of Atlanta, GA
Temple Emanuel; Kensington, MD
Temple Emanuel; Denver, CO
Temple Israel of Westport, CT
Temple Israel; Norfolk, VA
Temple Jeremiah; Northfield, IL
Temple Judea; Coral Gables, FL
Temple Judea; Palm Beach County
Temple Shalom; Colorado Springs, CO
Temple Shalom; Norwalk CT
Temple Sinai; Denver, CO
Temple Sinai; Houston, TX
Temple Sinai; Las Vegas, NV
Temple Sinai; Sharon, MA
Temple Solel; Cardiff, CA
The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore
The Chicago Rabbinical Council (cRc)
The Defiant Requiem Foundation
The Efshar Project
The Finest Community Coalition
The Hillel Foundation at Purdue
The Hillels of Illinois
Jewish Federation of Fort Worth and Tarrant County
The Jewish Majority
The Lawfare Project
The Olga Lengyel Institute for Holocaust Studies and Human Rights (TOLI)
The Women International Zionist Organization (WIZO)
UJA Federation of New York
UJA-JCC Greenwich
Unified Jewish Congregation of Baton Rouge
Union for Reform Judaism
United Hebrew Congregation; St. Louis, MO
United Jewish Community of the Virginia Peninsula
United Jewish Federation of Stamford, New Canaan, and Darien
United Jewish Federation of Tidewater
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ)
University of Colorado at Boulder Hillel
Vermont Holocaust Memorial
Voices of Hope
Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History
Women of Reform Judaism
Wonder and Repair
Woodbury Jewish Center
World Jewish Congress - American Section
Young Israel of West Hartford
Zeta Beta Tau Fraternity
Zioness Movement
Zionist Organization of America (ZOA)
Addendum
Selected Examples of Recent Incidents within and by Teachers’ Unions Targeting and/or Alienating Jewish Community
- October 2023: The Oakland Education Association (OEA) released a statement calling for "an end to the occupation of Palestine” and attributing much of the blame for the current conflict on Israeli's "apartheid" government and “the Israeli government leaders [espousing] genocidal rhetoric and policies against the people of Palestine.” OEA members were directed to materials advising educators on, among other things, "teaching about Palestine in situations where pushback from Zionist parents" is likely.
- November 2023: Minneapolis teachers’ union blamed “apartheid” Israel for the war with Hamas, sparking outrage.
- Fall 2023: In the immediate wake of October 7, Massachusetts Teachers
Association (MTA) passed a resolution that appeared to blame Israel entirely for the conflict and condemned Israel’s response as a “genocidal war” against the Palestinians.
- Fall 2023: MTA resolved to create a set of teaching resources about “Israel/Palestine” for use by teachers and their students. The resource list, published in December 2024, offers a biased list of anti-Israel resources, which includes some overtly antisemitic material. At a hearing of the Massachusetts Special Commission on Combatting Antisemitism some of the concerning materials within these resources were spotlighted, including, for example, the image of a Jewish star made out of dollar bills and a children’s book that referred to Zionists as bullies who stole land.
- Fall 2023-present: Jewish teachers in the MTA report they have been being bullied and harassed at union meetings when they speak up against particular resolutions that they deem harmful or biased against Jews or Israel.
- September 2024: Debby Pope, a longtime educator and activist in the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) whom Mayor Johnson also appointed to the body, shared a post on X reading “Zionists are not welcome in Chicago.”
- October 2024: when San Francisco Unified School District held mandatory antisemitism training for staff at four high schools, the teachers’ union, United Educators of San Francisco, said it will support any educator who decided to forgo the mandatory training.
- January 2025: a union representing 30,000 CUNY faculty and staff passed a resolution to divest from Israel.
- March 2025: UTLA voted to urge the Los Angeles Unified School District to drop the
ADL as a partner in professional development and to reject promoting or adopting ADL curriculum in LA schools. The UTLA House of Representatives also voted to object to the UCLA administration’s response to anti-Israel protests on campus and to reject partnering with the Jewish Federation on antisemitism training.
- March 2025: seven Los Angeles teachers filed a lawsuit against the United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) alleging a history of antisemitic actions by the union and unconstitutional forced association.
- Spring 2025: UTLA urged the Los Angeles School District to effectively ban Echoes and Reflections, a curriculum developed by Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, the USC Shoah Foundation and ADL to teach educators about the Holocaust, as well as instill in them the confidence to teach this difficult subject.