Teachers Unions to Jewish Educators: You're on Your Own
Jews and teachers unions have long stood side-by-side.
Indeed, the legendary Al Shanker, who founded New York’s United Federation of Teachers and, during his 23-year tenure as president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), made teachers unions a power player in Democratic Party politics, was a proud Jew who used his position to fight antisemitism and promote Jewish causes. As recently as last year, the National Education Association (NEA) — America’s largest teachers union — published an article celebrating Jews’ historic role in labor movements, particularly highlighting their ardent advocacy for teachers and students nationwide.
But now the NEA is singing a considerably different tune. After two years of tepid responses to the educational antisemitism that swept the nation in the October 7th Massacre’s aftermath, NEA delegates voted to suspend all ties with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), one of the most important nonprofits in the fight against antisemitism. Their reasoning? That the ADL is insufficiently committed to social justice, and the union feels the need to “support Palestine.”
The ADL is far from perfect — they’ve played politics when they shouldn’t have, and made needless enemies among people who mildly disagreed on unrelated political matters, but they’ve also done vital work for antisemitism awareness and Holocaust education. But who the ADL works with, or whether they’re good or bad, is beside the point. What matters here is the NEA’s message to Jewish educators around the country: You’re on your own. Jewish teachers should take that message to heart.
The whole point of joining a union, at least in theory, is that you’ll have someone in your corner if something goes wrong. There’s a whole host of people ready and willing to protect the little guy from a situation they can’t handle themselves. For decades, even when unions became integral to political party machinery, they understood this basic relationship — they were going to protect their members, even if there were some trade-offs or sacrifices involved. In exchange, members would pay into the union, support the union’s agenda, and help with recruitment efforts.
But now Jewish educators have been thrown under the bus. After all, teachers unions did little to nothing to support the Jewish teacher in Massachusetts who resigned after a student repeatedly taunted him with Hitler slurs, the Jewish teacher in New York City who endured several student protests for the crime of being pro-Israel, or the Jewish teacher in the Bronx who had students chant “heil Hitler” at her in the hallway for months. All around the country, Jewish teachers, including many high-ranking union members, have voiced the same concern: When they needed help, no one showed up.
In some cases, the unions themselves have become the problem. A Jewish teacher in Oregon sued the Portland Association of Teachers for pushing a curriculum that declared that “Israel would be a country where rules were mostly fair for Jewish people with White skin.” Resources provided by the Massachusetts Teachers Association included an image of a dollar bill folded into a Star of David. Perhaps most egregiously, the California Teachers Association is viciously opposing a bipartisan bill aimed at fighting antisemitism in the state’s public schools.
Jewish educators and those who support them must understand that this is not going to change any time soon. Union leaders are not going to listen to Jews and their allies. The unions are more than happy to take Jewish educators’ money and then turn around and cultivate an environment and political program that are utterly hostile to their interests. By continuing to support these institutions, Jewish educators are cutting off their nose to spite their face, handing over dues to organizations that no longer defend them.
But abandoning the teachers’ unions is not the same thing as going without representation or protection. Jewish educators, along with those who support them, could band together to protect their rights, liberties, and jobs. There are signs that something like this might develop in San Francisco, while other educators have joined with organizations, like the Freedom Foundation, committed to defending their rights in labor and beyond.
Regardless, it’s clear that there’s little hope for Jews in the teachers’ unions. They’ve chosen to sacrifice many of their most loyal and committed members for a political cause halfway across the world. Jewish educators should respond accordingly and look elsewhere for defense and support.
