Addressing Antisemitism Through Effective Union Action

Protecting Jewish educators, staff, and students is union work

The National Education Association (NEA) Jewish Affairs Caucus rejects attempts to weaken the labor movement by using antisemitism as a smokescreen. There is a real crisis of antisemitism in our country and in our schools. As members of the NEA Jewish Affairs Caucus, many of us have experienced this firsthand. Real, tangible improvements are needed in both how reports of antisemitism are addressed and how we teach about antisemitism. However, our community’s legitimate fears are being manipulated by those who seek to divide and dismantle the labor movement. Jewish educators should not have to choose between their safety and their union. True solidarity means protecting both.

The NEA Jewish Affairs Caucus is proud to be a leading voice in the fight against antisemitism within our union and within our classrooms. We are organizing for the work that must be done to make classrooms safe for Jewish students and educators. That work includes adopting clear standards for speech and conduct in all union spaces and promoting a greater understanding of the needs and concerns of Jewish members. 

Efforts to label the National Education Association as antisemitic or to strip the union of its charter do not solve the problem; they escalate it. Antisemitism is not a union problem. It is a societal issue that is manifesting across the entire political spectrum. Fighting it requires clarity, not scapegoating.

We call on leaders and anyone who truly cares about protecting public education and protecting organized labor to recognize that fighting antisemitism does not weaken our union. It is a responsibility that, when addressed head on, makes us stronger, and can build understanding that helps protect all students from hate. If we don’t act, others will seize the opportunity to undermine the very institutions that protect workers rights and safeguard our schools. Instead of threatening the future of the NEA or driving Jewish members away from joining or remaining members, the NEA Jewish Affairs Caucus urges greater support and engagement with the NEA at the national, state, and local levels. We call on NEA members to stand with the NEA Jewish Affairs Caucus and be part of the solution. That is how real change happens.

The NEA Jewish Affairs Caucus played a critical role in defeating New Business Item 39 (NBI 39), a harmful proposal that would have undermined efforts to address the concerns of its Jewish members and efforts to confront antisemitism effectively. We introduced and passed an NBI calling on the NEA to celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month and have introduced an NBI calling on NEA to affirm our ethnic identity. The NEA Jewish Affairs Caucus also introduced an NBI urging NEA to adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism, so that antisemitism can be functionally, constructively, and systematically identified and addressed across NEA spaces. The NEA Jewish Affairs Caucus continues to call for measures that will strengthen Jewish inclusion in the NEA.

The path forward is not disengagement or destruction. It is active, principled engagement by teachers and NEA leaders - engagement where Jewish concerns are heard, taken seriously and addressed in a manner that results in Jewish educators being seen, protected and fully included. This is how we must fight antisemitism within our union. This is how we combat attacks on labor that use antisemitism as a smokescreen. This is how we build a stronger, more inclusive labor movement that benefits us all.