Letter to NEA Leadership

July 15, 2025

The NEA Jewish Affairs Caucus sent the following letter to President Pringle and the NEA Executive Committee regarding the experiences of our delegates at the 2025 NEA Representative Assembly in Portland, Oregon.

Subject: Protecting Jewish NEA Members

President Pringle and the NEA Executive Committee,

As members of the NEA Jewish Affairs Caucus, we write to you with deep concern regarding events that took place at the annual NEA Representative Assembly (RA) in Portland, Oregon. Individual Jewish delegates were vocally mocked, harassed, and threatened in ways that dishonor our union. We are counting on your leadership to denounce these behaviors and to set an example by faithfully confronting Jew-hatred today. Your recent statement rightly called antisemitism an “insidious hate and cancer,” yet it did not address the specific events Jewish delegates experienced in Portland. These experiences were not abstract or historical; they were immediate, painful, and have caused lasting harm.

We reached out to our delegates who attended the RA and asked them to share their experiences. Here is what they reported:

• Jewish delegates were repeatedly singled out by other delegates with questions like “How do you feel about the babies dying in Gaza?” and “Do you support Israel?” solely because they are Jewish. These were not invitations to meaningful dialogue among colleagues with differing views, but rather “gotcha” questions designed to identify, isolate, and belittle American Jews. Some delegates physically surrounded Jewish speakers on the floor, creating an environment that seemed intended to intimidate them.

• On the RA floor, delegates questioned whether Jewish American Heritage Month was worth recognizing and whether the NEA Jewish Affairs Caucus should have input into providing resources through the NEA, immediately after supporting similar measures for other groups.  One delegate implied that a Jewish speaker was a “White Supremacist” for opposing the promotion of a curriculum organization that published content they deemed biased. Another delegate speaking on the floor slandered the NEA Jewish Affairs Caucus. Despite reporting this slander through proper channels, to the best of our knowledge, it was not addressed, and delegates in the Representative Assembly never learned the truth.

• As a Jewish delegate from Colorado spoke in opposition to severing ties with the ADL, she referenced the death of Karen Diamond, an 82-year-old Holocaust survivor who was burned alive by a Molotov cocktail at a peaceful demonstration in Boulder. Her recounting of this horrific death was met with laughter and clapping by some participants in the assembly. This was beyond political; it was inhuman and repulsive.

• Several of our Jewish delegates reported that the shunning, harassment, and antisemitic comments continued  when sitting with their state caucuses, forcing them to move to different sections of the hall simply to feel safe enough to raise their hands and vote.

• Many of the delegates exhibiting hatred toward our Jewish caucus members wore articles of clothing that bore slogans or memes and/or have become associated with anti-Israel sentiments, including verbal and physical violence against Jews.

• The body voted in favor of referring a new business item calling for severing ties with the Anti-Defamation League to the NEA Executive Committee, rejecting its experienced guidance on protecting all marginalized students. Some delegates cheered and danced, despite the vote changing nothing, as the NEA had no existing partnership and NEA leadership had reportedly already removed links to the ADL from their website. Those delegates simply welcomed the opportunity to condemn a Jewish organization for being Jewish.

• On the last day, our Executive Chair twice submitted points of privilege to acknowledge the 50th anniversary of our Jewish Affairs Caucus. Despite receipt of her points of privilege being confirmed, when the moment came, she was not permitted to speak. It is now clear whose voices are not welcome within our union.

Most unfortunate of all was how the NEA’s official statement framed the situation, as if U.S. classrooms were an extension of the battleground in Gaza. In trying to appear balanced, it paired antisemitism with vague references to anti-Palestinian bias, for which no instances were cited, as if combating antisemitic behavior were somehow an act of anti-Palestinian bias. Presenting human dignity as a zero-sum game is perilous for all minorities. History teaches us that when one minority is deprived of its humanity without comment, others will be too.

President Pringle, this was a deeply painful experience for our Jewish delegates. You have the chance to use your voice to protect thousands of marginalized teachers, students, families, and communities across the country, who are facing similar struggles within their local communities, and we are here to support you. Together, we can model what it truly means to stand against antisemitism and all irrational, provocative prejudice to ensure that all educators and students feel safe and valued.

For these reasons, we urge the NEA Executive Committee to take the following steps:

1. Establish clear standards for speech and conduct at the RA and in all union spaces, with fair consequences to ensure hostile or discriminatory remarks and proposals are not left unchecked.

2. Reject New Business Item #39, which seeks to sever ties with the ADL, and state clearly that it is an antisemitic attack on a respected civil rights organization targeted for its Jewish ties. The committee should also affirm that the false claims made against the ADL on the RA floor lack merit and that the ADL’s long record of fighting hate deserves NEA’s support.

3. Recognize that the behavior of many delegates shows our union urgently needs education and resources on Jewish culture and defining antisemitism. We urge you to support initiatives like the two NBIs that were referred to the Executive Committee by members of the NEA Jewish Affairs Caucus, which aim to combat antisemitism, and allow members to identify as ethnically Jewish.

4. Allow our Jewish members to identify demographically as Jewish,  affording us the same respect and acknowledgement already afforded many of our marginalized communities.

5. Commit to promoting resources and celebrations for all marginalized communities equally, as part of the strategic plan and budget. The NEA should lead by example, offering these resources in collaboration with members of each community to ensure that all heritage months and major holidays, including Jewish American Heritage Month, receive the same authentic support and visibility as others. This will help ensure that no group ever has to debate its value on the Representative Assembly floor again.

Many Jewish educators left Portland questioning whether they still have a home in the union they have long served. We ask you to help rebuild that trust by showing, through real action, not just cautious or equivocal statements, that the NEA stands with all its members in how it conducts its business. This is your moment to make it right, and we hope you will meet the challenge.

We look forward to working with you and the Executive Committee to uphold the NEA’s highest ideals of solidarity, respect, and justice for all.

With hope and in unity,

The NEA Jewish Affairs Caucus Executive Committee