NEA Rejects NBI 39

July 20, 2025

On the evening of July 18, 2025 the NEA Executive Committee and Board of Directors voted to reject NBI 39 and issued a public statement. 

We commend the NEA Executive Committee and Board of Directors for rejecting New Business Item #39 (NBI 39), a proposal that would have directed the union to sever all ties with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), one of the country’s leading Jewish civil rights organizations. For more than a century, the ADL has worked to combat antisemitism, racism, and hate in all forms. By rejecting this measure, the Executive Committee affirmed that Jewish organizations should not be scapegoated or excluded under the banner of social justice, and we are sincerely grateful for that decision.

At a time of rising antisemitism in schools, on campuses, and across public life, NBI 39 sought to denounce the very organization working to protect Jewish educators and students. The vote on the Representative Assembly floor was driven by emotion rather than evidence, with no fact-checking, no due diligence, and no consideration of the harm it would cause. The Executive Committee and Board of Directors made the right decision in voting it down, but the union’s public statement accompanying that decision blurred the truth, ignored the harm, and failed to meet the moment. The controversy over NBI 39 unfolded in an environment where Jewish delegates were mocked, harassed, and isolated on the convention floor. That is not inclusion. That is not equity. That is not justice.

President Pringle’s suggestion that the ADL does not support free speech was made without evidence and echoed a false, politically charged narrative that the ADL labels all criticism of Israel as antisemitic. That claim is simply not true. Far more troubling is the message this sends. When the president of the largest union in the country publicly casts doubt on the integrity of the leading Jewish civil rights organization working to protect educators, it also casts doubt on the credibility of the Jewish delegates who rely on it. Several of those delegates, including the NEA Jewish Affairs Caucus itself, have reported the antisemitic abuse they endured at the Representative Assembly directly to the Executive Committee and have received no response to date. This lack of response signals to Jewish members that their concerns are not a priority.

This is what modern antisemitism looks like. It is not just slurs or swastikas. It is institutional silence when Jewish members are attacked. It is exclusion masked as progress. It is calling for justice while erasing Jews from the conversation. It’s holding meetings and issuing statements, whose outcomes disproportionately impact Jewish members, on Shabbat. When unions and progressive spaces treat Jewish concerns as optional or suspect, they make antisemitism harder to name and easier to excuse.

Rejecting NBI 39 was the right decision, but it must not be the last. The NEA still has no formal partnerships with Jewish civil rights organizations. In 2023 alone, the ADL recorded nearly 9,000 antisemitic incidents in the United States. This was the highest number ever documented and represented a 140 percent increase from the previous year. These incidents were not about criticizing Israel or free speech, instead they included physical assaults, bomb threats, swastikas carved into desks and lockers, and Jewish students being harassed or isolated simply for expressing their identity.

This hate has infected our classrooms, our lunchrooms, and our hallways. In Los Angeles, incidents of middle school students giving Nazi salutes have been reported. In Texas, a high school student was reportedly told by a peer to "go back to Auschwitz." In Massachusetts, teachers reported being afraid to address antisemitism in class for fear of backlash. These are not isolated incidents. They are part of a growing pattern of hate targeting Jewish students and teachers in our schools, now compounded by the NEA’s failure to name what happened to Jewish delegates at the Representative Assembly and declare an authentic and unequivocal stand against antisemitism.

The decision to reject NBI 39 was a meaningful first step. Reactive votes are not enough, we need action. We call on the NEA to examine how it handles civil rights issues, how it vets NBIs, and how it responds when members are targeted for their identity. Educators deserve a process built on truth, accountability, and care, not one driven by pressure or politics.

We stand ready to partner with union leadership and with allies across communities to chart a better path forward. The events surrounding NBI 39 have made one thing unmistakably clear: antisemitism exists within our union, and it must be addressed. We call on the NEA to truly hear us and take our concerns seriously. Commit to educating our members on antisemitism and Jewish identity, confront dangerous narratives, and stand with Jewish educators in meaningful action. This is our union too. We belong here. And we will not look away.