Statement on 2025 NEA Handbook

Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Israel

The NEA Jewish Affairs Caucus thanks the NEA for clarifying the purpose of the digital 2025 handbook and for reaffirming the importance of Holocaust education. We recognize the value of linking past atrocities to the present and honoring the singularity of the Jewish experience during the Holocaust. As Elie Wiesel (z"l) said, “Not all victims were Jews, but all Jews were victims.”

We also appreciate NEA’s acknowledgement of the alarming rise in antisemitism across the country. Today, antisemitism often shows up not only in hate speech or violence, but also in the denial of Jewish identity, the erasure of Jewish ethnicity, and the exclusion of Jews from equity conversations. 

We look forward to seeing resources that help educators confront antisemitism in all its modern forms, in our classrooms, schools, and communities. We are also eager to work with the NEA to ensure that its procedures and platforms - including social media - protect Jewish union members and students, and honor Jewish ethnicity with the dignity and recognition it deserves.