Union representing 3 million US teachers votes to cut ties with ADL over Gaza

The largest teachers’ union in the US votes to distance itself from the Anti-Defamation League, citing the war in Gaza.

By World Israel News Staff

America’s largest teachers’ union has voted to sever ties with a Jewish civil rights group, citing the ongoing war between Israel and the Hamas terror organization in Gaza.

This week, delegates of the National Education Association (NEA) voted at its Representative Assembly in Portland, Oregon, to pass a measure calling on the union to cut all ties with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

“NEA will not use, endorse, or publicize any materials from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), such as its curricular materials or its statistics,” the measure reads in part.

“NEA will not participate in ADL programs or publicize ADL professional development offerings.”

According to a report by Axios on Tuesday, the measure will now go to the NEA’s Executive Committee for approval.

The measure will not, even if finalized by the NEA’s top committee, bar schools from using ADL materials in teaching about the Holocaust or antisemitism, but it could prevent internal use by the NEA of anti-bigotry training materials from the ADL.

ADL has provided American educators with learning material for the Holocaust and antisemitism for decades, and its annual antisemitism report has been shared with schools.

The ADL castigated the NEA vote, calling it “profoundly disturbing.”

“With antisemitism at record high levels, it is profoundly disturbing that a group of NEA activists would brazenly attempt to further isolate their Jewish colleagues and push a radical, antisemitic agenda on students,” an ADL spokesperson told Axios.

“We will not be cowed for supporting Israel, and we will not be deterred from our work reaching millions of students with educational programs every year.”

The Washington, D.C.-based teachers’ union represents some 2.8 million teachers and school staffers across the United States.

The union has come under fire in the past for its partisan positions, including its open support for Democratic candidates.

NEA President Becky Pringle addressed the 2024 Democratic National Convention, lashing out at Donald Trump and former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.