The National Education Association Representative Assembly votes to cut ties with the ADL

Over 6000 public school teachers attend the NEA annual Representative Assembly - this year, they voted to cut ties with the Anti-Defamation League

The National Education Association, the largest teacher association in the country, is holding its annual representative assembly in Portland, Oregon. The RA wraps up today.

The New Business Items that would be voted on by the NEA Representative Assembly were separated into six “thematic buckets” including: Ensuring Equity, Demonstrating Democracy and Promoting Peace. You’ll notice only one has to do with student achievement.

Within one of those six buckets was New Business Item #39 - A proposal for the National Education Association to sever ties with the Anti-Defamation League and ensure that no ADL materials are promoted by the NEA.

This NBI was put forward by the NEA Educators for Palestine group - with support from the delegation of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, led by Merrie Najimy (former president of the MTA and leader of the MTA Rank and File for Palestine group).

Najimy is involved with the Drop ADL from Schools campaign, led by Nora Lester Murad (Najimy is also involved with the Institute for the Understanding of Anti-Palestinian Racism - so keep a watch for that to start making its way into MTA and NEA NBIs).

After a raucous floor debate in which Jewish teachers speaking for the ADL were reportedly met with boos and jeers, the NBI passed, to loud cheers from the room. The NBI now goes to the NEA executive committee for approval.

..The same NEA whose racial and social justice conference, held just before this one, had a session on what constitutes antisemitism…and what doesn’t. The same NEA which invites Jesse Hagopian of Rethinking Schools to give keynote addresses at their conferences. The same NEA which advertises Rethinking Schools shockingly biased and unscholarly “Teaching Palestine.”

Is it any surprise, then, that the Keffiyeh appears to have been the must-have item of the season?

The writing is on the wall for Jewish educators and teachers.

But what can you expect from a union that puts the fight for “liberation” and “social justice” ahead of students and education?

For extra measure - here is material given to attendees which advertises Rethinking School’s Zinn Education Project:

And more given to attendees:

Updated:

Here is a list of New Business Items passed at the NEA Representative Assembly-

Under the Ensuring Equity by Advancing Racial, Social, and Economic Justice bucket:

NEW BUSINESS ITEM 24 ADOPTED NEA shall use existing digital communications to highlight and feature resources for honoring Jewish American Heritage Month during the month of May in collaboration with the NEA Jewish Affairs Caucus. NEA will recommend that state affiliates do the same.

Cost Implications: This item cannot be accomplished with current staff and resources under the 2025-26 Modified Strategic Plan and Budget. It would cost an additional $20,000.

NEW BUSINESS ITEM 52 REFERRED TO THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE NEA will educate members about the U.S. Department of State’s definition of anti-Semitism, adopted May 26, 2016, in collaboration with the NEA Jewish Affairs Caucus, to be included in the Tools for Justice-Racial Justice in Education on the NEA website. www.state.gov/defining-antisemitism

Cost Implications: This item cannot be accomplished with current staff and resources under the 2025-26 Modified Strategic Plan and Budget. It would cost an additional $10,000.

Under “Promoting Peace”:

NEW BUSINESS ITEM 26 REFERRED TO THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE NEA shall use the NEA Jewish Affairs Caucus “Screening Out Hate” checklist with existing online communications and a “Combating Anti-Semitism Toolkit” to help Pre-K through higher education staff, students, and families identify and respond to anti-Jewish hate crimes and incidents.

Cost Implications: This item cannot be accomplished with current staff and resources under the 2025-26 Modified Strategic Plan and Budget. It would cost an additional $90,625.

Under “NEA Operations”:

NEW BUSINESS ITEM 28 REFERRED TO THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE In any collection of demographic information, NEA will include the option for members to self-identify as a sub-group of Jewish ethnicity (Mizrahi, Ethiopian, Sephardic, Ashkenazi), and recommend that state/local affiliates also do so.

Cost Implications: This item cannot be accomplished with current staff and resources under the 2025-26 Modified Strategic Plan and Budget. It would cost an additional $246,250.

NEW BUSINESS ITEM 39 ADOPTED AND REFERRED TO THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE NEA will not use, endorse, or publicize any materials from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), such as its curricular materials or its statistics. NEA will not participate in ADL programs or publicize ADL professional development offerings.

Cost Implications: This item cannot be accomplished with current staff and resources under the 2025-26 Modified Strategic Plan and Budget. It would cost an additional $1,625.

Under “Elevating the Profession and Advancing Student Learning”:

NEW BUSINESS ITEM 56 ADOPTED NEA will send a letter urging higher education accrediting agencies, such as Middle States, to resist the politicization of their work.

Cost Implications: This item cannot be accomplished with current staff and resources under the 2025-26 Modified Strategic Plan and Budget. It would cost an additional $5,000.

NEW BUSINESS ITEM 84 ADOPTED AS AMENDED In response to the most recent Supreme Court Case (Mahmoud v Taylor), NEA shall provide, through existing communication channels, information included but not limited to: 1. A sample local school board resolution that protects educators in the classroom who are teaching LGBTQ+ inclusive curriculum/content;

2. A “Know Your Rights” document under the new SCOTUS ruling;

3. Hold virtual town hall meetings on the current SCOTUS rulings and the impact they will have on educators and students, what a school board resolution is and how to use it, and how to continue to advocate for LGBTQ+ students in this new political climate;

4. NEA will hold East and West Speak Up, Speak Out, LGBTQ+ member engagement conferences to enhance members advocacy at the local and state levels. These activities should assist educators in avoiding possible disciplinary action when teaching about LGBTQ+ history, materials, resources, books, etc., while at school/work.

Cost Implications: This item cannot be accomplished with current staff and resources under the 2025-26 Modified Strategic Plan and Budget. It would cost an additional $209,025.

Under the “Demonstrating (and strengthening) Democracy” bucket:

NEW BUSINESS ITEM 58 ADOPTED NEA declares its support for and participation in the mass democratic movement against Trump’s authoritarianism and violations of human rights. We support the “No Kings” movement and the Los Angeles-based movement to defeat Trump’s attempts to use federal forces against the state of California and other states and communities. We stand with millions of activists and protesters of this movement in their defense of democracy, the unity of the country, free speech, civil rights, labor, independent trade union rights, due process, and the popular democratic norms of a constitution securing the sovereignty of “we the people.”

Cost Implications: This item cannot be accomplished with current staff and resources under the 2025-26 Modified Strategic Plan and Budget. It would cost an additional $1,500.

NEW BUSINESS ITEM 60 ADOPTED NEA pledges to defend democracy against Trump’s embrace of fascism by using the term facism in NEA materials to correctly characterize Donald Trump’s program and actions. The members and material resources of NEA must be committed to the defense of the democratic and educational conditions required by our hopes for a just society and the survival of civilization itself by stating the truth.

Cost Implications: This item cannot be accomplished with current staff and resources under the 2025-26 Modified Strategic Plan and Budget. It would cost an additional $3,500.

Press Release from the NEA-Jewish Affairs Caucus:

Press Release from the NEA Jewish Affairs Caucus

July 6, 2025

By Annice M. Benamy, Chair of the NEA Jewish Affairs Caucus

Summary of our New Business Items

1.⁠ ⁠Jewish American Heritage Month – Passed with collaboration from our Caucus.

2.⁠ ⁠Screening Out Antisemitism Checklist and Combating Antisemitism Toolkit – Amended and passed to take out the Checklist and that NEA will create resources for the toolkit for the website – was bundled with 2 other NBIs, passed, and sent to the Executive Committee.

3.⁠ ⁠Self-Identify as a sub-group of ethnically Jewish – was bundled with 2 other NBIs, passed, and sent to the Executive Committee.

4.⁠ ⁠IHRA Definition of Antisemitism – passed to be referred to committee.

5.⁠ ⁠Electronic Caucus Directory – bundled with 2 other NBIs, passed, and sent to the Executive Committee.

6.⁠ ⁠NEA’s Core Values Retained – defeated because NEA was already doing this work.

NBIs we Opposed

1.⁠ ⁠Zinn Education as professional development – Defeated

2.⁠ ⁠Rise of Fascism – Was amended to bring in the Israel-Hamas war. Amendment was not accept because it was deemed hateful. The NBI was defeated.

3.⁠ ⁠ADL – Maker of the item (Jews for Peace) wanted NEA to pull all ADL links from the new NEA website that migrated over from the old system. NEA staff complied. NEA hasn’t worked with ADL for over a decade. Since the item was completed, staff asked her to refer the item. She agreed. Before the debate, she changed her mind. A member from from a Educators for Palestine wanted it referred also, but she disagreed. An NEA attorney deemed the business item a “boycott” policy, which meant that the item would be debated, but, if passed, it would go to the Executive Committee, the Board, and back to the RA if the other 2 groups passed it. Horrible things were said about the ADL that weren’t true including quoting Wikipedia. The item passed and now it is with the Executive Committee. We will see what happens.

4.⁠ ⁠Oppose US war against Iran – Defeated

All in all, the NEA Jewish Affairs Caucus had a positive RA because our items passed the delegation. We have a lot of work to do to educate people on what antisemitism is and how it affects Jewish students, staff, members, and families. This will be our priority for the 2025-2026 year.