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Teachers Unions Across US Under Fire for Alleged Antisemitism
National Education Association president Becky Pringle leads hundreds of demonstrators in chants during a rally to end US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids, in Washington, DC, US, on, June 9, 2025. Photo: Allison Bailey/NurPhoto via Reuters Connect
Teachers unions across the United States have come under intense scrutiny from both Jewish activists and federal lawmakers for allegedly promoting antisemitic ideas and fostering a hostile environment toward their Jewish members.
The US House Committee on Education and the Workforce, for example, has opened an investigation into the National Education Association (NEA), the nation’s largest teachers union, over allegations that its policies and materials discriminate against Jewish members.
Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), the committee’s chairman, sent a letter late last month to NEA President Becky Pringle demanding documents tied to what he described as “antisemitic content” in the union’s 2025 handbook and its decision to sever ties with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) over its support for Israel.
“The NEA’s 2025 handbook … contains passages and priorities that are hostile towards the Jewish people,” Walberg wrote, citing language that he said downplays the uniquely Jewish suffering of the Holocaust and promotes lessons on the so-called Palestinian “nakba,” the Arabic term for “catastrophe” used by Palestinians and anti-Israel activists to refer to the establishment of the modern state of Israel in 1948.
In July, the NEA refused to adopt as policy a ban on the ADL voted for by the group’s Representative Assembly during an annual conference.
“The National Education Association stands firmly for every student and educator, of every race, religion, and ethnicity, and we unequivocally reject antisemitism,” the NEA told JNS in response to Walberg’s letter. “We have fought against all kinds of hate, including antisemitism, throughout our history and remain focused on ensuring the safety of Jewish students and educators.”
The congressional probe comes as teachers unions across the country face mounting criticism from Jewish educators and civil rights advocates who say the organizations are failing to protect them, and in some cases are actively fostering hostility.
In Massachusetts, the Zionist Organization of America filed a sweeping civil rights complaint last week against the Massachusetts Teachers Association, accusing the organization of creating a discriminatory environment. The filing cites union-distributed images and posters viewed as antisemitic, including one showing a dollar bill folded into the shape of a Star of David and another reading “Zionists [Expletive] Off.” Some Jewish educators say they have already left the MTA over its stance.
In New York, meanwhile, the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) has come under fire from its own Jewish members for their responses to antisemitic incidents in schools. The criticisms stem in part from an incident at Hillcrest High School, where a Jewish teacher was reportedly forced to lock herself in an office during an anti-Israel protest. Union critics also blasted the UFT for endorsing New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, a supporter of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel who has been accused of antisemitism.
“How can we feel safe? When our teachers get attacked, our union says little and does nothing. When our protected rights are infringed upon, our union says little and does nothing. When they need us, they pretend we matter, and when they don’t, they ignore our concerns,” Moshe Spern, head of the United Jewish Teachers caucus, said last week at an “End Jew Hatred” rally, according to the New York Post.
Spern noted that more than 150 teachers are moving to cancel their union dues in protest.
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UEFA President Reiterates Objection to Banning Israel as Spanish Club Sparks Backlash for Signing Israeli Player
Udine, Italy, August 13th 2025, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin with Palestinian girl Tala and 9-year old Mohamed from Gaza during the medals ceremony at the UEFA Super Cup match between Paris Saint-Germain (France) and Tottenham Hotspur (England) at Stadium Friuli, Udine, Italy. Photo: Natasa Kupljenik / SPP/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
Aleksander Čeferin, the president of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), repeated his opposition to banning Israel from international competitions in a new interview with Politico.
The head of European soccer’s governing body made the remarks amid calls to bar Israel from participating in soccer matches around the world, and just as the Spanish soccer team Villarreal caused an uproar among fans for signing Israeli soccer star Manor Solomon.
Čeferin said last month that, in general, he is against banning athletes from competitions. He told Politico the same in relation to Israeli athletes, amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, and at the same time condemned what he described as “reckless politicians” for contributing to the “slaughter” of children around the world.
“Look, first of all, what’s happening with civilians there is personally hurting, killing me,” the UEFA president said of Gaza. “From the other point of view, I’m not a supporter of banning the athletes. Because what can an athlete do to their government to stop the war? It’s very, very hard. Now, the ban for Russian teams is, I think, three and a half years. Did the [Ukraine] war stop? It didn’t … I cannot say what will happen. There are talks about everything, but me personally, I’m against kicking the athletes out.”
“I cannot understand how a politician who can do a lot to stop the slaughter, anywhere, can go to sleep seeing all the children and all the civilians dead,” he added. “I don’t understand it. You know, the idea football should solve these problems? No way.”
The UEFA received backlash from pro-Israel supporters in August for displaying a banner on the pitch at the UEFA Super Cup final in Udine, Italy, that said, “Stop killing children. Stop killing civilians.” The UEFA invited two children from the Gaza Strip to participate in the medal ceremony at the same match. The organization was accused of double standards for displaying the banner, since the UEFA bans political messaging at matches and recently launched disciplinary proceedings against the Israeli team Maccabi Haifa after its fans displayed an anti-Polish banner.
Talking to Politico, Čeferin defended the “Stop killing children” banner and insisted that it was not political. He even claimed that he had “full, full support” from the president of the Israeli Football Federation, who he said is a good friend. While expressing support for the banner, Čeferin also suggested that Israel is waging a war in Gaza because of “geopolitical interests,” and not in response to the deadly Hamas-led terrorist attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, or in an effort to rescue the hostages abducted by the terrorists and held captive in Gaza.
“When you see children dying all around the world because of — it’s a diplomatic statement, if I say — reckless politicians. Whoever thinks that ‘Stop Killing Children, Stop Killing Civilians’ is a political message is an idiot, for me,” Čeferin said. “We don’t interfere in politics, but we will not say that killing children anywhere or civilians is a good thing. We have to say we despise it, and we will always say it.”
“If such a big thing is going on, such a terrible thing that doesn’t allow me to sleep — not me, all my colleagues — nobody in this organization said we shouldn’t do it. No one. Then you have to do what is the right thing to do,” he told Politico. “It’s terrible that children are dying because of political interest, starving to death. Mohamed, who was giving the medals [at last month’s UEFA Super Cup] with me, lost his mother and his father [in Gaza]. And he was heavily injured. I’ve never seen a child hugging me so much as he did. He needs love. He doesn’t need another bomb on his head because of a geopolitical interest.”
In August, the Association of Italian Coaches demanded, “on behalf of the Palestinian people,” that Israel be temporarily suspended from international competitions held by the Italian Soccer Federation, UEFA,and FIFA. Earlier in the month, the German soccer club Fortuna Düsseldorf backed out of signing Israeli striker Shon Weissman after the athlete expressed support for Israel’s military actions in Gaza during its war targeting Hamas terrorists who orchestrated and perpetrated the attack on Oct. 7, 2023. The Norwegian Football Association also recently condemned what it claaimed were “disproportionate attacks” against civilians in Gaza and said it will donate profits from an Oct. 11 game against Israel to aid humanitarian causes in Gaza.
On Monday, Spain’s soccer club Villarreal announced that it signed a deal with Tottenham Hotspur to have Solomon join the Spanish team on loan. The news resulted in a social media frenzy in which Villarreal fans said the left winger was “not welcome at Villarreal and does not deserve the affection of its supporters.” Fans urged the team to boycott the Israeli forward while the Kfar Saba native, who previously played for Israel’s national team, was accused of being a “genocide supporter” and called antisemitic names for being a Zionist.
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Distributor Seeks UK Broadcaster to Back Docuseries About British Monarchy’s Ties to Hitler, Nazi Germany
The Duke and Duchess of Windsor photographed with Adolf Hitler, Oct. 22, 1937, during their visit to The Berghof, his country house in Berchtesgaden. Photo: Provided
The content producer and distributor Keshet International (KI) has signed a deal with the Scottish production company Caledonia TV to co-develop a three-part historical docuseries about the British royal family’s controversial connections to Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany, KI announced on Wednesday.
Keshet International and Caledonia TV are looking to partner with a British broadcast on “Hitler’s Favorite Royals” before launching pre-sales at MIPCOM, the annual trade show for the television industry held in Cannes, France, that will take place in October. The series is being produced by Caledonia TV.
“From Queen Victoria’s dynastic ties to Germany to Hitler’s attempts to leverage those connections during World War II, the series will expose secret meetings, coded correspondence, and covert diplomacy between London and Berlin,” according to a description of the docuseries provided by KI. “With newly uncovered evidence and expert insight, it reveals how these links were later concealed through buried archives and suppressed records, shining new light on the monarchy’s entanglement with Nazi Germany.”
“Hitler’s Favorite Royals” is being executive produced by award-winning producer and historian Dean Palmer. The docuseries will be created based on Palmer’s 2021 book, Tea with Hitler: as well as research with the University of London of new archival materials. KI’s SVP of Acquisitions and Co-production Anke Stoll said the “extensive research and access to new archive materials adds layers of extra color, depth and detail to what we already think we know about the Royal Family’s connections to Hitler and the Nazis.”
“This series rips the lid off one of the monarchy’s darkest secrets – what the Queen’s German cousins did during World War II and their ties to Hitler,” said Palmer.
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Israel’s Shin Bet Says It Thwarted Attack on National Security Minister Ben Gvir
Israeli National Security Minister and head of Jewish Power party Itamar Ben-Gvir gives a statement to members of the press, ahead of a possible ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Jerusalem, Jan. 16, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Oren Ben Hakoon
Israel’s Shin Bet domestic intelligence service said on Wednesday it had thwarted a plan to assassinate National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, and that members of a Hamas cell had been arrested.
The planned Hamas attack against the far-right cabinet minister would have involved use of explosive drones, the Shin Bet said.
The Shin Bet said members of a Hamas cell from the Hebron area in the West Bank had been arrested and that drones had been seized. It said it believed the cell had operated a Hamas headquarters in Turkey “with the intent of carrying out an assassination attack on Ben Gvir.”
An investigation was under way, it said.
The Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, with which Israel has been at war in the Gaza Strip for nearly two years, was not immediately available for comment. Turkey did not immediately comment.
Ben Gvir said in a statement he would not be deterred or afraid.
“Hamas has already tried five times to assassinate me, and each time they failed,” he said, thanking God and Israel’s security forces.
The war in Gaza began in October 2023, when Palestinian terrorists led by Hamas attacked southern Israeli communities, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, including children, into Gaza. Forty-eight hostages remain in Gaza.
Since then, Israel has waged a military campaign to free the hostages and destroy Hamas in Gaza.