The board of directors for the National Education Association, the United States’ largest teachers union, has rejected a proposal by its delegates to sever ties with the Anti-Defamation League.
The rejection on Friday night comes after the delegates’ proposal earlier this month to bar the union from using, endorsing or publicizing any materials from the ADL drew condemnation from prominent Jewish organizations across the country.
In a statement announcing the board’s rejection of the proposal Friday, Becky Pringle, the president of the National Education Association, emphasized that the decision was not a statement of support for the ADL. She also called on the Jewish civil rights watchdog to “support the free speech” of students and educators, in an apparent allusion to criticism of the ADL for opposing some forms of pro-Palestinian advocacy in schools.
“NEA opposes efforts to shut down debate, to silence voices of disagreement, and intimidation. … Not adopting this proposal is in no way an endorsement of the ADL’s full body of work,” wrote Pringle. “We are calling on the ADL to support the free speech and association rights of all students and educators.”
The initial proposal approved by the NEA’s delegates offered a striking example of a growing shift away from the ADL by progressives who have soured during the war in Gaza at the organization’s staunch pro-Israel activism and advocacy that treats much criticism of Israel as antisemitism.
The board’s rejection comes a week after the ADL spearheaded a letter signed by 400 Jewish organizations and congregations across the country that called on the NEA to reject the proposal and condemn and address antisemitism within its union.
“The effort to exclude ADL’s voice from educational spaces at a time of skyrocketing antisemitism — including in K-12 classrooms — speaks volumes about the climate within NEA that allowed this measure to pass, and the lack of understanding, if not outright hostility, behind it,” the letter read.
Following the ADL’s letter, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, which coordinates advocacy for Jewish community relations, also sent a letter to Pringle urging the NEA to reject the ban.
“One does not need to align with the ADL on every issue; but choosing to cut off all engagement and dialogue runs counter to our shared goals of countering antisemitism and broader hate and bias,” wrote JCPA CEO Amy Spitalnick.
In another letter following the NEA’s original vote to approve the ADL ban, Jeremy Ben-Ami, the president of J Street, a liberal pro-Israel lobby, also condemned the decision but rejected the ADL’s claims that the decision was fueled by antisemitism, writing that it “demeans the meaning of antisemitism and runs the risk of fanning its flames.”
Following the NEA board’s rejection, the leaders of the ADL, American Jewish Committee, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and Jewish Federations of North America issued a statement welcoming the decision and calling on the union to communicate to its members how their proposal was “harmful to educators, students and families concerned about the rise of antisemitism and hate.”
“While teachers’ unions have little power to dictate curriculum, divisive campaigns to boycott reputable, centrist Jewish organizations and educators normalize antisemitic isolation, othering, and marginalization of Jewish teachers, students and families in our schools,” the statement read.
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