Boston--The Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) has introduced a dramatically one-sided set of “curriculum resources” to its members concerning “the history of Israel and occupied Palestine,” which demonizes the only Jewish State and threatens to politicize classrooms, American Jewish Committee (AJC) New England charged today.

The posting of these curriculum resources on the MTA website has added fuel to a year-long MTA campaign, documented by AJC New England in a report last month. The campaign’s aim is to promote a pro-Palestine and anti-Israel narrative that teachers can bring to their classrooms. This compendium of resources represents a significant escalation of this campaign.

“The MTA appears to be turning itself into a platform for radical one-sided political propaganda. This is troubling in its own right, but the fact that its audience are our children’s teachers elevates this concern,” AJC New England Director Rob Leikind said. “This effort to politicize K-12 classrooms is a threat to our schools and our children. The leadership of the MTA must hit the pause button and think about whether this is really what they want their union to be.”

The resources were created at the direction of the MTA’s Board of Directors for “MTA members to use with each other and their students.” They were posted on the MTA’s members-only website on Dec. 5 and announced publicly on Jan. 13.

Of the 89 resources listed by the MTA, 67 characterize Israel as an illegitimate state and/or reduce a complex conflict to allegations of wrongful occupation (others discussed antisemitism, Islamophobia, teaching difficult issues, and modeling balanced  presentations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict). The list also platforms authors who promote deeply disturbing rhetoric, such as Norman Finkelstein, who said that Hamas’ October 7 attack “warms every fiber of my soul.”

Absent from the MTA’s collection of resources are materials that would support nuanced, balanced perspectives of Israel and Zionism. In fact, with two minor exceptions, the only contributions from Jewish and Israeli sources that address the current conflict come from those who are harshly critical of Israel.  

The MTA’s resources have been made available to its 117,000 members. Content comes from organizations like Artists Against Apartheid, Teach Palestine ProjectProject 48 and others with clearly expressed political views that both support the Palestinian national project and demonize Israel. These views are presented through articles, films, documentaries, books, posters, and charts, many of which call into question the very legitimacy of Israel, while also excluding from their discussion other information—historical and current—that would complicate their narratives. As a result, there is scant information about Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 massacre in Israel, the multiple proposals to establish a Palestinian state that were rejected by Palestinian leaders, and so much more information that would help students better understand the contours of complex conflict. As a result, according to some concerned MTA teachers, the MTA’s overwhelming display of hostility has been bleeding into active hostility for those who support Israel.

“The leaders of the MTA are entitled to their personal views, but our schools and classrooms are places where diverse points of view and critical thinking should be encouraged,” Leikind said. “Instead of helping teachers do what they do best, the MTA appears intent on trying to indoctrinate its members and politicize our classrooms. Is this the organization they want to be?”

AJC New England calls on MTA leadership to remove these curriculum resources and step back from its troubling trajectory. 

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