February 5, 2025
Letter from Massachusetts Educators Against Antisemitism (MEAA) and AJC New England, cosigned by nearly 2,000 Massachusetts residents
We are writing to express our deep concern with the Massachusetts Teachers Association’s (MTA) dramatically one-sided curriculum resources regarding the Israeli Palestinian conflict. These materials demonize the State of Israel, threaten to politicize K-12 classrooms, and add fuel to a year-long MTA campaign dedicated to promoting a pro-Palestine and anti-Israel narrative, which teachers have been encouraged to bring to their classrooms.
We the undersigned urge the MTA to remove its curriculum resources and step back from its troubling trajectory.
MTA curriculum resources are designed to further political, not educational, goals.
In reviewing the MTA’s resource list, a Boston Globe op-ed, dated January 13, 2025, states that “the list is dominated by Palestinian and anti-Zionist voices, while voices humanizing Israeli experiences or representing a Zionist narrative are minimal.” 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. Only two were aligned with Israel’s narrative. (A handful of others discussed antisemitism, Islamophobia, and teaching about difficult issues.)
A review of the sources for the MTA’s curriculum resources makes clear that MTA leaders dispensed with even a pretense of even-handedness. The Institute for Middle East Understanding alleges that, “The root cause of all the violence in Palestine/Israel is Israel’s 76-year-old apartheid, regime and oppression of Palestinian people.” The Coalition for Liberated Ethnic Studies promotes a decolonizing K-12 curriculum that treats Israel as a model for “settler colonialism” and the evils it spawns, including genocide, ethnic cleansing and apartheid. Teaching While Muslim offers constructive guidance concerning discrimination and implicit bias but then called on teachers to “use accurate language,” such as, “there is an occupation, apartheid, genocide, of the Palestinian people.” 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.”
The curriculum resources promote extreme ideas that often reinforce antisemitic tropes.
Per the Globe article, the materials include 100 Palestinian revolutionary posters with messages like “Zionists F** off” and a Star of David dripping in blood. The list of resources also uplifts the organization Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), a fringe Jewish organization that the MTA described as a “grassroots partner” and is best known for its anti-Israel and anti-Zionist activity. JVP supported the Mapping Project, which advocated for the “disruption” and “dismantlement” of many mainstream organizations that the MTA’s resources overlooked.
Damage to the union and teachers:
In December 2024, the American Jewish Committee issued a widely circulated and detailed report, that carefully documented the MTA’s aggressive campaign to influence its members’ views concerning the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Leaders of the MTA are entitled to their points of view. Presiding over a program of indoctrination that aims to influence the content taught in our children's classrooms, however, is an entirely different matter.
For the past year, MTA members led by Massachusetts Educators Against Antisemitism (MEAA) have been urging their union to dial back their aggressive program and more recently have called for the MTA to remove their curriculum resources and step back from spreading content that is contributing to a hostile environment for some Jewish teachers and others who have different views of the conflict.
Regrettably, MTA leaders appear to remain committed to introducing their troubling views into K-12 classrooms. This risks eroding the trust that parents place in their children’s teachers. We must not let this happen.
Teachers don’t need their union to tell them what to think or how to teach. It is time to allow them to do what they do best. We are writing to urge that the MTA discontinue efforts to inject its views into K-12 classrooms. Our schools are for education not indoctrination.
