The National Education Association (NEA) voted down a measure calling for the United States to cease support for Israel during their July 3 virtual assembly.
The measure, New Business Item 29, stated that the union would “publicize its support for the Palestinian struggle for justice” and urged the U.S. to “stop arming and supporting Israel and Saudi Arabia,” according to the Cleveland Jewish News. Item 29 would have also expressed support for “refugee status” among those “who are forced to move and seek refuge for themselves and their families because of the ongoing conflict and repression.” The final vote margin was 73% against and 23% in favor out of a total 8,000 delegates.
Additionally, another measure, New Business Item 51, was tabled until 2022. This measure stated that the NEA would educate people about “the history, culture, and struggles of the Palestinians, including the detention and abuse of children in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
Jewish groups also praised the NEA for rejecting the measure.
“Thank you, @NEAToday, for overwhelmingly opposing a bigoted anti-Israel resolution,” the American Jewish Committee tweeted. “We thank all those in the union, especially NEA’s Jewish Affairs Caucus, who spoke out against the unfair demonization of the Jewish state.”
Thank you, @NEAToday, for overwhelmingly opposing a bigoted anti-Israel resolution.
We thank all those in the union, especially NEA’s Jewish Affairs Caucus, who spoke out against the unfair demonization of the Jewish state.https://t.co/5wGD8qTwmx
— American Jewish Committee (@AJCGlobal) July 5, 2021
StandWithUs National Associate Director of High School Affairs Kate Chavez said similarly in a statement that the measure “promoted dehumanizing smears against Israel, while ignoring the crimes Hamas has committed against Israelis and Palestinians alike. We applaud the NEA for rejecting an approach that only fuels more division and hate, instead of justice and peace.”
The Simon Wiesenthal Center, on the other hand, noted in a tweet that “23% of teachers voted for a libelous lie that Israel ethnically cleanses Palestinians.”
23% of teachers voted for a libelous lie that Israel ethnically cleanses Palestinians https://t.co/wXyKHu30E2
— SimonWiesenthalCntr (@simonwiesenthal) July 5, 2021
