BACKGROUND

The National Education Association, America’s largest teachers union, is having its annual convention known as the Representative Assembly in Philadelphia this week. Among the convention activities, the more than 6,000 delegates will vote on at least 10 resolutions that are lie-based attacks against the Jewish People and that are intended to eliminate U.S. support for Israel and especially to indoctrinate young Americans to believe patently false misinformation about the Jewish People, Zionism and Israel.

Please see an important Action Alert below that includes action items that those who care about Israel, Jewry and Zionism must take to prevent and mitigate the damage planned by radical anti-Jewish and anti-fact teachers determined to politicize educators and the education system to advance their nefarious agenda.

ZOA is taking immediate on-site action with regard to the NEA convention. Aware of new NEA initiatives to incite Jew-hatred in the classrooms, previous NEA-convention anti-Israel initiatives and ongoing anti-Israel education in America’s schools, our Greater Philadelphia Chapter dispatched its “Information Ambulance” – a mobile electronic billboard – to the site of the NEA convention, the Pennsylvania Convention Center, displaying a series of messages directed primarily to NEA delegates. The “ambulance” is determined to “rescue the truth” from the propagandists and anti-Jewish mis-educators.

Among the messages are: “Teachers must teach facts and not anti-Jewish lies! Contact your local school board” and “Not a single Palestinian in Gaza would have died had Hamas not attacked Israel on Oct. 7” and “Israel: Homeland of the Jews for 3,400 years! There is no ‘occupation.’”

“Education must not be politicized nor corrupted to advance an agenda. None of what the NEA is planning belongs in the classroom – especially not in government schools, where everything carries the imprimatur of the government,” said ZOA National President Morton A. Klein. “The fact that some teachers themselves have come to believe outright lies and seemingly cannot discern outright lies from facts – and that they seem to not even be interested in the truth is a danger to all of America,” Klein added. “NEA leaders must institute reforms and not perpetuate and incite more Jew-hatred.”

The ZOA “Information Ambulance” has been parked outside of the convention center and driving around the perimeter of the complex all week, bringing clarity to convention delegates, tourists and others walking and driving around the heart of Philadelphia.

ACTION ALERT:

Stop Vile Anti-Jewish and Anti-Fact Initiatives from Being Introduced in Your Local Schools; Stop the Politicization of Education and Educators!

The National Education Association, the largest teachers union in America and one of the country’s largest and most powerful labor unions, is having its national convention this week. The more than 6,000 delegates will be voting on at least 10 initiatives that are inherently both anti-Jewish and anti-factual. Some of these measures the union members want introduced in America’s schools will further incite hatred against the Jewish People, Zionism and Israel and miseducate children, while others are intended to use the NEA’s power and influence to malevolently alter American public opinion and policy.

Whether each or all of the resolutions listed above -– are approved by the NEA delegates/teachers or not, clearly there are educators in pre-K through 12th grade who want to use their positions in front of young, captive audiences and their combined influence to advance a political agenda that would harm the well-being of the American Jewish community and all who understand and value the importance of the mutually-beneficial U.S.-Israel relationship. We have already seen pogroms on the streets of America that are largely the result of anti-Israel, anti-Zionist and anti-Jewish propaganda.

Remember: Once young people are indoctrinated to believe lies – in this case lies about Jews and Judaism; lies about Israel and Zionism; lies about an important American ally; and lies about history and contemporary affairs – these are hard and perhaps impossible to undo. Therefore: They must be stopped from happening in the first place. Please see vitally important advocacy steps below.

Key points: America’s schools must prioritize quality, integrity-based factual education. America’s schools do not work for the teachers. On the contrary: The teachers work for the school districts where they teach. America’s schools must be free from politicized agendas. Teachers’ roles are to educate and not to indoctrinate. Teachers who cannot discern lies from facts, or who are not interested in facts that contradict propaganda may be unfit to be in a classroom. These are keys to highlight when engaging in advocacy on this matter.

KEY TAKEAWAY POINT

It is vitally important for advocates to pro-actively reach out to your local school superintendent and your local school board members BEFORE the action items that the NEA mandates be taught creeps into your local schools.

Remember: Miseducated young Americans are not only a danger to the Jewish community – they are a danger to all of American society! Thank you in advance for your advocacy. Please contact us if you need help or guidance.