House Republicans are investigating the nation’s largest labor union over concerns that it has been infected by antisemitism.
Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., chair of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, sent a letter Thursday to Rebecca Pringle, president of the National Education Association, demanding answers regarding what he considers the union’s antisemitic positions.
The union represents about 3 million teachers, school workers, and higher education faculty and staff across the U.S.
“The Committee is gravely concerned about antisemitic content in the NEA’s 2025 handbook and the NEA Representative Assembly’s vote in July 2025 to ban materials by the Anti-Defamation League,” Walberg wrote.
“This investigation will aid the Committee in considering whether potential legislative changes, including legislation to specifically address antisemitic discrimination within labor unions and to combat antisemitism in federally funded schools, are needed.
“The handbook also states that the union will ‘use existing digital communication tools to educate members about the difference between anti-Zionism and antisemitism.’ In light of the above passages, the inclusion of this subject not only appears to reflect an ignorance of the perspective of Jewish people but also a potential animus towards them.”
Walberg wrote that the handbook outlines the NEA’s plans to “educate members and the general public about the history of the Palestinian Nakba” but offers no context about the history of the state of Israel and the events that led to its creation.
“Further, as stated by the ADL, ‘Palestinian politicians, writers and commentators use Nakba Day to insinuate that the very existence of Israel is a catastrophe and to question the legitimacy of Israel as the Jewish national homeland,'” Walberg wrote. “In short, when it comes to both the Holocaust and the founding of the State of Israel, the NEA’s interest in educating about ‘historical injustices,’ ‘ongoing trauma,’ and ‘diaspora’ does not include the Jewish people.”
Walberg further expressed concern about the Representative Assembly’s vote on July 8 that it will not “endorse, or publicize materials from the Anti-Defamation League, such as its curricular materials or statistics.”
“The ADL is a non-profit focused on ‘stopping the defamation of the Jewish people’ and is dedicated to combating antisemitism,” Walberg wrote. “After the vote, Jewish union members said the measure ‘sends a troubling message of exclusion’ when ‘incidents of hate and bias are on the rise across the country.’ One Jewish teacher said in a union meeting that ‘some of our [NEA] members don’t feel safe.'”
Walberg wrote that to aid the committee’s investigation, he requested several documents and communications from the NEA to be provided by Sept. 4.
“The National Education Association stands firmly for every student and educator, of every race, religion, and ethnicity, and we unequivocally reject antisemitism,” the group told the Jewish News Syndicate. “We have fought against all kinds of hate, including antisemitism, throughout our history and remain focused on ensuring the safety of Jewish students and educators.”
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