Chair Cassidy Slams Labor Union for Promoting Antisemitism in Children's Classrooms, Ostracizing Jewish Members

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, slammed the National Education Association (NEA), the largest labor union in the U.S., for promoting antisemitism in K-12 classrooms and discriminating against its Jewish members. Instead of fulfilling its purpose to advance our children's learning, the NEA has become a vehicle for championing radical left ideology.

Jewish NEA members report being subject to hostile treatment and antisemitic policies by the union. This includes mocking Jewish delegates at the NEA Representative Assembly, boycotting Jewish organizations, promoting antisemitic learning materials that ignore Israel's right to exist, and including historically misleading and inappropriate content in the NEA's Handbook.

"Antisemitism in all its forms is abhorrent and has no place within our society, especially at our K-12 schools, higher institutions of learning, workplaces, and unions," wrote Dr. Cassidy. "The NEA's misplaced priorities-focused on political activism, foreign policy, and environmental and social justice causes-are harming, not helping, our children."

This comes two months after Cassidy rebuked the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) for failing to address a culture of antisemitism that marginalizes its Jewish members.

Read the full letter here or below.

Dear Ms. Pringle:

I write to you today concerning allegations of antisemitism within the National Education Association (NEA). As Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), I find these reports deeply troubling.

The Jewish people have suffered assaults on their identity, religion, culture, and lives for millennia. Disturbingly, we are witnessing a rise in antisemitic sentiment across the Western world, including in the United States. Let me put it plainly: antisemitism in all its forms is abhorrent and has no place within our society, especially at our K-12 schools, higher institutions of learning, workplaces, and within unions.

I. Native Land Digital Map

On October 8, 2025, the NEA sent a mass email to nearly 3 million members celebrating "indigenous lands" and sharing resources to teach students about the "land we occupy," which included a map from Native Land Digital that used the modern-day State of Israel's boundaries to represent an area listed only as "Palestine."¹ Native Land Digital's maps trace global geographical locations to tribal groups, in most cases, going back centuries.² However, the map of "Palestine" does not list specific tribes, unlike other geographical areas of the map.³ Even worse, Native Land Digital recommended resources linked to terror-supporting organizations, who have expressed support of the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel civilians.⁴

In the backlash that followed, the NEA scrubbed the resource and issued a statement that the "external resource . . . does not meet [its] standards."⁵ However, the NEA issued no apology to its Jewish members for this inexcusable, glaring error, nor did it advise its members to stop using the resources.⁶ Native Land Digital's map still has not been corrected to reflect a more accurate history of the area.⁷

Finally, the NEA diluted its statement against antisemitism by combining it with condemnations of "anti-Palestinian bigotry, anti-Arab racism...[and] discrimination against all people," including "the Native and Indigenous peoples across North America whose history and culture has too often been erased." ⁸

II. Antisemitism at the 2025 NEA Representative Assembly (RA)

1. New Business Item (NBI) 39: Attempted Boycott of ADL

At the NEA's annual RA in July 2025, delegates voted to have the NEA Executive Committee review NBI 39, which, if approved, would refrain the NEA from using, endorsing, or publicizing materials from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) or participating in ADL programs.⁹ Although the NEA Board of Directors later voted not to adopt NBI 39, your public statements criticizing the ADL afterward effectively undercut the Board's decision.¹⁰

1. Harassment of Jewish Delegates

In addition to the boycott of the ADL, it is reported that Jewish delegates were vocally mocked, harassed, shunned, and threatened at the RA.¹¹ According to a letter from the Jewish Affairs Caucus (JAC) addressed to you and the NEA Executive Committee, Jewish delegates at the RA were repeatedly cornered, booed, and asked "gotcha" questions such as, "How do you feel about the babies dying in Gaza?" and "Do you support Israel?" solely because of their Jewish identity.¹² In addition, some delegates laughed and clapped when a Jewish delegate referenced the death of 82-year-old Holocaust survivor, Karen Diamond, who was burned alive by a Molotov cocktail at a peaceful protest in Colorado in June of 2025.¹³ The reports of such behavior anywhere, let alone by our children's educators at a gathering of the nation's largest union, are shocking.

III. Questionable New Business Items (NBIs)

In July, the NEA released its 2025 Handbook, which included questionable NBIs submitted at the 2024 RA-both those approved by the Assembly and those referred to the NEA Board of Directors.

1. NBI 83: International Holocaust Remembrance Day

Among NBIs passed by the Assembly was NBI 83, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which promoted a version of the Holocaust that significantly glossed over and failed to mention the attempted annihilation of the Jewish people under the Nazi regime, as well as the acknowledgment that even though all victims were not Jews, all Jews were victims. Instead, the Handbook stated that the "NEA shall promote the celebration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day . . . to recognize the more than 12 million victims of the Holocaust from different faiths, ethnicities, races, political beliefs, genders, and gender identification, abilities/disabilities, and other targeted characteristics."¹⁴

1. NBI 6: Palestinian Nakba Education

In addition, the NEA Board approved NBI 6, Palestinian Nakba Education, to "educate members and the general public about the history of the Nakba," described by the NEA as "the forced, violent displacement and dispossession of at least 750,000 Palestinians from their homeland in 1948 during the establishment of the State of Israel."¹⁵ However, NBI 6 does not mention the attacks by Palestinian Arabs and armies from neighboring Arab countries on Jewish cities, settlements, and armed forces during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, nor does it discuss the United Nation's role in the establishment of a Jewish state.¹⁶

1. NBI 7: Anti-Zionism and Antisemitism Information

Moreover, the NEA Board approved NBI 7, Anti-Zionism and Anti-Semitism Information, which would "educate members about the difference between anti-Zionism and antisemitism." However, NBI 7 does not seek to include counter viewpoints including holistic discussions on the interweaving of Jewish identity and culture to their homeland.

Although the NEA issued an official statement clarifying that it had "updated" the Handbook to more appropriately reflect the Holocaust, there was again no apology. Instead, the NEA's retroactive statement appears to be a sloppy, insincere, and reactionary attempt at move on from its unacceptable behavior.¹⁷ It is unclear whether the NEA released an updated Handbook that more accurately reflects the history of the Holocaust, addresses NBIs pertaining to the Nakba, or provides guidance on the difference between anti-Zionism and antisemitism. In light of the NEA Board's vote to approve these NBIs, it does not appear that the NEA plans to revisit these NBIs.

IV. Pattern of Hostility Toward Jewish NEA Members

As a result of the NEA's seeming indifference to the sentiments of Jewish NEA members and the organization's tepid response to growing antisemitism, Jewish NEA members have informed the Committee that they are feeling increasingly threatened and ostracized. For example, after the NEA endorsed resources that erased Israel off the map, some Jewish NEA members tried to leave the NEA only to be told that their decision to leave was "short-sighted" and that they must continue to pay approximately $1,000 in annual NEA dues because of internal application deadlines. Additionally, others who have tried to leave the NEA but remain in their state and local unions have been told they cannot do so, despite approximately 80 percent of annual union dues going to state and local union membership.

Committee staff have also learned of incidents where the NEA Union Representatives at schools have become increasingly hostile towards Jewish educators, including Jewish NEA members. In addition to posting antisemitic content, these NEA Union Representatives have targeted Jewish NEA educators at local schools for voicing opinions supportive of Israel. Statements made by NEA Union Representatives toward Jewish NEA members include, "October 7th has been debunked," "[you] are a lobbyist," "we don't need lobbyists," and "antisemitism is only swastikas and nothing antisemitic is happening here." Jewish NEA educators have reported that the NEA has no grievance process available and as such, many feel that their voices have not been represented at NEA voting events.

In 1906, Congress chartered the NEA "to elevate the character and advance the interests of the profession of teaching; and to promote the cause of education in the United States."¹⁸ A century later, the NEA has lost sight of its original purpose, becoming entrenched in political and activist causes far outside its area of expertise and failing to advance our children's learning. Math and reading scores are at historic lows; the average reading score among high school seniors is now at the lowest it has been since 1992, and average math scores among this cohort are also at their lowest levels since 2005.¹⁹

The NEA's misplaced priorities-focused on political activism, foreign policy, and environmental and social justice causes-are harming, not helping, our children. Concurrently, the NEA's policies are hostile to its own Jewish NEA members by condoning antisemitic behavior and sidelining aired grievances, making them feel ostracized as a result.

To cooperate with the Committee's investigation, please respond to the following questions, on a question-by-question basis, no later than January 15, 2026.

Native Land Digital Map

1. Which person(s) at the NEA were responsible for recommending Native Land Digital as a resource to teach on the history of Israel-Palestine?
   1. How did they arrive at the decision to recommend Native Land Digital's resources?
   2. Has the NEA held the person(s) responsible for this error accountable through disciplinary action or termination? If not, please explain why.
2. How does the NEA vet the resources it recommends to its 3 million members? Please describe the vetting process, the frequency of reviews, and provide unredacted copies of all applicable policy and guidance documents.
   1. Did the NEA use this same vetting process to vet the contents of Native Land Digitals resources? If not, please explain why.
3. How did you, the Executive Committee, and the NEA Board learn about the incident involving Native Land Digital's resources?
   1. What steps, if any, did you take in response to this incident?
   2. What measures, if any, did you put in place to ensure that a similar incident does not occur in the future?
4. Following the public backlash to the NEA's recommendation of the Native Land Digital resource, the NEA issued a formal statement on the incident and posted it to the NEA website.²⁰
   1. Did the NEA issue a formal apology strictly to its Jewish members who were deeply offended by NEA's error? If not, please explain why.
   2. Did the NEA instruct its members to stop using Native Land Digital resources, or recommend a more appropriate resource that includes a map of the State of Israel? If not, please explain why.
   3. The NEA's official statement released on October 10, 2025, stated, "our team is working to identify a resource that meets our specific needs and standards."²¹ Please describe the "needs and standards" that informed, or will inform, the selection of this resource.
      1. Has the NEA identified an alternative resource? If so, please describe the selection process and provide policies or guidance documents that informed the NEA's decision.
         1. If not, please explain why an alternative resource has not yet been identified.

Antisemitism at the 2025 NEA RA

1. Were you aware that Jewish delegates at the 2025 NEA RA in Portland were booed, mocked, harassed, shunned, and threatened for being Jewish?²²
2. 1. Did either you or other NEA leadership apologize to the Jewish delegates who experienced this harassment?
   2. What steps, if any, have you taken to allay the concerns of Jewish NEA members who fear for their physical safety at future NEA events?
   3. What measures, if any, has the NEA taken to prevent such incidents of harassment from recurring at future RAs or NEA events?
3. Please explain any actions you have taken in response to NEA delegates who cheered the death of Holocaust survivor, Karen Diamond.²³

Questionable New Business Items

1. Please explain the process by which NBIs are adopted by the NEA.
2. Please describe the process by which NBIs are referred to the Executive Committee or the Board of Directors for consideration.
3. Please describe the voting process for NBIs forwarded to the Executive Committee and to the NEA Board of Directors.
4. 1. Who decides which members of the Board will vote on a particular NBI?
   2. How is this decision made? Please specify any factors affecting the decision-making process.
5. Please describe the appeals process, if any, for NBIs accepted or rejected by the Executive Committee and Board of Directors.
6. Please provide a list of all organizations that the NEA has boycotted over the last 10 years either through the RA or through a direct decision of the NEA Executive Committee or Board of Directors. In your response, please explain:
7. 1. if these organizations were official NEA partners;
   2. why these organizations were boycotted; and
   3. whether these organizations were boycotted through NBIs or by the autonomous decision of the NEA Executive Committee or Board of Directors.
8. Given that the NEA and ADL do not have a formal partnership, why was NBI 39 proposed and voted on at the RA, and then referred to the Executive Committee?
9. How many members of the NEA's Executive Committee and Board of Directors have participated in pro-Palestine marches and activism?
10. On December 8, 2023, you reposted on X statements made by NEA's partner, Education International, on the Israel-Gaza conflict with calls for a ceasefire in Gaza.²⁴ Given your public statements on the conflict, did you recuse yourself from voting on NBI 39? If not, please explain why.
11. On February 10, 2024, the NEA Board of Directors reaffirmed your December 8 X post calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.²⁵
12. 1. Ahead of the Executive Committee and Board's vote on NBI 39, how did you ensure that the vote would be representative of pro-Israel voices?
    2. Did other members of the NEA Board who supported calls for a ceasefire in Gaza recuse themselves from voting on NBI 39? If not, please explain why.
    3. In February 2024, NEA Secretary-Treasurer, Noel Candelaria, praised the NEA Board's decision to call for a ceasefire in Gaza and later publicly sought donations for students and educators in Gaza.²⁶ Did Mr. Candelaria recuse himself from voting on NBI 39? If not, please explain why.
    4. Did you or any members of the Executive Committee and Board publish posts or release statements calling for the return of hostages taken on October 7? What about posts or statements on calling for the recognition of Israel's right to exist as a country?
13. Did the NEA make any revisions to or remove NBI 6 (Palestinian Nakba Education) and/or NBI 7 (Anti-Zionism and Anti-Semitism Information)? If so, please provide unredacted copies of these revisions. If not, please explain why.
14. 1. In regard to NBI 7, please explain how the NEA "will use existing digital communication tools to educate members about the difference between anti-Zionism and antisemitism." Please provide unredacted copies of all publications, policies, manuals, and literature that will be used as part of this educational activity.

NEA Handbook

1. Please describe the process by which the NEA Handbook is compiled each year.
2. Did NEA leadership vet the contents of the 2025 Handbook before it was published? If not, please explain why.
3. Has the NEA recognized International Holocaust Remembrance Day prior to 2024?
4. 1. If International Holocaust Remembrance Day has been recognized in previous years, please explain the NEA's decision to add it to the Handbook as an NBI in 2024.
   2. If it has not been previously recognized, please explain why this NBI was approved by the NEA Board of Directors in a manner that removed all reference to the six million Jews killed during the Nazi regime.
5. Has the NEA published a revised Handbook with all the NBIs that were approved for this year? If so, please provide unredacted copies of the Handbook and all NBIs that were approved by the NEA Executive Committee and/or Board of Directors.
6. 1. If a revised version of the Handbook has yet to be published, please explain why.

Pattern of Hostility Toward Jewish NEA Members

1. The Committee has received allegations that neither you nor NEA Vice President, Princess Moss, have responded to emails and requests from the Jewish Affairs Caucus asking that the NEA support its Jewish members and make public statements addressing antisemitism. Please respond to these allegations and, if true, explain why you haven't responded.
2. 1. Will either you or Ms. Moss, in your official capacities as NEA leaders, make a public statement strictly addressing antisemitism? If not, please explain why.
3. Please explain what action(s) you or the NEA Board have taken, or plan to take, in response to hostilities towards Jewish NEA members and educators at K-12 schools?
4. Please explain what grievance process(es), if any, Jewish NEA members have available at national, state, and local levels to voice their concerns regarding antisemitism within the union.
5. Please explain how you and the NEA Board will ensure Jewish voices are properly represented at NEA voting events, including future RAs.

NEA Representation of Jewish Members

1. The Committee has learned that Jewish NEA members have been unable to apply to serve as NEA RA delegates under a minority category, such as Middle East or North African (MENA).
2. 1. Does the NEA restrict the ability of its Jewish members to self-identify as part of an ethnic minority, such as MENA, for the purposes of applying to the RA as a delegate? If so, please explain why.
3. According to the Pew Research Center, there are approximately 7.5 million Jewish people in the United States, which makes up roughly 2.4 percent of the total U.S. population.²⁷
4. 1. Does the NEA consider its Jewish members as part of a minority group? Please explain.
   2. Does the NEA collect demographic data of its Jewish members alongside members of other ethnicities to ensure ethnic-minority delegate representation, as outlined in NEA Bylaw 3-1(g)?
   3. How does the NEA ensure its Jewish members "achieve ethnic-minority delegate representation at least equal to the proportion of identified ethnic-minority populations within the state" (NEA Bylaw 3-1(g))? Please explain.

NEA Jewish Members' Departure

1. How many Jewish NEA members have sought to leave the NEA since July 2025?
2. 1. Have these members been permitted to leave the Association? If not, please explain why.
3. If Jewish NEA members wish to leave the national Association due to feelings of antisemitism, will the NEA allow these members to leave without paying their remaining dues?
4. 1. Will the NEA allow these members to leave the national Association, while remaining in their local and state chapters?

NEA Activism

1. On many occasions, the NEA has issued official statements condemning antisemitism in the same sentence as "anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian bigotry," as well as Islamophobia.²⁸ Will the NEA issue a formal statement exclusively condemning antisemitism without including "anti-Palestinian bigotry, anti-Arab racism, and all forms of discrimination against all people"?.²⁹
2. 1. If not, please explain why antisemitism has never been mentioned as a standalone issue.
3. The NEA has been extremely active in both domestic and global politics. On December 8, 2023, you called for a ceasefire in Gaza, along with NEA partner, Education International.³⁰ On February 10, 2024, the NEA Board of Directors reaffirmed your call for a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.³¹ Both of these were released in official press statements.
4. 1. Did either you or the NEA Board issue a formal statement or press release in support of the Trump administration's Gaza ceasefire agreement negotiated in October 2025? If not, please explain why.
5. On October 17, 2023, you stated, "[w]e also have a moral imperative to educate people about antisemitism, Islamophobia, and about how to support Jewish and Muslim students and communities."³²
6. 1. Have you or the NEA Board issued a formal statement on the ongoing genocide in Darfur, Sudan, where recent fighting between the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces (R.S.F) has resulted in the mass killing of tens of thousands of Muslims?³³ If not, please explain why.
   2. Has the NEA ever issued a public statement condemning the persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar?³⁴ If not, please explain why.
   3. Has the NEA ever issued a public statement condemning the genocide of Uyghur Muslims in China?³⁵ If not, please explain why.
   4. Has the NEA issued a formal statement in response to the Bondi Beach massacre which occurred during a Hannukah celebration on December 14, 2025?³⁶ If not, please explain why.

Sincerely,

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