The report comes from the prominent Jewish organization Anti-Defamation League. It surveyed 304 Jewish educators who belong to a teachers’ union and have witnessed hostility toward Jews and Israel after Hamas launched an October 7, 2023 surprise attack in Israel that massacred civilians.
Hamas and its military attack, which was named “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood” for a Jerusalem mosque, caught the Israelis by surprise. The official death toll is estimated at 1,200 with another 250 people kidnapped and taken back to Gaza as hostages.
In their survey answers, 70% agreed with the ADL that union statements about the Israel-Hamas war have never condemned Hamas for its attack two years ago. In a related question, 71% described union resolutions that accuse Israel of “apartheid” and committing “genocide” in Gaza.
In a comment to ADL, a teacher described how the local teachers’ union approved a resolution that blamed Israel for the October 7 Hamas attack.
“We tried to come up with amendments, but they voted us down and shouted us down,” the teacher said.
A second union member said his union leaders handed out flyers that praised Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and “glorified” the Hamas attacks as martyrs.
Most of the respondents (83%) are current or retired classroom teachers, and most of them (98%) work or previously worked in a public school setting.
In other survey answers, 51% have witnessed others minimize or outright deny the atrocities committed by Hamas, even though the attackers themselves filmed their own savagery. Another 43% said they have witnessed union event speakers justify violence against Jews.
Jonathan Greenberg is an ordained rabbi who monitors antisemitism for Defending Education. He told American Family News the survey was a good idea to expose the teachers’ unions, but he is also unhappy with the ADL’s tepid response.
“Merely going back to the teachers' unions and complaining about it, or asking more nicely, isn't the right answer,” he told American Family News.
Greenberg bluntly called that an “October 6th response to an October 7th problem."
A better way to push back, he said, is for the Jewish teachers to file an official complaint with the EEOC, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
With the Trump administration in the White House, that federal agency would presumably be sympathetic to accusations of antisemitism.
“We think that's a much better option,” Greenberg said, referring to Defending Education.
