Over 70% of Jewish teachers in US unions fear speaking out about antisemitism, ADL report finds

Jewish educators across America are silencing themselves inside their own unions, with 73% saying they feel compelled to self-censor and nearly half having pulled back from union activities altogether. The Anti-Defamation League surveyed 307 Jewish union members across 24 states and found a climate of "structural and cultural failure," with unions passing resolutions accusing Israel of genocide, promoting antisemitic curriculum materials and repeatedly refusing to address Jewish members' concerns. ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt warned the findings represent a "dangerous trend of institutionalized antisemitism." The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has already opened a probe into the National Education Association over its alleged failure to act.

Respondents said unions adopted resolutions holding Israel responsible for the October 7 Hamas massacre and voted to sever ties with mainstream Jewish organisations.

'There is now open hostility toward Jewish educators in union spaces — they hide it under the guise of hating Zionists, not Jews, but it's all the same thing,' one educator said.