American Public Education Vs. Israel  

By Moshe Phillips

Image via Rawpixil.com

Among the most shocking developments in America since October 7, 2023 is the surge of anti-Israel sentiment being taught in public school classrooms, heard from teachers’ unions, and seen at local school board meetings.

A serious study by the group StandWithUs revealed that over 60% of Jewish educators in the U.S. disclosed that they have experienced antisemitism at work, including from teachers’ unions.

As if to underscore the StandWithUs report, a San Diego rabbi made headlines when he was disinvited from giving a benediction at a Martin Luther King Jr. Day event sponsored by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) “due to his connection to Israel.”

Since the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel, a line has been drawn—between those who unequivocally condemn terrorism and those who equivocate. Tragically, the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT)—the two largest teachers’ unions in the United States—have positioned themselves on the wrong side of that line. Through public statements, internal resolutions, and targeted votes, these unions have betrayed the moral clarity demanded by such atrocities.

The NEA’s decision at its 2025 Representative Assembly to adopt “New Business Item 39,” which commits the NEA to “not use, endorse, or publicize materials from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL)” or participate in its programs, cuts off essential tools in combating antisemitism. To reject collaboration largely based on ideological grievance—particularly at a time when antisemitism has been rising since October 7—is indefensible.

Resolution proposals and statements from the NEA and AFT downplay Hamas’s October 7 campaign of mass murder, rape, and kidnapping, or portray Israeli conduct as morally equivalent to the terrorists they are fighting. The AFT has described an “occupation” when Israel unilaterally left Gaza in 2005 and often frames Israeli actions as unprovoked rather than fully acknowledging the initial terrorist invasion and the ongoing hostage crisis.

In July, the AFT launched the “AFT Disaster Relief Fund for Gaza Humanitarian Aid” without mentioning a single word about the suffering of Israeli families.

Also in July, the NEA made headlines for a new handbook that failed to mention Jews among the 12 million victims of the Holocaust. Simultaneously, the handbook described Israel’s founding as a “Nakba” (catastrophe) and falsely claimed a “forced, violent displacement and dispossession of at least 750,000 Palestinians.”

Through these votes and statements, the NEA and AFT are not merely failing to provide real moral leadership—they are complicit in advancing narratives that dehumanize and delegitimize. In war, there are always tragedies and complexities. But there are also clear violations of human rights—and choosing ambiguity or selective outrage in the face of those is a choice. It is a morally bankrupt one.

What is the source of all this anti-Israel extremism? One major influence is Howard Zinn, author of A People’s History of the United States. Zinn was a vocal critic of Israel who portrayed the Jewish state as a colonial aggressor and routinely framed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in starkly one-sided, anti-Israel terms. In his 2002 essay “The Others,” Zinn likened Israeli policies toward Palestinians to apartheid and American racism, accusing Israel of “ethnic cleansing” while largely ignoring terrorism and Israel’s security concerns. Zinn’s work is widely assigned in teacher preparation programs, shaping a worldview in which Western democracies—Israel included—are seen as oppressors by default. His legacy continues to normalize anti-Israel bias among far too many American educators, contributing to the erosion of moral clarity around antisemitism, terrorism, and Israel’s right to self-defense.

Zinn said in a 2010 interview with Moment Magazine that “I think the Jewish State was a mistake, yes. (…) At the time, I thought creating Israel was a good thing, but in retrospect, it was probably the worst thing that the Jews could have done.”

Rethinking Schools—a far-left education journal and publishing enterprise—distributes radical classroom materials nationwide through the “Zinn Education Project” and is just one of many anti-Israel efforts aimed at teachers that needs to be exposed. This project uses Zinn’s arguments, depicting U.S. and Israeli history primarily through the lens of colonialism and racism, to shape classroom narratives. Rethinking Schools regularly publishes lesson plans and articles that mirror Zinn’s ideologically based approach, reinforcing anti-Israel perspectives in K–12 education. In doing so, it amplifies Zinn’s influence over generations of leftist teachers.

The extremists at Rethinking Schools are hyper-focused on Israel. Recently, they devoted two issues, including cover stories, to attacking Zionism and Israel, in 2025, published a book titled Teaching Palestine. This is not a new phenomenon—anti-Israel articles in the magazine date back to at least 2016.

Lauren Steinberg is Managing Director, Campus and K–12 Engagement and Strategic Initiatives for the Jewish Federations of North America, and commented at the end of 2025 that “Some union spaces have become toxic even for Jewish teachers.” The JFNA is hardly known as alarmist in nature.

When the history of the post–October 7 explosion of Israel-bashing and antisemitism on American college campuses is written, historians will not need to look far to understand how students were radicalized against Israel before ever stepping into a college lecture hall.

What teachers teach must be monitored. There is no alternative. We are now witnessing the consequences of failing to do so.

Moshe Phillips is national chairman of Americans For A Safe Israel, AFSI, (www.AFSI.org), a leading pro-Israel advocacy and education organization.