Local News
“The MTA is supposed to be dedicated to improving the quality of life for its membership, improving workplace conditions for educators.”
A pro-Israel organization filed a complaint against the Massachusetts Teachers Association, claiming leadership was discriminatory against Jewish educators while launching an “anti-Israel, antisemitic campaign.”
Zionist Organization for America filed a complaint with Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office on behalf of those Jewish members of the MTA earlier this month, pointing to alleged antisemitic materials shared by the union that made headlines earlier this year.
“The leadership never acknowledged the wrongdoing, never apologized,” said Susan Tuchman, the executive director of ZOA’s Center for Law and Justice. “They could have said … ‘We made a mistake. We apologize. The materials were antisemitic and never should have gone up in the first place.’ They stayed silent.”
The union was heavily scrutinized by a committee of lawmakers and local leaders, who accused the MTA of distributing offensive materials that presented a one-sided view of the Israel-Hamas war in the wake of Oct. 7. The curriculum resources were shared through a member-only section website through links, the union said previously, and those links were removed after the backlash.
Examples included images of the Star of David made out of dollar bills, “a poster depicting a person holding an automatic weapon with the words ‘what was taken by force can only be returned by force,’ and a poster showing a hand grabbing a snake’s tongue with the words “unity in confronting Zionism,” according to previous reporting and the new 26-page complaint.
Complaint: Jewish educators are discriminated against, intimidated by MTA
The complaint cited the materials of the links, the MTA’s resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, and the union’s “singular focus on demonizing, condemning and penalizing Israel” as antisemitic and anti-Israel actions, making some Jewish members uncomfortable.
When invited to a summit about fighting antisemitism, one board member emailed the entire 70-person board a “verbal rampage” against Israel, including accusing it of war crimes, genocide, and “promoting blatantly antisemitic
stereotypes about Jewish power and control,” the complaint said.
“Jewish members understandably have been affected by these one sided resolutions, these webinars that not only attack Israel, but also have attacked Jews,” Tuchman said. “All of those actions by the union have made some Jewish educators feel unwelcome. They feel unsafe, because when they speak up, they’ve been jeered at meetings.”
The complaint also alleges the MTA discriminated against and intimidated Jewish members, including holding meetings on Jewish Sabbath without offering accommodations and excluding them from planning a webinar about anti-semitism.
Webinars, including one addressing racism against Palestinians, “promoted hateful falsehoods about Israel and Jews,” the complaint says.
According to the Zionist group, the MTA’s webinar claimed that “Israel does not equal the Jewish people” and that Jewish people don’t have an ancestral connection to Israel.
“That’s just an out and out falsehood. Jews are indigenous to the land of Israel. You cannot claim that Jews stole the Land of Israel from another people. That’s just factually inaccurate,” Tuchman told Boston.com. ZOA did not produce a Jewish MTA member who wanted to speak on record.
MTA speakers and webinars also characterized Zionism as “a settler colonial movement” and as “oppressive” and “a multi-million dollar, Israeli state-funded propaganda machine,” the complaint alleges.
“The MTA is supposed to be dedicated to improving the quality of life for its membership, improving workplace conditions for educators. They’re not supposed to be focused on international conflicts,” Tuchman said.
A spokesperson for the MTA said the union was still reviewing the complaint sent to Campbell’s office. Campbell’s office confirmed it had received the complaint.
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