Opinion: Antisemitism’s newest safe space: Teachers’ unions

Opinion piece by Kenneth L. Marcus of The Brandeis Center, in The Hill. To read the entire story go here.

At Nysmith School in Virginia, three Jewish siblings were expelled after their parents notified the headmaster about the relentless antisemitic bullying faced by one of the daughters. 

At Concord-Carlisle High School in Massachusetts, students gave Nazi salutes in school hallways, divided themselves into teams called “Team Auschwitz” and “Team Hamas” during athletic games, drew swastikas in notebooks and on school property and told Jewish students to “go to the gas chamber.” 

At Etiwanda School District in California, a 12-year-old Jewish student was beaten by another student, and when she called for help, she was told to “shut [her] stupid Jewish ass up.”

You have likely seen the recent onslaught of antisemitism in K-12 schools. But is it surprising that Jewish and Israeli K-12 students are experiencing antisemitism in schools, when so many teachers unions are promoting antisemitic curricula and engaging in anti-Israel political advocacy?

Nor should it be surprising that, across the country, Jewish teachers are facing the same antisemitism, only from their own peers, employers and the very people who are supposed to be protecting them from this kind of harassment in the first place — their unions.

In many instances, teachers unions play a role in curriculum development, resolve disputes between teachers and administrators and address issues related to school resources. Unions are also the bargaining representative of teachers.

As such, federal labor law imposes on a union the legal duty to fairly represent all its employees. Unions cannot choose to favor one protected identity over another or facilitate discrimination against a group of its members.