Mass. teachers union statement on Israel-Hamas War sparks controversy
The director of the Anti-Defamation League New England said the organization has heard from members of the Massachusetts Teachers Association who were "frankly embarrassed at the statement that ostensibly represents them"
Controversy for the Massachusetts Teachers Association after their comments on the Israel-Hamas war are getting some serious backlash.
A statement approved by the Massachusetts Teachers Association's executive board on the Israel-Hamas War has prompted swift backlash for the leadership of the teachers union.
The board voted to urge the National Educators Association to put pressure on President Joe Biden to stop funding Israel, which the board characterized as a "genocidal war on the Palestinian people in Gaza."
That language prompted Newton Teachers Association on Tuesday to call for a retraction — its executive board called "callous" and likely to provoke further antisemitism.
"The current situation in the Middle East is both tragic and incredibly complicated, with implications that extend far beyond the actual ongoing war in Gaza. The motion and rationale approved by the MTA Board captures how the tragedy impacts many innocent Palestinians in Gaza. But the statement fails completely to hold in mind the atrocities against Israelis on October 7, the complexity of the situation, and the trauma, pair, and fallout the Israel, American, and international Jewish communities are experiencing," read the statement, signed by Newton Teachers Association President Mike Ziles.
The director of the Anti-Defamation League New England, Rabbi Jonah Steinberg, said the organization has heard from members of the Massachusetts Teachers Association who were "frankly embarrassed at the statement that ostensibly represents them."
He called it one-sided and biased, and said it ignores the entirety of the complex situation in Israel and Gaza.
"There is one clear answer, which is that it is impossible to live next to Hamas, which has vowed to repeat what we saw on Oct. 7 again and again," Steinberg said. "They have said that even in recent days, so Israel, for its own self-defense and its continuing security, must make sure that Hamas no longer holds sway in Gaza."
Tsafrir Abayov/AP
Police officers evacuate a woman and a child from a site hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip in Ashkelon, southern Israel, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. The militant Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip carried out an unprecedented, multi-front attack on Israel at daybreak Saturday, firing thousands of rockets as dozens of Hamas fighters infiltrated the heavily fortified border in several locations by air, land, and sea and catching the country off-guard on a major holiday.
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Palestinians celebrate by a destroyed Israeli tank at the Gaza Strip fence east of Khan Younis Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
Fatima Shbair/AP
Fire and smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike, in Gaza City, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. Six weeks of fighting since then has seen hundreds of thousands of Palestinians flee to southern Gaza, where they cram into shelters and take refuge with friends and family.
Fatima Shbair/AP
Palestinians inspect the rubble of a building after it was struck by an Israeli airstrike, in Gaza City, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.
Fatima Shbair/AP
Rockets are fired toward Israel from the Gaza Strip, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023. The militant Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip carried out an unprecedented, multi-front attack on Israel at daybreak Saturday, firing thousands of rockets as dozens of Hamas fighters infiltrated the heavily fortified border in several locations, killing hundreds and taking captives. Palestinian health officials reported scores of deaths from Israeli airstrikes in Gaza. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
Maya Alleruzzo/AP
The mother of Israeli Col. Roi Levy cries during her son’s funeral at the Mount Herzl cemetery in Jerusalem on Monday, Oct. 9, 2023. Col. Roi Levy was killed after Hamas militants stormed from the blockaded Gaza Strip into nearby Israeli towns. Israel’s vaunted military and intelligence apparatus was caught completely off guard, bringing heavy battles to its streets for the first time in decades.
Hatem Moussa/AP
The rubble of the Sousi Mosque, destroyed in an Israeli airstrike, is seen at Shati refugee camp in Gaza City early Monday, Oct. 9, 2023.
Fatima Shbair/AP
Palestinians rescue a young girl from the rubble of a destroyed residential building following an Israeli airstrike, Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023.
Mohammad Al Masri/AP
Palestinians evacuate wounded in Israeli aerial bombing on Jabaliya, near Gaza City, Wednesday, Oct.11, 2023.
Erik Marmor/AP
Israeli soldiers surround a Palestinian who ran at them with a knife at the site of a music festival near the border with the Gaza Strip Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023.
Francisco Seco/AP
A woman lights candles in honor of victims of the Hamas attacks during a vigil at Dizengoff square in central Tel Aviv, Israel, Friday, Oct. 13, 2023. The writing reads: “Out of Words.”
Fatima Shbair/AP
Palestinians wait to cross into Egypt at the Rafah border crossing in the Gaza Strip, on Monday, Oct.16, 2023.
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Palestinians look for survivors in buildings destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in Deir el-Balah, southern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023.
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President Joe Biden is greeted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after arriving at Ben Gurion International Airport, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, in Tel Aviv.
Mohammed Dahman/AP
Rockets are fired from the Gaza Strip toward Israel over destroyed buildings following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, central Gaza Strip, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023.
Petros Giannakouris/AP
An Israeli woman touches photos of Israelis missing and held captive in Gaza, displayed on a wall in Tel Aviv, on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023. Relatives of people kidnapped by Hamas militants and supporters organized a protest Saturday calling for the return of more than 200 hostages held in Gaza for two weeks.
Abed Khaled/AP
A wounded Palestinian woman runs following Israeli airstrikes that targeted her neighborhood in Gaza City, Monday, Oct. 23, 2023.
Mohammed Dahman/AP
Palestinians inspect the rubble of destroyed buildings following Israeli airstrikes on the town of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023.
Omar El-Qattaa/AFP via Getty Images
Smoke and fire rise from buildings as people gather amid the destruction in the aftermath of an Israeli strike on Gaza City on October 26, 2023, as battles continue between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas group.
Omar El-Qattaa/AFP via Getty Images
Smoke and fire rise from buildings as rescuers gather amid the destruction in the aftermath of an Israeli strike on Gaza City on October 26, 2023, as battles continue between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas group.
Abed Khaled/AP
A man sits on the rubble as others wander among debris of buildings that were targeted by Israeli airstrikes in Jabaliya refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023.
Hatem Ali/AP
Palestinians with dual nationality register to cross to Egypt on the Gaza Strip side of the border crossing in Rafah on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023.
Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty Images
An Israeli artillery unit fires during a military drill in the annexed Golan Heights near the border with Lebanon on November 2, 2023. Lebanon’s southern border has seen tit-for-tat exchanges, mainly between Israel and Hamas ally Hezbollah, since Hamas militants launched an unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip.
Jonathan Ernst/AP
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken sits onboard the plane during his visit to Israel as he departs en route to Jordan, Friday, Nov. 3, 2023. Blinken is in Israel to press for more humanitarian aid to be allowed into besieged Gaza.
Abed Khaled/AP
Palestinians strike the concrete while looking for survivors under the rubble of a destroyed house following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023.
Mohammed Dahman/AP
Palestinian firefighters extinguish fire caused by an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023.
Ohad Zwigenberg/AP
Israeli army troops are seen next to a destroyed building during a ground operation in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023.
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A Palestinian gunman runs past burning tires during confrontations with Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin on November 9, 2023.
Abed Khaled/AP
Fire and smoke rises from buildings following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023.
Hatem Ali/AP
A Palestinian boy stands among the destruction after Israeli strikes on Rafah, Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023.
Fatima Shbair/AP
A man carries his daughter in a wheelbarrow through the flooded streets of a U.N. displacement camp after rainfall in the southern town of Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Sunday, Nov. 19, 2023.
Said Khatib/AFP via Getty Images
A relative tries to salvage some personal items from the home of the Palestinian Sheikh el-Eed family, a day after it was hit by Israeli bombardment killing the mother and two of her children, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, on November 19, 2023, as battles continue between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images
Palestinian medics care for premature babies evacuated from Al Shifa hospital to the Emirates hospital in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, on November 19, 2023. A top health official in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip said all 31 premature babies at Al-Shifa hospital had been evacuated on November 19 from the facility which the WHO has described as a “death zone”.
Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images
A Palestinian woman reacts as people inspect the damage following Israeli strikes on Rafah, on the southern Gaza Strip, on November 20, 2023, amid continuing battles between Israel and the militant group Hamas.
Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images
A Palestinian man reacts after in an Israeli strike on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on November 20, 2023, amid continuing battles between Israel and the militant group Hamas.
Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty Images
Israeli soldiers patrol on the top of the Mount Hermon near the border with Lebanon in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights on November 20, 2023, amid increasing cross-border tensions as fighting continues with Hamas militants in the southern Gaza Strip.
Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images
Palestinians stand next to a mural of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat amidst the debris following Israeli bombardment on Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on November 22, 2023, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement.
Mohammed Dahman/AP
Palestinians flee to northern Gaza as Israeli tanks block the Salah al-Din road in the central Gaza Strip on Friday, Nov. 24, 2023, as the four-day cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war begins as part of an agreement that Qatar helped broker.
Leo Correa/AP
A group of Israelis celebrate as a helicopter carrying hostages released from the Gaza Strip lands at the helipad of the Schneider Children’s Medical Center in Petah Tikva, Israel, Sunday Nov. 26, 2023. The cease-fire between Israel and Hamas was back on track Sunday as the militants freed 17 more hostages, including 14 Israelis and the first American, in exchange for 39 Palestinian prisoners in a third set of releases under a four-day truce.
Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images
A protester burns tires in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on November 27, 2023, ahead of an expected release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Israeli hostages held by Hamas. The Israeli government said on November 27, it had put Hamas “on notice” that an “option for an extension” of the truce in the Gaza Strip was open.
Karim Sahib/AFP via Getty Images
Palestinians evacuated from the Gaza Strip board a plane at Egypt’s El-Arish International Airport bound for Abu Dhabi early on November 27, 2023, as part of a humanitarian mission organised by the United Arab Emirates. Israel and Hamas announced a deal on November 22, allowing at least 50 hostages and scores of Palestinian prisoners to be freed while offering besieged Gaza residents a four-day truce after weeks of all-out war.
Hatem Ali/AP
Palestinians line up for food in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023, during a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images
People sit around a camp fire in the midst of destroyed buildings in the Khezaa district on the outskirts of the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis, following weeks of Israeli bombardment, as a truce between Israel and Hamas entered its 7th day on November 30, 2023.
Nasser Nasser/AP
Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi, center, is supported by her mother after she was released from prison by Israel, in the West Bank town of Ramallah, early Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023. International mediators worked to extend the truce in Gaza, encouraging Hamas militants to keep freeing hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners and further relief from Israel’s air and ground offensive.
Nasser Nasser/AP
A man smiles as he is welcomed after being released from prison by Israel, in the West Bank town of Ramallah, early Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023. International mediators on Wednesday worked to extend the truce in Gaza, encouraging Hamas militants to keep freeing hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners and further relief from Israel’s air and ground offensive.
Sakchai Lalit/AP
Thai hostages who were freed from Hamas observe a minute of silence upon their arrival at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Samut Prakarn Province, Thailand, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023. Twenty-three Thai hostages kidnapped by Hamas in its Oct. 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel have been freed so far, and Thailand’s foreign ministry says nine remain in captivity in Gaza.
MTA President Max Page and Vice President Deb McCarthy released a statement Tuesday night in response to the backlash:
The Massachusetts Teachers Association abhors the atrocities and terrible loss of life occurring in the war between Israel and Hamas, beginning with the horrific attack of Oct. 7. Our Executive Committee and Board of Directors have democratically debated and made decisions responding to this crisis. On Nov. 4, the MTA Executive Committee voted to join other labor unions in calling for a ceasefire and a return of hostages captured in the Oct. 7 assault, and to stand against the vile spread of antisemitism and Islamophobia. On Dec. 9, our Board of Directors voted to support our members and students by promoting education about this difficult history and the present situation, as well as to call on the National Education Association to support a ceasefire, which it has now done.
These decisions stem from a belief that human suffering in the region must end and we must all work together to support a rapid move toward lasting solutions for peaceful co-existence in the region.
The initial statement was only voted on by the MTA's executive board, not its membership of more than 100,000 teachers and staff members.
