CJFS-B Criticizes National Education Association for Disrespecting Representative Assembly’s Vote & Not Severing Ties with the ADL
The ADL has become a clear and present danger to every norm, freedom, and right that keeps Jewish communities safe in the United States.”
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July 21, 2025
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BOSTON – Concerned Jewish Faculty and Staff - Boston Area (CJFS-B), comprising over 150 Jewish professors and staff members from Boston-area universities, applauds the National Education Association (NEA) delegates for voting on July 5 to “not use, endorse, or publicize any materials from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) . . . participate in ADL programs or publicize ADL professional development opportunities,” and criticizes the NEA executive leadership for rejecting that vote in a sudden decision late Friday night, July 18.
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As CJFS highlighted earlier this year, “the ADL has become a clear and present danger to every norm, freedom, and right that keeps Jewish communities safe in the United States.” We are disappointed that the NEA executive committee, including NEA President Becky Pringle, declined to respect their members’ vote and to sever ties with the ADL.
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We are living through a perilous period of authoritarian creep and escalating rightwing attacks on public education, civil rights, civil liberties, and the basic rule of law. The ADL has specifically enabled the Trump administration’s lawless assault on students, educators and educational institutions by weaponizing legitimate concerns about antisemitism for political gain. Among other shameful examples, ADL President Jonathan Greenblatt “repeatedly compared pro-Palestinian student protesters to Islamist terrorists in comments to Republican attorneys general and said the left harbored the ‘real deal threat’ to Jews.” As CJFS noted at the time, Greenblatt’s statements appear plucked straight from Project Esther, the Heritage Foundation’s Christian nationalist playbook for crushing civil society. They also echo his past racist and Islamophobic statements on record.
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The ADL’s alliance with MAGA Republicans helps to explain why nearly 3,500 Jewish higher ed workers and students urged their university leaders this spring to “[t]erminate all collaboration with organizations, such as the Anti-Defamation League, that smear our students and now applaud the lawless targeting of political opponents.” Also, earlier this year, CJFS joined organizations across the country in demanding that Greenblatt apologize for his reckless smears and called on the Massachusetts Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism to cease relying on ADL data and to instead engage real scholars of antisemitism, the Holocaust, and civil rights.
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The NEA representative assembly’s vote to break from the ADL was a courageous effort to improve our schools, serve our students, and help safeguard our democracy. We hope that more education organizations, officials, and leaders can stand up to the ADL and its allies.