Boston Globe: Special state commission questions MTA over alleged antisemitic learning materials on the Israel-Hamas war
A Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism has raised questions about educational materials the Massachusetts Teachers Association has assembled on the Israel-Hamas war. Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
Boston Globe: The Massachusetts Teachers Association is under fire from a special state commission on antisemitism for distributing educational materials on the Israel-Hamas war that commissioners contend are antisemitic and offensive.
The Special Commission on Combatting Antisemitism gathered more than two dozen examples of MTA learning materials and other resources that its members said presented a one-sided view that favors Palestinians over Jews and Israelis. The materials intended for classroom use or to broaden educators' knowledge of the issues were posted on the members-only section of the MTA’s website.
Among the materials: a replica of the Star of David made out of folded dollar bills, a poster featuring a hand grabbing the tongue of a snake that read “Unity in Confronting Zionism,” another poster promoting the Free Palestine movement that read “Zionists [expletive] Off,” and another poster seemingly depicting a Palestinian fighter with a rifle that warned, “What was taken by force can only be returned by force.”
The MTA resources also included a storybook about a young Palestinian girl whose family had to flee their home because “a group of bullies called Zionists wanted our land so they stole it by force.” The book asked students to repeatedly write the girl’s name, suggesting it was intended for students who are still learning to write letters, and recommended ways students could help, such as engaging in letter-writing campaigns, raising money, or chanting at protests.
It’s unclear whether Massachusetts educators have used any of the materials as part of classroom lessons.
The 19-member commission, which includes Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker and Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller, grilled MTA’s president, Max Page, for two hours and repeatedly lambasted him for allowing the MTA to assemble learning materials that presented only the Palestinian perspective on the Israel-Hamas war. State Senator John Velis, the commission’s cochair, said he couldn’t find anything in the MTA materials that presented the Jewish or Israel perspective.
”These resources are incredibly one-sided," said Velis, who later equated the learning materials to “a recommendation of education malpractice.”
Throughout the first part of the hearing, state Representative Simon Cataldo, the commission’s other cochair, repeatedly asked Page if various images were antisemitic.
As the hearing progressed, Page increasingly grew frustrated by the line of questioning, asking at one point, “are we in a court proceeding?” and also called the hearing an “inquisition.”
“I understand the real fears of our Jewish members as they witness a rising tide of antisemitism,“ said Page, a practicing Jew and former president of his congregation, whose father fled Nazi Germany and who also lost many family members during the Holocaust. ”I also hear the real fear of other groups, including Palestinian educators and students and those who speak out in solidarity with them who have experienced attacks on their lives.”
Related: As the MTA wades into the Israel-Hamas war, divisions rise among members
The commission’s probing of the MTA’s activities around the Israel-Hamas war follows more than a year of criticism that the state’s largest teachers union has encountered from some of its own members as well as students, families, and Jewish advocacy organizations over public statements and educational materials they characterize as antisemitic.
Among the actions critics found egregious: the MTA’s board of directors approved a cease-fire statement in December 2023 that equated Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu’s military actions against Hamas to a “genocidal war” against Palestinians, and a webinar on anti-Palestinian racism that a union task force held last spring that included materials many Jewish members found offensive and antisemitic.
Then, in December, the American Jewish Committee, a nonprofit whose New England director, Robert Leikland, also serves on the Special Commission, released a report that criticized the MTA for demonizing Israel and promoting one-sided educational material about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Page has repeatedly defended the MTA’s actions, even as he has noted he doesn’t agree with the viewpoints of all the materials, some of which he said he found offensive. He says the actions have emerged organically among the union’s members and he did not want to censor individual members.
During the hearing, various members of the audience appeared to rally around Page. When Cataldo began questioning the actions of some MTA members by name, someone in the audience addressed Cataldo as “Senator McCarthy” and compared his line of inquiry to Joseph McCarthy accusing people of being suspected Communists, eliciting cheers from the audience.
Page also took a more defiant stand following the hearing, issuing a press release in which he and vice president Deb McCarthy said the union was “subjected to two hours of political grandstanding that did not further the cause of combating antisemitism,” while emphasizing the union is ready to be an ally in that effort.
“Yet, members and leaders of the commission chose instead to demonize our educators and their union through a selective presentation of material accessible only to union members via online resources about the war between Israel and Hamas,” the statement said. “It was an inquisition that was beneath the dignity of the Legislature.”
The hearing was the fourth held so far by the Special Commission, which is charged with examining antisemitism throughout Massachusetts and devising recommendations to combat it. The proceedings continued for about an hour after Page left.
Toward the start of the hearing, Page emphasized in his opening remarks the union was not attempting to indoctrinate students.
“The notion that our union is trying to indoctrinate our young people is simply not true and accusations to that effect, unfortunately, have led to death threats to me, my staff, and other attacks on our union,” he said.
But Cataldo, the commission cochair, later said the MTA does not appear to be responsive to concerns raised by some of the union’s Jewish members. He noted that some Jewish and non-Jewish members recently asked the MTA’s board to remove materials from the union’s website they perceived as antisemitic, but the board refused to comply.
“They were called right wing and accused of censoring material,” Cataldo said. “Is that right?”
“I don’t know who you are talking about,” Page said. “I did not call them that. We actually debated it at the board ... The board chose not to take them down.”
In response to questions about whether images were antisemitic, Page frequently appeared reluctant to engage with the questioning.
For instance, when Cataldo showed Page the dollar bills folded into the Star of David and asked whether he agreed it was antisemitic imagery, Page responded, “I’m not going to evaluate that.”
But Cataldo continued to press: “It’s a dollar bill folded up in the Star of David, I think you nodded your head yes.”
Page then responded, “We provide the resources for our members to evaluate in their own intelligent professional way.”
To which Cataldo fired back: “It’s antisemitic.”
Later in the hearing, Velis raised concerns about a potential disconnect between the union’s leadership and rank-and-file members over the MTA’s repeated actions around the Israel-Hamas War based on conversations he said he’s had with various members.
“There’s a lot of people saying, ‘Can’t we just get back to being teachers and educators,‘” Velis said.
James Vaznis can be reached at james.vaznis@globe.com. Follow him @globevaznis.
