The following article was adapted from a monologue on The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI.
At first glance, what may appear to be a classic case of the progressive left turning on one of its own is, in truth, something far more sinister. The National Education Association (NEA), the largest union in the United States with over 3 million members, has voted to sever all ties with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a Jewish civil rights group that’s worked for nearly 40 years to combat antisemitism in American schools.
The decision comes at a time when antisemitic attacks in the US are at an all-time high. According to an ADL report released in April, Jews in America faced more than 25 antisemitic incidents per day in 2023, more than one every hour, with most linked to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Despite that, the NEA voted last weekend to drop the ADL as an educational partner, accusing the New York-based organization of using antisemitism “to punish any and all criticisms of Israel.”
"The ADL doesn’t fight antisemitism anymore. It’s a mouthpiece for the Democratic Party. Now the far left @NEAToday teachers' union is canceling the @ADL. Why? Because even progressive Jews are still just Jews to them." pic.twitter.com/ICJ9OIiHCG
— Ari Hoffman 🎗 (@thehoffather) July 9, 2025
“Allowing the ADL to determine what constitutes antisemitism would be like allowing the fossil fuel industry to determine what constitutes climate change,” said NEA delegate Stephen Siegel, a special education teacher from Oregon who has previously pushed CRT-related resources and motions against US support for Israel’s military operations.
The NEA’s resolution was passed by a 7,000-member assembly in Portland and labeled as a “boycott” by the union’s legal team, meaning it will still need executive committee approval to be fully implemented. But its impact is already being felt.
The ADL called the move “profoundly disturbing,” warning that “a group of NEA activists [is] brazenly attempting to further isolate their Jewish colleagues and push a radical, antisemitic agenda on students.” They added, “We will not be cowed for supporting Israel, and we will not be deterred from our work reaching millions of students with educational programs every year.”
Former New York Assemblyman Dov Hikind, founder of Americans Against Antisemitism, didn’t hold back: “We Jews are in freaking trouble. We are in hell. The world is upside down. Should we be surprised that students are in the street supporting terrorism? It’s a tragedy.”
Former NYC Councilman Rory Lancman, now senior counsel for the Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, said the move is a clear example of rising antisemitic fervor: “You can’t separate the demonization of the ADL from the demonization of Israel and ultimately Jews.”
You know who is cheering this decision? CAIR—the Council on American-Islamic Relations, an organization that has been linked to Hamas and was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation trial, the largest terror-funding trial in US history.
CAIR praised the move, accusing the ADL of anti-Palestinian bias and “misusing” antisemitism to silence pro-Palestinian voices.
CAIR celebrated the NEA’s move, stating, “This principled move is a significant step toward fostering respect for the rights and dignity of all students in public schools, who must receive an education without facing biased, politically-driven agendas.”
Think about that. A radical organization with ties to terrorism is applauding the second-largest teachers’ union in America for cutting off a Jewish group. The ADL might have been late to realize what many of us already knew: No matter how progressive you are, if you’re Jewish, you’re still a Jew to the far-left extremists.
If CAIR is celebrating your decision, you’ve made the wrong one.
Let’s not forget: The ADL was once a staple partner in K-12 classrooms, helping train teachers and develop curricula to recognize and stop antisemitism. That relationship began to fracture after October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a terror attack on Israel, prompting a war that continues today. Since then, the ADL’s criticisms of pro-Hamas rhetoric, especially from teachers’ union leaders, have made it a target.
Tensions boiled over earlier this year when the ADL publicly rebuked the Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) over a presentation featuring Merrie Najimy, the MTA’s former president. The session included harsh critiques of Israel and claims of Islamophobia, prompting backlash from Jewish groups. Najimy later asked, “Why would we partner with an organization that does us harm?” a question that seemingly captured the NEA’s mood heading into its vote.
It’s an ironic twist for an organization like the ADL, which has embraced nearly every progressive cause except when it comes to calling out antisemitism, even from the left. Now, it’s being punished for the one issue it still claims to stand for: protecting Jewish people.
Back when I ran for Seattle City Council, I went offline for a three-day Jewish holiday. For observant Jews, that means no phone, no email, no news. Just family, food, and faith. When I returned home, I found a note on my door from the Seattle Police Department and the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. With eight hours still left in the holiday, I couldn’t contact anyone or learn what was happening.
When I finally came back online, I found out my family had been targeted in a death threat. Neo-Nazis had posted our information on the extremist website 8chan. And worse, it turned out a local socialist activist had infiltrated that platform to stir up threats against me, a Republican Jew. That’s the kind of “activism” we see here in Seattle.
In the aftermath, the silence was deafening. It took then-Mayor Jenny Durkan 10 days to say anything. A couple of other candidates released weak statements. Jewish organizations were largely silent. Most disturbingly, the ADL, an organization specifically created to fight this kind of hate, said nothing for over a week. It was only after immense pressure that the ADL finally issued a statement.
Why the hesitation? I can only guess, but it seemed clear to me: I wasn’t the “right kind” of Jew. I’m politically conservative. The ADL, despite its roots, has long operated as a Democratic Party mouthpiece, and its defense of Jews seems to be conditional, based on political affiliation, and it didn’t see me as a cause worth defending.
No matter how progressive the ADL tries to be, they’re still being cut off by the NEA. Why? Because they’re Jewish. The organization, once founded with noble intent, has drifted so far into partisan politics that it’s now being disowned by the very left-wing institutions it aligned with for years. Since the Hamas attacks of October 7, the ADL has faced an identity crisis. The progressive movement it thought was its ally, has revealed itself loudly and proudly as hostile to Jews, even liberal ones.
Liora Rez, founder of StopAntisemitism, summed it up bluntly: “The most radical fringe has taken over the NEA and they actively promote bigotry against Jews and lies about the Jewish state. Rather than trying to educate our children, they want to indoctrinate them to hate each other.”
The NEA, meanwhile, insists it is still committed to fighting antisemitism, racism, and bigotry. But their actions speak louder than words.
So here’s my advice: Pull your kids out of public school.
The public education system you knew as a child no longer exists. Today, it’s being run by activists pushing a toxic blend of far-left ideology and anti-Israel extremism, endorsed by groups like CAIR and now protected by policies like this one. They are actively targeting Jewish voices and removing them from classrooms.
There are better options. Private schools. Homeschooling. And now, thanks to new tax benefits in recent legislation, more families can afford them than ever before. I didn’t even know about those write-offs until I received a press release last week. But now I do. And now you do too.
The NEA just declared war on the ADL, and by extension, on Jewish students and teachers nationwide.
For the NEA, its mission isn’t about education anymore, and it hasn’t been for a long time. It’s about indoctrination. And its new messaging is the world’s oldest hatred.
This is the wrong fight, @ADL
The left has proven it hates Jews.
Instead of trying to get back in their good graces, you should be telling every Jewish parent to yank their kids out of public school & raise money for kids to go to Jewish private schools & camps
Imagine the… pic.twitter.com/Dgn6NBx8zA
— Ari Hoffman 🎗 (@thehoffather) July 10, 2025
The ADL has an opportunity to encourage Jewish families to pull their kids out of public schools and send them to Jewish private schools and start a Jewish education renaissance, but instead, the organization will likely beg the NEA for table scraps and to allow them back in the schools.
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