By Jason Goldfischer
As thousands of educators gather in Denver this week, July 3-7, for the National Education Association’s annual Representative Assembly, delegates will make decisions that influence what educational resources will be used by educators across the country. Historically, some delegates have pushed for the NEA to use anti-Semitic, anti-Zionist or biased materials about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Those decisions raise an important question that extends well beyond one convention:
Who gets to define the Jewish experience? The question matters because extremists in the NEA want to use the union to push materials about Zionism and anti-Semitism that are biased and unrepresentative of how the majority of Jews view their own identity.
The answer should be as straightforward as it is for any community. When black people speak about how they experience racism, their lived experience matters. When the LGBTQ community describes what they consider to be homophobia or transphobia, people rightfully listen. Jews should be afforded that same right: Educational institutions should look first to voices that genuinely reflect the overwhelming majority of the people they seek to understand and serve. Like every community, American Jews are not a monolith, and encompass a wide range of political views, religious practices, and personal perspectives. Debate is woven into Jewish tradition and has been for thousands of years.
But vigorous debate does not erase broad consensus on the defining elements of Jewish identity. According to Pew Research, 80% of American Jews consider a connection to Israel to be an important part of Jewish identity.
Jews are an ancient people with an enduring historical, religious, cultural and indigenous connection to the Land of Israel. The majority of Jews believe that they should, like all other peoples, have the right to self-determination in their indigenous homeland. This is the definition of Zionism.
That understanding is reflected across the institutions that have shaped American Jewish life for generations. It is taught in synagogues, JCCs, Jewish federations, Holocaust museums, youth movements, university Jewish studies programs and countless local and national organizations that have preserved Jewish history, culture, and identity for generations.
Of course, there are organizations and individuals who reject some or all of these foundational beliefs. Every community has ideological minorities that challenge prevailing understandings of identity and history. Their perspectives deserve the same protections afforded to all viewpoints in a democratic society.
They should not, however, be mistaken for representative voices.
When educational institutions seek to understand the Jewish experience or educate others about antisemitism, accuracy requires more than presenting Jewish voices. It requires presenting voices that reflect the broad consensus of the Jewish community rather than its ideological margins. The vast majority of Jews consider denying Israel’s right to exist to be anti-Semitic, including 84% of Jewish college students who see “from the river to the sea” as a form of hate.
Students deserve to learn that Jewish identity is not simply a political position. It was forged during a civilization spanning more than three millennia, rooted in a shared history, shared memory, shared traditions, and an unbroken connection to the land where Jewish civilization began.
Communities deserve the dignity of defining themselves. NEA delegates should ensure that if they recommend materials about anti-Semitism, Zionism or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict during the Representative Assembly, they are balanced, unbiased and fair.
Jason Goldfischer is an NEA delegate and social science teacher in a school district in Southern California.
