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New York Post
23-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Flyer urging teachers to divest pension funds from Israel illegally distributed in NYC schools: ‘Violated trust'
A controversial antisemitic flyer urging teachers voting in union elections to back a campaign to divest pension funds from Israel was improperly distributed in some New York City public schools, The Post has learned. The incendiary petition circulated as two Israeli Embassy staffers were killed by a suspected terrorist in Washington, DC, on Wednesday night. 'This UFT election season, vote for candidates who divest our pension from genocide,' the flyer said. Advertisement 3 The Post has learned that an antisemitic flyer urging teachers voting in union elections to divest pension funds from Israel was distributed across New York City public schools. 'Sign the petition to show UFT candidates that you will be voting with divestment in mind during the election.' Jewish civil rights groups such as the Anti-Defamation League said the economic boycott, divestment and sanctions movement is antisemitic because it seeks to undermine and destroy the world's only Jewish state. Advertisement Pro-Israel teachers said the handout had been distributed to at least three Manhattan schools: two in the same building on West 17th Street, the New York City Lab for Collaborative Studies Middle School and the Museum HS, as well as the Mosaic Preparatory Academy elementary school on East 111th Street, and at least one in the Bronx. Outraged teachers said the flyer has been handed out in schools by teachers claiming to be UFT officers, or who were not from their schools. 'I was definitely shocked. It violated the trust in the building. It came from a teacher from another school,' a staffer at the 17th Street building said. 'These are blood libels. They don't belong in the education space.' Advertisement Another teacher who requested anonymity said, 'As a Jewish educator, I was deeply troubled when receiving this letter with clear antisemitic undertones — especially in the wake of the tragic killing of two civilians targeted for being Jewish. 3 The flyer reads at the top, 'This UFT election season, vote for candidates who divest our pension from genocide.' AFP via Getty Images 'This act of hate is unacceptable. Our schools and communities must remain places of inclusion and respect for all.' Karen Feldman, co-founder of the New York City Public School Alliance, blasted the use of 'school channels to distribute political and antisemitic propaganda, especially during a union election.' Advertisement 'The materials were filled with false claims of genocide and hate-filled rhetoric that incites violence — just like the horrific murder of two Israeli Americans in DC just last night.' The UFT said distribution of politically charged flyers violated its rules for electioneering for its internal elections of officers. Candidates running for union positions are allowed to distribute campaign material about the slate they're running on — but not about other political issues. 3 A petition circulated not long after Israeli Embassy staffers Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim were shot and killed by suspected terrorist Elias Rodriguez in Washington, DC, on Wednesday night. AP 'The flyer is a political document. No one should be handing out political materials under the guise that it is campaign material in the union's internal election. It is not,' a spokesperson for the UFT and president Mike Mulgrew said. A rep for city Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos said the flyers are being removed from schools. 'New York City Public Schools has the right and responsibility to prohibit the distribution of materials that can be perceived as disruptive and offensive to staff and students. These flyers, which were not created by New York City Public Schools, are clearly disruptive, and we are taking appropriate action to remove them,' a Department of Education spokesperson said. The anti-Israel advocates said the New York City Teacher Retirement has $135 million of pension funds invested in Israeli holdings. The flyer said the Israeli military has slaughtered tens of thousands of civilians and children since Oct. 7, 2023, citing the anti-Israel Al-Jazeera media outlet as a source. Advertisement It conveniently omits mentioning that was the date when Hamas' precipitated the war in Gaza by invading Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking scores of hostages — some of whom still have not been released. It's just the latest controversy regarding Israel-bashing literature spreading in schools. Last month, a Department of Education newsletter claiming Israel is committing 'genocide in Gaza' was sent out to hundreds of teachers — prompting fuming Jewish educators to call it out as another example of ingrained antisemitism in the city's public school system. In response, Chancellor Aviles-Ramos suspended release of mass communications sent to educators, students and parents without her approval.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NYC public schools spark outrage for sending newsletter to teachers accusing Israel of ‘genocide in Gaza'
A Department of Education newsletter claiming Israel is committing 'genocide in Gaza' was sent out to hundreds of teachers — prompting fuming Jewish educators to call it out as another example of ingrained antisemitism in the city's public school system. The 14-page 'Teacher Career Pathways' spring 2025 newsletter — which sports the logos of the city DOE and the United Federation of Teachers union — went out over the last week to 'master teachers' across the system's 1,800 schools. 'The genocide in Gaza, among other global injustices, emphasized the urgent need for student voices to be centered and heard,' it said. The claim was mentioned in a section of the newsletter headlined 'Teacher Leadership in Action' that discussed the student-led March 28 'Day of Action' from the Columbus Campus Youth Council in The Bronx triggered by 'pro-Palestinian protests' last fall. Pro-Israel teachers and Jewish activists monitoring antisemitism ripped it as the latest instance of the DOE promoting anti-Israel and anti-Jewish propaganda — and noted it could violate regulations against politicking in city public schools. 'This newsletter needs to be removed and someone needs to apologize immediately,' one teacher, who requested anonymity, said. 'Does [New York City Public Schools] expect me, a Jewish educator, to disseminate a message that so callously references the 'genocide in Gaza' as the inspiration for this student group?' the teacher continued. 'To frame this pro-Palestinian protest – which was a pro-Hamas protest, filled with antisemitic tropes, and called for the eradication of Israel – as some noble catalyst?' Earlier this month, Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos was forced to apologize for a different newsletter that linked to a 'Stop Gaza Genocide Toolkit' — sparking outrage in the Jewish community. That 17-page document contained radicalized messaging that encourages readers to 'Stop arming Israel and free Palestine!' Meanwhile, an anti-Israel group last week sent an email blast to hundreds of city teachers pushing for a May Day strike and other 'civil disobedience' to protest the Gaza war. The Labor for Palestine Network called for union members to rise up against 'the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza' and even coordinate their efforts with student groups, which teachers were told to ignore by city school officials. Teachers who received the most recent newsletter were also fed up with the DOE seemingly fomenting antisemitism. Karen Feldman, co-founder of the NYC Public School Alliance, said it was 'deeply troubling' that for the second time in recent weeks an official DOE publication had 'promoted politically charged language and glorified protests—better described as riots' —including at the Christopher Columbus HS campus last year. 'Public schools must be spaces of learning, inclusion, and neutrality—not vehicles for inflammatory, historically inaccurate propaganda,' said Feldman, a 26-year teaching veteran. 'This is not genuine social justice—it is the spread of hate disguised as activism,' she said. 'Our schools should be cultivating informed citizens, not serving as training grounds for ideological indoctrination.' Manhattan Councilwoman Julie Menin called the 'genocide' claim in the newsletter 'simply inexcusable and unconscionable.' 'We were very clear with the chancellor that such instances can never occur again and that there need to be consequences for hate speech and here we are weeks later with the same failure. DOE gets a F,' said Menin. A DOE spokesperson said the language had been removed from the newsletter when discovered, but did not respond when The Post asked who had written it. 'This is unacceptable and, once discovered, we immediately removed this language from the newsletter. We are strengthening our review protocols for communications to ensure that all inappropriate political rhetoric is removed,' the rep said in a statement. A UFT spokesperson said: 'While we do work with the DOE on this program, we did not write or review this newsletter before it was released.' 'Our work with the program centers on interviewing potential candidates, providing pedagogical professional development, and supporting instructional strategies in schools,' the statement said. The Career Pathways program promotes instructors to 'master' teachers to help other classroom teachers. They are paid a stipend for taking on the additional role. The UFT takes part in interviews with DOE officials of candidates applying for the master teacher position. Michelle Ahdoot, director of programming for programming and strategy at the watchdog group #EndJewHatred said, 'We are seeing a clear pattern of Jew-hatred in official communications from the DOE, and a complete failure by the chancellor to address it.' 'It's time to hold the chancellor accountable for her deliberate indifference to the continuing injustice targeting Jewish students and families – that she, as chancellor, is ultimately responsible for. We demand public condemnation of these communications along with a full investigation as to who is responsible for allowing these horrific missteps to repeatedly occur.' Jewish and pro-Israel teachers have been terrified by pro-Hamas, pro-Palestinian protests in their schools. One veteran Jewish teacher was forced to lock herself in an office while a rowdy mob of students hunted her down at Hillcrest HS in Queens, just weeks after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 invasion of Israel and the subsequent Israeli counteroffensive in Gaza. — Additional reporting by Craig McCarthy
