Massachusetts Teachers Association hosts “antiracism” event in support of Palestinians; board member accuses Israel of “genocide,” “apartheid,” and “ethnic cleansing”; claims that a way to bring peace is to “end” Israel

Parents Defending Education received an email exchange involving Joe Herosy who in his email signature states that he is a member of the Board of Directors for the Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA). On March 12th, 2024, in response to an invitation to a webinar on antisemitism, Herosy claimed that the “Israel lobby” is “a tool of US Imperialism as opposed to the common false idea that Israel is controlling US policy.”

Here is the email that was sent to him and his fellow MTA Board of Directors members on March 7th:

In response to this email, Herosy went on to accuse Israel of “genocide” and cites Qatar-funded Al Jazeera and the United Nation’s International Court of Justice in an attempt to argue his point. He then accused Europeans of “settler colonialism” in creating modern-day Israel and in creating the United States:

There was peace between Arabs Muslims, Christians and Jews in Palestine before the Nakba of 1948 when thousands of Palestinians were killed and nearly half driven from their homes. The settlers who committed this crime were Europeans who were backed by British & US Imperialists in a clear case of settler colonialism or the forced displacement of an indigenous population by an outside group which forms permanent settlements. This is the same kind of violent displacement we recognise when we do land acknowledgements at the start of our meetings. Racial/religious/ethnic differences are weaponized to enable land theft and exploitation for profit by the British and US capitalist ruling classes. 

He further accused Israel of “apartheid” and appeared to explain that Israel needs “to end”:

Here’s what he said:

The history of Palestine / Israel since then has been one of continued land theft by a racist apartheid regime that has been propped up by billions in annual US funding. This is the source of the violence in Palestine / Israel and the only way to bring peace for all people in the region is to end the apartheid regime, which begins with a permanent ceasefire.

Exact quote from Joe Herosy, member of Massachusetts Teachers’ Union Board of Directors

Joe Herosy additionally attacked the Lappin Foundation (co-hosts of the anti-semitism webinar with the Kraft family), Anti-Defamation League (ADL), and American Jewish Committee (AJC) for being “explicitly dedicated to supporting the apartheid state of Israel.” He later accused Israel of “ethnic cleansing” in the email. He also showed support for “Liberated Ethnic Studies” from the Liberated Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum Consortium (LESMCC) which is known to promote anti-Israel sentiment.

Herosy and his fellow MTA board members were invited to the webinar on anti-semitism, at least in part, because of an “antiracism” event the union’s Anti-Racism Task Force is hosting on March 21, 2024 entitled “The Struggle Against Anti-Palestinian Racism.” The event is “in honor of International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.”

The survey below was recently went out to everyone who has registered for the MTA’s “antiracism” event:

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Joe Herosy’s Facebook page is also very anti-Israel. On March 18, 2024, he shared an anti-Israel petition on Facebook accusing the country of “genocide” again. On March 14, 2024, he called for Israel to be banned from the Olympics. Most of his posts on Facebook appear to be him posting anti-Israel sentiments.