Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) hosts blatantly partisan webinar; accuses “right wing” people of attempting “to define antizionism as antisemitism and to exclude histories of Israel/Palestine from textbooks and curricula”; states that “many Christian Zionists are antisemites”

Concerned community members provided Parents Defending Education with a presentation and webinar hosted by the Massachusetts Teachers Association that took place on June 27, 2024. The webinar appeared to be in partnership with the New England Jewish Labor Committee, which claimed to be a “social justice organization” in the webinar’s presentation.

The first half of the presentation discussed antisemitism and notably accused former President Donald Trump of antisemitism. The presentation also appeared to negatively target Israel when mentioning past conflicts: “Israelis refer to 1948 as their war of independence, while Palestinians refer to it as the Nakba (catastrophe). Neighboring Arab countries took up arms. The ensuing regional conflict forced many Arab Jews to flee to the new country, and the Israeli military launched an offensive that permanently displaced roughly half the Palestinian population.” The presentation then explained that the Palestinian identity is “forged in trauma.”

The presentation then stated:

The US uses Israel as an outpost in the region and is more interested in pursuing their own interests than making peace. Israel is not unique in being used as a strategic outpost by the US.

The MTA’s presentation later accused people considered as “right wing” to have “weaponized charges of antisemitism to attack progressive forces, to weaken and divide solidarity amongst oppressed people, and to shut down conversation.” The presentation then explained: “In education, we have seen right wing attempts to define antizionism as antisemitism and to exclude histories of Israel/Palestine from textbooks and curricula.” The presentation additionally claimed that “many Christian Zionists are antisemites and also support the State of Israel.” This same slide then accused former President Trump of supporting “violent white nationalism grounded in antisemitism.”

The presentation also explained that “dog whistles” for antisemitism include the phrases “globalists” and “cosmopolitan elite” as well as criticizing George Soros.

PDE additionally received an audio recording and transcript of the presentation. The speakers of the presentation were noticeably partisan and cited Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as an example of someone who understands antisemitism. Below is the transcript provided to PDE. The transcript was provided to PDE with notable segments highlighted in different colors. PDE has redacted the names of those who attended the webinar.